The hotel industry is changing as we speak. Yet we still think that we can decide on the star ranking of a hotel, yet we still think that we can send clients to the restaurants that pay us a bit of commission, yet we still think that we can get away with outrageous prices in “black out” dates. Read our 5 “This is the new reality” mega developments and think again.This is not about the future: this is about 2010 and 2011. The trends that we have identified are hard, solid truths. All five items are part of today's reality, and the trends are getting stronger every day. If you think that this is far fetched, think again. Read on to have an idea of our new reality, as from yesterday onwards.
Sometimes, we have to get a slap in the face to remember that in the hospitality business, it is all about the basics: creating wonderful guest experiences, all day long, 365 days a year. When we are up to our necks in budgets, forecasts, F&B concepts, productivity targets, yield improvement plans we sometimes tend to complicate things enormously. Yet, every hotel veteran will tell you: at the end of the day, it is the guest who pays your salary.
That is why we have to take our Tripadvisor ranking very seriously. Because guests around the world take the Tripadvisor ranking seriously. And because they use it as a serious benchmark for their tavel decisions. And believe me, they take it serious in a very mature way. One or two bad reviews in Tripadvisor will not kill you. Shit happens, and Tripadvisor readers know that. But a bad Tripadvisor ranking needs to be taken care of pronto. By answering the reviews? Yes, but on one condition.The condition is: tell the truth. If you are going to solve the problem, say so. If you are not going to do anything about it, shut up.
HKHotels is a mini chain of four New York hotels, all the same owner. All hotels achieved top five placement in Tripadvisor’s New York ranking. They did not get there by accident: it was the result of a well targeted effort,combining superb guest experience with a well planned and well executed Social Media strategy.
In an interview with top blogger and General manager of Opus Hotels Daniel Edward Craig, the HKHotels VPSales & marketing explains how this remarkable result was achieved. We enjoyed reading this story immensely, because it explains in very simple words how our business should be: focus on the guest, empowered staff, no shortcuts. Do yourself a favour: read on.
The hotel lobby will change dramatically over the next years. In a recent article, we quoted Bill Marriott: “ The lobby is becoming a place to socialize, eat, meet & greet and spend time”. As usual,mr. Marriott was right. Tomorrow , the lobby will look dramatically different from the “no man’s land” zone that it is now. Hilton developed a new concept and will roll it out in some of the brand's UK hotels. Read on and discover Hilton’s new lobby concept: “The Space”.
It comes to no surprise that 2009 was a very weak year for hotel transactions. Only few hotel buildings changed owners in 2009, resulting in only $ 9 billion transaction turnover worldwide. Just a comparison: in 2008, $24.8billion worth was sold in the hotel property business. Will 2010 be any better? We might be in for a couple of big surprises. Read on.
2009 is over, and may it never return. This is the general feeling with hotel managers and owners throughout Europe. The latest European Chain Hotels Market Review by TRI Hospitality Consulting shows drops in RevPAR up to 25% (Prague) , drops in occupancy up to 9.4% (Budapest) and drops in Average Room Rate up to 15.8% (Munich) for the full year 2009.
So where is Brussels in all this? Benchmarking the Belgian capital against the other cities shows some interesting points. Read on for details.
Crisis-hit 2009 is over... and the 'industry' is now churning its way through 2010. There's no doubt... the European hotel sector certainly felt the full force of the global economic collapse in 2009. However, it seems the worst is behind, and confidence is growing in all quarters that 2010 will be a better year.
With this in mind, hotel.info, the free online reservation service for more than 210,000 hotels worldwide, recently conducted a survey of the hotel sector entitled "Confidence Barometer 2010", to ask its partner hotels in Europe what expectations hotel operators had for the coming year.
Crisis management and cost cutting have become active verbs in the hotel industry. On the one hand we are the victim of the crisis and the cost cutting measures that every company feels it has to take. On the other hand we ourselves feel the crisis, and we have to cut costs like never before. But in which areas are our clients actually trying to save money? This article analyzes a survey with Travel managers.
Most hotel teams have finalized the preparation of their 2010 budgets. This was a very difficult exercise, as the market is still very shaky. Analysts generally confirm that the crisis has bottomed out, but nobody seems to be able to predict how quickly the market will return to normality. This complicates the budgeting process. In addition to this, many owners are eager to return to healthy profits, thus increasing the pressure on their hotelmanagement teams to come up with optimistic budget forecasts.
Two elements are crucial in these complicated times: controlling costs (without cutting too much in the client service promise) and boosting sales ( without too many price concessions). We have listed three important tips in order to come to the desired result.
A lot of hotels are trying to get a “greener” image. Yet, the hospitality industry still has a lot of work in trying to convince the customer that they are not huge energy-wasting, water spilling institutions.
Especially in these challenging times, the “green” strategy of hotel management teams is often considered as a non priority, and many other action plans (sales! sales! sales!) are given top priority in time and budgets. This article wants to point out some basic steps towards a consistent and intelligent green strategy on hotel property level.
The hotel industry is changing as we speak. Yet we still think that we can decide on the star ranking of a hotel, yet we still think that we can send clients to the restaurants that pay us a bit of commission, yet we still think that we can get away with outrageous prices in “black out” dates. Read our 5 “This is the new reality” mega developments and think again.This is not about the future: this is about 2010 and 2011. The trends that we have identified are hard, solid truths. All five items are part of today's reality, and the trends are getting stronger every day. If you think that this is far fetched, think again. Read on to have an idea of our new reality, as from yesterday onwards. 
Sometimes, we have to get a slap in the face to remember that in the hospitality business, it is all about the basics: creating wonderful guest experiences, all day long, 365 days a year. When we are up to our necks in budgets, forecasts, F&B concepts, productivity targets, yield improvement plans we sometimes tend to complicate things enormously. Yet, every hotel veteran will tell you: at the end of the day, it is the guest who pays your salary. 
The hotel lobby will change dramatically over the next years. In a recent 
It comes to no surprise that 2009 was a very weak year for hotel transactions. Only few hotel buildings changed owners in 2009, resulting in only $ 9 billion transaction turnover worldwide. Just a comparison: in 2008, $24.8billion worth was sold in the hotel property business. Will 2010 be any better? We might be in for a couple of big surprises. Read on. 
2009 is over, and may it never return. This is the general feeling with hotel managers and owners throughout Europe. The latest European Chain Hotels Market Review by TRI Hospitality Consulting shows drops in RevPAR up to 25% (Prague) , drops in occupancy up to 9.4% (Budapest) and drops in Average Room Rate up to 15.8% (Munich) for the full year 2009. 
by Richard Kastelein
Crisis management and cost cutting have become active verbs in the hotel industry. On the one hand we are the victim of the crisis and the cost cutting measures that every company feels it has to take. On the other hand we ourselves feel the crisis, and we have to cut costs like never before. But in which areas are our clients actually trying to save money? This article analyzes a survey with Travel managers. 
Most hotel teams have finalized the preparation of their 2010 budgets. This was a very difficult exercise, as the market is still very shaky. Analysts generally confirm that the crisis has bottomed out, but nobody seems to be able to predict how quickly the market will return to normality. This complicates the budgeting process. In addition to this, many owners are eager to return to healthy profits, thus increasing the pressure on their hotelmanagement teams to come up with optimistic budget forecasts. 
A lot of hotels are trying to get a “greener” image. Yet, the hospitality industry still has a lot of work in trying to convince the customer that they are not huge energy-wasting, water spilling institutions. 