PHOTO: The Grand Gift Box of the Grand Hyatt Taipei January 23 was the Chinese New Year, the most important festival and the longest holiday for Chinese culture. This year is the year of the Dragon; the celebration was extremely significant and tremendous. While all my families were celebrating the New Year overseas, I tried to seek the familiar atmosphere to make myself feel at home. Besides the dragon parades performed in Chinatown, I finally found it in a place I believe can be consid...

As you probably know by now, Brand USA was created as a marketing entity to promote the United States as a travel destination for international travelers. It is the first such entity in the country’s long and proud history. The idea, of course, is to help economic growth and job creation through the important travel and tourism sector. But to promote—as any marketing professional knows—takes money and commitment. What you might not be aware of is that Fiscal Year 2012 is a big year for the new en...

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...

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Yesterday, President Obama chose “The Happiest Place on Earth” to announce a new national strategy to boost travel and tourism. Judging by the number of endorsements of the Executive Order from industry organizations and hotel companies, the location of the President’s speech was apropos, as it made a lot hoteliers very happy. One of the more satisfying aspects of the speech at Walt Disney Re...

Transparency is one of those things that is either there or it’s not. You won’t see the word stated in a corporate vision or mission statement but the extent to which financial targets and results are known and shared is most assuredly a deliberate decision made by the company’s senior leadership. It never ceases to surprise me when interviewing general manager candidates that their current ...

Lodging is a very important part of every trip, especially when you are camping on the Inca Trail on your way to see Machu Picchu.  My boyfriend and I have just returned from a one-month backpacking in South America. The highlight of our travels was by far our 4-day/3-night trek through the Inca Trail in Peru.  After our 24-hour very windy and very nauseating bus ride from Ica, Peru we finally arrived in Cusco; the base city for all Machu Picchu excursions.  With an elevat...

When I first heard New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo discussing the plan to build the country’s largest convention center complex in Queens and to redevelop the existing Javits Center footprint on Manhattan’s West Side, I admit, I was a bit perplexed. I asked myself, “Why on earth would business travelers and conventioneers want to give up the excitement of Manhattan for one of the outer boroughs?” I’ve been attending conferences for years—decades, actually—and any trip to New York u...

Blue skies and rolling mountains aren’t the only appealing local attractions in the great state of Tennessee.  Not only are the fields and tree-tops green, but the local options for increasing energy efficiency and introducing hotel energy savings are as well. The green movement toward environmental responsibility has spawned numerous Federal, State and local programs aimed at reducing e...

Post by Grace Chiao, Temple University; “You speak Mandarin?” “Yes?” “Oh! I am sure there will be tons of jobs waiting for you in this industry because of that." These are the most frequently asked questions and answers I have heard this semester. Whenever people had this conversation with me, I could not help but wonder the truthfulness of their saying; moreover, I was surprised that the same conversation ...

Post by Roger Miller, Vice President of Sales & Marketing , Hospitality Ventures Management Group ; During my 35 years of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring hotel sales professionals, I’ve had dozens of success stories and, of course, occasional failures. I have been acknowledged for successful hires and deservedly booed for the failures. Like everything in life, the tru...

I know it seems like we are beating a dead horse but Internet has taken such a leap forward in guest satisfaction that it’s almost something we should be discussing on a daily basis at the hotel level. Franchises are even stepping out and driving change. Hilton has forced hotels to spend tens of thousands of dollars with AT&T for new networks while both it and Marriott have released new standards pushing hotels to upgrade the bandwidth. The only problem, even the new stand...

Post originally made on January 5, 2012 It’s a new year and time to look ahead to the hotel industry’s 2012 outlook. And, trust me, there’s no shortage of data coming through my inbox these days. Like many of you, this is a time of year in which I look forward. It’s always interesting to see what prognosticators are thinking as we put last year behind us and turn optimistic for a better year to come. <...

Post by Lacey Hagen ; I just completed my third semester of graduate school and, while I enjoyed a short break, I am now beginning to work on my final research project. Although I find the topic interesting, research is not my strongest skill. I decided to pursue a graduate degree in hospitality because I enjoyed being in an industry that is built on personal interactions with the purpose of designing a memorable and comfortable experience for guests while ...

There’s no doubt rooftop bars have become a huge trend in hotel design these days, especially in cities such as New York. But are they able to help hotels maximize their revenue? According to a just-released study by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the answer is yes—at least in Manhattan. In its study, Manhattan Hotel Rooftop Bars and Penthouses – December 2011 , JLL reveals the impact roofto...

Post by Matthew A. Woodruff, Vice President, Guest and Brand Excellence, Hospitality Ventures Management Group; I hope you are doing EXCELLENT!   If you recall, back in June we discussed the “ Power of the word EXCELLENT ” and the profound impact that an EXCELLENT service culture ca...

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In a suite overlooking the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas last week, there was plenty of to talk about. Gathered with other reporters at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, there was talk of the three-year-old Rush Tower, new eateries, and the resurgence of downtown Las Vegas. But what really caught my interest was what was happening 3,000 miles to the east—in Atlantic City. When L...

Post by Jay Molitor, Vice President of Operations, Hospitality Ventures Management Group It’s no secret that profit essentially boils down to two things at a hotel: maximizing revenue and minimizing expenses. And while they may appear separate from each other at first glance, revenue and expenses are entwined to such an extent that they must be viewed and managed holistically.   In fact, the key to controlling your labor expenses—the larges...

Post by Megan Edelman I am an adventurer. Come along with me as I explore the world. At times my travel will veer off the beaten path, but it will always make a story worth telling. So here I am, lucky enough to combine what I love with how I plan to make my living. When I was young I liked to ride my bike around my neighborhood exploring what I thought were undiscovered...

Despite a challenging global economy and a period of rapid change and development, the hospitality industry remains solid. And during times of great dynamism, it can often be difficult to determine how best to support - and best utilize - the next generation of industry talent, both from within and outside of our hospitality companies. Louvre Hotels Group is Europe's second-largest hotel co...

Music has the power to increase guest satisfaction and improve staff morale. Just ask 25-year-old Bradley Newberger, president and founder of Ambiance Radio, a background music service geared toward hotels, resorts, restaurants, and spas. While a student at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y., Newberger managed the Taverna Banfi at The Statler Hotel on campus. The newly renovated restaurant looked great, says th...

Last week eight hotel executives, a marketing executive, and a Nevada state assemblywoman did something that Bill Fortier, senior vice president-development, the Americas at Hilton Worldwide and chairman of the Latino Hotel Association described to those in attendance as “fun, and a bit shocking.” In the Pavilion at Tropicana in Las Vegas, the executives ditched their business suits and donned headgear and boxing gloves and promptly began pummeling each other. <...

Post by Lacey Hagen The title of this blog post is a fairly common reaction I get when I tell people I am currently a graduate student at Temple University pursuing a master’s degree in tourism and hospitality management. This was also the reaction I received when I told people that I had decided to go graduate school, immediately after graduating with my bachelor’s degree. More...

Sunday night was another monumental night in the history of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. As it always does during the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Show (IHMRS) in New York City, the association celebrated the past year of its outgoing chair and inaugurated its incoming chair. This year that was the inauguration of Nancy Johnson, executive vice president of development for Carlson Hotels. Johnson becomes just the...

Post by Robert S. Cole, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hospitality Ventures Management Group Work in the hospitality industry as long as I have (since the '80s) and you will inevitably see core principles for success come to light. Whether it’s learning from your own trials and errors or watching the fortunes of your colleagues and competitors rise and fall, I’ve found that the same basic fundamentals for success come into play time and...

Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western International, believes that relationships are the currency of life. In our fast-paced world, the Internet has changed how consumers decide what to buy. Despite this shift, Dowling has found one important factor remains the same: “People do business with people they know and like.” During her spee...

Post by Mary Beth Cutshall, Vice President of Acquisitions & Business Development, Hospitality Ventures Management Group Take a look at accomplished professionals you respect and admire and I guarantee they have a strong ability to connect with others. Successful business people understand that one of the fundamental aspects of their success is the ability to effectively build and maintain relationships. ...

What is the role of a hotel in society? It’s a topic I had the opportunity to discuss this week with David Jerome, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at IHG, during the IHG 2011 Americas Investors and Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. “What should we be doing,” Jerome asked rhetorically. He said that guests influence how that question is answered. For the hotel in...

Earlier this week, TravelClick released its September 2011 North American Hospitality Review with some good news for the hotel industry. The firm, which tracks hotel bookings 12 month into the future, indicated demand for the remainder of 2011 will continue to be strong. And, demand should continue to remain strong for the next year, although some leveling off is to be expected. Earli...

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We have come through an extraordinarily difficult time, in our economy as a whole, and for our industry. The difficulties may not be fully over yet. But regularly interacting as I do with dozens of hotel owners, general managers, lenders, and corporate managers, I cannot help but feel a strong sense of confidence for what is on the horizon—for the next 12 months, the next 24 months, and beyo...

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It’s not all about the money. In order to be successful, businesses must concentrate instead on the very thing that makes the money, said hospitality industry legend Horst Schulze, the keynote speaker at the Red Roof Inn 2011 brand conference, which was held earlier this week in Orlando. The president and CEO of West Paces Hotel Group and former president and COO of Ritz-Carlton said that to beat the competition, hotels must offer a pr...

Businesses have been transitioning to IP phone systems for the last 10 years. In our office we have used an IP phone system since we opened our doors in 2002. The problem in bringing IP Telephony to hotels has been the complexity of all the integrations (PMS, POS, etc.) that need to function on site. Business IP phone providers were not interested in a more complex environment and the traditional phone system providers made money off hard...

As an editor who makes his living with the written word, it should come as no surprise that I’m an avid reader. I love books, always have, always will. Bill Duncan, global head of Home2 Suites by Hilton and Homewood Suites by Hilton, shares the same passion.   Last week at The Lodging Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., I had a chance to sit down with Duncan to discuss Homewood Suites’ Books for Kids initiative. “I’m an avi...

Post by Michelle Davis. Director of Revenue Management, Hospitality Ventures Management Group When surfing Internet consumer travel sites or trade resources, it’s easy to find Best Available Rate (BAR) essentially has replaced the RACK rate as the standard first quote by the hotel industry.   More...

Editor’s Note: A version of this blog appears in the September 2011 issue of Lodging . Normally in this space, I discuss various issues within the lodging industry, but if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to take the time to remember the nearly 3,000 victims of the horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. As you are aware, this weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And, if it weren’t for the heroic acts of the pas...

No worthy cause has attracted more than its share of controversy and backlash than the “Green Movement”. It is unfortunate because that often-rancorous debate has obscured the single most practical reason to think green: it’s good business, particularly for hotel owners. In my experience, there is an absolute advantage to being green. For starters, more and more corporations are examining hotels’ green policies when deciding where to book their employees. In my country, for exampl...

Post by Mike Stevens, Vice President, Project & Procurement, Hospitality Ventures Management Group At Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), we specialize in turning around underperforming properties and as you might suspect,...

Post by Kathryn P. Jones, Director of e-Commerce, H...

Many Americans consider breakfast the most important meal of the day, and are becoming more health conscious. For this reason, Ron Pohl, senior vice president of brand management and member services for Best Western International, says breakfast has been a key focus for many years in the hotel industry, especially in the midscale market. For an upcoming article on breakfast bars and buffets (look for it in the September issue of Lodging ), I inquired about the latest industry trends. What cu...

Pos t by Kerry Ranson, EVP and COO of Expotel Hospitality Services With business finally on the rise, you’re probably feeling the pressure to start spending on your properties again. But is demand really strong enough to justify th...

One of the notable aspects of the annual International African-American Hotel Ownership & Investment Summit held by NABHOOD at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Fla., is the large contingent of our industry's future leaders. Of the approximately 300 attendees at the conference, more than 40 hospitality students from schools such as Tuskegee University, Penn State, and the College of The Bahamas, to name a few, were on hand to absorb all of the knowledge they could from hospitality industr...

Is social media only a marketing function, or can other departments across hotels take advantage of it? When SAS Institute announced its social media analytics about a year ago, Kelly McGuire began thinking about how revenue management could use social media. McGuire, executive director of hospitality and travel global practice for SAS, says she always sees things through a revenue management lens first. To tackle this question, she got together with a group of colleagues from her Ph.D. program at Cornel...

Post by Roger A. Miller, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Hospitality Ventures Management Group When it comes to driving revenue at a hotel, an aggressive, results-oriented director of sales & marketing is essential.  Unf...

Free to guest video has a history of being a moving target of perfection. If you have the right channel lineup it’s too expensive, if you save money, you don’t have the right channels. Finding that balance was always difficult. DirecTV is introducing the “home experience” which may change everything from technology to decision making moving forward. Under the new plan DirecTV will not require Pro:Idiom.  Instead they will use a small set top box that can go behind the TV are b...

As Motel 6 continues to grow rapidly by about 70 properties a year, the brand hopes to strike a balance between its company-owned and franchised locations. That’s why starting in September, Motel 6/Studio 6 will combine management and subsidiary training, says Dean Savas, senior vice president of franchising for Accor North America. “We realize there’s got to be a synergy between the management and the infrastructure we have in place for our subsidiary properties and that which we have in place f...

While there is often a great deal of talk in the media (including this website and Lodging magazine) about hotel development in China, there hasn’t been quite the same amount of coverage about outbound travelers from the country. That’s now changing, as evidenced by two announcements today from hotel giants ...

For the July cover story of Lodging , I spoke with Red Roof Inn President Andrew Alexander and CEO of Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio 6, Olivier Poirot about how economy brands are repositioning themselves . Midscale properties also are in refresh mode. Choice Hotels International’s Sleep Inn brand, which competes in the lower-mid tier of the midscale ...

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There’s long been an adage: “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” While that is true in many instances, when it comes to bed bugs and other pests in hotels, that sentiment couldn’t be further from the truth. For hotels, insects and other pests such as birds and rodents can cause havoc for guests and for a hotel’s bottom line. This is particularly true of bed bugs—those much publicized night stalkers that creep people out so much that some have gone as far as to file lawsuits against busin...

Post by Susan M. Sanders, Vice President, Strategic Planning and Human Resources, Hospitality Ventures Management Group Most companies do a fair job of creating a Strategic Plan that defines the most important objectives, initiatives and measures for the organization over a three-year outlo...

As we posted in the news section of our site on June 22, Home2 Suites by Hilton officially opened its third mid-tier extended-stay property in Baltimore, Md. Prior to the announcement, I had discussed the progress of the brand with Bill Duncan, the global head of brand management of Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites by Hilton, while at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association ...

After two days at HITEC 2011 in Austin, Texas, it’s clear that the hospitality industry’s top techies have a keen understanding of the direction hoteliers are seeking to take as they move on through a slow-moving economic recovery. While there isn’t much in the way of an specific theme to this year’s gathering of top technology suppliers, hotel technologists, and other assorted hoteliers, it’s easy to see that the technology on display is geared toward hoteliers’ quests to satisfy the eme...

A few weeks ago, Hilton Hotels & Resorts announced that it was making a switch to Peter Thomas Roth amenities in its bathrooms. Roth is a renowned designer of upscale skin care and bath products and his products are often seen on QVC. The products are replacing La Source amenities from Crabtree & Evelyn. Recently I caught up with Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts via e-mail and discussed why the ...

Post by Matthew A. Woodruff, Vice President of Quality and Guest Satisfaction, Hospitality Ventures Management Group As Vice President, Guest a...

While at the 33rd annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference this week, I had the chance to meet with several industry executives who expressed optimistic outlooks for the future. B Hotels & Resorts announced on Monday its yet-to-be named second property, which is a conversion of the Continental Oceanfront South Beach Hotel in Miami, Fla. The property is expected to remain operational during the renovation and repositioning and is scheduled to launch in late f...

I Just returned from the 33rd Annual NYU International Hospitality Investment Conference, and this year there were a number of issues on the table. Before I get into those, let me tell you, that the mood of the more than 1,800 hoteliers, developers, and other assorted attendees this year came across as much more relaxed than at this show last year. That’s to be expected as the industry as whole has started to see the light at the end of tunnel of the recession beginning to emerge slowly, ...

Post by Jay Molitor, Vice President of Operations, Hospitality Ventures Management Group There’s no denying that a great general manager can spell the difference between success and failure at a hotel.  GMs are the heart and soul of a successful hotel, setting the tone for service and performa...

While mattress encasements have become well known for their protection against bed bugs—and who wouldn’t be attracted by that fact alone—they are designed for more than keeping those pesky little critters at bay. The fact is that while they do a wonderful job of protecting mattresses from being ruined by bed bugs, they also protect expensive mattresses from people and allergens. I recently spoke with James Bell, CEO of Protect-a-Bed, about this fact. Bell will be speaking at The B...

While at the HD Expo last week in Las Vegas, I had the chance to sit down with Erin Hoover, the vice president of design for Westin and Sheraton, and discuss the new guestroom designs that are in the process of rolling out. While Westin’s design focuses on bringing the wellness concept into the guestroom, Sheraton’s look nods to the brand’s heritage and centers on the “social guest.” The first Westin hotels to feature the new guestroom designs are Westin Phoenix, which opened in March, an...

I spent last week in Las Vegas for the annual Hospitality Design (HD) Expo. Per usual at events such as this, I met with several vendors of hospitality-centric products and services, and searched for emerging trends among the exhibitors and attendees. This year, much of the talk centered on renovations, or more precisely, the inevitable glut of hotel transformations soon to come. While lending remains in limbo, and while the industry continues to endure an over-abundance of product, the industry i...

Eruption is probably the wrong word because technically it means something short term.   In this case, bandwidth isn’t a short term spike, it’s a long term issue with substantial sustained growth.   So much growth, your networks are feeling and will continue to feel the significant impact. Why so many newsletters about bandwidth?   It’s an issue that won’t go away.   As a technology consulting company our number one complaint to r...

Post by Robert Cole, President & CEO, Hospitality Ventures Management Group It’s no secret that the hotel industry is an extremely people-intensive business, so it’s imperative to success as a hotel owner or operator that your team performs at a peak level. As a second-generation hotelier who has been work...

Admittedly, I’ve always been somewhat of a minimalist. I have no use for clutter, especially unnecessary items that take up space, or require being moved to make room for my laptop or to simply get into bed at night. I’ll also admit that I’m not your average traveler. I travel often for my job, as you might expect, and, also not surprisingly, I spend a great many room nights in hotels across the country. So, I’m pretty accustomed to the drill. So take all of that into account when you rea...

There are two very exciting months for most American universities—April and September. April is when universities have sent out letters of acceptance to high school seniors and they and their families are making life-changing decisions about the future. September is when these new students actually arrive.  This first blog is about April, about spring, and about facing forward.  Spring means many things, but primarily it is about hope, looking toward the future, and promises of...

One year later...how's the hotel business on the Gulf Coast?   I’ve been asked that question a lot in the past few days. I tell them that the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in particular have seen some of their highest RevPAR numbers in years. Through catastrophe after catastrophe, we have truly seen this region’s resiliency and ability to continually reinvent itself. A year after the BP oil spill, hotels have fared very well, due in part to a large number of room nights generated from clean...

Where are we in the current cycle of foreclosure and stress on hotel owners? I wish I could say with certainty, but my instinct is that we are close to the end. At least, that is my hope. But regardless of what the next few months hold, there are a few principles that all owners can adhere to, especially those who need to be especially mindful of current credit and lending conditions: 1. Hang in there—There are better days ahead, and whether those days come in six day...

To strengthen AmericInn’s identity as America’s Welcoming Neighbor, owners, managers, and other attendees of the brand’s annual convention in Las Vegas filled nearly 350 care packages for American troops. The AmericInn Cares Project was a joint effort with the Blue Star Mothers of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit organization comprised primarily of mothers who have or have had children serving in the American military. “Sometimes people in our business are accused of idea du jour, and constantly...

What started during the days of Prohibition, before there was even a Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, has now become a traditional event that is highly anticipated by the school’s alumni and industry professionals around the country. This weekend, The Hotel Ezra Cornell was held for the 86th year, this edition of the student-run hotel conference featured some discussions on the biggest topics of the day from some of the most prominent names in the hospitality industry. And, of co...

This weekend I made the four-hour drive to Ithaca, N.Y., from my home in New Jersey, for The Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), the annual hospitality conference—now in its 86th year—organized and managed by students in Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. I came away from the conference with a great deal of confidence in our industry’s next generation of leaders. If I hadn’t known that the entire conference was staffed and managed by students, I wouldn’t have been any the ...

“Transparency” is a buzzword of our age, in business and politics. Everybody claims to have it. If so, then why do we often read in the papers about misunderstandings and miscommunications among business partners, and why is there so much corporate litigation clogging the court dockets? I personally take a simple view of transparency: It is the way business gets done. It is the right way to do business in a moral sense, of course—but it is also more productive, efficient, and cost-...

More than 200 industry representatives spent a day on Capitol Hill on March 16 as part of this year’s American Hotel & Lodging Association Legislative Action Summit. While many of the issues the industry discussed with legislators are extensions of ongoing issues—occupancy taxes, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the Travel Promotion Act, to name some of the highlights—many of the legislators in Congress are new to some of these discussions. And...

With its announcement this week that it will make a more than $40 million investment to install 50,000 Samsung flat-screen TVs in its properties, La Quinta is taking a different approach to the traditional setup of guestroom televisions. In fact, the brand’s chief information officer Vivek Shaiva sees the initiative as a way of looking beyond today and seeing into the future—or more precisely, being prepared for what we can’t see in the future. I’ve long been frustrated with the limited am...

By Guest Blogger Jeff Parker, vice president of information technology, Magnolia Hotels I am thinking of changing my name, something elusive, mysterious, and misunderstood. In short, I want to be buzz-word compliant. In looking at many of the hottest technologies out there, it seems to me that they are more about marketing and re-branding then actual new technologies. Cloud computing is the hottest buzz-word of them all, but I was sitting in front of a Wise g...

It seems nearly impossible to believe, but the laptop is on pace to become the next dinosaur. How does that affect you? We all currently wrestle with expensive (and long term) free-to-guest TV agreements, aging pay-per-view agreements, guest networks, bandwidth, and on and on.  The hassle, the pain, and the guest complaints even when it works can cause even the best hotels to suffer.  With 4G in full swing, the continuing consolidation of an all-in-one device is in full swing, which will free u...

Anyone who works in hospitality will likely tell you the industry can teach you a lot. A lot about people and service quality. They’ll likely also tell you it’s a great place to learn how to become a manager. I knew I wanted to work in hospitality at age 10 when I stayed at my first hotel. I was living overseas at the time, traveling throughout Europe with my family. Hotels, I quickly learned, offered atmosphere, terrific people-watching opportunities, restaurants and the best part—my own ...

Post by Bill DeForrest The Americas Lodging Investment Summit opened Monday in San Diego. The skies were sparkling blue and cloudless, but the forecast for our industry, according to the opening panel, remain...

In front of a packed press conference at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in San Diego, Calif. this week, veteran hotelier and former chair of the American Hotel & Lodging Association John Russell and his partners from the newly formed venture Advaya Hospitality unveiled the name and concept of its new brand. In November, Russell and Advaya announced the formation of the new company with the promise of further details concerning the brand's launch. This week, the company delivered on that p...

Soon it will be that time of year again, when people think about spring cleaning. But one valuable thing hotel franchise owners should not take out with the trash, are the many resources offered to them as a result of a brand affiliation. This sounds like common sense, but in more than two decades in the industry, it’s never failed to amaze me how often franchisees fail to take advantage of the many tools and supports brands make available to them. This can include basic ope...

Posted by Kerry Ranson When the Treasury Department announced recently its intent to pour $500 billion into the financial community by way of bond purchases, the pundits weighed on both sides of the equation.  While the goal of the investment is to loosen the credit environment for investors, many worried that the influx of these dollars would lead to a depression of the dollar. I am certainly no fan of in...

No ROI, increased monthly cost, ongoing capital expense, do you really need HD? Guestrooms are being designed to make a guest feel at home so with this comes HDTV. HD certainly fits into the equation of providing an at home experience since guests still focus in on live news, sports, and local channels as viewing priorities. However, the argument can be made that HD is not a necessity but instead a wow factor in the room. Of the seven industry professionals we asked, all seven stated inde...

Posted by Kerry Ranson It’s been called the hotelier’s heroin. It’s addictive and destructive—and breaking free will require resolution from franchisees and franchisors alike.  It’s the online travel agency—OTAs. Our collective addiction to this revenue source began innocuously. We were willing to deeply discount extra inventory on a highly selective basis.  Just after 9/11 and again when this current recession hit, we relied more heavily on these pr...

Corporate travel is making a comeback as the U.S. economy has shown signs of a slow, but modest rebound. While that provides the tourism and hospitality industry with something to smile about (along with welcome relief) hospitality business leaders need to realize they’re now likely dealing with a new breed of business traveler and adjust their strategies accordingly.    Business travelers are expected to take as many trips as they did this past year—if not slightly more—...

Today is traditionally the biggest travel day of the year and millions of Americans will hit the road, hop on trains, and board airplanes. (I’ll refrain from any comments on the new TSA security procedures at this time.) For many, they’ll be heading to visit with family and friends, bound for feasts and good times. Many people will choose to stay the weekend at the homes of those families and friends, but maybe they should ...

Welcome to the Group Business Blog. I’ve long felt that the meetings and events business is fruitful ground for lodging executives to read, talk, and explore more through a regular forum for discussion and exchange. I’m thrilled and grateful that Lodging is providing a forum for doing that on a regular basis. It’s no exaggeration to say that the group and conventions part of the hotel business is recovering from near life-support, after the harrowing years of the fina...

Clearwire Corp., a leader in the WiMAX (aka 4G, LTE, etc.), announced it is cutting 15 percent of its workforce and reducing its current 4G markets while suspending rollouts in new markets such as Denver and Miami. Money issues are to blame and cash flow is tight so this wireless data leader had to pull in the reigns to try and survive.  It’s not surprising to hear a company is trying to survive, but it is surprising that in a world consumed with getting more and more bandwid...

“It’s been a long summer, a very rewarding summer, but a long summer. Our team is thrilled to get the hotel opened again.” That’s one of the comments David Kloeppel, president and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, said to me in a phone conversation just a few weeks ago. Indeed, it’s been a trying summer for Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tenn. As you’ll recall, the property was forced to close its doors last spring after sustaining extensive damage during the flooding in Nashville. As ...

Posted by Eva Ferguson Last week, the IAHI had the great honor of presenting FelCor Lodging Trust Chairman—and former IAHI Chairman—Thomas J. Corcoran with the Kemmons Wilson award for community involvement and achievement. In 2008/2009 Tom led IAHI through the most difficult year any of us can remember. Whenever I reflect on that period, I always come back to the same phrase: the right man at the right time. When Tom assumed the chairmanship, our owners needed teste...

The Olympic flame was lit as Best Western members converged on the Vancouver Convention Centre as the hotel company took its annual convention to Western Canada. Inside, members heard more about the launch of the company’s descriptor strategy as well as updates on technology, operations, and marketing. Over the course of the convention, members even got an up close look at one of the company’s newest initiative to promote its pet-friendly hotels when Cesar Millan, also known as “The Dog W...

Posted by Eva Ferguson Leaving the 2010 IHG Americas Investors Conference, my feet hurt and my body was tired, but I was energized once again by this gathering. Energized because, to be surrounded by individuals who love what they do, who want to be part of delivering something great, who see beyond today and seek tomorrow, reaffirms everything that I know to be true about the hotel business. That truth? No matter what challenges we face today, we know tomorrow brings anothe...

Health care reform is likely having a major impact on many hoteliers. The rolling requirements mean that the clock started to tick when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010—and it won’t stop ticking until 2018. As employers of a largely part-time, temporary or seasonal workforce, the hospitality industry will likely be significantly affected by the legal obligations of providing health care coverage to employees—a change th...

Hosted PBX systems (true Voice Over IP–VOIP) have been around for many years. In the business world companies like Warner Consulting Group have been using them since early 2000. Hosted gives the business a lower cost to entry and more flexibility in troubleshooting, product, and control of the system. Hotels were not able to adapt as many companies were not prepared for PMS or POS interfaces, call accounting, and a few other hospitality specific products. As with any technology, things ar...

Posted by Kerry Ranson The other day, while waiting for a plane and watching the news, I had a revelation.  The politicians ranting about the “fat cats” and “Wall Street versus Main Street” were actually talking about …  me.  And you.  And all small business people who are trying to keep their companies afloat and rev up this flailing economy.  “Main Street” is the heart of where I do business, not Wall Street.  As a company, we employ h...

It's official—the recession is over, apparently as of June 2009. And yes, I do believe the hospitality industry is no exception and is headed towards recovery, despite all the talk of a double-dip recession. Though we’ve witnessed somewhat of a slowdown, consumer confidence seems to be on the rise, the overall stock market may be improving from where it was at the beginning of last year, and business travel is experiencing a modest uptick. We need to take a more positive outlook as the in...

Did you watch Choice Hotels’ president and CEO Steve Joyce, or should I say Jack Parker, on Undercover Boss last night? Quite interesting, and if you have it waiting on your DVR, I won’t spoil it. However, last week, I had the chance to speak with Joyce about his experience and after watching the program it’s apparent that Joyce found the experience not only rewarding in terms of strumming up a little recognition for Choice Hotel brands, but also for the fact that he was able to ga...

It’s been more than 10 years now that we’ve had to deal with guest networks in our properties. Not quite an anniversary celebration but instead an unenvied evolution of meeting guest expectations.  Ownership felt guest networks were a one-time investment that supplied a guest service. What we have found out, some the hard way, is that we must constantly budget for upgrades and changes to our network.  Guest satisfaction scores rely heavily on the network (and bandwidth) ...

On the one hand, the hotel recovery has clearly gained traction since the dark days of the financial meltdown and the recession. Occupancy and rate are up pretty much across the board; leisure travel is strong; and even business travel and group bookings have shown improvement. Stock prices of some publically-traded hotel companies reflect the progress, and there is a general sense of hopeful optimism in the air. On the other hand, talk of “double dip” persists—and anyone in the fr...

As hotel companies look to grow their portfolios, especially overseas, there has been a lot of talk about staffing.  As recently discussed on this website, major universities such as Florida International University have begun hospitality education programs to teach a new generation of hospitality workers in places such as China the western model of hotel operations (see “ Hospitality Education in China ”).  But current ...

Over the course of 20 years in the industry, I’ve had the chance to meet and communicate with hundreds of franchisees, owners, developers, and corporate managers. I’m excited to launch this Blog with the goal of stimulating some interesting, compelling—at times, even controversial—conversation around hotel franchising. I currently serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at La Quinta Inns & Suites, based in Dallas, Texas. My interests and involvements spa...

Yesterday, I had a follow-up phone conversation with Mike Garcia, CFO and senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Omni Hotels & Resorts, to discuss the Irving, Texas-based company’s big announcements on Tuesday. On that day, Omni made two major acquisition and development announcements. First, the company announced it was the successful bidder for the r...

While carriers have continued to market new services aggressively they have quietly scaled back their behind the scenes support.  Less people and less knowledge equal less expense which allows them to survive. The result has been much longer drawn out troubleshooting and billing issues that take extended billing periods to resolve. Contracts don’t allow hotels to properly recoup the lost revenue or labor involved to make things right. The only tool a hotel can use is redundancy.  Data r...

The other day American Express released the result of its Global Customer Service Barometer, which explores attitudes and preferences toward customer service. Conducted in 12 countries, including the U.S., the findings reiterate the importance of excellent service, especially in today’s economic environment. What is most notable about the survey’s results is that as American consumers need to be ever-more choosy about where they spend their dollars, they are sticking with companies that offer the...

At the 19th Annual general managers conference held by Chesapeake Hospitality, a third-party management company based in Maryland, the company's general managers weighed in with their thoughts on the industry climate. In a survey conducted at the event, the GMs said they had a positive, but cautious, optimism regarding the outlook for the hotel industry for the remainder of the year. More than one-third of attendees said they are experiencing growth in corporate business, while another 27 percent have se...

We're living in a mobile world, and travelers are, by definition, no exception. So what do travelers want from their apps?  According to a recent survey from Omni Hotels & Resorts,  business travelers ranked adjusting travel plans, making dinner reservations and checking into hotels as three of the top four “must-have” mobile applications. The survey asked road warriors about mobile and social application preferences and usage, and it found that access to these tools were an in...

At the 32nd Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference this week, some investors were announcing funding and searches for acquisitions. Capital Hotel Management, a hotel investment, advisory, and asset management firm, announced that it has formed CHM Partners to acquire hotels primarily as a co-investor with other equity partners. CEO Ken Wilson said, “We believe the timing is right to return to our original strategic platform and to again invest in hotels to tak...

While I was in New York earlier this week, I had the chance, along with some of my fellow members of the press, to take a hard-hat tour of the soon-to-open (July) Intercontinental Times Square. The hotel will have 607 keys and 29 suites, and as GM Drew Schlesinger says, “one really spectacular suite.” (See above.) First, a little about the hotel: The building is made with natural woods and marble, and each elevator has different artwork. There will be a Todd English-run restaurant as well. O...

I just came back from the 32nd Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference at the New York Marriott Marquis. So what’s the buzz? The hotel executives on hand expressed more optimism concerning the lodging industry’s recovery as demand returns, but they also remained on the look out for when rates will begin to increase. During the opening panel, David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western International; Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt H...