LODGING LEADERS
132 | Practical Hospitality Consulting for Today’s Hotelier with Chip Elbers
LODGING LEADERS
Chip is a hospitality veteran and he’s been serving the industry for more than 30 years. He’s done it all – from washing dishes, to the front desk, Assistant GM, General Manager, Sales Manager, COO, CDO, VP and more. For over 20 years, Chip served America’s Best Franchising as the brand grew from just a few properties to a portfolio of nearly 300. After ABF was acquired by Vantage Hospitality a couple years ago, Chip began his hospitality consultancy, and he has helped multiple development and management groups not only grow profits, but identify key areas for improvement.
In This Episode, Chip Reveals:
- What worked for hoteliers 10-20 years ago won’t work in today’s world, from a younger generation of travelers, to new technologies, to stiffer competition.
- How he approaches a new consulting opportunity, what he looks at, and how he uncovers the nuggets of gold that will separate his new client from the competition.
- The importance of observing how the leadership interacts with the staff, as well as the guests, to get a feel for the heart of the property and establish a baseline for the property to build upon.
- Why he starts by focusing on the things a hotel is doing well, finding ways to tweak them to make it even better, then addresses the areas that need improvement in a practical, actionable way, so the hotel can not only implement them, they have the tools and action plan to carry that out long after his assignment is complete.
Resources & Links
- chip@chipelbers.com
- Chip’s Website
- Chip on LinkedIn
- Chip on Twitter
- Chip on Facebook
- Mobile: (404) 202-8377
LODGING LEADERS
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346 | Repositioning For Recovery: Hotel conversions to outpace new builds
Lodging Econometrics has tracked the hotel industry since 1998. Its global database includes new-hotel pipelines as well as renovations and brand conversions. Hotel franchisers once eager to launch new brands are focused on converting existing hotels because it’s a faster way to recover revenue lost to the COVID-19 pandemic than through new construction. In Episode 346, Lodging Leaders explores the increasing number of conversions in the U.S. hotel industry and what owners and operators need to consider before repositioning an asset.
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345 | ‘Rosy View of Future’: Hotel industry sees unleashing of pent-up investor demand
In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., financiers anticipated a swell of distressed hotel businesses. Some raised rescue funds to respond to what they thought was a pending crisis. Though there are financial rescues taking place, the level of such activity is far below what industry advisers and fund managers expected. Commercial real estate investors positioned to act in the early days of the pandemic held off and are now just beginning to unleash their cash hoards totaling billions of dollars. Episode 345 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of capital investment in the hotel industry.