kirsten smiley
The Magic Returns to the “Happiest Place on Earth”
Eileen Bosworth | January 30, 2023
By Eileen Bosworth, Kirsten Z. Smiley When Disneyland Resort, Anaheim’s crown jewel, was forced to close in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, area hotels faced some of the greatest demand losses in the nation. The park system welcomed back its local fanbase in 2021 with the introduction of a new reservation system. Once Disney attendees were more familiar with the park’s new reservation system, which requires advance planning and makes it more difficult to book same-day tickets, leisure demand rebounded, spurring double-digit ADR growth in 2021 and 2022. However, the Anaheim-Santa Ana hotel market has not caught up to pre...
HVS Market Pulse: Seattle, Washington
Kirsten Z. Smiley | January 2, 2018
By Kirsten Z. Smiley My, oh, my! The famous catchphrase coined by Seattle Mariners' longtime sportscaster, Dave Niehaus, is ever so fitting as we look at how Seattle has changed over the last ten years. Seattle enjoys a diverse economy rooted in manufacturing, biotechnology, high technology, telecommunications, health care, and tourism. Metro Seattle, especially Downtown Seattle and Bellevue, is experiencing a period of exponential growth anchored by tech giants, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Expedia. The area is also home to several Fortune 500 companies, such as Boeing, Costco, PACCAR, Weyerhaeuser, Starbucks, and Nordstrom. ...
Hotels By Day: A New Opportunity for Travelers and Hotels
Kirsten Smiley | July 7, 2015
By Kirsten Z. Smiley, July 2015 A new company envisions booking otherwise vacant hotel rooms in efficient blocks of time during the daylight hours, generating convenience for travelers and profits for hoteliers. Anyone who has faced the prospect of an international flight with an eight-hour layover in New York or San Francisco knows how valuable it is to rest in a hotel room versus a bench in an airport lobby, groggily awaiting a connecting flight. In most cases, however, that short hotel stay comes at the full overnight rate or in less-than-desirable accommodations. Launched in February of 2015, HotelsByDay.com (HBD) aims to change t...
