CORONAVIRUS
257 | Hotels Become Hospitals: Government takeover of lodging leaves big questions for owners
CORONAVIRUS
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 both now and in the future that their properties are focused on the health and safety of guests and employees.
In this episode, Lodging Leaders talks to Darshan Patel, a lawyer who also runs his family’s business – the Hotel Investment Group in San Diego, where the county government has claimed two of their independent hotels to deal with overflow from area hospitals.
We also feature Jyoti Sarolia, principal and managing partner of Ellis Hospitality Group in Temecula, California, who believes every hotelier needs to step up and help their community through this pandemic.
Also included is Adrian Chavez, regional director of operations for Kriya Hotels in Texas, who is overhauling the company’s cleaning protocols in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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CORONAVIRUS
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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.