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
Post-Covid Hotel Growth Sector – Odds Now on Independents and Non-Traditional Brands
Magnuson Hotels | September 23, 2022
In a presentation to the UK House of Lords last June, we raised the alarm that the UK independent hotelier share of market was declining rapidly, falling from 78% in 2010 to a projected 22% by 2026. Meanwhile in the USA, independent hotel market share has declined from 67% of the USA’s 55,000 hotels in 2003 to less than 40% of US hotels today. So how did we get here? Rapid supply growth via brands and Airbnb. From 2008-2010, the USA hotel supply grew by 17.5%, largely driven by IHG new builds. UK supply rise fuelled by Travelodge and Premier Inns, took on Starbucks approach of ‘a hotel on every corner’ to saturate markets. ...
U.S. Retains Its Position as the World’s Biggest Travel & Tourism Market Despite Lengthy Travel Restrictions by Boosting Domestic Travel
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) | September 8, 2022
UK sees biggest drop in the global rankings China and Germany hold onto second and third position London, UK - The latest World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Trends Report reveals the U.S. remains the world’s biggest and most powerful Travel & Tourism market. Its top ranking was reaffirmed, despite suffering long and damaging travel restrictions which did little to halt the spread of COVID-19 and only resulted in serious economic losses. However, while its number one position was retained, the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to the nation’s economy fell by US$700 billion in 2019, to just u...
Open Letter to the Hospitality and Travel Industry
Ryan Hamilton | September 7, 2022
It’s time to come together as part of the solution, not part of the problem, and change the world we serve for the better By Ryan Hamilton Earlier this week, as I was scanning my news feed for updates of relevance, I came across a headline that quickly captured my attention: What Native Hawaiians want you to know before your visit. As someone who spent much of his childhood in Hawai’i, any mention of the island conjures an inevitable wave of nostalgia and appreciation. In this particular context, though, that nostalgia was mixed with resonance, as the author called upon an issue I was aware of, but hadn’t found a way to articula...
Global Business Travel Spending Is Coming Back, but Recent Headwinds Push Anticipated Full Recovery Into 2025 and 2026
the Global Business Travel Association | August 16, 2022
Inflation, energy prices, supply chain challenges, labor shortages, and regional developments add 18 months to industry recovery forecast, according to the 2022 GBTA Business Travel Index™ The global business travel industry continues its progress towards full recovery to 2019 pre-pandemic spending levels of USD $1.4 trillion, but recovery has hit some headwinds. Just as many Covid-related recovery conditions have improved, many macroeconomic conditions deteriorated rapidly in early 2022. These new developments are impacting the timing, trajectory and pace of business travel’s recovery, both globally and by region, pushing the forecast...
Report: Hotels’ Recovery Continues, Workforce Challenges Remain
AHLA | July 27, 2022
WASHINGTON (July 27, 2022) – Midway through 2022, the hotel industry continues to make strides toward recovery, with nominal hotel room revenue and state and local tax revenues projected to exceed 2019 levels by the end of this year, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)’s 2022 Midyear State of the Hotel Industry Report. Hotel room revenue is projected to surpass $188 billion by the end of 2022, eclipsing 2019 figures on a nominal basis. When adjusted for inflation, however, revenue per available room (RevPAR) is not expected to surpass 2019 levels until 2025. Hotels are projected to generate nearly $43.9 bi...
412,000 Travel & Tourism Jobs Across the U.S. Will Remain Unfilled Unless Urgent Action Is Taken
WTTC | July 25, 2022
DALLAS (July 25, 2022) – A new analysis by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism business sector, estimates 412,000 Travel & Tourism jobs in the U.S. will remain unfilled this year, putting in serious jeopardy the recovery of the sector. According to WTTC’s data, one in 18 jobs remained vacant during the first half of 2022, highlighting a talent crunch that has plagued the sector since early 2021. An estimated 321,000 Travel & Tourism positions went unfilled in the January – June 2022 timeframe (a 5.4% shortage), and worker shortages are expected to persist into 3Q, p...
According to WTTC and ETC, 1.2 Million Travel & Tourism Jobs Across the EU Will Remain Unfilled Unless Urgent Action Is Taken
WTTC | July 21, 2022
Travel agency segment forecasted to be worst hit by a 30% shortfall of workers London, UK: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) warn the Travel & Tourism sector’s recovery could be put at serious risk if almost 1.2 million jobs remain unfilled across the EU. The challenging summer labour shortfall has been revealed by WTTC in its latest analysis of the sector and calls for urgent action to address this critical issue. In 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak, the Travel & Tourism sector across the EU suffered the loss of almost 1.7 million jobs*. In 2021, when governments ...
Looking Ahead to Where Hospitality Can Be in a Decade
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | July 20, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Now that we are out of the COVID-19 kerfuffle, we’re all contending with the recovery surge and labor shortages in various ways – mostly by being overworked. Yet on the back of our minds, we’re all thinking: What comes next? What’s possible for our industry? Where do we need to be by 2030 to keep pace with ever-evolving guest demands? Grand changes to our social fabric are afoot; spurned on the pandemic, we live in a tech-centric world with AI continuing to spread its tendrils into every facet of our lives. As a fun food-for-thought piece, here are some hypothetical trends to consider in terms of how...
Knowland’s Meeting Recovery Forecast Q2 Update Reflects Stronger Than Expected Performance
Knowland | July 20, 2022
Q2 performance fuels adjusted forecast to reach full market recovery in 2023 ARLINGTON, Va. — July 20, 2022 — Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, released the quarterly update to its U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF) and associated Top 25 U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF25) showing improved projected performance with a goal of providing the hospitality industry with predictive insights into event recovery over the next three years. Click here to view the most current forecasts. Kristi White, chief product officer, Knowland, said: “Each month of the...
Gen-Z Leads Comeback of Travel Spending: Here Is What They Want When It Comes to Hotels
Venkatesh Sakamuri | July 19, 2022
By Venkat Sakamuri Just a decade ago, the idea of a store that was entirely self-service – devoid of the smiling faces of staff we’ve grown so accustomed to – may have seemed far-fetched. Not impossible, of course, but at the time, this was a reality reserved for TV shows and movies rather than our everyday life. Today, however, the era of self-service is not only upon us – it’s already begun. As the COVID-19 pandemic upended our world as we knew it, the demand for touchless self-service (which was already alive and well) accelerated at an undeniably rapid pace. Where hands-on, in-person service was once the standard, self-ser...
GBTA Calls on the European Union to Adapt Regulations to Avoid Further Travel Disruption
GBTA | July 15, 2022
Brussels – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association, is calling on the European Commission to address the staff shortages threatening the industry’s recovery. The current six-week background checks required for employees working at airports and in the airline sector is causing a bottleneck, and delay to the smooth travel experience required by business travellers. GBTA is calling for the European Union to temporarily adapt these regulations as a matter of priority to ease pressure on airports and the airline industry. Projected to reach pre-COVID 19 levels of US $1.4 trillion in r...
Four Creatively Destructive Forces for the Hotel Industry
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | July 13, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky For numerous aspects of society, they say that COVID-19 didn’t rewrite the playbook but only accelerated what would have occurred anyway, albeit over a much longer timeframe. With this as a prelude, it’s important for every hotelier to dwell on the concept of creative destruction which has existed ever since the invention of the wheel started putting farmhands out of work. It is inevitable for nearly all practices; it’s just a matter of when. That ‘when’ could be two to three years or a couple of decades. It all depends on your organization’s needs at the moment and what will grow revenues or cut...
Tourism Industry Recovery in Europe Slows as Airlines Fail to Adequately Prepare for Travel Rebound, Says GlobalData
GlobalData | July 12, 2022
International travel from Europe was set to make a promising start to recovery in 2022. However, chaos at many European airports is likely to hinder growth as queues and cancellations are quickly becoming air travel norms, says GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that airlines failing to adequately prepare for travel’s great comeback has resulted in staff shortages. Hannah Free, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “International departures from European countries are expected to reach 69% of 2019 figures in 2022, according to GlobalData forecasts. While destinations are eager to welcome visitors, s...
Trip.com Reveals Latest Summer Trends, Highlighting Traveler Confidence Has Returned With City Breaks and Short-Haul Travel Dominating
Trip.com | July 11, 2022
SINGAPORE, July 11, 2022 -- As consumers around the world plan a summer of 'revenge travel' in the wake of easing restrictions, Trip.com data reflects the global travel recovery trend. Trip.com analysed data from their booking sites across Europe and Asia and the results show that users are more confident to book further ahead this summer, and the appetite for city breaks, staycations and short-haul trips still holds firm in a post-pandemic world. Wednesday is the most popular day to plan a trip For summer 2022, midweek is the most popular time to plan a holiday. Trip.com data shows that, among their users, Tuesday thr...
Macro-Level Obstacles Little Match for Global Hotel Industry
HotStats | July 11, 2022
The global hotel industry is producing strong performance numbers all against a climate of financial unease. It’s an incongruity that hoteliers hope sustains. Consumer costs for everything, including hotel rooms, are up. The list is long: gas prices, food prices, airfare prices (not to mention a wave of air cancellations) are all at dizzying highs. The list is long and induces unease, but consumers are still, it appears, willing to put them aside in order to travel. In Europe, occupancy rates are at their highest levels since November 2019 and in tandem with average daily rates that are now on par or higher than pre-pandemic 2019, on ...
Tucson Emerges Strongly from Pandemic, Outlook is Optimistic
Zabada Abouelhana | June 28, 2022
By Zabada N. Abouelhana Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tucson’s lodging industry was reaching new heights. After eight years of growth spurred by a large-scale expansion at Raytheon Technologies, the relocation of Caterpillar and Hexagon to Tucson’s revitalizing downtown, and growth at the University of Arizona, performance had reached a new peak. This positive trend reportedly continued through the first months of 2020, which included the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in February; however, the hotel industry begun to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic mid-March. As travel restrictions were enacted across the w...
Nashville Hotel Market Continues Its Path to Recovery
Marc Greeley | June 28, 2022
By Marc Greeley Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville realized one of the steepest lodging depressions of U.S. major markets, followed by an accelerated recovery in the second half of 2021. While there is still a way to go before reaching full recovery, lodging demand has already reached levels that even the most positive forecasts at the peak of the pandemic did not project, supported by the breadth of economic investments and the city’s reputation as a major leisure destination. Uncertainty surrounding rising inflation and interest rates, and the resulting hint of a looming recession, is an ongoing consideration when analyzing Nashvi...
Until the Dust Settles, Zero-Based Budgeting Is Indispensable
HotStats | June 27, 2022
Some forecasts make sense. George Carlin once astutely predicted the night’s weather: dark. On the other hand, handicapping the future—especially the economy—is a fool’s errand. Here’s what Jamie Dimon once said about it: “No one can forecast the economy with certainty.” If the CEO of JPMorgan Chase can’t do it, good luck to anyone else. His comment rings more true than ever. COVID-19 cast the hotel industry into a free fall and just as the global recovery began to germinate, along came inflation, supply-chain distress, labour shortages, exploding energy and fuel costs and a host of other severe issues that make running a h...
Move Over COVID, the Business Travel Industry Tackles New Considerations on Its Continued Road to Recovery
GBTA | June 23, 2022
Business travel’s return remains strong, while emerging issues challenge accelerated recovery and companies empower employee travel based on COVID comfort levels, according to the latest research poll from GBTA Alexandria, VA – There’s more on the minds of the business travel industry these days beyond COVID-19 when it comes to the sector’s continued recovery. The return of global business travel remains strong – this month a majority of global travel managers surveyed report their companies are allowing domestic and international employee travel, and travel suppliers continue to cite increased travel bookings from their corp...
Will Travel Defy Inflation?
Mandeep S. Lamba | June 23, 2022
By Mandeep S. Lamba, Dipti Mohan Inflation is soaring in many countries due to a combination of factors such as rising fuel prices, ongoing supply disruptions, strong demand, and the Russia-Ukraine war. While the central banks around the world are raising benchmark interest rates to try to control the situation, inflation is likely to remain high in the near term. For instance, the US recorded four-decade-high inflation in May 2022, prompting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 75 basis points (bps), the largest rate increase since 1994. A similar pattern can be seen in the UK and several other countries. India, also, recently r...
Travel Trouble: Florida Tourism Slowing Amid Recession Fears, Robust Competition
Florida Atlantic University | June 23, 2022
BOCA RATON, Fla. (June 23, 2022) – Florida leisure travel is showing signs of decline in recent weeks, offering yet another challenge to employers and tourism officials still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. After the Sunshine State’s tourism enjoyed a big bounce-back year in 2021, domestic and international travelers here now are finding discounts and blocks of availability in some markets. That usually doesn’t happen until the historically slow periods of August and September, said Peter Ricci, Ed.D., director of Florida Atlantic University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program in the College of Business. ...
U.S. Travel Forecast: All Sectors Projected to Surge in Short Term, but Headwinds Are on Horizon
U.S. Travel Association | June 22, 2022
WASHINGTON (June 22, 2022)—Days after the United States repealed its Covid-19 testing requirement for inbound air travelers, U.S. Travel Association released its full biannual forecast for travel through 2026—including both travel spending and volume—which projects that all segments of travel, in spite of rising inflation, will surge in the short term due to pent-up demand and consumer savings. However, this is not expected to last, leading to slower growth in the later years of the forecast. The international component of the forecast was released earlier this month at the association’s IPW trade show. U.S. Travel estimates th...
Can the Hospitality Industry Recover?
Lex Fuller | June 20, 2022
By Lex Fuller Over the past two years, the hospitality industry has had to make major changes to deal with the many difficulties it has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most notable hurdle for the hospitality industry has been the labor shortage. With the dangers of COVID-19, it has been increasingly difficult for hotels to find and keep employees, causing the hospitality industry to make adjustments in order to compensate for the loss of on-sight workers. This leaves us with the following question, will the hospitality industry ever go back to the way it was before the pandemic? While things are opening back up after a long batt...
Contrasting Fortunes for Tourism? What We Know and Don’t Know as Tourism Ramps Up
STR | June 17, 2022
Our consumer research findings discussed in recent blogs has uncovered contrasting fortunes for tourism and hospitality. On one hand, there’s evidence of strong demand for travel and improving sentiment as COVID concerns subside. Meanwhile, on the other hand, geopolitical, economic and other global issues are coming to the fore, which may act as barriers to travel. The overall picture remains unclear as we enter the peak summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. While global factors will continue to unfold, which will shape prospects for the travel industry in the coming weeks and months, lessons can be learned from existing be...
