LATEST NEWS
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LODGING LEADERS
December 4, 2019240 | Room at The Inn: How hotels can avoid silent nights this holiday season
The holiday season is upon us. For many hotels, regular business tends to drop off this time of year. Seasonality takes different forms and depends on several factors, including your hotel’s target market and its location. In this episode, we find out how hoteliers can leverage the traditional retail sales season as well as the read more
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CONSTRUCTION
November 27, 2019239 | Good As New: Surge in hotel renovations expected to boost business
Hotel industry analysts and watchers expect property renovations in the United States to surge over the next two years. They cite several reasons for the outlook, including: The industry has surpassed the peak of its recovery from the Great Recession; A slowdown in revenue growth is predicted for this year and next; The leveling off read more
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CONSTRUCTION
November 19, 2019238 | Reaching the Finish Line: Hotel construction companies hurdle project barriers
STR recently reported the hotel construction pipeline for the U.S. was up 5.5 percent in October. It was the lowest year-over-year increase in lodging construction activity in six months. Despite the slowdown, construction companies say they are as busy as ever. However, they do anticipate a leveling off of new builds over the next couple read more
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Feature
November 13, 2019Shop ’Til You Drop: Hospitality procurement specialists manage a mixed bag of challenges
U.S.-China trade war. Design-savvy online furniture retailers. Hurricanes. Marijuana. These things and more are having an impact on hospitality purchasing. And they’re influencing the prices and delivery pace of hotel FF&E and OS&E. Procurement and logistics experts share what’s costing your project more money than it should and advise on how to identify opportunities as well as pitfalls while in the planning stages.
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Feature
November 6, 2019Breach of Trust: Cybercrime a pervasive threat to the hospitality industry
It’s a given in today’s technological age that your hotel business depends on technology to process customer credit card purchases and to store personal information about your guests that helps you serve them better. Perhaps you believe you’ve done all you can to make sure your customers’ data is secure by making sure your PCI and GDPR compliant. But that does not fully guarantee your hotel data is safe from hackers. There is more you can – and must – do. If you do as little as possible, you’ll pay a big price, say cyber-safety experts.
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DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
October 30, 2019235 | Lodging Leaders Spotlight: Yotel a tech-forward brand worth watching
Taco Bell made headlines when it opened a 70-room pop-up hotel in August in Palm Springs, California. It was a marketing scheme that lasted four days. The day The Bell Hotel began to accept reservations, it sold out in two minutes. The guaranteed novelty of staying in a Taco Bell hotel obviously paid off for read more
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LODGING LEADERS
October 23, 2019234 | More for the Money: Upselling generates significant revenue gains for hotels
Though average daily rate in U.S. hotels continues to grow year over year, hotel operators are not so eager to increase room prices these days. STR and Oxford Economics forecast ADR will increase by 1.9 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2020. While an increase is usually viewed as a positive, the joy is read more
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LODGING LEADERS
October 9, 2019233 | How Does Your Hotel Rate? Smart pricing strategies key to winning in a downturn
It’s often said the U.S. hotel industry is a street-corner business. With that point of view, it may not take much for a hotel operator to panic and set off a price war on your block. The industry fell victim to mindless discounting in the days immediately after 9/11 and during the depth of the read more
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EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
October 2, 2019232 | Wage Pressures: How to plug cost leaks in your hotel’s labor pool (Labor and Hiring Part 2)
At the peak of a great upward climb from the Great Recession, the U.S. lodging industry is seeing a leveling off in business performance. During the 25th annual Lodging Conference in Phoenix last week, many industry experts talked about a new normal of muted revenue gains and thinner profit margins as expenses continue to grow. read more
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EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
September 25, 2019231 | Culture Club: Your hotel’s work environment may be bad for business (Labor and Hiring Part 1)
Is your hotel a fun place to work? Do your employees look forward to spending their day at your hotel? If the answers are no, then your business is in trouble. Do you have difficulty keeping good employees? Do you see staff members whispering in huddled groups? Do you or your supervisors work behind closed read more
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Feature
September 18, 2019Funding CapEx: New report tells what it takes for hotels to stay competitive
International Society of Hospitality Consultants, in conjunction with Hospitality Asset Managers Association, this year released “ISHC CapEx 2018: A Study of Capital Expenditures in the Hotel Industry.” The 276-page report details what it costs on average to keep a hotel property up to date and in good working order. One thing was overwhelmingly clear in report: the traditional recommendation that hotels set aside at least 4 percent in revenue for future property improvements is woefully underestimated. CapEx planning, say report authors and other experts, is so much more complex than it was two decades ago, when the first report was published.
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Feature
September 11, 2019Panic Buttons: Hospitality Workers Sound the Alarm (Hotel Safety Part 2)
When the American Hotel & Lodging Association in 2018 launched its Five Star Promise to improve safety and security for hotel workers, it acknowledged the influence of labor unions in its comprehensive plan that includes arming employees with safety devices by 2020. The time is right to focus on finding and providing solutions to sexual harassment and assault in the hospitality industry, say experts, as technology has evolved along with attitudes and awareness to provide the best available protection industrywide.
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ACTIVE SHOOTER
September 4, 2019228 | Run, Hide, Fight: How to prepare for an active shooter (Hotel Safety Part 1)
“Active shooter” is a term used by law enforcement to describe a situation in which a shooting is in progress. The classification calls into action protocols relating to response and reaction – not only by police but also by citizens, says the FBI. In the case of an “active shooter,” everyone’s response and reaction can read more
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CONSTRUCTION
August 28, 2019227 | Mass Appeal: Crowdfunding for hotel development mines new sources of cash
When it launched five years ago, crowdfunding for real estate development was a hot topic, especially among hotel developers seeking new ways to pay for their projects. Though it’s not creating the same level of buzz as it did when it first became a federally sanctioned option in 2014, crowdfunding remains a viable tool in read more
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HUMANS OF LODGING
August 21, 2019Master Story Teller
Historic hotels have years and years of stories to tell. A challenge faced by owners and operators of America’s landmark hotels is to educate the staff on the property’s history and train them to embody the hotel’s culture. One employee who doesn’t have to be schooled is Susan Stein. She’s the official historian at Grand read more
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Feature
August 21, 2019It’s A Long Story: Historic hotels gain new appreciation among travelers, brands
Historic hotels are popular across a wide range of travelers, including young adults. Historic Hotels of America, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is seeing its membership ranks grow as more developers either restore historically significant hotels or renovate landmark buildings into lodging assets. Also attracted to age-old lodging assets are hotel franchisers, especially soft brands. A study by the National Trust backs the organization’s belief that GenXers and millennials prefer to live, work and play in cities with historic buildings. That sentiment also goes for hotels with local stories to show and tell. Other research shows historic hotels generate more revenue than their contemporary counterparts.