LATEST NEWS
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Feature
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 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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ACTIVE SHOOTER
September 4, 2019228 | Run, Hide, Fight: How to prepare for an active shooter (Hotel Safety Part 1)
“Active shooter” is a term used by law enforcement to describe a situation in which a shooting is in progress. The classification calls into action protocols relating to response and reaction – not only by police but also by citizens, says the FBI. In the case of an “active shooter,” everyone’s response and reaction can read more
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CONSTRUCTION
August 28, 2019227 | Mass Appeal: Crowdfunding for hotel development mines new sources of cash
When it launched five years ago, crowdfunding for real estate development was a hot topic, especially among hotel developers seeking new ways to pay for their projects. Though it’s not creating the same level of buzz as it did when it first became a federally sanctioned option in 2014, crowdfunding remains a viable tool in read more
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HUMANS OF LODGING
August 21, 2019Master Story Teller
Historic hotels have years and years of stories to tell. A challenge faced by owners and operators of America’s landmark hotels is to educate the staff on the property’s history and train them to embody the hotel’s culture. One employee who doesn’t have to be schooled is Susan Stein. She’s the official historian at Grand read more
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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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LEADERSHIP
August 14, 2019225 | LinkedIn Means Business: How to use social media to grow
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. That career adage is about 100 years old, but it still rings true today, especially when it comes to social media. If you’re not tuned into social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, it’s time to reconsider. With more than 3 billion people read more
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August 7, 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 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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DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
July 24, 2019222 | Flying Solo: What it takes to go from franchised to independent
Independent hotel supply in the U.S. has decreased in the past 10 years, reports STR. The lodging-data company reports independently owned and operated hotels account for less than 40 percent of all hotels. About 1 percent of those close each year. But that trend may take a turn. It appears more and more hoteliers who read more
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HOME SHARING
July 17, 2019221 | Home Sharing’s Heavy Hitters: Airbnb’s genius is branding (Part 2)
Last week, part one of our report on Airbnb looked at the home-sharing giant’s impact on hotel business performance. We reported on a study that shows for every 100 percent increase in Airbnb accommodations in a market, hotel RevPAR declines by an average 3 percent. We also reported a growth in the number of whole read more
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HOME SHARING
July 10, 2019220 | Disruptive Innovator: Measuring Airbnb’s impact (Part 1)
More than 10 years ago, the short-term home rental industry began to shapeshift with the birth of Airbnb. The technology company has quickly grown from a small peer-to-peer home-sharing platform into a virtual behemoth with more rooms than any hotel company on the planet. Today, Airbnb has more than 4 million listings in nearly 100,000 read more
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EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
July 3, 2019219 | Train and Retain: Hospitality apprenticeship fills high-level jobs
It’s no secret the hospitality industry in America is in dire need of skilled employees. Many hotel owners and operators continually seek ways to attract and keep talent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the hospitality industry has a turnover rate of nearly 75 percent per year, compared to a healthy rate of 10 to read more
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DIVERSITY
June 26, 2019218 | Yes, Girls Allowed: More women venturing into hotel investment
Who invests money better, men or women? Fidelity Investments found surprising answers to that question when it surveyed nearly 3,000 people. The group was almost evenly divided between the sexes. Yet only a tenth of women said their investments would outperform men’s. Meantime, a separate analysis by Fidelity shows women consistently generated larger returns on read more
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LODGING LEADERS
June 19, 2019217 | Rainy Days Ahead: Hotels advised to prepare for a downturn
Many hotel-business experts believe an industry downturn is at hand. Some say it will happen as soon as next year. Others expect business to slow in 2021. So, is the forecasted slowdown based on fact, an economic algorithm, or is it more of a gut feeling? In this episode of Lodging Leaders we try to read more
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Feature
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.