Using the Labor Data from Hotel Effectiveness to Minimize Costs and Turnover
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | January 11th, 2023
Four Creatively Destructive Forces for the Hotel Industry
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | July 13th, 2022
Maestro PMS + Silverware POS Bringing Contactless Phone-to-Table Guest Dining Experiences to Hotels and Resorts; Integration Is an Industry First
Maestro PMS | July 8, 2020
Webinar to showcase ‘In-Seat’ digital menu / guest ordering / guest payment platform that leverages leading PMS and POS integration extending the touchless traveler experience from rooms to restaurants Markham, Ontario, July 8, 2020 — Long-time integration partners Maestro PMS and SilverWare POS will unveil a new, customizable, mobile tableside ordering and payment platform to customers this month during its free touchless guest journey webinar series. The “In-Seat Contactless Platform” goes beyond conventional PMS/POS integration to give guests touch free control over their dining experiences. Restaurant patrons can scan a QR co...
Survey: Consumers Eager to Travel With Certain Conditions for Hotels
Oracle Hospitality | July 7, 2020
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – July 7, 2020 – Following a long stretch of stay-at-home orders, consumers are eager to get out and travel according to a new research study from Oracle and Skift. Just over half (51%) of people surveyed in both North and Latin America plan to book trips in the next six months, while 38% of those in Asia-Pacific and Europe are planning get-aways. People, however, are opting to stay closer to home with driving distance (47%) or domestic trips (44%) being favored. With so much uncertainty ahead, consumers are also demanding flexible cancellation and refund policies (76%) and are more open to considering hotels offer...
Plotting the Comeback for Hotels in a COVID-19 Environment
Dan Skodol | July 6, 2020
By Dan Skodol For the past nine weeks since our original blog post, we’ve continued to track hotel selling rates, planned opening dates, occupancy, and usage of out-of-order rooms among our client hotels. It’s been interesting to monitor the extent to which hotel reopenings have stayed on track with initial plans and how demand has responded to the reopenings. The interactive tool we provide here illustrates how the four key metrics we’ve tracked have changed week-by-week from May 5th to June 30th. Reopening timelines As of May 5th, 80% of hotels had sell rates available for June 1st and beyond. At the time it seemed th...
Millennial Influencers Will Be Indispensable in Travel Sector Recovery, Says GlobalData
GlobalData | July 6, 2020
Elite and young independent travelers are crucial to the recovery of the travel sector as they are likely to be the first tourists to embark on international travel, however according to a survey by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, *35% of Gen Z and *48% of Gen Y are still extremely concerned about COVID-19. Many travel and tourism influencers are drawn from this traveler group, and what they think of and write about in their travel experiences can be highly useful to travel marketing and so they will be indispensable for destination recovery if utilized effectively. Johanna Bonhill-Smith, Travel & Tourism Analyst...
Hotel Industry Launches Training Course to Advance Safe Stay Guidelines
AHLA | July 6, 2020
WASHINGTON (July 6, 2020) – To further expand the hotel industry’s Safe Stay initiative, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today announced COVID-19 Precautions for Hotels, an online course developed in partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) and created to help hotels train their staffs on the enhanced safety and cleanliness guidelines. The new training course was created in consultation with the AHLA’s Safe Stay Advisory Council and represents a united industry approach around the Safe Stay guidelines endorsed by all major U.S. hotel brands, hospitality associations in 50 sta...
WTTC Cautiously Welcomes Government’s Decision to Re-Open England’s Borders
July 6, 2020
Gloria Guevara, World Travel & Tourism Council President & CEO, said: “WTTC cautiously welcomes the government’s decision to relax the international arrival rules on July 10 to enable travellers and holidaymakers to travel again. Consumers and those who work within the Travel & Tourism sector have been eagerly awaiting this news. “However, there has been a disappointing lack of co-ordination to ensure the same rules apply at the same time across the whole of the UK. We have learned from the past that a lack of coordination between governments and with the private sector causes long-lasting travel disruption, higher costs ...
Safety, Communication, and Sensitivity
The Penn State School of Hospitality Management | July 2, 2020
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The COVID-19 pandemic has put intense pressure on the economy, but it has hit businesses in the hospitality sector especially hard. Though these times are unprecedented, hospitality operators have faced a series of crises this century including terrorist attacks, power-grid failures, financial crises, and other epidemics. What can be learned from industry responses to these crises that can inform how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and unforeseen, future problems? To answer that question, Penn State School of Hospitality Management doctoral student Anqi Luo and Donna Quadri-Felitti, Marvin Asher Director and a...
WTTC Says Even a Small Turn On the Travel Tap Could Be a Massive Boost for Struggling European Economies
July 2, 2020
London, UK: New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows even a modest increase of just one million more international arrivals into Europe could generate an extra $0.48 billion in GDP. This would provide a massive and much-needed economic boost for EU economies struggling to survive following the imposition of travel restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus. Many governments are evaluating reciprocal ‘travel corridors, including the UK government and those in Europe which are under immense pressure, to enable holidaymakers to take summer holidays and prevent the collapse of the Travel & Tourism se...
Unconstrained Voices – Staying Positive in the Face of Adversity
Klaus Kohlmayr | July 2, 2020
By Klaus Kohlmayr For everyone whose lifeblood is the hotel industry, the last few months have been heartbreaking. Of course, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc and unimaginable pain and hardship for countless people around the world, but we could never have imagined seeing the entire world stop traveling completely. I experienced this disruption firsthand while on vacation in New Zealand, having to scramble to find a safe place to “shelter” for an extended period of time, with travel restrictions and flights changing literally by the hour. Despite being trapped Down Under—mind you, I can think of far worse places to be stuck in limbo—m...
Do Not Let Covid Infect Your Brand
Keith Kefgen | July 1, 2020
By Keith Kefgen The first thing that came to mind when Marriott International furloughed two-thirds of its corporate and property staff was – Is this going to severely impact the Marriott brand and the relationship with their most important asset: PEOPLE. Many blue-chip companies in hospitality, gaming and travel followed suit. These same companies have spent untold millions over the past decade building both a customer and an employment brand. Would their reputation be severely impacted in ninety days? I sought the expertise of my friend Anshuma Lal, founder of branding agency Human Made NY, to weigh in on the issue. Here is what she ha...
Ten Covid Features for Hotel Management Software
Larry Mogelonsky | July 1, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) The necessary response to the new viral sanitization guidelines stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic affect every department in a hotel. As you look to ramp up occupancy over the summer, incorporating all these new procedures without significantly increasing the cost of labor will require some major updates to your management software so that automation can handle much of the ‘grunt work’. Moreover, you want your teams to be able to get up to speed as quickly as possible and without any fears for their own safety or demoralization from all the new steps they have to remember. Fro...
Oracle Ecosystem Ignites Innovation to Accelerate Hospitality Recovery
Oracle Hospitality | July 1, 2020
Oracle Hospitality’s open architecture gives vendor-partners an expedited path to integration helping hoteliers prepare for the new next REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – July 1, 2020 – Oracle Hospitality is committed to helping the hospitality industry get back to business. To support this effort, Oracle, with support from HTNG, recently hosted Innovation Week, a collaborative event dedicated to accelerating the industry’s recovery and accommodating the rapidly evolving demand for low or contactless guest and employee interactions. The inaugural event drew 465 attendees across more than 200 hospitality technology organizations from 48 coun...
San Francisco Hotels Call Out Cleaning Proposal as Unscientific, Costly
June 30, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2020 - Hundreds of members of San Francisco's hotel community assailed the costly, unscientific, environmentally harmful and job-killing proposed "Healthy Business" ordinance at Monday's Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting. Members of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, California Hotel and Lodging Association, American Hotel and Lodging Association, environmentalists and the San Francisco business community expressed frustration at the proposal's lack of scientific support and, if approved, the economic harm it will impose on hotels already expected to be closed for several months. San Francisco hote...
Survey: Travel Resuming, But Only 44% of Americans Planning Trips in 2020
AHLA | June 30, 2020
WASHINGTON (June 30, 2020) A survey conducted by Morning Consult commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) found that only 44 percent of Americans are planning overnight vacation or leisure travel in 2020, with high interest in road trips, family events, and long weekends over the summer months. Encouragingly, 68 percent of these expectant travelers say they are likely to stay in a hotel in 2020. Among Americans planning to travel in 2020, 59 percent expect to take their first overnight trip by the end of the summer. Summer road trips will take center stage, with 72 percent planning an overnight vacation via...
Small Island Destinations in Critical Need of Urgent Support as Tourism Plunges, UNWTO Warns
The World Tourism Organization | June 29, 2020
Without strong support, the sudden and unexpected fall in tourism could devastate the economies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has warned. Since tourism is a strong socio-economic pillar of many SIDS, the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector places millions of jobs and businesses at risk, with women and informal workers the most vulnerable. In the second of its Briefing Note series on Tourism and COVID-19, UNWTO has highlighted the severe impact the pandemic could have on livelihoods in these destinations. According to the latest data from the United Nations specialized agency, touris...
Airbnb’s Adaptable Business Model and Cost-Cutting Measures Have Revived Hopes of a 2020 IPO, Says GlobalData
GlobalData | June 29, 2020
A few months ago, the chance of Airbnb’s planned IPO going ahead in 2020 was slim to none. As the COVID-19 pandemic swiftly ground domestic and international travel to an abrupt halt, travelers cancelled their bookings en masse and its host community looked to list their properties elsewhere. However, Airbnb’s recent performance means that a stock market launch is now once again a possibility says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Ralph Hollister, Travel and Tourism analyst at GlobalData comments: “One of the first forms of tourism that has returned is close proximity domestic travel – or staycations. Airbnb’s nim...
Beyond Borders: Hospitality Updates from Across the Globe
Russell Kett | June 26, 2020
By Russell Kett Industry experts from around the globe share what they are seeing in their markets today, the status of travel restrictions, how their governments are supporting the industry financially, and how they see the recovery process starting and playing out. Held on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Moderator: Leora Halpern Lanz, ISHC, Associate Professor of the Practice & Chair of the Graduate Program, BU SHA Panelists include: Kaushik Vardharajan, Faculty, BU SHA, Patricia Boo, Area Director LATAM, STR, Adeline Phua, HCC/ Verimag, Shanghai/Singapore, and Russell Kett, FRICS, Chairman, HVS London. ...
Fragile U.S. Hotel Industry Records Monthly Performance Gains
HotStats | June 26, 2020
April showers just may have been the thing hoteliers in the U.S. needed. Though May wasn't a full bouquet of flowers, green shoots certainly abounded. In the U.S., between April and May, total revenue per available room (TRevPAR) was up 39% (down 92% year-over-year) and gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) was up 32% to $-17.25 (down 116.2% YOY). The uptrend is a sign that April may have been the bottom and absent a surge in cases, which is a possibility, the expectation is that month-over-month (MOM) numbers will continue to improve, especially as more states move into Phase Two, which allows for non-essential travel to c...
Case Surge Could Derail Middle East Momentum
HotStats | June 26, 2020
Like the rest of the world, the Middle East’s hotel industry fell off the cliff in March and sunk deeper in April. But if May is any indication, its fortunes may slowly be turning, albeit still well off pre-COVID levels. Momentum, however, could be blunted over the resurfacing of more cases across the region and some governments unwillingness to shut their economies back down. May saw month-over-month (MOM) jumps in the region in both total revenue and profitability. RevPAR in the region dropped off precipitously after February, and in May it hit $23.03, which, though 78.4% down from the same time a year ago, was up 5.9% over April, s...
Changes in the Industry: EHL Hospitality Talents Share Their Views
Beatrice Venturini | June 26, 2020
By Beatrice Venturini EHL CEO, Michel Rochat, quizzes this year’s group of bright sparks from the EHL Talent Academy on their thoughts and previsions on what the future of hospitality might entail in a post-pandemic world. Their insights are an important prism through which we can all gauge these changing times. EHL Group launched a new venture last year called ‘EHL Talent Academy,’ a program designed to support and develop young EHL employees in the professional world of hospitality management education. The EHL Talent Academy was created in order to spot the next generation of managers and leaders within the EHL Group, and inv...
U.S. Hotel Demand Not Expected to Fully Recover Until 2023
STR | June 26, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Even with improving performance already underway, U.S. hotel demand will not return completely to pre-pandemic levels until 2023, according to the latest forecast revision from STR and Tourism Economics. “Compared with our last forecast, we actually improved our demand projection for 2020 from -45.0% to -36.2%, but we expect it to take 11 quarters for the number of room nights sold to rise to the corresponding levels of 2019,” said Jan Freitag, STR’s senior VP of lodging insights. “Similarly, it will take until 2023 for occupancy to reach the 20-year historical average. With lower occupancy levels, and t...
4 Rules of Marketing in a Time of Recovery
Deborah Fell, Adriana Lynch, and Aurora Tot | June 25, 2020
By Deborah Fell, Adriana Lynch, and Aurora Toth The travel, hospitality and entertainment industries have been severely impacted by the pandemic but companies are slowly starting to re-open for business. It’s an unprecedented time and one of the major underlying sentiments is fear. Here are 4 ways CEOs and businesses in these market segments can address and overcome this concern: 1. Compassion and Empathy for Employees Some employees are afraid of coming back to work. CEOs and management teams will need to convince employees and the public that the necessary procedures to ensure everyone’s safety have been implemented. Guidelines ...
As Europe’s COVID Cases Relent, Hoteliers Ready for Business Bounce
HotStats | June 25, 2020
European hoteliers breathed a sigh of relief in early May when the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced that region had passed the peak of coronavirus infections. Now comes the hard part: building back revenue and profitability. But if May data is any indication, things are getting better. As several countries started to loosen some of their lockdown restrictions, the prodigious profit drop in Europe's hotel industry showed a significant deceleration on a month-over-month (MOM) basis. GOPPAR in May was down 1.2% compared to the previous month, a welcome result in view of the 119.1% and 122.9% MOM plunges reco...
How Meeting and Event Venues are Adapting to the New Normal
Larry Mogelonsky | June 24, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) As the stay-at-home orders subsides and leisure travelers look to rediscover their own backyards, we cannot forget that numerous hotels around the world derive a healthy portion of their topline revenues from groups. And even after all the postponements, cancelations and booking credits, this side of the business is still a question mark insofar as when exactly it will return to 2019 levels. While undoubtedly a clearer picture will emerge as summer fades into fall, there are nevertheless several critical adjustments needed in the near-term as to how you can safely facilitate a confe...
