The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4th, 2024
Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™ | October 2nd, 2024
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 230: Hotel History: Four Seasons Hotel
Stanley Turkel | April 28, 2020
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Four Seasons Hotel, (367 rooms) Is it possible to conceive that the Four Seasons Hotel in New York has been converted to house medical professionals battling the coronavirus? In late March, the five-star Four Seasons Hotel located on East 57th Street began to accept hospital employees who work in mid-Manhattan. This I.M. Pei-designed hotel was surely the most talked-about new hotel in New York when it opened in 1993 at a cost $1 million per room. This 52-story, 367 room building with its limestone-clad lobby, 33-foot-high onyx ceiling, glowing wall sconces and original paintings provided grandeu...
People Management During COVID-19
Global Asset Solutions | April 28, 2020
By Alex Sogno An industry of people taking care of people; Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen; People, Product and Profit. Whichever way you phrase it, people are at the core of hospitality. As a service-focused industry, our product is inseparable from the person delivering it. Therefore, a hotel’s success depends on how motivated, happy and engaged their employees are as this directly affects its product. So how does a people-focused industry take care of their people during COVID-19? 1. Communication is Key (even when it’s virtual) We’ve all heard it a million times, especially now when we cannot be face-to-face: ...
COVID-19 Presents Travel and Tourism Industry With a Unique Opportunity to Evolve
Zongqing Zhou | April 28, 2020
By Zongqing Zhou As the tourism sector has been hobbled by the pandemic, the industry has also been presented with an opportunity to reevaluate and improve its practices, a necessity if businesses are to attract and gain the trust of both existing and prospective customers. The impacts of COVID-19 have posed significant challenges to the travel and tourism industry. Airline sales are expected to drop by $314 billion and hotel room vacancies have eclipsed 50%. For these industries to survive, they must rapidly invest in new initiatives to keep their current customer base engaged while improving conditions for their employee...
Report: Hotels Require More PPP Loan Funding To Save Jobs
AHLA | April 28, 2020
WASHINGTON (April 28, 2020) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released a new report today showing the average small business hotel will require additional funding from SBA loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in order to rehire employees or prevent further layoffs and keep their business open. AHLA also sent an urgent letter today to Congress asking for additional funding for SBA loan program and several technical updates to the CARES Act to help these hoteliers keep their doors open and save jobs. “The CARES Act is an historic effort to meet the most serious health and economic challe...
Hotels Need to Demonstrate How They Can Ensure Highest Levels of Hygiene Post-COVID-19, Says GlobalData
GlobalData | April 28, 2020
The tourism sector needs to be prepared for considerable changes in consumer demands when restrictions are lifted and demand for travel returns. In particular, the lodging industry needs to be prepared for guests now demanding the highest levels of hygiene and sanitation, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Ralph Hollister, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Post-COVID-19, consumers will be likely to place as much importance on hotel hygiene standards as they will on price and location. Fears over contracting the virus will live on far after the pandemic is over. Due to the large scale of many hotel...
Survey Finds Optimism for COVID-19 Recovery Growing Among Destination Organizations
MMGY Global | April 28, 2020
KANSAS CITY, MO (April 28, 2020) – MMGY Travel Intelligence, in partnership with Destinations International Foundation, has released the findings from the fourth wave of a series of bi-weekly tracking surveys of North American destination professionals. The survey, which assesses how organizations in this sector are impacted by and reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed that over the last two weeks respondents’ outlook on their local tourism economies has started to improve. The percentage of destination professionals who expect their local economy to worsen fell sharply from 72 percent in Wave III of the survey to 41 percent in Wav...
SalesAndCatering.com Working Closely With Clients to Prepare for A New Future in Hospitality
SalesAndCatering.com, LLC | April 28, 2020
Operators Plan How to Power Up Properties – and the Industry – for the Travel Restart. Where to Re-Tool, Reevaluate, and Re-Shape Processes and Systems MOUNT PLEASANT, SC, April 28, 2020 – This will not last forever. The travel re-start will call for the same resources and experience required for a new-property opening, but now we are reopening the entire hospitality industry, and we’re doing it in a world that has been drastically re-shaped. Every hotel company, property, manager, employee, and vendor is in this together. “Many sectors are ready to get back to business. Corporate events and social gatherings are on hold, but ...
As Recovery Appears, Clairvoyix to Drive Business to Hotels, Resorts
Clairvoyix | April 28, 2020
Company to benefit from client properties’ optimistic outlook, SBA assistance LAS VEGAS – After previously announcing its Rapid Recovery Response – R3© solution, Clairvoyix, the leader in enterprise class, hospitality-specific marketing automation, announces it is prepared to address the demand for property level direct marketing, a critical part to properties’ reemergence as safe, clean and desirable hotels. “Clairvoyix and our clients have always benefited from a lean business model that never sacrifices quality or accuracy in our direct marketing deliverables,” said Lisa Phillips, Clairvoyix’ chief operations officer...
COVID-19 Webinar Summary: 5 Key Points on U.K. & Ireland, 24 April
STR | April 27, 2020
Knowing you might not have time to watch our full webinars, we’re pleased to continue our series of COVID-19 webinar summaries. In this latest edition, we talk performance in the Regional U.K. as well as business on the books in London and Europe recovery forecast. Regional U.K. occupancy drops as number of cases increase Occupancy has been decreasing as the number of COVID-19 cases rises in the Regional U.K. Occupancy started to decrease before government measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 due in part to travel restrictions in other countries. Strong demand on the books in Edinburgh and Glasgow E...
Dunn Hospitality to Develop Courtyard by Marriott Within $60 Million Mixed-Use Development Near Indianapolis
Thompson Thrift Real Estate Company | April 27, 2020
INDIANAPOLIS, April 27, 2020 - Thompson Thrift Retail Group (TTRG), a wholly owned company of Thompson Thrift, announced today that it has closed on the sale of the hotel pad at The Stations, a $60-million mixed-use development in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, Ind. The buyer, Indiana-based Dunn Hospitality, will spend $20 million to build a 145-room Courtyard by Marriott that it plans to open in the latter half of 2021. The Courtyard will feature meeting space, expansive fitness facilities, an indoor pool, room service and a bistro bar offering sit-down meals throughout the day. The new hotel is expected to accommodate the expandin...
Twin River Worldwide Holdings to Acquire Three Casinos From Eldorado and Caesars
Twin River | April 27, 2020
Adds Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino, Mont Bleu Resort Casino & Spa and Bally's Atlantic City Hotel & Casino to Twin River's Portfolio Transactions Expected to be Immediately Accretive to Earnings Significantly Advances Ongoing Portfolio Diversification Strategy PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 27, 2020 -- Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TRWH) ("Twin River" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Eldorado Resorts, Inc. ("Eldorado") to acquire Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino ("Shreveport") in Shreveport, Louisiana and the Mont Bleu Resort Casino & Spa ("Mont Bleu") in Lake Taho...
48% of Americans Canceled Summer Travel Due to Coronavirus Concerns
ValuePenguin.com | April 27, 2020
Nearly half of those with an upcoming trip lost money on nonrefundable costs, averaging more than $800. NEW YORK, April 27, 2020 -- Uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has caused nearly half (48%) of Americans to cancel their summer travel plans for this year leading to more distress for the travel industry. Additionally, 1 in 6 Americans also said they would wait a full year before traveling again. Unfortunately, canceled travel isn't the only thing causing trouble for the travel industry. In a recent survey by ValuePenguin, 43% of Americans said they feel more negatively about the industry as a whole and will change the...
Being Opportunistic Without Being a Shark
Frances Kiradjian | April 27, 2020
By Frances Kiradjian Today’s climate may well present a new opportunity for those sitting with cash, or some form of available cash. Cash is king, always has been, always will be. We were always taught to have a rainy-day savings account just for insurance of upcoming needs or even opportunities. If you had a crystal ball or were born a true visionary, you could have imagined/envisioned how events might unfold from the first day that COVID-19 was announced. And as it started growing globally, you would’ve had enough time to figure how to make your “cash” available at the ready-set-go. This would most certainly give you a leg ...
Menin Hospitality Appoints Steven Hiblum as General Manager of Shelborne South Beach
Shelborne South Beach | April 27, 2020
MIAMI BEACH (April 27, 2020) – Menin Hospitality, a leading collection of upscale lodging, lifestyle restaurants and nightlife venues, announced today that Steven Hiblum has been appointed as general manager of Shelborne South Beach. Miami’s famed 1940s Art Deco gem pioneers the city’s hotel scene, offering unparalleled views of the Atlantic Ocean in a tropical, relaxed setting. “Menin Hospitality is committed to maintaining the utmost standards across our eclectic portfolio of properties,” said Jared Galbut, managing principal at Menin Hospitality. “Steven has a proven track record of results and operational excellence. We are c...
Global Hotel Profit Rocked by COVID-19
HotStats | April 27, 2020
In the first analysis of full profit-and-loss performance since the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the global hospitality industry, March was expectedly a brutal month, with the U.S., Europe, Asia and Middle East all recording year-over-year profit drops of 100% or more, according to HotStats data, as the virus’ spread continued unabated, all but shutting down travel. To date, there are more than 2.7 million cases of COVID-19 globally, a third of which are in the U.S., where hotel performance predictably nosedived in March, after a mostly banal February. Gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) was down 110.6% YOY to $-12.7...
5 Business Agility Lessons Hard-Learned Amid the COVID-19 Catastrophe
Hari Abburi | April 27, 2020
By Hari Abburi If there’s one thing the global business community has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to ebb, flow and unfold on the daily, wreaking having on bottom lines in every corner of the world in its wake, it’s the outright imperative for companies to be agile “from top to bottom.” In fact, agility is rapidly establishing itself as “the great equalizer,” asserting its unbridled authority over which companies—from global conglomerates to mom and pops...and EVERYTHING in between—will survive another day. While business agility has always been a key driver and benchmark of notably successful opera...
Domestic Tourism Poised to Drive Vietnam Travel Industry Recovery as Destination Emerges First in Southeast Asia From Covid Crisis
QUO | April 27, 2020
HO CHI MINH CITY Vietnam’s tourism industry is set to lead Asia’s return to business as social distancing restrictions are lifted and domestic travel is set to return. The Vietnamese government announced the lifting of social distancing restrictions on April 24 setting the stage for the return of a domestic market of up to 70 million travellers per year that has been growing at a rate of 20% for the past five years. Speaking on The Future of Travel podcast by Bangkok-based branding agency QUO, Wink Hotels CEO Michael Piro said that the speed at which Vietnam reacted to Covid-19 revealed an underlying strength and...
Marin Management Adds Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center in Redding Hotel Management Portfolio
Marin Management, Inc. | April 27, 2020
SAUSALITO, California (April 27, 2020) — Marin Management, Inc., a California-based hotel management company, announced today that it has signed a hotel management contract with Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, a 125-room full service hotel located near the Shasta Cascade region in Redding, California. Conveniently located near downtown Redding, Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center offers the area’s largest privately owned convention center, with six meeting rooms and more than 8,000 square feet of event space. On-site amenities include a swimming pool, jacuzzi spa, fitness center, business center, and Braided Mane, the ...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Difference Between Expense and Investment
David Lund | April 27, 2020
By David Lund In the hotel business we need to be relevant and on top of the key issues that make our venture successful and ultimately sustainable in the long run. This piece is about how we can differentiate between expenses and investments to make sure we recognize the difference and make the best decisions for the ongoing health of our enterprise. Especially now that we are sidelined and looking for a new normal. What lesson can we learn from how we operated in the past? How will we operate in the future that is more sustainable and healthier? “Toilet paper is an expense.” – David Lund “An investment in knowledge pays th...
New Report Shows Severity of COVID-19 Impacts on Hotel Industry
AHLA | April 23, 2020
Washington D.C. (April 23, 2020) — As COVID-19 continues to devastate the hotel industry, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released new data today showing that 70 percent of hotel employees have been laid off or furloughed as eight in 10 hotel rooms across the nation remain empty. As this crisis progresses beyond what anyone could have projected, the impact to the travel industry is nine times worse than 9/11, with forecasted occupancy rates for 2020 hitting record lows worse than rates in 1933 during the Great Depression. “With the impact to the travel industry nine times worse than September 11, the human toll o...
COVID-19 “The Hefty Guest”
Hala Matar Choufany | April 23, 2020
And… Suddenly, while we were projecting growth in the MEA region and applauding the ongoing efforts of governments in developing further the tourism infrastructure, improving accessibility, attracting local and foreign investments and easing off travel restrictions, we wake up to a new reality, a serious and destructive threat, and a force that is beyond imagination that will shape our future. An unexpected hefty guest checks-in that will undoubtedly leave behind significant losses and a drastic change to the traditional travel and tourism landscape. As we digest the current changes, adapt to the new norms of confining to the borders ...
The Impact of COVID-19 on Hotel Occupancy Levels in Athens and Thessaloniki
Pavlos Papadimitriou | April 23, 2020
By Pavlos Papadimitriou, Nana Boussia Introduction Imagine for a minute you are a hotel investor seeking after promising opportunities into developing destinations that you consider they have untapped potential. Looking back at the period 2012-19, Greek tourism was breaking one record after another. Following a nadir of 21 million that was caused to a great extent by the rumors about Greece’s potential economic default and the consequent negative publicity accompanied by political instability back in 2012, foreign tourist arrivals have been constantly growing since then at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 8.4% to reach 37 million in 2...
White Lodging Plans Fall Opening of 182-Room Union Club Hotel at Purdue Following Renovation
White Lodging | April 23, 2020
West Lafayette, IN (April 23, 2020) – The renovation of the 182-room iconic Union Club Hotel at Purdue University remains on schedule and is expected to welcome guests starting in the fall semester. The hotel’s management company, White Lodging, recently announced the hotel’s leadership team, which includes Victoria Wicks, general manager; Brett Ociepka, assistant general manager; and Stephanie Portrey, director of sales and marketing. “We’re all adjusting to what might be the new normal as we emerge from this health crisis,” said Wicks. “There’s no predicting the future, but our focus, in addition to ensuring the safety...
COVID-19 Webinar Summary: 5 Key Points on Latin America
STR | April 23, 2020
STR remains committed to keeping the hospitality industry updated on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our webinar series will provide in-depth updates on world regions around the globe. However, if you are unable to watch the full recording during this stressful time, you can find a summary of key points below. Peru occupancy reflects government measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 Peru was one of the first countries in the region to implement measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. The country’s year-over-year occupancy declines eased slightly during the first week of April due to an influx of medical workers and firs...
