DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUALITY
284 | Sharing the Wealth: Hotel industry leaders want to bring Black investors into the fold
DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUALITY
The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting downturn in the travel industry will make it difficult for investors to find the capital they need to acquire and develop hotels.
That means minority investors, in particular Black Americans, might face an uphill climb in qualifying for bank loans unless they can close the ever-widening equity gap.
Several industry groups, including owners, are looking post-pandemic and reviving efforts to partner with Black investors in hotel development, including partially financing new projects.
Industry leaders also want to educate minority owners of other commercial real estate assets how to reap financial returns through investment in hotels.
Last week, Lodging Leaders reported on Black hoteliers introducing boutique concepts that celebrate Black heritage and culture. This week, we explore the state of Black hotel investment and how the coronavirus pandemic has strengthened industry leaders’ resolve to invite more minority investment into hospitality.
We feature John Lancaster, new regional vice president of emerging markets at Choice Hotels International in Rockville, Maryland; Omari Head, director at Paramount Lodging Advisors, a hotel brokerage in Washington, D.C.; and Navroz Saju and Azim Saju of Hotel Development and Management Group, a family-owned business in Ocala, Florida.
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DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUALITY
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317 | Together Again: U.S. hotel industry begins to see return of small meetings
Ginny Morrison of Evanston, Illinois, is a 33-year veteran of Spire Hospitality, a hotel management company with a portfolio that spans coast-to-coast. As vice president of sales and marketing, Morrison saw the coronavirus pandemic decimate the meetings business. More than a year later, she’s witnessing a comeback as small-meeting planners are actively booking events for the last half of 2021 and beyond. As public health agencies expand COVID-19 vaccination programs across the U.S. and states ease up on public-gathering restrictions designed to keep the virus at bay, the hotel industry is seeing small meetings begin a comeback. In Episode 317, Long Live Lodging covers the state of the small-meetings sector and how hotels can grab their share of the meetings business during and post-pandemic. This report is part of our ongoing coverage about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry.
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316 | Pandemic Trailblazer: Hunter Hotel Investment Conference leads lodging industry’s 2021 event circuit
The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference will be the industry’s first large event to be held during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlanta event will be a hybrid format of in-person and virtual access, also an industry first. Lee Hunter, chairman of the conference, knows the level of expectation is high among other conference planners as well as industry professionals eager to network after more than a yearlong hiatus. Episode 316 of Lodging Leaders podcast features Hunter as he tells what it takes to re-launch the industry’s conference circuit amid the COVID-19 outbreak.