LATEST NEWS

LODGING LUMINARIES
June 24, 2021
05 | Talene Staab: More women owners means better hotels

Talene Staab, global brand head of Tru by Hilton, has been with the franchiser her whole career. The midscale brand launched in 2016 and in 2019 Staab took the reins to lead the growth of Tru, which is closing in on its 200th opening. In Episode 5 of Lodging Luminaries, Staab talks with host Jason Freed about her experience as a global brand head of a new-build concept continuously undergoing tweaks and revisions and what she and Hilton are doing to encourage more women to invest in hotels. She also dives into the work Tru has done around augmenting the guest experience through design and personalization, turning a hotel into more than a place to rest your head but a key part of your overall travel experience.
HOME SHARING
June 23, 2021
327 | No Place Like Home: What hotels can learn from Airbnb’s pandemic-recovery plan

Home-sharing or short-term-rental platforms saw business surge during the 2020 pandemic year. The momentum continues this year as many travelers hitting the road in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic prefer houses over hotels. In this report, Lodging Leaders explores what’s driving not only the home-sharing sector, but also buoying extended-stay hotels, including branded residential-style accommodations that are a hybrid of hotel and home. Alternative lodging’s business strategy holds important lessons for hoteliers seeking new ideas in rebuilding business momentum as the hotel industry recovers from the coronavirus crisis.
NEXTGEN IN LODGING
June 17, 2021
05 | ‘Genuine conversations are happening’

NextGen in Lodging brings back three guests who last year started the conversation about diversity, inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry. In Episode 5 of NextGen in Lodging podcast the hospitality professionals review whether progress has been made despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
LODGING LEADERS
June 16, 2021
326 | Make a New Plan: CHMWarnick and Pinnacle Advisory partnership signals what’s ahead for hotel industry

CHMWarnick and Pinnacle Advisory Group in April announced their decision to strategically align their businesses and bring more services and solutions to a hotel industry still in the throes of the coronavirus crisis. While properties in many markets are experiencing a business revival led by leisure travel, many others continue to work their way out of a maze of financial challenges. Lodging Leaders explores the partnership and what it signals for the industry as it pushes toward a post-pandemic recovery.
LODGING LUMINARIES
June 10, 2021
04 | Mit Shah: ‘Every day feels more and more normal’

Mit Shah’s story of success is a lot like that of his fellow Asian American hoteliers. He grew up working in his father’s motel and a few years after graduating college convinced his father to sell the roadside asset and invest in a new concept called a limited-service hotel. In his conversation with Lodging Luminaries host Jason Freed, Mit Shah, CEO of Noble Investment Group, shares his cautious forecast about the future of hotel ownership, when people will return to work and why travel will rebound as, after more than a year of lockdowns, people are eager to meet face to face.
CORONAVIRUS
June 9, 2021
325 | Unique Experience: Independent boutique hotels rebuild the post-pandemic playing field

Frances Kiradjian understands resiliency. The Los Angeles businesswoman founded Boutique & Lifestyle Leaders Association 12 years ago at the dawn of the Great Recession. Today, the association boasts hundreds of members from all over the world and is the hallmark for independent boutique lifestyle hotels. During the pandemic year 2020, Kiradjian watched boutique hoteliers dig deep for creativity, operational courage and a positive outlook as the hotel industry quickly spiraled into crisis mode. Episode 325 of Lodging Leaders podcast features Kiradjian in the third and final installment of its series on independent hotels doing business amid the coronavirus crisis.
NEXTGEN IN LODGING
June 3, 2021
04 | ‘Keep pushing, keep talking’: NextGen in Lodging reviews a year of racial unrest

NextGen in Lodging co-founders review the past 12 months since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police and how the incident sparked cries for change throughout the nation. It also forced the hospitality industry to re-examine its hiring and promotion practices to achieve true diversity, inclusion and equity in the workplace.
CORONAVIRUS
June 2, 2021
324 | Independent But Not Alone: Franchisers’ soft-brand engines drive business to struggling hotels

Independent hotels struggled just as much as their franchised cousins when the coronavirus pandemic first struck the U.S. in spring 2020. Hundreds of independent properties temporarily closed amid the downturn in business and government shutdowns. Among those that reopened the soonest were independent hotels that are part of soft-branded collections. In Episode 324, Lodging Leaders explores how being attached to a brand engine enabled owners and operators of independent properties to regain their financial footing amid the pandemic recession.
LODGING LUMINARIES
May 27, 2021
03 | Sloan Dean: ‘We have to think differently’

Remington Hotels named Sloan Dean president and CEO just a few months before the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. and decimated its hospitality industry. Dean, a self-described millennial, said the lodging sector is taking on a new look as companies restructure their executive and line-level ranks and leisure travelers hit the road. The post-pandemic world requires new ways of doing business, Dean said, noting new labor models and the emergence of a chief commercial role to oversee all aspects of revenue. Episode 3 of Lodging Luminaries features host Jason Freed and Dean in a thought-provoking conversation about what’s ahead for hospitality.
CORONAVIRUS
May 26, 2021
323 | Be Quick, Be Nimble: Independent hoteliers tell how they operated amid the pandemic

The coronavirus crisis hit independent hotels just as hard as their branded counterparts but many of the unaffiliated assets were able to quickly shift to survival mode, cut costs and generate revenue by implementing creative business strategies. The transition to a new era of hospitality continues as owners and managers of independent assets develop solutions that will strengthen their businesses now and post-pandemic. What independent operators have learned may be useful for the entire hotel industry as it emerges from the coronavirus crisis and positions for recovery.
NEXTGEN IN LODGING
May 20, 2021
03 | Promoting hospitality career to minorities will help industry move forward, say Latino and Caribbean next-gen leaders

Marco Roca Jr. of Miami is vice president of development at Aimbridge Hospitality. He is also co-founder and partner of Revielle Hospitality, a hotel development company, and its subsidiary, Palindrome Hospitality, a hotel consulting firm. Jason Olea is corporate director of information technology at Paligroup Management in Los Angeles, a subsidiary of Palisociety, a boutique read more
CORONAVIRUS
May 19, 2021
322 | Rethinking Recruitment and Recovery: Hotel labor shortage hamstrings industry’s comeback

The labor shortage dominated the talk at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference May 10-12 as panelists and attendees commiserated and shared ideas on how to recruit and retain workers. While some hoteliers blame extended unemployment-benefit programs others say the problem is more complex as the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and recovery is uneven across the lodging industry. In this report, Long Live Lodging explores the labor challenges facing hoteliers and what experts are advising, including totally rethinking traditional employment models now and post-pandemic.
LODGING LUMINARIES
May 13, 2021
02 | ‘Own the Upswing’

Daniel Del Olmo has led a storied career in hospitality leadership. Over the past 25 years he’s held roles at Sol Melia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, DineEquity and sbe Lifestyle Hospitality. Today, Del Olmo is president and chief operating officer at Sage Hospitality Group, a third-party manager in Denver, Colorado. He joined the company just read more
CORONAVIRUS
May 12, 2021
321 | Here to Help: Pandemic crisis fuels third-party management growth

Hotel owners and operators who believed they could go it alone before the coronavirus pandemic devastated the hotel industry are having another think and turning to third-party managers to work their way back to profitability in the post-pandemic recovery. Another trend contributing to the growth in third-party managers’ business is more commercial real estate investors armed with cash entering the hotel sector and in need of an experienced operations team. Episode 321 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the growth of third-party management companies over the past 12 months. This report is part of Lodging Leaders’ coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.
LODGING LEADERS
May 5, 2021
320 | Where’s My Stuff?: Breaks in the global supply chain disrupt hotel projects, increase costs

The Ever Given container ship running aground on March 23 in the Suez Canal got worldwide attention, but it is just one of many reasons for the breaks in the global supply chain that are impacting the U.S. hotel industry’s post-pandemic revival plans. Shipping companies in Asia and Europe are contending with a boatload of challenges, including a lack of containers, traffic jams at West Coast ports and increased costs. Long Live Lodging explores what the problems mean to hotel owners and developers eager to refresh their properties and welcome guests back.
LODGING LUMINARIES
April 29, 2021
01 | Virgin Hotels: An Example of Where the Industry is Headed

Raul Leal had been in leadership roles in the boutique lodging sector for 15 years when he first met Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, which includes Virgin Hotels. In a conversation with Lodging Luminaries host Jason Freed, Leal shares his first meeting with Branson more than a decade ago when the business magnate read more