The American Hotel & Lodging Association and STR released a special report, “Distribution Channel Analysis: a Guide for Hotels,” published by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, to assist hotels in determining their optimal channel mix. The report discusses the effects of channel mix on profitability and what the industry can expect in the near term in the distribution landscape. It reviews the size an...

There was quite a bit of anticipation during the second day of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles earlier this week. Many of the nearly 2,500 delegates on hand filed through the metal detectors at the famed Nokia Theater to hear a half-hour keynote address by Donald Trump. But if you were expecting fireworks—especially the political kind—from the normally brash-talking real estate and development mogul and star of the TV show “The Apprentice,” you wer...

Ian Schrager’s New York office is filled with “stuff.” Categorized stacks of papers, photos, newspaper clippings, notebooks, folders, binders, picture frames, and other little treasures line the shelves around the perimeter of the room. Photos of city buildings, interior design renderings, and portraits hang with pushpins on the white walls. Design display boards lean against an armchair, next to Post-it note-covered paperwork on the floor. It’s cluttered, but it’s a neat kind of cluttered, a meticul...