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AHLA’s State of the Hotel Industry 2021
AHLA | January 21, 2021
WASHINGTON (January 21, 2020) - The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today released “AHLA’s State of the Hotel Industry 2021” outlining the forecasted state of the hotel industry in 2021 and into the immediate future. The report examines the high-level economics of the hotel industry’s recovery, the specific impact on and eventual return of business travel, and consumer travel sentiments. The pandemic has been devastating to the hospitality industry workforce, which is down nearly 4 million jobs compared to the same time in 2019. While some 200,000 jobs are expected to be filled this year, overall, the accommodations...
Amidst Near-Term Headwinds, the Boston & Cambridge Lodging Market Awaits Recovery
Sebastian J. Colella | January 21, 2021
By Sebastian J. Colella The travel and leisure industry has finally wrapped up 2020; a year like no other, with hotels enduring devastating declines to demand and revenue, job losses across the industry, government restrictions to day-to-day business, and extreme levels of uncertainty. As the United States faces a growing number of COVID-19 cases, surpassing 20 million by year-end 2020, lodging markets across the country continue to face unprecedented declines in demand. The Boston & Cambridge lodging market’s demand, or occupied roomnights, declined approximately 68% in 2020 when compared to 2019. Following its worst performance on ...
myDigitalOffice 2020 Year-In-Review: Customer Growth and Tech Evolution
myDigitalOffice | January 21, 2021
Bethesda, MD – January 21, 2021 – myDigitalOffice (MDO), the award-winning hotel performance management and back-office automation solution, today announced continued expansion throughout 2020, despite setbacks in the hospitality industry due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. In 2020, myDigitalOffice celebrated its fifth year serving hotels with transformative technology, doubled its customer base, launched a new product, expanded their system integration ecosystem, ramped up employee count, and opened a new office in Atlanta. “2020 was a challenging but also very exciting year on so many fronts,” says Ali Moloo, founder and CE...
Top 5 Things You Need to Know Now in Hotel Digital Marketing: January Edition
Margaret Mastrogiacomo | January 20, 2021
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo As hotel marketers embark on 2021, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve with the latest digital trends. This month, Yelp launches a new rating feature for COVID-19 compliance measures, YouTube launches audio ads, and web design takes inspiration from nature. From Search to Social Media and Design, here are the top 5 things you need to know now in hotel digital marketing. 1. Search: Yelp launches new rating feature for community to leave feedback on local business social distancing and mask compliance. Yelp now lets users leave feedback on local businesses’ health and safety compliance around COVID-19...
Burgeon Hotel Group Launches Operations
Burgeon Hotel Group | January 20, 2021
LOS ANGELES (January 20, 2021) –A new hotel management company, the Burgeon Hotel Group (BHG) has launched operations with an award-winning leadership team and a vision of cultivating the next generation of hoteliers. By delivering excellence with integrity, and consistently exceeding expectations to be the “Best in Class”, their mission is to maximize returns by developing their most valuable asset – people. The company has also announced that The Sheraton San Gabriel Los Angeles Hotel has tapped them to manage their operations: including 288 guest rooms and suites, over 19,000 square feet of meeting space, two dining venues and a ...
Innovatus Capital Partners Teams With Pure Wellness to Create Pure Offices
Pure Wellness | January 20, 2021
DALLAS, January 20, 2021 -- Pure Wellness, a pioneer and leader in hotel guest room wellness solutions, and Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC (“Innovatus”) a boutique specialty finance firm with over $1.5 billion assets under management, focused on creating value in special situations, emergent asset classes and asset-based investments, including a diversified portfolio of U.S. commercial office properties located in emergent top-tier markets, have partnered to bring the popular Pure Room concept to the office environment – creating the Pure Office. “The Pure Office concept is an effective way for commercial building owners and manag...
How Hotels Are Faring in Transformative Times
Daniel Lesser | January 20, 2021
By Daniel H. Lesser We live in extraordinary times. There are only a limited number of periods in America’s 245-year history which have been as transformative as 2020 (i.e., 1776, 1865, 1929, 1945, 1968, 2001). The confluence of a global pandemic, mass civil disobedience, and the transfer of power will undoubtedly affect how we live and work in 2021 and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic that commenced in early 2020 represents yet another demarcation in life “before” and “after.” 2020 began as geopolitical tensions spiked on January 3rd, and the U.S. stood at the brink of war when an American drone strike near the Baghdad Inter...
Repositioning the Hotel Spa in 2021 via the PMS
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | January 20, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The night is darkest just before the dawn. Winter lockdowns are in effect around the world and new variants of COVID-19 are driving us all further away from the much-vaunted recovery in the travel sector. But once these third or fourth waves have passed and the vaccine is widely disseminated, hotel guests will come roaring out of the gates. Still, there’s no going back to the way things were. Hoteliers cannot take a siloed approach to managing their properties; instead, they must think beyond ‘heads in beds’ and evaluate each guest holistically about how to maximize revenues on a per-guest (and not a p...
Dart Interests Redeveloping and Rebranding Villas at Grand Cypress to Evermore Orlando Resort
Dart Interests | January 20, 2021
ORLANDO, Fla. - Dart Interests, a leading developer and owner of groundbreaking, large-scale real estate projects, today announced the launch of their latest project, Evermore Orlando Resort, a comprehensive redevelopment of the former #1 Tripadvisor rated Villas at Grand Cypress. The 1,100-acre resort complex bordering Walt Disney World® brings a new approach to the traditional vacation home rental experience and debuts the latest addition to the Conrad Hotels & Resorts portfolio, Hilton’s (NYSE: HLT) contemporary luxury hotel brand. “With the launch of the Evermore project, Dart is introducing an entirely new hospitality cat...
Less Traveled States End 2020 Not Far Off From Normal Seasonal Lows
STR | January 20, 2021
20 January 2021 - Year-end U.S. data shows that less traveled markets have generally made more progress in regaining hotel demand. In fact, a majority of states ended 2020 with room demand levels approaching normal, seasonal lows. At the same time, the business and travel-centric markets—Hawaii, California, Nevada, New York, Florida and Washington, DC—continue to show sizable demand deficits. Overall, most states finished the year in a modestly better position than the early weeks of the pandemic. Demand recovery patterns into next year will likely be tied to reduced uncertainty about travel safety, along with a successful rollou...
STR: U.S. Hotel Performance for December 2020
STR | January 20, 2021
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee; 20 January 2021 —The U.S. hotel industry showed performance levels closer to earlier months of the pandemic, according to December 2020 data from STR. December 2020 (percentage change from December 2019): Occupancy: 36.7% (-32.3%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$91.96 (-27.6%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$33.76 (-51.0%) Occupancy and RevPAR were the lowest since May, while ADR was up slightly from the previous month. Among the Top 25 Markets, Oahu Island, Hawaii, reported the lowest December occupancy level (23.6%), which represented a 71.6% decrease in year-over-year comparisons. M...
2020 Officially the Worst Year on Record for U.S. Hotels
STR | January 20, 2021
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee; 20 January 2021 — The U.S. hotel industry reported all-time lows in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR), according to year-end 2020 data from STR. In addition to historically low absolute levels in the aforementioned metrics, average daily rate (ADR) came in lower than any year since 2011. Year-over-year declines were the worst on record across the three key performance metrics. Occupancy: 44.0% (-33.3%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$103.25 (-21.3%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$45.48 (-47.5%) For the first time in history, the industry surpassed 1 billion unsold room nights...
Small Improvements in Customer Service Create Big Wins
Shep Hyken | January 20, 2021
By Shep Hyken Little successes added together make for large success down the road. Small successes add up. To put it in baseball terms, you don’t need to hit a home run every time it’s your turn at bat. So, here’s the question to consider: What small change will enhance the experience for the customer, even if it is just by 1%? My friend and client, Jason Bradshaw of Volkswagen in Australia, was tasked with improving the customer experience for the VW dealerships. Within two years he had made big strides. It didn’t happen with big sweeping changes. It happened with little ones. Even “tiny” ones that he referred to as...
IHG Signs With City Tattersalls Club to Open Hotel Indigo Sydney Centre in 2025
IHG | January 20, 2021
20 January 2021 - The huge momentum behind IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand in Australasia continues with the signing of a new agreement with City Tattersalls Club (CTC) in Sydney. Scheduled to open in 2025, Hotel Indigo Sydney Centre will sit atop the iconic Club’s premises in a newly renovated, 49-story mixed-use tower that includes new restaurants, event space, an exclusive City based business lounge, retail, health and wellbeing facilities, along with a circa 110-room hotel and 246 residential apartments. CTC’s rich and vibrant 125-year history makes the perfect inspiration for Hotel Indigo’s famous neighbourhood story concept, whic...
David Gilbert Appointed Executive Chef for Soon-to-Open Omni Oklahoma City Hotel
Omni Hotels & Resorts | January 20, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Jan. 20, 2021) – Omni Oklahoma City Hotel, a 605-guest room convention center hotel, will soon introduce seven new eclectic food and beverage outlets to Oklahoma City. The hotel is set to open on Tuesday, Jan. 26, accompanied by the opening of four of the seven outlets with the remaining opening at a later date. Accomplished corporate chef and restaurateur David Gilbert will serve as the hotel’s executive chef. “Omni Oklahoma City Hotel will offer enticing options with a variety of dining experiences for any occasion,” Gilbert said. “Whether you are looking to sip on a local beer while watching the Oklahoma Ci...
Travel Industry Welcomes President Biden, Vice President Harris
U.S. Travel Association | January 20, 2021
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2021)—U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the 46th president of the United States: “On behalf of America’s travel and tourism industry, I congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris on their inauguration and welcome their leadership in Washington. “President Biden is acutely aware of the economic pain the pandemic has inflicted on our industry and its workforce, and we are encouraged by the administration’s focus on providing additional, direct relief to businesses in the hardest-hit industries. ...
AHLA Statement on Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris
AHLA | January 20, 2021
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2021) – The following is a statement from Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, on the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “On behalf of the hotel industry, we congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris on their inauguration. Today’s peaceful transfer of power marks a new chapter as our country moves forward together. Over the last year, our nation, and the world, has faced incredible difficulties, but we are resilient, and working together we can overcome these historic challenges. “As an industry, we continue to face h...
AHC Hospitality Promotes Ross Bartlett to Regional General Manager of Amway Grand Plaza and The Morton Hotel
AHC Hospitality | January 20, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – January 20, 2021 – AHC Hospitality announces the promotion of Ross Bartlett to regional general manager of the historic Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton in downtown Grand Rapids’ Hotel District. Most recently serving as the assistant general manager at the historic hotel, Bartlett will continue to provide day-to-day leadership for the property in his expanded role, as well as lead AHC’s newest project, the city’s extended-stay, pet-friendly Morton Hotel, and oversee the security and parking departments for AHC Hospitality. “Ross’s dedication to AHC Hospitality and his passion ...
Lessons Learned in 2020 Spark New Digitalization Trends for Frontline Workers in 2021
Andrada Paraschiv | January 20, 2021
By Andrada Paraschiv It may be a new year, but it is far from business as usual for those working in the hospitality industry. According to new data released from the U.S. Department of labor, “498,000 employees were laid off from their jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector in December 2020.” The Washington Post reports that “of those, about 75% were employees at restaurants and bars,” and “nearly 4 million leisure and hospitality jobs have been lost since February 2020, according to economists.” One of the biggest lessons learned last year was that communicating with hotel housekeepers, laundry workers, roomservice a...
Maestro PMS Kicking Off New Year With ‘Training Promo Packages’ and Free Contactless Tools and Services
Maestro PMS | January 20, 2021
Markham, Ontario, January 20, 2021 — To help its clients better navigate the new normal, Maestro has embarked on a training initiative that is helping hoteliers adapt to change and meet the demands of today’s vigilant travelers. The provider of cloud and on premises property-management systems to independent and luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups is offering a Training Services Package that gives Maestro users the opportunity to experience the full power of its Browser and Windows Version 5.5 PMS that rolled out across its portfolio in 2020. Maestro Version 5.5 features the latest mobile a...
MGM Resorts International Statement Regarding Entain PLC
MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL | January 19, 2021
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 19, 2021 -- MGM Resorts International ("MGM" or the "Company") announced today that, after careful consideration and having reflected on the limited recent engagement between the respective companies regarding MGM's rejected all stock proposal at an exchange ratio of 0.6x, it does not intend to submit a revised proposal and it will not make a firm offer for Entain plc ("Entain"). MGM is committed to being a premier global omni-channel gaming and entertainment company, and will maintain a disciplined framework while evaluating a range of compelling strategic opportunities. "BetMGM, our U.S. sports betting and online gamin...
Customer Service and Recovery via Social Media
Ana McFee | January 19, 2021
By Ana McFee More than half of the world’s population currently uses social media. People turn to the various platforms to connect with friends and businesses alike. They read stories that interest them, share news, and even investigate companies that they might be interested in buying from. Social media, in many ways, has become the world's watercooler. This is where customers go to discuss the issues that matter the most to them. In a world where customers control much of the early process of the buyer’s journey, including taking the initiative to uncover companies and product solutions that might help them solve their pain point...
Muir, Autograph Collection Set for Summer 2021 Opening in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Muir, Autograph Collection Hotel | January 19, 2021
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (January 19, 2021): Muir, Autograph Collection opens on the Halifax waterfront in the summer of 2021, promising a refined, distinctly Nova Scotian hospitality experience with stunning waterfront views and unprecedented access to the Atlantic Ocean. Muir (Scottish Gaelic for 'sea') is located on the vibrant Halifax waterfront as the cornerstone of Queen’s Marque, a new urban waterfront district in the absolute centre of downtown Halifax. Inspired by Nova Scotia’s culture, character and enduring spirit, Muir strikes a rare balance between tradition and modernity. Envisioned, developed and operated by The Armo...
Marshall Hotels & Resorts Completes Multi-Million-Dollar Renovation of DoubleTree by Hilton Washington,D.C. North/Gaithersburg
Marshall Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | January 19, 2021
Gaithersburg, Md., January 19, 2021—Marshall Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel management and services company that operates properties nationwide, today announced the completion of a full, multi-million-dollar renovation of the 298-room DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, D.C. North/Gaithersburg. Marshall also announced that Lesly Connolly has been named director of sales & marketing. In her new role, she will be responsible for reintroducing the hotel to travelers and area residents alike. “With the completion of this top-to-bottom renovation, the DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, D.C. North/Gaithersburg immediately becomes th...
