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CORONAVIRUS
December 2, 2020296 | Flexible Business Model: Apartment-hotels are an emerging trend in an industry in crisis
It’s well known extended-stay-hotel and short-term-rental sectors have done better than their transient hotel counterparts during the coronavirus pandemic. Even before the crisis hit, residential-type accommodations were seeing a growth in interest from travelers as well as investors. The COVID-19 outbreak is proving mixed developments of hotel rooms, leased apartments and owned condominiums offer a unique value proposition during and after the pandemic. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
November 18, 2020295 | Doing Well: Coronavirus pandemic advances wellness design and programs in hotels
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing the lodging industry to rethink health and wellness. Designers such as Blanche Garcia of B. Garcia Designs see this as an opportunity for hotels to revise their messaging beyond clean and safe by introducing wellness products and programs they can market and attract guests who want to feel good during their stay and return home feeling better than when they left. Those who promote healthy buildings as well as safe travel are exploring how implementing elements of wellness can be a cure for hotel businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
November 4, 2020293 | Crisis Managers: Coronavirus challenge redefines GM role
General managers of hotels throughout the U.S. are redefining their job descriptions as they make beds, do laundry, vacuum lobbies and patrol parking lots – all jobs once done by employees they’ve had to lay off when the coronavirus pandemic struck in March. GMs also are charged with cutting costs and finding ways to maintain asset values amid a steep downturn in business. A recent study shows that even though hotels are calling some employees back to work, the number of hours GMs are spending at work has not decreased. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
October 28, 2020292 | People of Persuasion: Travel influencers grow in sophistication and significance in COVID-19 age
Hoteliers might think of a travel influencer as a selfie-obsessed millennial looking to wrangle a free night stay in exchange for a positive review. But in the COVID-19 age even influencers would agree: Nobody’s got time for that. Influencers have come of age and are turning out to be digitally savvy sophisticated content creators who can be part of a hotel’s marketing strategy as it works to emerge from the coronavirus crisis with new business on the books. Long Live Lodging peeks into the world of travel influencers and how they generate online content that promotes people, places and things to audiences traditional marketing might never reach. This report is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
October 21, 2020291 | On The Brink: Hotel associations lobby on Capitol Hill to ward off disaster
Leaders at AAHOA and the American Hotel & Lodging Association say time is running out for the nation’s 57,000 hotels in need of federal government financial relief as the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. heads into its eighth month. Cecil Staton, president and CEO of AAHOA, and Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA, are tirelessly rallying the industry to implore Congress to act soon before half of the country’s hotels go into foreclosure. This report is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
October 14, 2020290 | DAY-CATIONS: Hotels turn guest rooms into private office spaces
With hotel occupancies hovering around an average of 50 percent, owners and operators are seeking new ways to generate revenue beyond traditional overnight stays. One solution in the works is day use of hotel rooms. Hotel companies such as Red Roof, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Hilton are promoting the practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the curve is HotelsbyDay.com, a day-use booking platform that is marketing hotels as the new office space. Long Live Lodging explores the unconventional use of hotels and how owners and operators can position their properties to attract day users. This is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
October 7, 2020289 | OTA Protest: Reform Lodging members to blackout rooms
Reform Lodging is a new organization of hotel owners formed to address problems its members are facing as a result of the downturn in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. First issue on its list is the size of commissions levied by online travel agencies. Reform Lodging is asking its nearly 2,000 members to remove their rooms from OTA inventory on Friday and Saturday to protest the compensation practice. Long Live Lodging reports on the “Lights Out, OTA!” campaign and explores the financial implications of OTA commissions and franchisers’ reservation fees on owners of branded hotels. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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September 30, 2020288 | ‘The Big Pause’: Hotels retooling employment policies as business slowly returns
Two viruses emerged in the U.S. this year – COVID-19 and society’s backlash against racism. The coronavirus pandemic forced hotels to close or drastically cut back on their workforces as occupancy plummeted to unprecedented lows. And America’s streets resounded with the voices of citizens protesting racism as businesses began to respond by promising new and better commitments toward diversity, inclusion and equality in hiring and promotion. In Episode 288 of Lodging Leaders podcast, we explore the issues hotels are facing in bringing back laid-off workers and recruiting new employees in the midst of a health pandemic that seems to have no end and society’s desperate call for Corporate America to get serious about ending systemic racism.
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CORONAVIRUS
September 23, 2020287 | The Long Haul: Extended-stay hotels show their strength in a crisis
Extended-stay hotels are weathering the coronavirus crisis better than their transient cousins, according to reports. The Highland Group’s half-year report shows economy and mid-priced extended-stay hotels are faring better than upscale extended-stay accommodations. Second-quarter earnings reports from companies such as Extended Stay America prove the resiliency of the sector, especially when sales teams shift their focus to new prospects such as college students, leisure travelers who value the kitchen and essential workers in it for the long haul. Long Live Lodging examines what gives extended-stay its muscle in a weak economy. This report is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
September 16, 2020286 | Care Packages: Hotels can attract business with cause marketing
The coronavirus pandemic has altered the wants, needs and desires of consumers. Buying habits have changed. The crisis has changed the way consumers value businesses. Hotels have an opportunity to succeed during and after the pandemic by adopting sales and marketing strategies that acknowledge the COVID-19 reality and embrace consumers with the warmth of heartfelt care. Long Live Lodging examines how the traditional sales tactics have been pushed aside as hotels reexamine the ultimate goal of hospitality during an uncertain and frightening time. This report is part of our ongoing coverage on the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
September 9, 2020285 | ‘Allure of the Door’: Exterior-corridor hotels trending in COVID-19 pandemic
Almost overnight, the roadside motel is a hot commodity. Travelers are going by car and when they stop they want the safest stay possible. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed health and safety to the top of hotel guests’ most-favored-amenity list and exterior-corridor properties appear to provide more of a risk-free stay than their interior-corridor cousins. Long Live Lodging examines the new shine travelers have put on exterior-corridor motels during the COVID-19 crisis and how brands heavy with motel-style properties are responding to the trend. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
August 19, 2020Workers Yearn to Be Free of Fear, Uncertainty
Both human resource and mental health professionals are seeing increases in levels of worker anxiety and stress as employees in the customer-centric hospitality industry struggle to cope with an altered workplace in the age of COVID-19. So much has changed over the past six months, including expectations of owners, managers and guests. Long Live Lodging explores the impact the coronavirus crisis is having on workplace mental health and what resources are available to help employers and employees navigate the new emotional reality. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
August 19, 2020282 | ‘People Have Changed’: Hospitality industry deals with workers’ mental health in the age of COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis has put unprecedented amounts of stress not only on health care systems and economies but on workers’ mental health. That’s the first and bottom line of a recent study by the Society of Human Resource Managers. The professional association surveyed more than a thousand workers in mid-April and found that nearly half read more
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CORONAVIRUS
August 12, 2020Private Equity Poised to Take Advantage of Hotel Business Distress
Hotel businesses struggling to stay afloat during the industry’s unprecedented downturn might be able to get a financial boost from private equity lenders awash in capital. But it’s borrower beware as some investors might turn out to be sharks eager to capitalize on an owner’s distress. Long Live Lodging explores how some investment funds are positioning themselves to help hotel owners emerge from the storm with their businesses and investments intact. Meantime, asset managers advise on how to prepare your business to qualify for financial aid that goes beyond conventional lending. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s special coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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August 12, 2020281 | Rescue Capital: Hotel financiers seek opportunities to invest in distressed assets
In June, Watermark Lodging Trust, a Chicago REIT, sold its Hutton Hotel in Nashville for $70 million. The price is $7 million less than what the REIT said it paid to acquire and upgrade the hotel seven years ago. A month later, Watermark said it signed a deal in which it sold shares worth $200 read more
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CORONAVIRUS
August 5, 2020Business Interruption Lawsuits Spread With Virus
Hundreds of hotel owners have filed or are considering filing lawsuits against their property insurers to recover tens of millions of dollars in lost business revenue during the coronavirus pandemic. Long Live Lodging’s report features a hotel owner, lawyers and a researcher on risk and uncertainty and explores what’s happening with unsatisfied business interruption insurance claims and government legislative proposals seeking to resolve the problem. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.