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CONSTRUCTION
June 17, 2020Hotel construction eases up on completion timelines
Commercial construction starts dramatically plummeted in April because of the coronavirus crisis, reports Dodge Data & Analytics. In May, commercial starts saw a slight uptick. Hotels under construction when the pandemic hit continue to move forward but contractors are challenged with the unexpected costs of providing workers with personal protection equipment and complying with OSHA’s newly minted health and safety standards. Hotel developers, meantime, are not in a hurry to see projects across the finish line as demand in travel remains low. Long Live Lodging reports about the state of hotel construction as part of our ongoing special report on the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CONSTRUCTION
June 17, 2020274 | Construction in a Pandemic: Hotel builders face unexpected challenges
In the first quarter of this year, more than 140 new hotels opened in the U.S., reported Lodging Econometrics. In March, the U.S. had 150,000 rooms under construction, said STR. It’s the highest end-of-month total the company has reported. Jan Freitag, senior vice president of lodging insights at STR, said he expects hotel construction to read more
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CORONAVIRUS
June 10, 2020Hotel Meetings Redefine Face-Time in COVID-19 age
Hotels hoping to recapture meetings and events business need to design new sales and marketing strategies while taking stock of the property’s space and infrastructure to accommodate a hybrid of in-person and remote gatherings, say experts. Oxford Tourism Economics recently reported that group bookings are not expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2023. What meetings will look like in the near term is anyone’s guess in the age of social distancing. Industry veterans anticipate meeting sizes will be smaller than before the pandemic and the first businesses to book will be local. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing series exploring the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
June 10, 2020273 | Digital Divides: Technology builds a hybrid of meetings and events in age of COVID-19
The U.S. hospitality industry is slowly getting back to business. Leisure travelers are responsible for occupancy boosts in late May, especially Memorial Day weekend, STR reports. Leisure travelers will continue to drive demand as the coronavirus crisis begins to ease, experts say. Meanwhile, Oxford Tourism Economics reports that business transient and group bookings are not read more
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CORONAVIRUS
June 3, 2020Hotel tech hits fast-forward button
We all know the coronavirus crisis has dramatically impacted the hotel industry. As the U.S. lodging sector begins to reopen, technology solutions will move from nice-to-have to must-have in many hoteliers’ comeback strategies. The American Hotel & Lodging Association includes contactless service in its advisory on how to keep guests safe and secure in the age of COVID-19, and providers of guest-facing as well as back-office programs are poised to deliver solutions. This episode of Lodging Leaders explores the role technology is playing in the hotel industry’s comeback.
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CORONAVIRUS
June 3, 2020272 | A New Digital Reality: Hotels turn to technology to redefine guest engagement
As the U.S. lodging sector begins to get back to business amid the coronavirus crisis, technology will play a much bigger role in operations than before the outbreak paralyzed the industry. Technological solutions in operations and guest management were emerging in hotels before the COVID-19 pandemic. But experts say the next generation of tech is read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 27, 2020‘Not everybody is getting the message’
Memorial Day weekend enticed many Americans to travel to destinations such as beach towns, mountain resorts and amusement parks as states are in the midst of lifting shelter-in-place directives and reopening their economies. Many hotels in these markets reported occupancies similar to pre-COVID-19 days. As the industry gets back to business, it will be anything but normal as owners and operators adapt to new health and safety protocols. In this report, Long Live Lodging looks at what brands, owners and advisors are doing to help the industry adjust to doing business amidst the coronavirus threat. This is part of an ongoing report about the coronavirus and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
May 27, 2020271 | Clean Breaks: Hotels face new expectations of health and safety in the age of COVID-19
The U.S. hotel industry has begun its comeback as all states are reopening their economies. The numbers show that occupancy is slowly but steadily increasing as hotels get back to business. But, to be sure, it is not business as usual. Relatively few hotels completely closed during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 percent remained read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 20, 2020‘Stay True to Your Hotel’s Brand’
Easing your hotel back into business is tricky as many Americans remain reluctant to travel despite states taking steps to re-open their economies. Hotel marketing experts say it’s smart business to target domestic leisure travelers with promotional messages. But easy does it. To start off, look in your so-called backyard for prospective business because those who’ve stayed at your hotel before will be more willing to stay again post-COVID-19 pandemic. This report is part Long Live Lodging’s ongoing special coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry.
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CORONAVIRUS
May 20, 2020270 | Critical Messages: Hotel marketing in the wake of COVID-19
With more than half of the states in America reopening their economies, owners and operators of lodging accommodations might be tempted to return to business as usual. That includes sales and marketing strategies that management was deploying before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the hospitality industry. But hotel marketing experts we interviewed say business will be read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 13, 2020Hotel Owners Seek a New Way Forward
Parts of the U.S. hotel industry are in the very early stages of reopening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-five states are reopening in phases as others remain closed or are partially reopening, reports the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In this story, Long Live Lodging reports on how owners plan to move forward and get back read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 13, 2020269 | Rays of Light: Hotels are guiding beacons as states reopen economies
The COVID-19 crisis is far from over. How long the crisis remains is still an unknown. As many states are taking steps to reopen their marketplaces, government leaders and business owners may want to look to the hotel industry for some best practices. While nearly 20 percent of the nation’s 57,000 hotels have closed, according read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 6, 2020What’s a Hotel Worth Today?
As U.S. hotels close or dramatically scale back business during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s difficult to assess the value of a lodging asset that may or may not be able to recover from steep losses in revenue. And some hotel segments, such as economy extended stay, are doing well when compared to their higher priced read more
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CORONAVIRUS
May 6, 2020268 | Peaks and Valleys: COVID-19 crisis cuts hotel values and creates opportunity
Suzanne Mellen, senior managing director and practice leader at HVS, has been in the hotel valuation business for 40 years. She’s witnessed a lot of ups and downs. She’s also noticed how investors are eager to talk about their hotel’s market value during the good times but reluctant to face the truth in a downturn. read more
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CORONAVIRUS
April 27, 2020267 | Comeback Opportunity: LodgingStream digital conference looks toward a post-COVID-19 future
This episode features sound bites from previous podcast reports covering the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry. The voices belong to Lily Mockerman, Dave Shah, Darshan Patel, Andressa Chapman, Jamie Lane and Ron Mitchell. They have all been featured in our special news project that’s focused on the crisis. So far, we’ve read more
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CORONAVIRUS
April 22, 2020Hospitality workforce to shape shift in post-COVID-19 industry, experts say
Joel Carver is founder and CEO of the Carver Cos., which recruits and trains industry employees from executives to rank-and-file to temporary workers. Carver’s worked through various economic crises but he’s never seen the likes of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s decimated the nation’s hospitality sector. He is among several industry recruiters who anticipate a post-crisis recovery albeit one that unfolds in an altered reality. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing special report on the coronavirus and its impact on the hotel industry.