LATEST NEWS
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CORONAVIRUS
March 27, 2020Marketing to a Captured Audience
As the nation weathers the COVID-19 crisis, hotels can make the most of a bad situation by finding ways to serve their communities. During this time, say hospitality marketing experts, building trust among consumers is more important than ever. By sharing their acts of kindness and compassion hotels can shape a message that reassures the public the hospitality industry has their back.
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CORONAVIRUS
March 27, 2020259 | Trust Factor: Hotels can channel the right message during the coronavirus crisis
While many of the country’s 57,000 hotels have closed during the coronavirus pandemic, owners and operators are spending limited resources and a whole lot of time on retooling their property systems and deep cleaning rooms and public areas. They want to be ready when the nation starts traveling again. And that’s a message that needs read more
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CORONAVIRUS
March 25, 2020COVID-19 Capital Stack Warning
As hoteliers struggle to keep some remnant of their hotels operating, finance advisers issue a caveat emptor. SBA emergency loans are useful in crisis but only if certain elements are in place, says Dave Shah founder of Pineapple Capital Group. Paul Darrow of PHD Financial reminds prospective small-business borrowers the loans will have to be paid back. Both experts say business owners should review their cash flows and ability to take on more risk before signing any new loans or revised financing documents. In Episode 258, Long Live Lodging examines what financial solutions are available to hotel owners during the crisis, including the SBA emergency loan programs.
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CORONAVIRUS
March 25, 2020258 | Cash in a Crisis: SBA launches COVID-19 loan program, but experts urge caution
Dave Shah grew up in his family’s hotel and watched his parents and other hoteliers struggle to stay in business during the Great Recession. He thinks the economic situation for hoteliers during the COVID-19 crisis is growing worse than that time. Shah founded Pineapple Capital Group five years ago to help hotels and other small read more
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CORONAVIRUS
March 23, 2020HOSPITALity in the age of COVID-19
As hotels in the U.S. are forced to dramatically scale back operations or close altogether because of the new-coronavirus pandemic, government officials are looking to use the empty rooms to fight the spread of the virus or find a place for patients recover. Meantime, hotel operators are taking a fresh look at cleaning procedures to assure guests both now and in the future that their properties are focused on the health and safety of guests and employees. Read our blog that tells the steps California is taking to lease or buy hotels and compensate owners.
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CORONAVIRUS
March 23, 2020257 | Hotels Become Hospitals: Government takeover of lodging leaves big questions for owners
As hotels in the U.S. are forced to dramatically scale back operations or close altogether because of the new coronavirus pandemic, government officials are looking to use the empty rooms to fight the spread of the virus or help patients recover. Meantime, hotel operators are taking a fresh look at cleaning procedures to assure guests read more
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CORONAVIRUS
March 20, 2020‘A World of Hurt’
Cecil Staton has had his hands full to say the least. He has been at the helm of AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners association, for just four months. The new coronavirus outbreak and its devastating effect on the travel industry has hotel owners turning to him for solutions. In today’s episode, Staton shares his views regarding the
“heartbreaking” decisions owners are having to make in the face of steep business losses and what AAHOA is doing to guide them through the troubled waters -
CORONAVIRUS
March 20, 2020256 | What’s a Hotelier To Do? AAHOA’s Cecil Staton on the industry’s ‘dark times’
Cecil Staton has had his hands full to say the least. He has been at the helm of AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners association, for just four months. The new coronavirus outbreak and its devastating effect on the travel industry has hotel owners turning to him for solutions. This is the third installment of read more
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CORONAVIRUS
March 18, 2020Hotels Fight Job Cuts
Debbie Brown worked in human resources at Four Seasons Hotels for 40 years. Now an independent hospitality consultant, Brown said hotel owners and operators are faced with having to reduce their workforces as the new coronavirus cripples the travel and tourism industry. Meantime, hotel CEOs on Tuesday met with President Trump to lobby for $150B in aid.
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CORONAVIRUS
March 18, 2020255 | Workforce Woes: Hotels try to avoid layoffs
Seemingly overnight, the new coronavirus pandemic has dramatically curbed travel in the U.S. Hotels are feeling the pain as occupancies dropped to historic lows, in some cases down by 80 percent. The American Hotel and Lodging Association on Monday reported major hotel managers said they’ve laid off or furloughed one million employees. Long Live Lodging read more
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CORONAVIRUS
March 16, 2020Discounting Rate Can Go Viral
The U.S. hotel industry is undergoing an unprecedented drop in business as the new coronavirus or COVID-19 grows more and more real every day. The slowdown is fueled by various responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. including White House bans on international visitors; a slowdown in domestic air travel; a pullback on business travel by corporations; and event cancellations. Currently, there is no ban on domestic travel. Hotels can take steps to prop up rate and avoid unnecessary discounting. They can also use this time to prepare for an upswing in business when the coronavirus outbreak levels off and the health threat is diminished.
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CORONAVIRUS
March 16, 2020254 | High Cancellations and Low Demand: Hotel pricing in a steep downturn
The U.S. hotel industry is undergoing an unprecedented experience as the new coronavirus or COVID-19 grows more and more real every day. Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has decided to put a temporary hold on its usual programing from one report a week and move to providing updates throughout the week with read more
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FRANCHISING
March 11, 2020253 | Franchising Report Part 1 – Power Struggle: New hotelier organization lobbies for franchisee protection
Fair franchising. It’s a phrase that’s been used countless times in negotiations with brands, at industry conferences and among associations formed to ensure a balance of power between franchisers and franchisees. As the hotel industry in the U.S. celebrates nearly a decade of growth, leaner times are ahead, say forecasters. Owner operators are cutting as read more
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BHARAT SHAH LEADERSHIP SPEAKER SERIES
March 4, 2020252 | The BulletInn #2: Coronavirus and group business; Sara Blakely of Spanx at Hunter conference; and short-term rental’s surprising shift
Welcome to the second edition of BulletInn, a news report of Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast. In this episode, we cover three topics: The spread of the new coronavirus and its impact on travel and the legalities around cancelling group meetings in the U.S. Surprises in a report by CBRE Americas Hotels read more
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LODGING LEADERS
February 26, 2020251 | Channel Mix: Hotels balance costs of guest acquisition, OTAs and overall business opportunities
Online travel agencies. Hoteliers love them. Hoteliers hate them. Brand.com, GDS, call centers, travel agents, groups and so on. There are many types of business in every market. In this episode, Lodging Leaders explores how hotel owners and operators can learn to use third-party platforms such as OTAs and when to tap other resources for read more
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LODGING LEADERS
February 19, 2020250 | Cold Calls or Warm Greetings: How to meet people and build a network
Do you love to mingle and meet new people or would you rather sit home and watch paint dry than subject yourself to a crowd of strangers? Today’s hospitality environment practically demands you attend conferences and other people-focused events if you’re going to be successful in business. But how do you: Make events work in read more