Cicero Construction Group
You Received a Hotel Property Improvement Plan. Now What?
Cicero Construction Group | September 6, 2024
In order to keep a hotel aligned with current brand standards, hotel franchisors will periodically issue hotel owners a Property Improvement Plan outlining required renovations and upgrades. PIPs are mandatory. If the hotel owner does not complete the PIP, the franchisor has the right to remove them from the brand entirely. PIPs differ for every brand and hotel. Newer hotels might simply require small cosmetic adjustments, but older ones may need complete overhauls to their mechanical and electrical systems. However, hoteliers should generally anticipate a PIP every seven to twelve years. Design components that are fundame...
Is Your Hotel Ready for the Travel Rebound?
Cicero Construction Group | April 27, 2022
PLAINFIELD, IL, APRIL 27, 2022 — For the hotel industry, the last two years has been a rollercoaster. Dragged down initially by COVID-19 lockdowns, hoteliers are now finding their business on an upswing with bookings exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Even group business travel is showing promising first signs of returning on the books. Thanks to ongoing widespread vaccinations and the power of pent-up demand, this momentum will likely continue throughout the year with travelers willing to pay pre-pandemic or higher rates. To help hoteliers "get heads in beds" and drive RevPAR, Cicero Construction Group, a general contractor specializing ...
Make Sustainability Your Hotel’s New Year’s Resolution
Cicero Construction Group | January 3, 2022
PLAINFIELD, IL — January 3, 2022 — The pandemic forced hotels to modify how they operate, pushing safety to the forefront of the hospitality community’s consciousness, and derailing a burgeoning industry trend to make facilities more sustainable. Yet, hoteliers would be wise to make sustainability a New Year's resolution, says Sam Cicero, President of Cicero Construction Group, a general contractor specializing in hotel renovation. "Decreasing a hotel’s impact on the environment, no matter its size or location, attracts guests in the short term and saves money in the long term. When customers choose to spend money on a hotel room, ma...
Understanding PIP Requirements Can Make or Break a Hotel Investment
Lauren Cicero | December 10, 2021
By Lauren Cicero NORTHBROOK, IL - December 10, 2021 - Stay-in-place orders, travel restrictions, and cancellations intended to control the spread of COVID-19 caused a severe drop in hotel occupancy and revenue. Even the best marketing has not prevented the most enticing hotels from becoming victims of the pandemic. Famed names like the Renaissance Grand & Suites Hotel in St. Louis, the iconic Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, Washington, D.C.’s century-old Marriott Wardman Park, and The Blakely New York have all fallen into bankruptcy. More hotel bankruptcies may be on the horizon as lenders lose patience with defaulting property...
Rebranding Distressed Hotels Takes More Than Swapping Out Signage
Lauren Cicero | December 1, 2021
By Lauren Cicero PLAINFIELD, IL — December 1, 2021 — Stay-in-place orders, travel restrictions, and cancellations intended to control the spread of COVID-19 caused a severe drop in hotel occupancy and revenue. Even the best marketing has not prevented the most enticing hotels from becoming victims of the pandemic. Famed names like the Renaissance Grand & Suites Hotel in St. Louis, the iconic Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, Washington, D.C.’s century-old Marriott Wardman Park, and The Blakely New York have all fallen into bankruptcy. More hotel bankruptcies may be on the horizon as lenders lose patience with defaulting prope...
Renovating Your Hotel? Don’t Overlook Baby Boomers
Cicero Construction Group | November 8, 2021
PLAINFIELD, IL – November 8, 2021 – While Millennials have received the bulk of the travel industry's attention of late, the baby boomer generation still represents a wealthy niche for hotels to pursue. On average, this generation takes up to five trips and spends over $6,600 annually on travel, making it a market segment that the hotel industry ignores at its own peril. Born between 1946 and 1964, the so-called "boomers" spent a whopping $157 billion on travel in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Besides their spending power, boomers have also proven to be highly loyal to hotel brands that meet their needs, taking advantage of loyalty ...
Is Your Hotel Flushing Money Down the Toilet?
Cicero Construction Group | September 30, 2021
By Sam Cicero PLAINFIELD, IL – September 30, 2021 – Was your hotel built before 1993? If so, chances are you’re losing money each time a guest flushes one of the hotel’s toilets. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that hotels use about 15 percent of the total water consumed by commercial and institutional facilities in the United States. Actual usage varies by guest, of course, but most studies indicate hotels use between 100 to 200 gallons of fresh water per occupied guestroom per day. Water in the United States ranges from three to five dollars per 1,000 gallons. Simple math shows how effo...
Ten Ways for Hotels to Welcome Back Guests Post Pandemic… and Profit!
CICERO CONSTRUCTION GROUP | September 8, 2021
PLAINFIELD, IL - September 8, 2021 - With travel resuming, hotel owners and managers are looking past months of lockdowns and hundreds of cancellations to a brighter future. Finding ways to offer a safe guest experience, while also boosting revenue is key to the path forward economic recovery. To give your hotel some needed "bounce" in its bounce back, consider these ideas from Cicero Construction Group, a general contractor specializing in hotel renovations. Careful attention to cleanliness. Cleanliness has always been a key consideration in the hotel industry. Even prior to the pandemic, properties were moving toward hard surfac...
