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November 2nd week
November 13, 2019Shop ’Til You Drop: Hospitality procurement specialists manage a mixed bag of challenges
U.S.-China trade war. Design-savvy online furniture retailers. Hurricanes. Marijuana. These things and more are having an impact on hospitality purchasing. And they’re influencing the prices and delivery pace of hotel FF&E and OS&E. Procurement and logistics experts share what’s costing your project more money than it should and advise on how to identify opportunities as well as pitfalls while in the planning stages.
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November 1st week
November 06, 2019Breach of Trust: Cybercrime a pervasive threat to the hospitality industry
It’s a given in today’s technological age that your hotel business depends on technology to process customer credit card purchases and to store personal information about your guests that helps you serve them better. Perhaps you believe you’ve done all you can to make sure your customers’ data is secure by making sure your PCI and GDPR compliant. But that does not fully guarantee your hotel data is safe from hackers. There is more you can – and must – do. If you do as little as possible, you’ll pay a big price, say cyber-safety experts.
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September 3rd week
September 18, 2019Funding CapEx: New report tells what it takes for hotels to stay competitive
International Society of Hospitality Consultants, in conjunction with Hospitality Asset Managers Association, this year released “ISHC CapEx 2018: A Study of Capital Expenditures in the Hotel Industry.” The 276-page report details what it costs on average to keep a hotel property up to date and in good working order. One thing was overwhelmingly clear in report: the traditional recommendation that hotels set aside at least 4 percent in revenue for future property improvements is woefully underestimated. CapEx planning, say report authors and other experts, is so much more complex than it was two decades ago, when the first report was published.
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September 2nd week
September 11, 2019Panic Buttons: Hospitality Workers Sound the Alarm (Hotel Safety Part 2)
When the American Hotel & Lodging Association in 2018 launched its Five Star Promise to improve safety and security for hotel workers, it acknowledged the influence of labor unions in its comprehensive plan that includes arming employees with safety devices by 2020. The time is right to focus on finding and providing solutions to sexual harassment and assault in the hospitality industry, say experts, as technology has evolved along with attitudes and awareness to provide the best available protection industrywide.
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August 3rd week
August 21, 2019It’s A Long Story: Historic hotels gain new appreciation among travelers, brands
Historic hotels are popular across a wide range of travelers, including young adults. Historic Hotels of America, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is seeing its membership ranks grow as more developers either restore historically significant hotels or renovate landmark buildings into lodging assets. Also attracted to age-old lodging assets are hotel franchisers, especially soft brands. A study by the National Trust backs the organization’s belief that GenXers and millennials prefer to live, work and play in cities with historic buildings. That sentiment also goes for hotels with local stories to show and tell. Other research shows historic hotels generate more revenue than their contemporary counterparts.
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August 1st week
August 07, 2019Mixed Message: Multicultural and heritage tourism is big business
Most people the world over think of the United States as a multicultural melting pot. We are still quintessentially American, but from north to south and east to west, our cities and outlying communities are dotted with districts defined by residents’ ethnicity and culture. Today, the more developed and culturally defined areas are attracting visitors in search of new experiences and information. Multicultural or heritage tourism is good for the hospitality industry, and it is beneficial to a city’s economic growth, say supporters.
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July 4th week
July 31, 2019Grading Curves: NAACP diversity report card reveals weaknesses in hotel companies
“Equal opportunity for people of color in the United States remains an unrealized goal.” That is the opening statement in a recently released study by the NAACP. The 2019 study titled “Opportunity & Diversity Report Card: The Hotel & Lodging Industry,” not only shows stagnation in racial equality in hospitality workplaces, it reveals African Americans have lost ground over the past decade in their climb to the top in U.S. hotel companies. NAACP representatives attended NABHOOD’s summit to share the report’s results and find ways to reverse the trend, engage hotel companies and come up with clearer data, including counting the number of minority franchisees.
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June 1st week
June 12, 2019Wellness Travel: Get your business in shape for an emerging trend
Business and leisure travelers are growing more wellness-minded.
The Global Wellness Institute reports wellness tourism is a $640 billion industry. A quarter of that is spent by travelers in North America.
Wellness is an emerging sector in hospitality, growing at 6.5 percent a year. The growth is spread across hotels of all price segments and guest demographics.
Wellness-minded travelers seek a path that not only introduces them to healthy concepts and choices, but allows them to return home feeling better than when they left.
If your hotel can live up to that promise, you can build a healthy bottom line. -
May 3rd week
May 22, 2019The Weed Frontier: How hotels are capitalizing on cannabis
As more and more states legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes, hoteliers are experimenting with integrating the cannabis lifestyle into their amenities and programming. The hospitality industry is eager to jump on the bandwagon as the cannabis is predicted to grow to a $23 billion market in the U.S. over the next few years.
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May 1st week
May 01, 2019Triple Whammy: Tri-brand hotels change playing field
North Point Hospitality Group’s tri-brand Marriott in Nashville and First Hospitality Group’s tri-brand Hilton in Chicago have broken new ground in the U.S. hotel industry. The hotels in Chicago opened in the fall and the Nashville triplex opened last winter. To thrive, such projects need the right markets and a mix of brands that complement one another. Managers of the properties say operating three hotels under one roof presents unique challenges, and they are continuing to figure out how best to manage their business models to optimize rate, generate the most revenue and, thus, yield the highest return.
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March 4th week
March 27, 2019The Business of Immigration: Family migration to U.S. under threat
The federal government’s move to limit family migration will alter the way immigrant-founded businesses have grown. Activist Suraj Patel, whose family members are pictured above, hotelier Jyoti Sarolia and others share how tighter controls affect the Indian American hotelier community.
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March 3rd week
March 20, 201921st Century Gold Rush: Opportunity zones attract new investors
Investment in Opportunity Act creates zones throughout the U.S. where CRE investors can shelter capital gains and quickly grow wealth. Opportunity zones create a 21st century gold rush and new source of funding for hotel developers.
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March 2nd week
March 13, 2019Bias and Backward Thinking: What’s holding women back
Women are making strides toward greater leadership in the hospitality sector, but the road ahead is long and is not without hurdles erected by bias and backward thinking. Tired of waiting for the industry to get on board, more women are driving their own success.
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March 1st week
March 06, 2019Human Trafficking: Labor and sex slavery happens in hotels every day
The travel industry is ground zero for human and sex trafficking of vulnerable adults and children. Hoteliers, airlines and non-profit organizations band together to “eradicate this awful evil.”
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February 1st week
February 27, 2019Renewed Vision: CEO Mitch Patel, an engineer by degree, becomes a hospitality bridge builder…
Mitch Patel redesigns his company’s future with a new independent luxury hotel, a proprietary brand and a boutique division. He’s a prime example of how the next generation of Asian American hoteliers is scaling their businesses to thrive in the future.