That sure was a dud of a Super Bowl. Should I admit I nearly fell asleep watching it? Maybe it was the commercials that kept me awake. As I watched the Patriots celebrate and the Rams mope off the field as losers, I thought that another NFL season was over. Then I started thinking back to when the season started; not the first games but when training camps opened nearly two months before the first game. Every team had more than 90 players at their camps each player trying to earn one of the 53 spots and a job on an NFL roster with dreams of much success down the road. In the hotel technology world those dreaming of success are different sorts of players: they are the money people. The amount of money being invested in the hotel technology space is unfathomable.  Of course, there are the startups, but there is also those beyond starting up and are looking for investments to sustain and grow. I talk to many of these money groups and how they look at investing. They look at this world through a different lens than how I look at potential for success. Of course, maybe I dream too much and because they are dealing with dollars they take a much harder look. Those who will be joining us in Austin at the end of the month at the Hospitality Upgrade Executive Vendor Summit will get to hear from one of the top investors in hotel technology, Dave Berkus. When I was in the PMS industry a million years ago Dave was my boss. You never know what the future holds. For those who invest in the hotel technology companies it seems similar to those trying to get a spot on an NFL roster. There are probably 10-15 open spots on a NFL roster and there are more than 40 players in the camps trying to get one of those spots. In the investment world I’m told if they are successful in investments about 20 percent of the time, they are ecstatic, 30 percent is a dream. Start-ups, second and third rounds it just goes on and on with the money out there. Investors are looking for the same thing, to win their own Super Bowl. It is interesting to follow this, to watch where the money goes, whose money is being used and how they measure success. Who knows, maybe they will be happy just making the playoffs. I know Dave Berkus will share winning and losing stories. Hopefully he will stay away from that one salesperson he used to work with selling property management systems that used to drive him crazy. Maybe instead of investing in technology companies they should just make bets every year on the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. I think that might have had a decent return over the years.

Here now is the real reason we are here, the latest technology happenings in the industry with a prelude to what is actually going on in the industry not with technology but from the hotel side as we watch expansion, new brands and how their growth will be accomplished. I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at
you-know-what. And for the record, I don’t like the Patriots!

Rich Siegel

2018: A Year of Growth and Profitability for Hotels
 
Major brands saw increases in occupancy and ADR, along with expansion across the globe

As 2017 came to an end, many industry forecasters predicted that the coming year would be a good one for hotels. And, for the most part, they were right. A strong economy, rising employment and higher consumer net worth translated into more travel (for both business and pleasure) as well as higher transaction volumes in 2018.

Leading independent investment research firm Zacks reports that hotels saw increases in both occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) in 2018. As early as the first quarter, the industry witnessed a better-than-expected rise in demand, with revenue per available room increasing by 3.5 percent.

According to data benchmarking firm STR, the industry is projected to report a 2018 year-end 0.4 percent increase in occupancy, a 2.6 percent increase in ADR and a 3.0 percent increase in revenue per available room as compared to the previous year. And, while occupancy increased across all segments, the luxury segment is expected to post the highest growth rates.

Many hotel companies, including major brands Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Marriott, reaped the benefits of this good year. Here, Hospitality Upgrade recaps just a few of 2018’s highlights.

Click here to ready the full article.
 

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Recent Headlines, From Hospitality Upgrade

Top O’ the News

• Caesars Entertainment Announces Plans for First Non-Gaming Hotel In The U.S., Introduces Caesars Republic Brand
• 40 Hyatt Hotels Expected to Open Throughout West Coast United States by 2021
• Shiji Acquires Touchpeak Software Inc, an International Payment Solutions Provider

For More Information On Top O' The News for 2/8
 

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People On The Move

• Erynn Torrenga and Young Lee Join INTELITY as SVP of Sales, East and VP of Finance; Benjamin Keller Promoted to SVP of Sales, West

Erynn Torrenga and Young Lee Join INTELITY as SVP of Sales, East and VP of Finance; Benjamin Keller Promoted to SVP of Sales, West
INTELITY, provider of one of the travel industry's first and broadest enterprise guest engagement and staff management platforms, announced that Young Lee and Erynn Torrenga have joined the company.
Intelity.com
 

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Guest Management Systems

• Wild Rose Casinos & Resorts Implements Agilysys’ PMS and POS Solutions at Each of Their Three Properties

Wild Rose Casinos & Resorts Implements Agilysys’ PMS and POS Solutions at Each of Their Three Properties
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, announced that its InfoGenesis® POS and Visual One® PMS solutions were successfully implemented at Wild Rose Casinos & Resorts in Iowa to provide a more integrated technology infrastructure and superior guest experience across its three locations in Emmetsburg, Clinton and Jefferson.
http://www.agilysys.com
 

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Reservations

• SiteMinder Reveals the Top 12 Hotel Booking Revenue Makers of 2018 as Consumer Choice Rises

SiteMinder Reveals the Top 12 Hotel Booking Revenue Makers of 2018 as Consumer Choice Rises
SiteMinder, a global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, unveils its annual lists of the channels that brought the highest total booking revenue to hotels in the U.S. and Canada and other top travel destinations around the world in 2018. 
www.siteminder.com
 

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Guest Services

• INTELITY Raises $44M, Sets Sights on Further Global Expansion and Scale
• Le Barthélemy Looks To Rebuild Their Operations With Knowcross
• Hapi Makes HTNG’s “Hack the Night” Hackathon Even “Hapi-er” With Presentation of Special Sponsorship Prize
•  Meliá Hotels International Selects Volara to Bring Voice-Powered Alexa Technology to Circle by Meliá

For More Information On Guest Services for 2/8
 

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Marketing/ Management

• Cendyn Is North America’s Leading Hotel CRM Technology Provider & Data Driven Marketing Agency for 2019 as Voted by World Travel Awards

Cendyn Is North America’s Leading Hotel CRM Technology Provider & Data Driven Marketing Agency for 2019 as Voted by World Travel Awards
Cendyn, a leading provider of hotel CRM and hotel sales platforms in the hospitality industry, has been voted as North America’s Leading Hotel CRM Technology Provider and North America’s Data Driven Marketing Agency for 2019. 
www.cendyn.com
 

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Back Office

• Airline Hotels Installs Aptech’s PVNG Enterprise Accounting at 9 Properties
• Heritage Hotels & Resorts Partners with ProfitSword to Streamline Data Management and Budgeting/Forecasting Operations

Airline Hotels Installs Aptech’s PVNG Enterprise Accounting at 9 Properties
Aptech Computer Systems announced that Airline Hotels upgraded its financial system to PVNG Enterprise Hotel Accounting Software at nine properties. Airline Hotels is a second-generation, family-founded, hospitality company, based out of Saskatchewan that owns and operates hotels.
http://www.aptech-inc.com/

Heritage Hotels & Resorts Partners with ProfitSword to Streamline Data Management and Budgeting/Forecasting Operations
ProfitSword, hospitality's premier developer of business intelligence and data integration software, has announced the implementation of its ProfitSage operational and financial reporting solution by Heritage Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company based in Albuquerque, NM.
http://www.profitsword.com
 

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Communications, Infrastructure

• Beekeeper Wins ALIS Tech Challenge; Deemed Hottest Technology for 2019
• Beekeeper Reveals Game-Changing Capability at ALIS
• Quore Named No. 1 Housekeeping Management Solution by HotelTechReport for Two Consecutive Years

For More Information On Communication and infrastructure for 2/8
 

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F&B/ Point Of Sale

• Upserve Adopts Epson Receipt and KDS Printers for its Full Line of POS Products
• MINA Group Continues to Redefine the Dining Experience with Oracle

Upserve Adopts Epson Receipt and KDS Printers for its Full Line of POS Products
Epson America, Inc., a leading supplier of value-added point of sale solutions, announced that Upserve, provider of a full-solution restaurant management platform, has adopted the Epson TM-m30 receipt- and TM-U220 kitchen printers, along with Epson’s kitchen display systems controller solution with the OmniLink® TMU220-i, intelligent series and KDS expansion modules, for its complete line of POS products giving its customers more choice and flexibility.
www.epson.com

MINA Group Continues to Redefine the Dining Experience with Oracle
The MINA Group is continually testing the boundaries of restaurants and opportunities to transform the fine dining experience, bringing new flavors to customers across the world. 
http://www.oracle.com/hospitality
 

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Security

• SACO, The Serviced Apartment Company, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and KeezApp Collaborate to Implement Advanced Mobile Access Functionality

SACO, The Serviced Apartment Company, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and KeezApp Collaborate to Implement Advanced Mobile Access Functionality
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, provider of advanced security technologies for the hospitality industry, announces the successful implementation of its mobile access solution by SACO, the Serviced Apartment Company, via integration with KeezApp, a leading provider of guest-facing mobile app solutions.
http://www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/
 

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Hospitality Events

• AHLA Announces 2019 Officers, Board of Directors, Executive Committee
• The American Hotel & Lodging Association Recognizes Annual Stars of the Industry Award Winners
• AHLA Launches ‘Hospitality Is Working’ Campaign With $500K in Grants
• HITEC Minneapolis Online Registration and Housing Bureau Open; Opening Keynote Session Announced 

For More Information On Hospitality Events for 2/8

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