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Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals | June 25th, 2024
Knowland: U.S. Meetings and Events Data for October 2020
Knowland | November 19, 2020
Leader in meeting intelligence and analytics releases monthly group hospitality data to inform hotels as they look toward 2021 recovery efforts ARLINGTON, Va. — Nov. 19, 2020— October U.S. monthly meetings and events volume showed growth of 53.6 percent over the previous month, according to the latest data from Knowland, the leader in group hospitality analytics for hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, conference centers and other meeting venues. While meetings are nowhere near the volume of 2019, meeting volume each month continues to improve over the prior month. One thing that remains consistent is the reduced size of meetin...
Key Booking Strategies in a World Turned Upside Down
Kristi White | November 18, 2020
By: Kristi White Today’s travel and gathering restrictions have taken a toll on our industry. While we continue to see ongoing changes and brace for the next phase of potential constraints, we are tracking general occupancy while keeping an eye on the long term. I recently had an opportunity to speak with Katie Moro, Vice President, Data Partnerships at TravelClick, an Amadeus Company. She shared some data insights into what her team has been seeing recently. A Strategic View of General Occupancy If we take a look at overall demand, it sets the stage for a discussion on group business. Based on Amadeus data collected from the PM...
The Loss of One Youth or Amateur Sports Tournament Costs a City an Average of $360,000 in Hotel Revenue
EventConnect | November 18, 2020
New data from EventConnect reveals the enormous economic impact on cities from the loss of youth or amateur sports tournaments due to COVID-19 LONDON, Ontario--November 18, 2020--Today, EventConnect, the leading provider of event and sports tourism management software, announced findings showing the significant economic impact felt by cities from the loss of youth and amateur sports tournaments a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from EventConnect’s internal database of over 4,000 events, 400 associations, 15,000 hotels, and 800 cities revealed that the cancellation of just one tournament costs a city an average of $360,000....
Mind the Generation Gap! Generational Differences in Hospitality
Kimberly Yoong | November 18, 2020
By Kimberly Yoong A look at how to navigate the generational stereotype minefield that has some hospitality brands scratching their heads. With all the age-related differences and particularities that exist among Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z-ers, it would be tempting, but ultimately a mistake, to focus primarily one generation based solely on demographics. Instead, developing a clear brand mindset that includes more behavioral themes such as authenticity, community, transparency and life experience could be more beneficial and attractive in the long run. Who are the real big spenders? A Gen X-er and a Gen Z-er wal...
Preferred Hotel Group, Inc. Launches New Sustainable Hotel Brand, Beyond Green
Preferred Hotel Group, Inc. | November 18, 2020
Newport Beach, California – November 18, 2020: Guided by an inherent passion to transform travel as a force for good, Preferred Hotel Group, Inc. – the family-owned company that manages and operates global travel and hospitality brands including Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, PHG Consulting and Beyond Green Travel – proudly announces the launch of Beyond Green. This innovative hospitality brand debuts with a global portfolio of 24 founding member hotels, resorts, and lodges that exemplify sustainable tourism leadership. Driven by purpose, the new bra...
Lodging Recovery in Boston & Cambridge Driven by Leisure Demand as Market Faces Increases to Supply
Sebastian J. Colella | November 17, 2020
By Sebastian Colella November 17, 2020 - As the United States faces a growing number of COVID-19 cases, surpassing 10 million in early November, lodging markets across the country continue to face unprecedented declines in demand. Through October, the Boston & Cambridge lodging market has experienced some of the steepest declines in demand and revenue across the country’s top-25 markets according to STR. Now operating in the winter season, historically the slowest demand period for the Boston & Cambridge market, increasing case numbers have resulted in further restrictions to travel, gatherings, and businesses which were eased o...
Latest Projection: Travel Spending in U.S. to Plunge by Nearly Half This Year
November 17, 2020
WASHINGTON (November 17, 2020)—Travel spending in the U.S. is expected to finish the year 45% down from 2019 levels, and will still not have returned to its pre-pandemic strength by 2024, according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Travel Association. The new 2020 projected travel spending figure of $617 billion is slightly worse than U.S. Travel’s previous forecast released in July ($622 billion)—and is a precipitous drop from the $1.13 trillion spent on travel in the U.S. overall in 2019. The nosedive reflects a decline of 34% in domestic leisure travel spending—but even sharper drop-offs in the lucrative domestic bus...
Four Quick Training Tips for Hotel Sales Prospecting Success
Doug Kennedy | November 16, 2020
By Doug Kennedy Now that 2020 is winding down and the preliminary vaccine results are favorable, it is time for hotel salespeople to recommit to put on their orange vests and embrace their role as sales hunters. In previous articles for this publication I have spoken about the transition from Sales Fishing to Sales Hunting, the Habitudes of Sales Success, and how salespeople can master their Remote Sales Skills. Here are four additional specific sales tips. Is Your Hotel Sales Team Ready For The Transition From "Fishing For Inbound Leads" To "Sales Hunting”? Hotel Sales Habitudes For The Long Ride To A Slow Recovery - By Doug Kennedy ...
The Outlook for Hospitality, Part 2: How Vendors Are Pivoting to Meet New Industry Demands
Fran Worrall | November 16, 2020
By Fran Worrall In the fall issue of Hospitality Upgrade, we began our four-part series on the outlook for the hospitality industry by asking vendors the following question: What are your thoughts on the future of hotels and the industry in general? Overwhelmingly, respondents were optimistic. Despite the seriousness of the pandemic and its devastating impact on hotels around the globe, most vendors agreed that the industry is resilient and will recover. Some said it would come back even stronger than before. Not surprisingly, most believe that technology will play a key role in the process. In Part 2 of our series, we asked the foll...
A Message to the Travel, Lodging and Hospitality Industry That May Save Your Business – Part 2
Dr. Frederick DeMicco | November 16, 2020
By F.F. Miles and Frederick DeMicco Ph.D., Professor, the Franke College of Business, School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Northern Arizona University With our extraordinary downturn in hospitality and travel, I sought out a corporate business traveler, a frequent flyer, road warrior extraordinaire and someone in our global travel industry who occupies the C-Suite. With travel starting to spring back to life, especially for leisure travelers, I thought it would be a good idea to interview a frequent traveler to learn what life is all about today when flying, staying in hotels and renting cars, etc. Below reflects my interview wi...
Fewer Americans Traveling This Thanksgiving Amid Pandemic
AAA | November 12, 2020
ORLANDO, Fla. (November 12, 2020) – Thanksgiving will be on the lighter side when it comes to the typical number of travelers on the roads and at airports. According to AAA Travel, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including health concerns and high unemployment, are impacting Americans’ decisions to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. With health and government officials stressing that staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick, AAA anticipates at least a 10% drop in travel – the largest one-year decrease since the Great Recession in 2008. Based on mid-October forecast models, AAA would have e...
AAHOA President & CEO Cecil Staton Talks Politics and the Campaign to Assist Hoteliers
Fran Worrall | November 12, 2020
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) is the nation’s largest hotel owners association, representing nearly 20,000 members who own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in communities across the country. Recently, Hotel Online talked with AAHOA President & CEO Cecil Staton about the association’s ‘10,000 Letters, One Purpose’ campaign, which encouraged hoteliers to engage with members of Congress and the White House to implore them to pass a stimulus package that would eas...
Hotel Lawyer Alert: California Consumer Privacy Act update
Jim Butler | November 11, 2020
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers| Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 11 November 2020 On November 3rd, Californians voted to approve Proposition 24 which amends the California Consumer Privacy Act to include expanded consumer rights and greater privacy protections. The California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act – which also establishes an enforcement agency to guarantee strict compliance – places additional obligations on businesses to ensure that consumer data is transparent and secure. Given the scope of the Act and the short timeframe for compliance, hotels should immediately start looking at thei...
COVID-19’s Impact on Values
Rod Clough | November 11, 2020
By Rodney G. Clough, Ryan Mark, Chris Cabrera The hotel sector is most certainly managing its way through the trough of the current downcycle, and a tough winter lies ahead for the U.S. lodging industry, although brighter skies should emerge next year. We took this opportunity to review our valuation findings and compare these to valuations of the same hotels we completed in the years and months leading up to the spring 2020 decline. We have appraised over 1,000 hotels since the start of the pandemic (most from mid-summer to today). Of these, 140 were also appraised by our firm in the 2017–2019 peak-value timeframe. The percentage change...
Serviced Apartment Operators Prove More Resilient in Pandemic, Says HVS Report
HVS | November 10, 2020
10 November 2020, London: Trading across Europe’s serviced apartments has proved more resilient during the pandemic than other parts of hospitality despite an obvious decline in performance, according to a new report on the sector published today by global hotel consultancy HVS. A survey of leading operators, investors and lenders conducted for the annual report reveals that the majority of operators have seen top line performance decline by 25-50% this year, compared with 2019, while a third of operators report declines of up to 75%. These figures suggest those operations are still largely profitable, albeit with reduced margins, wi...
How the Pandemic Will Change the Meetings and Events Industry for the Better
the Global Business Travel Association | November 10, 2020
Exciting new technologies and creative content will be key for a stronger industry Alexandria, Virginia (November 10, 2020) For this week’s Collaboratory 2020 webinar series, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the world’s largest business travel association – welcomed CEO and Founder of Cvent, Reggie Aggarwal, to share his insights on the future of meetings and events and how technology will play an even bigger role moving forward. In the week’s headliner webinar, “Virtual, In-Person, Hybrid: What’s Next for the Meetings Industry?,” GBTA Interim Executive Director Dave Hilfman engaged Aggarwal on diverse to...
Five-Star Park City Hotel Finds Success With Digital Marketing During COVID-19 Shutdown
GCommerce | November 5, 2020
Park City, UT, November 5, 2020- Five-Star Park City hotel, Stein Eriksen Lodge, partnered with GCommerce to run digital marketing efforts during COVID-19 to maintain brand awareness in key markets in order to secure market share upon reopenings. Being aware that the Stein Eriksen Lodge name and brand would still have interest for online searchers even during their pandemic closure, GCommerce kept the “lights on” with paid search brand and name terms to ensure searchers would find Stein Eriksen Lodge’s website when thinking of future stays and vacations throughout the Spring of 2020. “Nobody knew what to expect when the COVID-19...
New Rush Street Gaming Casino Approved by Voters in Portsmouth, Virginia
Rush Street Gaming | November 4, 2020
PORTSMOUTH, Va. & CHICAGO - A great new place to work and play is coming to Portsmouth, Virginia. Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming will develop and operate the latest addition to its growing portfolio of gaming and entertainment venues—Rivers Casino Portsmouth. On Nov. 3, Portsmouth voters greenlighted Rush Street’s $300 million casino project planned for Victory Boulevard. Rivers Casino Portsmouth will bring 1,300 permanent jobs and 1,400 temporary construction jobs to the currently vacant site. As the anchor of Portsmouth’s up-and-coming Entertainment District, the new Rivers Casino includes plans for a hotel, indoor and ou...
Tourism Tidbits: Thinking About Our Security Needs Once We Have Gone Beyond Covid-19
Peter Tarlow | November 2, 2020
By Dr. Peter Tarlow In today’s very politically and economically unstable world the tourism and hospitality industries have no choice but to be sensitive to the needs of security and safety (S&S), and to emphasize public health requirements. Despite this needed emphasis on Covid-19 and the universal pandemic, other classical issues of tourism security and safety still exist and should not be ignored. Security and safety professionals continuously reexamine these issues and are constantly seeking new ways to assure that the public is safe during its travel experience. Each security incident makes the travel industry’s many com...
The Outlook for Hospitality: Silver Linings in the Midst of Crisis
Fran Worrall | November 2, 2020
Vendors Address The Future of The Industry, Part 1 By Fran Worrall During the past seven months, the hospitality industry has faced the worst crisis in recent history. As COVID-19 has spread around the globe, hotels have been forced to lay off employees, curtail services and in some cases close. At some point, however, the world will regain its equilibrium. Consumers will be eager to travel again. And businesses will want to hold group meetings and conferences. What will the hotel landscape look like? Can anything positive come out of this crisis? We talked with a number of vendors for this multi-part series on the outlook for ho...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 24 October
STR | October 30, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 18-24 October 2020 showed slightly higher occupancy, but lower rates from prior weeks for Canada’s hotel industry. 18-24 October 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 31.1% (-55.6%) Average daily rate (ADR): CAD112.33 (-28.7%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): CAD34.89 (-68.4%) Occupancy for previous weeks came in at 29.9% (17 October), 32.2% (10 October), and 34.0% (3 October), respectively. For the week ending with 24 October, British Columbia recorded the highest occupancy level (40.2%) among the provinces. Vancouver (35.7%) was the only ...
U.S. Hotel Occupancy Falls Below 50% Mark
STR | October 30, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. weekly hotel occupancy fell back below the 50% mark, according to the latest data from STR through 24 October. 18-24 October 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 48.0% (-31.7%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$95.49 (-29.4%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$45.83 (-51.8%) Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed lower occupancy (43.2%) but higher ADR (US$99.81) than all other markets. Four of those major markets reached or surpassed 50% occupancy: Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia (54.1%); Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (53.8%); Phoenix, Arizona...
174M Travel & Tourism Jobs Could Be Lost Due to COVID-19 and Travel Restrictions, Says WTTC
WTTC | October 30, 2020
Research reveals small yet positive job gains, driven by the return of domestic travel in a number of markets Already in present circumstances, 143m jobs will be impacted Worst forecast can be avoided if an immediate coordinated response is implemented London, UK: New figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveal that despite a slight improvement since June, a staggering 174m Travel & Tourism jobs could be lost in 2020 if barriers to global travel remain in place. The new figure comes from WTTC’s latest economic data, which looks at the punishing impact of COVID-19, as well as local and global travel restricti...
Marriott International Update on Conclusion of UK ICO Investigation Into Starwood Database Security Incident
Marriott International | October 30, 2020
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) (“Marriott”) acknowledges the decision issued today by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”), which brings an end to the UK and EU regulatory investigation of the Starwood reservations database incident reported by Marriott in November 2018. The decision includes a fine of £18.4 million. Marriott does not intend to appeal the decision, but makes no admission of liability in relation to the decision or the underlying allegations. As the ICO acknowledges, Marriott cooperated fully throughout the investigation. Marriott deeply regrets the incident. Marriott remains commit...
