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Leadership Excellence: Leaders are Lifters
Bryan K. Williams | October 27, 2016
The countdown has begun and there are just 7 more days until the BW Leadership Academy. Strong leaders are lifters! They encourage, inspire, challenge and recognize performance on a daily basis. This will be an event like no other because you are a leader like no other. Take your leadership and your business to another level. What are you doing to become the leader you are meant to be? The BW Leadership Academy is the place to start. Let us show you how. Strong leaders have a strong vision and inspire others to follow them towards that vision. Join us at the BW Leadership Academy, and learn how to become a leader that others want to fol...
Capsule Hotels: Small Spaces with Big Potential
JLL Real Views | October 26, 2016
By Neasa MacErlean Sleeping in a box which is 2 meters long and a little over 1 meter high and wide is becoming the low cost, Japanese-style choice of thousands of international travelers. Launched in Osaka in 1979 to enable local businessmen enjoy an evening out, capsule hotels are now mainly aimed at international travelers. Growing numbers of these hotels have opened in recent years across Asia and into Europe and the Americas to cater for the rise in single travelers looking for low-priced rooms for one which equally offer opportunities to socialize with others in shared leisure facilities. "Capsule hotels offer budget tourists and ...
Meet the Robot Receptionists: A Sign of Things to Come
JLL Real Views | October 24, 2016
A good receptionist often has certain characteristics – a helpful manner, a friendly disposition and good organizational skills. But do they need to be human? Perhaps not anymore. Walk into JLL's Carrington Street office in Sydney and you will be greeted by new receptionist JiLL, who can assist in a delivery, report a fault and contact your hosts. So far so good. However, JiLL,is actually a robot – and could well be Australia's first fully automated front office face. Chris Hunt, Managing Director, Integrated Facilities Management, Australasia, says that there are capabilities for JiLL to do much more than the basic tasks pr...
Asia’s Hotels Gear Up for the Business Travel Boom
JLL Real Views | October 21, 2016
By Fran Molloy For the millions of business travelers visiting Shanghai, their focus is less on getting a room with a view of the Pudong district's futuristic skyline and more on ensuring easy access to that all–important early morning meeting. It's a similar story across Asia's big cities, where new strategically located hotels are springing up near business and financial hubs to specifically cater for the region's growing numbers of business travelers. Asia is now the world's largest business travel region, holding 38 percent of the $1 trillion global business travel market spend. In coming years, this market will gain another f...
BookingSuite: A Lesson in Direct Revenue Strategy
Vikram Singh | October 19, 2016
By Vikram Singh Throughout my career in revenue optimization for the hospitality and travel industry, I have always stressed the importance of owning your digital assets. This means having control of your domain, your marketing campaign's analytics and history, and especially your website. As a strong supporter of open source technology, I have stepped in every time a marketing vendor ("expert") started trashing new and innovative options for hotels. Of course, vendors will always favor their outdated proprietary systems over new technology. They have made a huge investment and have to keep selling. But being tied to old technology is n...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 168: Hotel History: Hotel Monaco, Chicago, Illinois*
Stanley Turkel | October 18, 2016
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS The Hotel Monaco which opened in 1999 was originally built as a hat factory for the D.B. Fisk & Company in 1912. Daniel Brainard Fisk was born in Upton, Ma. in 1817 and came to Chicago in 1853 where he developed the largest wholesale millinery business in the U.S. After the original Fisk building burned to the ground in the Chicago Fire of 1877, D.B. Fisk moved to a six-story building on the site where the Marshall Field Annex Building is now located. When Marshall Field wanted to construct the present Annex, they built the 13-story D.B. Fisk building at South Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue in 1912. The archi...
Revenue Strategies for Boutique Hotels
Robert Rauch | October 12, 2016
By Robert Rauch The market is poised for boutique hotels to make an impact on the hotel industry like they never have before. With an expected soft landing of the economy in 2017 (2-3 percent RevPAR growth max) it is more important than ever for independent hotels to ensure that they have proper revenue strategies in place. Competing with the big brands for market share can sound like a herculean struggle but with execution of the proper procedures, a boutique hotel can stand apart from the crowd. Revenue Generation Understanding where your business comes from is the first step of proper revenue management. Millennials now make up the l...
Hollywood Stars Heading Backstage in the Hotel Sector
JLL Real Views | October 12, 2016
By Neasa MacErlean Actors Robert Redford, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Leonardo DiCaprio have more in common than their Oscars: all have also taken an active role in the hotel industry. Robert De Niro is another Academy Award winner who is slowly but surely carving out a name in the hospitality world. Already the owner of The Greenwich in New York, scene of his 1976 success Taxi Driver, and the Nobu hotel in Manila, Philippines, De Niro has just been granted planning permission for an upmarket 83-bedroom project in London's Covent Garden. Described as a joint operator along with Capital & Counties, De Niro brought star power to the proj...
The Big Leadership Question: Why Should Anyone Follow YOU?
Bryan K. Williams | October 10, 2016
At our upcoming BW Leadership Academy, the key question we will help each person answer is: Why should anyone follow you? Besides your job title, why should each person on your team trust and believe in you? The best leaders are lifters. They lift the hopes, dreams, and performance of everyone they are fortunate to serve. At our innovative leadership academy, each attendee will: -Be assigned a certified executive coach to work with both before AND after the Academy -Be actively engaged in 2 full days of learning with my team and I about how to become a stronger leader. -Take the acclaimed Gallup StrengthsFinder Online Assessment (to ide...
Lodging Conference 2016 Recap
Robert A. Rauch | October 4, 2016
by Robert A. Rauch This past week, many of us got together at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix. The forecast, depending on who you believe, is cloudy. Aran Ryan, Director of Lodging Analytics at Tourism Economics stated that business investment and the energy sector are down and the overall economy has plateaued. Having said that, he also noted that the CEO outlook has improved, consumer spending is up, jobs and income growth have improved and household debt is down. Net worth is up due to housing and stock prices and gas prices are down. Aran's forecast is for GDP growth of just over 2 percent. STR's Steve Hennis called for RevPAR gro...
Tourism Tidbits: Avoiding Becoming a Tourism or Travel Victim
Dr. Peter Tarlow | October 3, 2016
by Dr. Peter Tarlow Travel is no doubt a wonderful, experience. It broadens our horizon, permits us to understand new societies, allows us to see things about which we have only dreamt, and gives us the opportunity to see ourselves in entirely new ways and often as others see us. Unfortunately, when some people travel they may also do things that are both foolish and harmful. This month's Tourism Tidbits addresses some of the things that when traveling we want to avoid. For those in the travel industry, it is essential to understand these sociological phenomena so that they can be taken into account and planned for. These principles are...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 167: Hotel History: Casa Monica Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida*
Stanley Turkel | September 26, 2016
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS The Casa Monica, one of the oldest hotels in the United States, was built by Franklin W. Smith, an idealistic reformer who made his fortune as a Boston hardware merchant. He was an early abolitionist, author and architectural enthusiast who proposed transforming Washington, D.C. into a "capital of beauty and cultural knowledge." He was a major founder of the YMCA and a supporter of the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln. Henry M. Flagler sold Smith the land on which to build the Casa Monica Hotel in 1887. The Casa Monica is an impressive five-story structure with 100-foot towers on each end topped with ti...
Are Serviced Apartments the New Top Choice for Today’s Travelers?
JLL Real Views | September 22, 2016
By Natasha Stokes The chance to 'live like a local' or find an affordable room in a city center location has tempted many a visitor away from hotels and into the arms of peer-to-peer apartment rental sites. However, as the likes of Airbnb, HomeAway and Roomarama experience a crackdown in cities across the world, the number of properties listed on such sites could face pressure as regulations and legislature are addressed. But that doesn't necessarily mean a return to the hotels of old for travelers who prefer the home touches that come with renting a room or someone's whole place. Instead, serviced apartment operators could benefit. "To...
Facing up to Brexit: How is the UK Faring?
JLL Real Views | September 22, 2016
By Andrew Burrell Three months on from the surprise Brexit vote, fears of Armageddon have receded as encouraging news on the UK economy helps to keep nerves in check. Consumers – many of whom voted to leave the EU – have been spending over the summer, tourists have benefited from weaker sterling and businesses are getting on with the task in hand as the UK government grapples with the complexities of initiating the Brexit process. For all the positive signs, it's far too early to assume Brexit will be plain sailing, says Andrew Burrell, Head of Economics & Forecasting, EMEA at JLL. He outlines how the situation has chang...
10 Steps to Business Plan Development 2017
Robert A. Rauch | September 21, 2016
By Robert A. Rauch This article is designed to include the keys to business planning and development success but there are changes occurring in our industry that require monitoring. These include disruption (is it really disruption or is it innovation?) and changes that have transformed our industry from an art to a science. Before we complete our business plans for 2017, a review of macroeconomic data is in order. China's growth is slowing, Europe remains suspect due to the Brexit and limited growth signs but we do not anticipate a recession in the U.S. economy in 2017. Despite the economic uncertainty and global terror threats, we bel...
2 Customer Service WOW Stories to Jumpstart Your Week!
Bryan K. Williams | September 12, 2016
I've had the privilege of visiting and working with the staff at The American Club in Kohler, WI over the years. Their 'Immigrant Restaurant & Winery' is one of only three restaurants in the entire state of Wisconsin that is rated a AAA 4 diamond. They also offer the state's only Forbes 5 Star & AAA 5 diamond property. Their Kohler Waters Spa has the Forbes 5 Star designation as well. You may wonder ... how does a company obtain these achievements? As I've always said and truly believe, the strength of any company is in its employees. Kohler is no exception. The following story was submitted by Kohler Waters ...
Hotel Groups Take Multi-Branding to the Next Level
JLL Real Views | September 9, 2016
By Maggie Nichols With dozens of hotel chains vying for a slice of the highly competitive U.S. market, a growing number of brands owned by the same parent company have decided that they are stronger together than on their own. Across the U.S., multi-branded hotels are opening their doors, typically offering separate guestrooms and breakfast rooms but shared common areas and back-end operations. Marriott broke ground on its first triple branded hotel earlier this summer. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the property will feature an AC Hotels by Marriott, a Springhill Suites by Marriott and a Residence Inn by Marriott upon completion in 2...
Is There Still Room for the Buccaneer Property Developer?
JLL Real Views | September 8, 2016
Flamboyant property tycoons are responsible for some of the world's most visionary real estate projects. But as the market matures, is there still room for the buccaneer developer? Britain's Harry Hyams gave London an early skyscraper with Centre Point at the end of Oxford Street while concentration camp survivor William Stern became, briefly, the UK's biggest bankrupt after the collapse of his property empire in the mid-Seventies. More recently, Canada's Reichmann brothers were behind that symbol of the late Eighties – Canary Wharf in London's docklands. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, one flamboyant property tycoon set his sight...
HREC Expands in the Northeast
JLL Real Views | September 8, 2016
O'Connell Hospitality Group, LLC Merges with HREC (Boston, MA; Denver, CO) - O'Connell Hospitality Group (www.oconnellhospitality.com) is excited to announce that they are strategically merging their premier Northeast hotel brokerage practice with HREC's national hotel platform (www.hrec.com) effective September 1, 2016. Going forward, Jim O'Connell will be Principal at HREC Investment Advisors and will be HREC's practice leader in the new Boston office. Post-merger: O'Connell Hospitality, already a national recognized brokerage powerhouse in New England, will further enhance its client centric practice by joinin...
San Diego’s Recent Boom: How it Got Here and are the San Diego Chargers in its Future
Robert A. Rauch | September 8, 2016
by Robert A. Rauch The Past Horton Plaza served as the catalyst for San Diego's development in the recent past and it became the anchor for future development. Not only did it impact downtown but it also shepherded a resurgence in leisure market getaways including Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla. But the growth did not stop there as Coronado, anchored by the Hotel Del Coronado, Harbor Island, Mission Valley and UTC offered bargain vacations, quality shopping or a destination for corporate travelers and small meetings. In 1990 Downtown continued its shift with the opening of the San Diego Convention Center soon thereafter follo...
What’s Next for Hotel Investment in Brazil?
JLL | September 6, 2016
A new report from JLL indicates that Brazil is still a long-term investment option, attracting a significant amount of foreign investors in spite of deteriorating economic conditions and weak hotel performance. The negative impact on performance is the result of deteriorating national economic conditions, the report claims, with the GDP shrinking by 4 percent. The growth in hotel supply hasn't helped, leading to low occupancy rates in formerly strong markets. Looking Ahead Hotel supply is not expected to grow in the coming years enough to positively impact occupancy rates in the major markets except in Rio de Janeiro, where a 50-per...
Nobody Asked Me, But-No. 166: Hotel History: Hotel El Convento, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico*
Stanley Turkel | September 6, 2016
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Located in the walled city of Old San Juan, the Hotel El Convento is a former Carmelite convent dating back to 1651. The Monasterio del Señor San Jose was founded by Doña Ana Lanzos, a wealthy widow who donated her money and her magnificent residence with a large double-sloped tile roof. Three Carmelite nuns from Santo Domingo served as founders. The building was expanded between 1854 and 1861 after the original structure was demolished. Governor Fernando de Norzagaray helped raising the necessary funds and personally inspected the project daily. Certain elements stand out in the facade of the chape...
Tourism Tidbits: Applying Statistics to Tourism
Dr. Peter Tarlow | September 1, 2016
Y= wifi = w1f1 + w2f2 + w3f3 + w4f4 by Dr. Peter Tarlow There are few people who can say that they enjoyed their college statistics course. Most of us tended to see statistics courses as an exercise in making simple hard and the obvious obtuse. Yet despite the many difficulties modern statistics can play an important role in the tourism industry. For example, anyone interested in promoting his or her locale's tourist industry needs to have at the very least a good demographic profile of the visitors to his city. Tourism professionals seem to love to quote statistics be these statistics correct or not. Although often these stats are quot...
Redefining Luxury for 21st Century Hotels
JLL Real Views | August 30, 2016
by Maggie Nichols | 30 August 2016 It's 1930 and you're checking into one of the finest luxury hotels in the atmospheric Italian city of Venice. You enter through the lobby, a sprawling foyer lit by a pair of crystal chandeliers, and check in at the marble-covered front desk. After receiving your key, you're greeted by a well-dressed elevator attendant who helps you load your luggage into the lift. A bellman opens the door to a guestroom that's straight out of a magazine, setting your suitcase near a bed festooned with decorative throw pillows. Fifty years ago, these features and amenities gave a hotel "luxury" status. Later, travelers ...
