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
IHG Completes Sale of Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport Leasehold Interest to Pelligra Group
IHG | April 7, 2020
IHG has successfully completed the sale of its leasehold interest in Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport to Pelligra Group, owners of upcoming Holiday Inn Melbourne Werribee and Holiday Inn Melbourne Richmond. The decision supports IHG’s global asset-light strategy, which ensures its business model is focused around what it does best: franchising and managing hotels, with its business partners owning the bricks and mortar. Since 2003 IHG has completed the sale of almost 200 hotels globally as part of its move to an asset-light business model, and the sale of the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport lease continues that global approach. As part of the ...
Hotel Caza Opens Its Doors With a Priority on Meeting Guest Wi-Fi Expectations by Partnering With Hotel Internet Services
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | April 7, 2020
Newly constructed San Francisco property ensures its ability to fully cater to any online need by leveraging HIS’ industry-leading expertise, technology and support. SAN FRANCISCO — April 7, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has announced the successful implementation of a cutting-edge guest Wi-Fi network at Hotel Caza. A new property located within San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Warf, Hotel Caza serves as the ultimate family-friendly destination, providing visitors with an array of entertaining amenities and nearby attractions to choo...
Hilton and American Express to Donate Up to 1 Million Rooms to Frontline Medical Professionals During COVID-19 Crisis
Hilton | April 6, 2020
MCLEAN, Va. and NEW YORK, N.Y. - Hilton (NYSE:HLT) and American Express (NYSE:AXP) today announced that the companies, in partnership with Hilton’s ownership community, will donate up to 1 million hotel room nights across the United States to frontline medical professionals leading the fight against COVID-19. Beginning next week, Hilton and American Express will make rooms available without charge to doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other frontline medical staff who need a place to sleep, recharge or isolate from their families through the end of May. Hilton is initially working with 10 associations who collectively represent mor...
Koch Industries Completes Acquisition of Infor
Infor | April 6, 2020
NEW YORK, April 6, 2020 - Koch Industries, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of the remaining portion of Infor from Golden Gate Capital. Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, has been a key component of Koch's technological transformation. Koch companies have made more than $26 billion in technology-related investments in the past six years, transforming a global portfolio of businesses spanning multiple industries. In addition to being an investor since 2017, Koch has been a key customer, implementing Infor solutions across its businesses in areas like enterprise resource planning, hu...
Boston & Cambridge Lodging Market: COVID-19 and Its Impact on Supply
Sebastian Colella | April 6, 2020
Pinnacle has revised projections for 2020 supply change in the Boston & Cambridge lodging market from +3.8% to now -14.4%. By Sebastian J. Colella Life across the United States has changed dramatically in the last four weeks. In Boston, and almost every other city in the country, hotel owners and operators have been forced to make the difficult decision to close temporarily while the country attempts to slow and contain the spread of COVID-19. In Massachusetts those decisions were partially made for them on March 31st. Governor Baker extended his order closing non-essential businesses in Massachusetts through May 4th. This exten...
Future Hoteliers Help Design Infor Mobile Pricing App
Infor | April 6, 2020
When designing a mobile app that will meet the needs and expectations of future hoteliers, you would do well to involve them in the process. So when Infor began developing its newly released solution Infor Hospitality Price Optimizer (HPO), it tapped the talents of students at EHL in Lausanne, Switzerland, ranked the world's best hospitality & leisure management school. “A key focus of Infor HPO is its use on mobile, and we wanted to have a fresh out-of-the-box approach to this,” said Paprika Le Bourgeois, Infor director of customer success and product design. “We thought working with millennials and the EHL hoteliers of the f...
In the Time of COVID-19: Top 5 Things You Need to Know Now in Hotel Digital Marketing
NextGuest | April 6, 2020
By Margaret Mastrogiacomo As we navigate unprecedented times during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has put travel on pause. While everyone is social distancing, people continue to stay connected online through social media, FaceTime, video conferencing, and email. People are searching for an escape and for quality content to lessen their stress and enhance the quality of time at home. In light of this, many hotels can continue creating valuable and entertaining content across channels to stay connected with guests. If any marketing remains live at this time, the focus should be on brand awareness, with tasteful mess...
15,000 U.S. Hotels Sign Up to Support Healthcare Community
AHLA | April 6, 2020
WASHINGTON (April 6, 2020) – The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) announced today that more than 15,000 hotels have signed up for its new initiative – “Hospitality for Hope” – which identifies hotel properties that have offered to provide temporary housing for emergency and healthcare workers as the COVID-19 public health crisis grows. While the program will primarily focus on housing for the healthcare community, some hotels could potentially be used as “Alternative Care Sites” such as an emergency hospital or place for those quarantined to stay if needed. AHLA's “Hospitality for Hope Initiative” was creat...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Shift Your Thinking
David Lund | April 6, 2020
By David Lund We all have predisposed ways that we look at our world and the things, people and circumstances inside of it. It’s what makes us human and we either have an open mind or one that’s closed. Another way to express this is we either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. In her wonderful book Mindset, Carol Dweck dives deep into this distinction and relates it to our lives. I highly recommend reading her book—it’s nothing short of amazing. In this piece I am going to apply this distinction to you and your hotel career. Specifically, around the notion that we are either a numbers person or not. When I start a fin...
Key Indicators for Hospitality Sales Professionals
HSMAI | April 6, 2020
By Kaitlin Dunn, Writer, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) HSMAI hosts regular Executive Roundtable programs for senior hospitality professionals to meet and discuss relevant issues. Typically, these are face-to-face events, but due to the coronavirus, HSMAI hosted a Chief Sales Officer Virtual Roundtable on March 26 that focused on the impact that COVID-19 is having on hotel sales. Here are three key indicators that CSO participants said are helping to guide their actions during the pandemic: 1. FLEXIBILITY AND THE OPTION TO CANCEL: All of the participants agreed that it is important to be flexible wi...
HFTP to Host Series of Hangouts to Bring Hospitality Professionals Together Online
HFTP | April 6, 2020
HFTP will go live on Zoom three times a week throughout April for a new series of virtual networking opportunities called "HFTP Hangouts." All HFTP members, stakeholders and hospitality professionals are invited to attend. These collaborative, online sessions will begin on Tuesday, April 7 and will take place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m. CT for the remainder of the month. Each day will focus its discussion on a particular segment of the hospitality industry. The Hangouts will be moderated by a sector expert who will begin with a brief informational presentation and then turn over the meeting for discussion amongst par...
Stay Home Today, #TravelTomorrow
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) | April 6, 2020
By staying home today, we can travel tomorrow”. The hashtag #TravelTomorrow encapsulates this message of solidarity and hope, through which the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) calls for shared responsibility among travelers and the tourism sector around the world to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Discovering different cultures, practicing solidarity and respect, caring for the environment, continuing to learn, fostering decent work, development and sustainability, generating new opportunities for all. These are the core values of tourism advocated by the World Tourism Organization and which constitute the main pillars of t...
An Initial Checklist for Temporary Hotel Closures
Alex Sogno | April 6, 2020
By Alex Sogno During the COVID-19 crisis, many hotels will unfortunately have to stop their operations and close temporarily. This can be out of necessity if your forecasts suggest the losses experienced at these low occupancy levels are not sustainable. While closing down several floors could have saved enough variable costs in the past, the introduction of systems such as LED lights have made these savings minimal and insufficient in the current crisis. In many European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Spain, all hotels have been ordered to close by their governments. While companies like Marriott and IHG have already reopen...
Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index Drops 36.0% in March
STR | April 6, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee, and MILWAUKEE—The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index dropped 36.0% in March to a level of 2,748. Year to date through the first three months of 2020, the stock index was down 47.9%. Hotel stocks experienced one of their worst months on record as investors contemplated worst-case liquidity scenarios for hotel companies driven by the COVID-19 demand shock and potential hotel closures,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. “Overall, the majority of the publicly traded hotel companies are generally well capitalized, especially relative to private hotel owners, but the ultimate ...
STR: India Daily Hotel Occupancy Drops to 11%
STR | April 6, 2020
LONDON—As COVID-19 concerns and restrictions have intensified in India, the country’s daily hotel occupancy dropped to 11% during 23-29 March, according to preliminary data from STR. “India remained resilient in February—in comparison with other APAC markets that were more deeply affected—thanks largely to robust domestic demand coupled with the low number of COVID-19 cases in the country at that time,” said Vidhi Godiawla, STR’s business development manager for South and Central Asia. “The story was different in March, especially during the later portion of the month with year-over-year occupancy declines in excess of 80% ...
Access Point Financial Secures $9.2 Million Loan for Delta by Marriott, Green Bay
Access Point Financial | April 6, 2020
Recognized leader in hospitality-focused lending completes full loan funding in just 15 days amid coronavirus outbreak GREEN BAY, WIS. - April 3, 2020 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, today announced the completion of an agreement with Lodging Opportunity Fund REIT (LOF REIT) to refinance the Delta by Marriott in Green Bay, WI. LOF REIT worked with Access Point Financial to secure a $9.2 million loan on the property. The REIT chose APF as its lending partner due to the company’s ability to be nimble when working with a limited...
Could Big Data Help Us Manage the Lockdown Better?
Dr. Reza Etemad-Sajadi | April 6, 2020
Harnessing our smartphones to help track the virus and hence manage the return to life outside. By Dr. Reza Etemad-Sajadi Given that the coronavirus spreads as the population circulates, the only solution in the near term is to impose stay-at-home measures so the number of hospitalizations doesn’t explode, pushing hospital workers and equipment to breaking point. The graphs below show the change of behavior of people in Switzerland during the lockdown period. Source: COVID-19 Community Mobility Report, Google, 29.03.2020 That being said, when a part of the population will have been immunized (i.e. those who have caught the ...
What a Sparkplug Teaches About Hotel Operations During a Crisis
Greg Johnson | April 2, 2020
By Greg Johnson We are seeing occupancies declining, groups canceling and jobs being lost. It is easy for hoteliers to get caught up in the vortex of panic and depression. Up until now, many sales leaders have assumed the role of the hotel sparkplug, filled with energy and optimism to cast an uplifting aura throughout the back of the house. It is critical that we all continue this message of confidence and hope. Aside from the metaphorical meaning of the term ‘sparkplug’, let me first digress with a short story about some engine troubles I was recently having which nonetheless provides a powerful lesson for those in hospitality. Ann...
Covid-19: Impact on the Indian Hotels Sector
Mandeep S Lamba | April 2, 2020
By Mandeep S Lamba, Akash Datta, Dipti Mohan The world is still coming to terms with the Covid-19 outbreak and there is no doubt that the pandemic will change the world as we know it. With the globalized world going into partial or complete shutdown, the overall impact on human life, economic growth and businesses is immeasurable, both in the short term and long term due to the uncertainty as things evolve. While most Economists and Analysts currently expect the global economy to rebound, by some measure in the latter part of 2020, the exact timeline cannot be determined till the virus is contained across the globe. Nearer home, the ...
Wynn Resorts Extends Benefits for All North American Employees
Wynn Resorts | April 2, 2020
LAS VEGAS, April 2, 2020 -- Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN), the world's leading resort company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced today that the Company will extend paying all salaried, hourly and part-time employees through May 15, for a total of 60 days of payroll continuance. The Company decided to take this action as part of its shared responsibility for the health and safety of its employees, their families and the Las Vegas and Greater Boston communities during this pandemic. Payroll coverage will include more than 15,000 current Wynn and Encore employees. For tipped employees, it includes the average tip compliance rate or distr...
Delay of 2020 Olympics Devastating for Tokyo Lodging Industry, Says GlobalData
GlobalData | April 2, 2020
Major players based in the Japanese capital will be relieved that an Olympic cancellation has been avoided, but smaller operators will be unable to see a silver lining, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Ralph Hollister, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Many smaller establishments that do not have the high cash reserves that their large-scale competitors possess needed the Olympics to occur this summer. “The closure of major attractions in Japan that encouraged a constant flow of guests such as Tokyo Disneyland, combined with China banning overseas trips, has created a severe lack of tourism...
The Boss Can Kill the Customer Service Buzz
Shep Hyken | April 2, 2020
By Shep Hyken Back in my high school and college days I worked at a gas station. We were a self-service station, so our role was that of cashier more than anything else. One very cold morning I noticed an elderly woman drive into the station. She was probably 80 years old. When I say it was a cold morning, I mean it was record-breaking cold. I walked out to her car and asked if I could fill her tank with gas for her so she could stay in her warm car. She was happy to stay warm and I was happy to help her. Once her tank was full, she paid me, I thanked her, and she drove off. I hustled back into the warm building where my manager a...
The Relevance of Brand Relevance
Kimberly Yoong | April 2, 2020
By Kimberly Yoong iPhone, iPad, iEverything – the world of Apple has become a prime case study for brand marketers, as they continue to boast legions of fans around the world; many of whom would willingly brave the elements in a bid to emerge victorious with the latest iPhone in hand. But what’s in a brand? Quality, consistency, and now – an ideology. CitizenM seeks to “inspire a new generation of modern travelers”, affectionately referring to its guests as citizens, while Aman’s discreet, exclusive luxury has enthralled more than its fair share of Aman junkies. As consumers continue to seek the novel and unique, the attracti...
The Hospitality Way of Survival After Covid-19 Crisis
Yutong MENG | April 2, 2020
By Yutong MENG The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 (unofficially called Coronavirus) crisis swept through Chinese Lunar New Year like a hurricane, adding a layer of panic and depression to the hospitality industry which was supposed to be busy and prosperous. According to STR, the average occupancy rate in mainland China began to decline significantly and continuously from January 14, falling from the peak 70% to less than 10%, and currently stable between 5% and 10%. Compared to an average occupancy of 55% in previous Chinese Lunar New Years, the Covid-19 epidemic has caused great trauma to the hospitality industry in China. Meanwhile, ...
