HFTP® Acquires Leading Hospitality Industry Brands: Hospitality Upgrade, Hotel-Online, The CIO Summit and The Executive Vendor Summit
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals | June 25th, 2024
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 ...
Global DMC Partners Shares Insights From Virtual Industry Panel on the ‘New Normal’ for Meetings and Incentives
Global DMC Partners | July 6, 2020
Washington, D.C. – July 6, 2020 – Global DMC Partners (GDP), the leading global network of independently owned destination management companies (DMCs) and creative event experts, held a virtual open forum on Wednesday, June 24. Facilitated by GDP President and CEO Catherine Chaulet, the panel discussion, The Meeting Planner’s New Reality in the “New Normal,” addressed the new challenges that planners face due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s short- and long-term effects on the meetings and events industry. The featured panelists included Becky Cavanaugh, Associate Director, Medical Meetings and Events, Syneos Health; Elliott Grant, Dire...
Data Shows Negative Hotel Guest Reviews Increase During Pandemic
Lodging Interactive and Commingle:Engage | July 6, 2020
PARSIPPANY, NJ – July 6, 2020 - Lodging Interactive, a full-service digital marketing, social media engagement, and reputation management agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry shares its findings on guest reputation management during the COVID-19 pandemic and the results show negative guest reviews are on the rise. “As leisure travelers kick off their summer vacations, we thought it would be useful for hotel operators to consider the guest review data we’re seeing come through our Commigle:Engage reputation management services,” said DJ Vallauri, Founder, President and CEO of Lodging Interactive. “We looked at 100 c...
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...
Benchmarking Can Help Restructure Debt, Avoid Closures
STR | July 2, 2020
During a recent webinar on the impacts of COVID-19 on European hotels, STR Managing Director Robin Rossmann drew on his experience at Deloitte and shared with viewers an important practical application of benchmarking. No hotel has escaped the COVID-19 pandemic unscathed, which may make performance benchmarking appear less important. Rossmann warned against such complacency, reminding listeners, “that day will come” when lenders and lessors undertake restructuring analyses. When that happens, benchmarking will be more important than ever. Downturns cause financial distress Downturns of any nature can cause hotels or hot...
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...
Tourism Tidbits: Fundamental Questions to Ask When Developing a Tourism Business Plan in an Age of Pandemics
Dr. Peter Tarlow | July 2, 2020
By Dr. Peter Tarlow Traditionally, the summer months are a great time to see where one’s business is headed and what future challenges it will have. In this period of rebuilding after so much of the tourism has closed down, the need for a new and updated business plan is more important than ever. Perhaps the number one reason why a tourism business fails be that business a place of lodging, an attraction, a place of dinning, or a form of transportation, is the lack of a well thought through business plan. All business ventures are risky, but as we have seen in this period of pandemics, tourism businesses often have special challeng...
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...
“Travel, As We Knew It, Is Over,” But There Are Hopes Still
Linchi Kwok | July 1, 2020
By Linchi Kwok Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky talked about the future of travel in a CNBC interview last week. He stated: “Travel, as we knew it, is over. It doesn’t mean travel is over, just the travel we knew is over, and it’s never coming back. It’s just not.” His statement made headlines last week, but he also suggested in the same interview: “… travel is going to come back. It’s just going to take a lot longer than, you know, we would have thought, and it’s going to be different.” What do you think? Will people travel again? The glass is half empty Some places saw a spark of confirmed infected c...
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...
U.S. Travel Strongly Encourages Mask Usage, Healthy Travel Practices
The U.S. Travel Association | July 1, 2020
WASHINGTON (July 1, 2020)—U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the importance of mask wearing and adhering to healthy travel practices at the forefront of the Fourth of July holiday and throughout the summer travel season: "While Americans move about certain regions of the country, we are keenly aware of the increase in cases as we head into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, traditionally a busy period for travel. The travel community strongly urges visitors and residents alike to wear masks and adhere to all healthy practices, such as physical distancing, frequent hand washing and remai...
Revenue Matters and MPA Digital Merge
Revenue Matters | July 1, 2020
DENVER, Colorado – July 1, 2020 - In an ambitious drive to maximize revenue for current and future hospitality clients, Revenue Matters, with its unique, holistic approach to revenue management is proud to announce the merger with MPA Digital, a firm with over 30 years of CRM and loyalty marketing experience serving independent properties. “Over the past three years Revenue Matters has partnered in close collaboration with MPA Digital resulting in significant revenue increases for several high end, independent properties,” said Trevor Stuart-Hill, president of Revenue Matters. “We have proven that hotels and resorts benefit most wh...
Leading Hoteliers Share Their Strategies for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic
David Berger | July 1, 2020
Hotel operators from coast to coast discuss how they’re employing new procedures and cutting-edge technologies to serve their guests safely during the COVID-19 pandemic By David Berger As I’ve reviewed the “Commitment to Cleanliness” tomes released by major hotel brands and management groups over the past month, I’ve been impressed by the dedication and attention to detail from the teams’ that put each together. Operating under extreme pressure as many of their colleagues faced furlough, they’ve outlined cleaning solutions and processes that will indeed make their guests feel more comfortable and mitigate risks to the heal...
Hotel Industry Facing Massive Foreclosures of Thousands of Hotel Properties
AHLA | June 30, 2020
AMERICAN HOTEL AND LODGING ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO CHIP ROGERS: - “With a sharp decline in travel demand, nine times worse than September 11 and with lower room occupancy than during the Great Depression, our small business owners are struggling to survive. The human toll on our industry has been equally as devastating. Right now, many hotels are struggling to service their debt and keep their lights on, especially those with Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) loans as they have been unable to obtain urgently-needed debt relief. Without action to shore up commercial debt, especially CMBS loans, the hotel in...
The Importance of Sporting Events for the Las Vegas Market
Shannon Okada | June 30, 2020
By the time Nevada’s Governor Sisolak ordered the closure of Nevada’s non-essential businesses and urged residents to implement social-distancing measures to reduce the spreading of COVID-19 on March 17, 2020, the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA)had suspended their 2019-20 regular seasons, and Major League Baseball (MLB) had suspended its Spring Training and delayed the start of the 2020 regular season. In addition, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly known as March Madness, and the National Football League (NFL)’s plans to hold its ...
‘New World, New Employee Safety Culture’ Webcast Series Launching from React Mobile
React Mobile | June 30, 2020
Hoteliers and technology advisors discuss top-of-mind employee safety issues as properties reopen post pandemic; Fast-paced weekly episodes start mid-July and tackle workforce retention, service delivery, brand reputation, technology implementation and more Seattle, June 30, 2020 — Even before COVID-19, a new safety culture began emerging in hospitality that placed employee protection at the core of operations. As hoteliers readied to meet legislative mandates or honor commitments to the American Hotel & Lodging Assn.’s 5 Star Promise, the 2020 pandemic hit. Now, as properties prepare to reopen, operators are asking: How do we get...
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...
Short-Term Rental Occupancy in Nashville Showed Signs of Improvement in May
STR | June 29, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Nashville short-term rental properties showed significant improvement in May after the COVID-19 pandemic had led to down performance in April, according to STR. Occupancy for the sector increased 83% from April to May, reaching a level of 49.4%. In April, short-term rental occupancy fell to 27%. STR, the leader in global hospitality benchmarking and analytics, maintains the world’s largest hotel performance database. Nashville is the first short-term rental market where STR is expanding its benchmarking offerings via a pilot study. Included in STR’s short-term rental sample are both multi-family and singl...
Eldorado Resorts Announces FTC Clearance for Pending Merger With Caesars
Eldorado Resorts | June 29, 2020
RENO, Nev. - Eldorado Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERI) (“Eldorado,” “Eldorado Resorts” or the “Company”) announced today that the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has accepted a proposed consent order, which concludes the FTC’s Hart-Scott-Rodino review of Eldorado’s pending merger (the “Merger”) with Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) (“Caesars”). The FTC’s acceptance of the consent order satisfies all required antitrust clearances for the Merger. The consummation of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including receipt of all consents and approvals from the...
Hospitality Sector: Building Resilience in Uncertain Times
June 29, 2020
5 practical tips on how to build a strong operational infrastructure to cope with the unexpected. Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, climate change, COVID-19. From global pandemics to rising seas and terrorist attacks, tourism destinations and properties are highly vulnerable to uncertainties that can rock the world on a dime. Since mega-disruptions are increasingly frequent and unanticipated, hospitality businesses would do well to prepare for the worst with a comprehensive plan that details an immediate response to a crisis as well as addresses potential long-term challenges and plans. This way, whatever the crisis, the plans for addressing it in...
U.S. Travel Reacts to EU Travel Ban
The U.S. Travel Association | June 29, 2020
WASHINGTON (June 29, 2020)—U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement in response to the formal announcement that the European Union will still exclude most travelers from the U.S. as it opens its borders: "The E.U.'s announcement is incredibly disappointing, and a step in the wrong direction as we seek to rebuild our global economy. "In the U.S. alone, travel-related jobs account for more than a third of lost employment due to the fallout of the pandemic. Health is paramount, and the public has a major role to play by embracing best practices such ...
Asia-Pacific Hotels Post Monthly Performance Gains
HotStats | June 29, 2020
Asia-Pacific hotels may have reached their bottom. And that's a good thing. Gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) in May showed its first month-over-month (MOM) since December 2019, up 78.2% MOM jump, and at -$3.04 is making strides towards breaking-even after turning negative in March. Occupancy in May was up 7.4 percentage points compared to April to 26.6%. Though this is still 43.6 percentage points below May 2019 numbers, it’s the first time since February that occupancy placed above 25% in the region. This rise in volume drove the 39.5% MOM surge in RevPAR. Further contributing to the top-line, F&B revenue per av...
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. ...
