June 2012

Remember when hotel guests got excited over free HBO and still-in-the-theater movies on pay-per-view? Pete Sears, a 24-year Hyatt veteran, recalls those simpler days. Now, in our 24/7 digital age, guests have loftier expectations, and hotels are investing in new technologies to make a splash. “The digital world is such a big part of everyone’s lives right now,” says Sears, senior vice president of North America operations for Hyatt Hotels and R

The Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), an organization of professionals responsible for proactively increasing asset values on behalf of hotel owners worldwide, launched the Certified Hotel Asset Manager (CHAM) designation in April. Created in conjunction with some of the world’s leading hospitality executives and experts, the CHAM designation is the first professional certification for hotel asset managers. HAMA members represent 3,500 hotels a...

At the annual American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Stars of the Industry Awards luncheon, hotel employees were honored for their outstanding accomplishments, service, and leadership in the hospitality and lodging industry. The awards, held at the association’s Summer Summit at the InterContinental Houston near the Galleria, were presented to Outstanding Lodging Employees, Managers, and General Managers in three property size categories, as ...

When the US economy began the recent downturn and the bottom dropped off the hotel market, some experts forecasted that things were so bad in the lodging business that in the coming three years there would be twenty-five hundred foreclosures of lodging properties in California. Of course, everyone panicked. In the past three years this projected disaster has not been nearly as bad as some predicted. In that time there have been well under five hundred lod...

Later today, Driftwood Hospitality Management will announce the signing of three new management contracts, which have added more than 800 rooms to their portfolio in less than two weeks. The newest additions include the 122-room Hampton Inn Daytona Beach Speedway – Airport, the 500-room Crowne Plaza Colorado Springs, and the 187-room Four Points by Sheraton Leominster. “We are always looking to see what can be improved from a consumer, manager ...

Not in her wildest dreams did Barbara Gross ever envision herself working in the hotel industry. But thanks to good fortune, Gross has spent the last 13 years as the general manager of Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto, Calif. The luxury boutique property is especially popular among business travelers destined for Silicon Valley, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Stanford University, and the Bay Area Peninsula. Gross has a background in education, and ...

In today’s high-tech world, more and more hotels are offering business travelers sleek and flexible meeting spaces equipped with the latest technologies. That is largely because many business travelers these days don’t leave home without their all-important gadgets. And those laptops, smartphones, and tablets aren’t simply conveniences—they’re necessary in order to get work done. Technology is so essential to Hotel 1000 in Seattle that the 6-ye...

Although New York City is far from lacking in the boutique hotel market, Refinery Hotel promises to offer something different to the city's lodging scene. Built in a former millinery building in the Garment District known as the Colony Arcade, the property is taking cues from the past to develop a loft-like, industrial-chic hotel that pays homage to the building's hat-making history. "We felt that Refinery should offer guests a ver...

The continued demand and rate increases in the U.S. lodging industry are a good sign for a continued recovery, and we expect the next 24 months to continue to show increases in revenue per available room. While all chain-scale segments have reported improved data over the last 12 months, the performance of the midscale hotels is particularly noteworthy. During the year ending in February, the performances of the upper midscale and midscale segm...

Edinburgh is the U.K.’s leading destination for overseas visitors, after London, and attracts approximately 4 million visitors each year. In 2011, Scotland’s capital city had the second highest average occupancy rate in Europe, and the highest occupancy rate in Europe in May and June 2011. “I think often Scotland punches above its weight, in that respect,” says Stuart Ward, vice president of tourism investment for Scottish Development Internat...

The short walk from the 103rd and Broadway subway station to Hostelling International USA’s (HI-USA) New York hostel is a refreshing change of pace for a frequent traveler to New York City. It’s quiet on a Sunday afternoon and picturesque red brick buildings filled with bodegas and cafes are intermixed with the brownstone homes of Upper West Side residents. It’s a far cry from the noisy—and touristy—hustle and bustle of a summer afternoon in Midtown, where ...

The U.S. lodging industry recovery may have begun in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2011 that most hotels in the country shared the improved prosperity. In 2011, 80.5 percent of the properties that participated in PKF Hospitality Research’s (PKF-HR) Trends in the Hotel Industry annual survey enjoyed an increase in total revenue, while nearly three-quarters (72.3 percent) of the participants achieved growth in profits. The 2012 edition of Trends pres...

It’s clear something is going right when the decision is made to change a full-time employee’s job from dealing with customer complaints to responding to customer compliments. That’s exactly what happened at La Quinta Inns & Suites following a rigorous, nine-month engagement with leading experience management firm Experience Engineering. Not only were guests happier, they also began to choose La Quinta more frequently. “We began to see a m...

It was March 2011 when Home2 Suites by Hilton rose out of the ground and debuted its first property in Fayetteville, N.C. The opening became the quickest launch in Hilton Worldwide’s history. In the Oasis lobby of the premiere property, Bill Duncan, the brand’s leader, told reporters at the time, “We now get to see this come to life exactly the way we thought it would.” This month, the much ballyhooed extended-stay brand has quickly risen to open its 10th property on...

Milwaukee has a strong brewing heritage, and the former Pabst Brewery is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The brewery is currently undergoing a complete overhaul and is in the midst of becoming a thriving community of residential apartments, retail stores, office space, educational facilities, and a converted, extended-stay hotel called The Brewhouse Inn & Suites. The all-suite hotel will be located in what were once the brew...

A steadily improving job market and a stock market on the rise has lenders releasing more funding to developers than what’s been seen in previous quarters, resulting in relative stability of the U.S. Construction Pipeline, which totaled 2,720 projects/331,129 rooms at the end of Q1 2012. Developers focused on Pipeline stability over Pipeline growth has caused a slightly negative year-over-year (YoY) variance of 8% by project and 6% by room...

You might think in today’s hotel environment—with so many food and beverage offerings emerging in hotels—minibars might be seeing less use by guests. If you do, you couldn’t be more wrong. The fact of the matter is that minibar usage has held steady throughout the years and today approximately 24 out of 100 hotel guests utilize the in-room minibar. “Their average spend per occupied room is $2.45,” adds Walt Strasser, executive vice president o...

In his most recent book, Great By Choice, Jim Collins categorically states that “in the face of instability, uncertainty, and rapid change, relying upon pure analysis will likely not work, and just might get you killed. Analytic skills still matter, but empirical validation matters much more.” And most executives agree.  Fundamentally, these executives want to distill causal relationships between their own actions (e.g. I changed the room...

Home2 Suites by Hilton, the year-old focused-service brand recently announced it’s 10th hotel in the United States. But the brand is also moving northward, across the border, and into Canada. Following a recent return from Toronto, Bill Duncan, brand leader for Home2 Suites and Homewood Suites by Hilton, discussed the surge in branded hotels entering the Canadian market. In fact, Home2 Suites recently announced its first deal in Canada with the Silverbirch ...

At the 34th annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, corporate executives expressed optimism about the year ahead, despite recent signs of trouble in the economy. During a CEO panel June 4 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, moderator Lalia Rach gauged panelists’ outlooks after hearing news of the stock market’s ...

When the Mandarin Oriental hotel opened in Manhattan in 2003, guests were hardly clamoring for wireless Internet access. But a few years later, Apple released the iPhone and Amazon launched its Kindle e-reader. Then came the iPad, and suddenly guests who once traveled with just a laptop were lugging several wireless devices to the hotel. By 2011, Mandarin Oriental, New York needed an upgrade to keep up with the insatiable demand for fast and ac...

Over the next 10 years, the Hispanic population in the United States is projected to increase 34 percent to 66 million. And, you can look far beyond cities such as Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and San Antonio to see an emerging population of potential travelers. What’s...

More than half of all mobile phone subscribers in the United States own smartphones, according to a recent Nielsen estimate. To cater toward the growing trend of mobile applications, technology companies are developing new solutions that allow hotel employees to wirelessly connect to property management systems. Property management systems ...

Every day at Homewood Suites by Hilton properties throughout North America, hotel staff members gather for what the brand calls “huddles.” Huddles are morning (or evening, in some cases) meetings where managers go over the upcoming day or shift. They talk about expected occupancy for the day, daily goals, special services that may be needed, new initiatives and ideas, and recognition and rewards for employees. In short, they communicate, collaborate, and celebrate, says Bill Mel...

In the world of guestroom technology, the television is still a central component in hotel guest satisfaction. Today as the hospitality industry continues to rebound from the last recession, more and more hotel operators are launching renovation projects that may have been on the back-burner for several years—this is no more evident than in upgrading televisions to maintain or improve the guest experience. These projects vary from the ov...

For Steve Bartolin, president of The Broadmoor, the recently announced $60-million renovation that is scheduled to take place over the next two years is just another step in the evolution of the historic Colorado Springs resort.

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In the first quarter of 2012, the U.S. hotel industry saw its highest demand ever. That was a highlight of some of the good news American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) members received during presentations at the association’s annual Summer Summit held this week at the InterContinental Houston near the Galleria in Houston, Texas. Just as exciting for attendees was data indicating that hotel profits are indeed on the rise once again.
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A positive outlook promotes positive output, and we’ve seen this reflected visually in the trends of the hospitality industry for 2012. There is a dynamic feeling of hope and growth in the lodging business, giving the industry the confidence it needs to ramp up design and style. This optimism is an important driver and has many looking to outside influencers for a fresh perspective. Today’s trends have many different branches of diversity, and yet all tie ...

I’d call my member of Congress, but I’m too busy. Someone else will send this letter to Capitol Hill—I’ll send one next time. Does this sound familiar? As an industry we are facing critical issues that require your involvement, but too often individuals rely on others to make calls and write letters. From pool lift mobilization, to the broad issue of labor regulations or ...