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Hotel Yearbook Articles

Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

ESG and Hospitality: ¶An Evolving Sustainability Context

This article discusses the importance of understanding the relationship between sustainability and hospitality in the current global context, which is characterized by a convergence of global risks linked to climate change and biodiversity collapse. The hospitality industry operates in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, which makes it difficult to devise a resilient path that considers environmental, social and governance risks. In his article, Professor Willy Legrand argues that it is crucial for business leaders to understand both sides of sustainability and hospitality and build connections between them. This means considering global goals and initiatives, as well as national and supranational guidelines and legislations that affect a business's ESG reporting strategy. By taking a holistic approach, the hospitality industry has the opportunity to advance sustainability overall.

Willy Legrand
By Willy Legrand, Professor, IU International University of Applied Sciences Germany, IU International University of Applied Sciences
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Are hotels ¶ready for their ¶tech-destined future?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for the adoption of technology in the hospitality industry, leading to an increase in the deployment of contactless and self-service solutions in the guest journey and the automation of business processes. However, the industry's readiness for technology investment and transformation, and the guests' readiness for use and adoption, is still in question. The role of technology in transformation goes beyond automation and optimization and requires a rethink of how hotels operate, restructure teams, and leverage technology. The process of readiness is a shared responsibility between hotel operators, owners, vendors, and consultants, and requires collaboration and interoperability. 

Prince Thampi
By Prince Thampi, Founder & CEO, Hudini
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Hotel-tech in overdrive - How to onboard a hotel ¶in a day

Accor, a global hotel company, has set an ambitious goal to become the first hotel company to enable owners to onboard a hotel in 24 hours. The company recognizes the challenges of the traditional onboarding process, including the need for quick technology deployment, reduction of repetitive tasks, cyber security, and easy training for staff. Accor plans to address these challenges by maximizing the use of cloud technology, automation, and establishing a 'zero trust' security environment. The company aims to move all of its applications and assets to the cloud in the next few years for better cost efficiency, security, and streamlining. Automation will also help reduce administrative tasks, and biometrics will simplify the check-in process. The final challenge for Accor is the hiring and retention of staff, which is becoming increasingly difficult in the hospitality industry.

Floor Bleeker
By Floor Bleeker, Board Member, Advisor, Investor and Consultant, IN2 Consulting
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Tackling the Hotel Talent Shortage - A paradigm shift

The labor shortage in the hospitality industry post-COVID is caused by a combination of factors such as layoffs, changes in the job market, and increased demand for travel and tourism. The pandemic led many workers in the industry to lose their jobs or to leave the industry for better opportunities. In this article, EHL Associate Professor Stefano Borzillo describes how technology, flexibility, upskilling, and above all, a paradigm shift can bring about change in the hotel industry.

Stefano Borzillo
By Stefano Borzillo, Associate Professor, EHL
Hotel Yearbook Article

HFTP Member Spotlight: Sal Spano

This week's Member Spotlight centers on 1980-81 Global President and 1990 International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame inductee Sal Spano, CHA, CHAE of West Palm Beach, Florida.

HFTP
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

The new Direct, complexities and rewards of Social Bookings

Social Bookings are a new hybrid category of hotel bookings that originated on social, super-apps such as WeChat, and others. They are a blend of direct bookings and third-party bookings, where the platform has its own custom-built booking module connected via API to the hotel's central reservation system or booking engine, delivering the bookings directly to the hotel without revenue sharing. Social Bookings are becoming the main direct booking channel for hotels in Asia and are expected to grow, especially with the increasing average time spent on social media platforms. To ensure high conversion rates, hotels need to invest in custom experiences per platform for each brand, which could be a new way for hotels to regain control of their direct bookings for the mobile era.

Greg Berman
By Greg Berman, COO, Shiji Distribution Solutions
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

People analytics: Opportunities and challenges for the hospitality industry

Business numbers are commonly used in finance, economics, statistics and marketing, but they are relatively new in the domain of employee management. People analytics is the use of data to make decisions in a company and gain a competitive advantage. Descriptive analytics describe the present, but do not provide guidance on the best course of action, while prescriptive people analytics provide solutions to the most pressing problems a company is facing, such as identifying why employees leave, how to increase engagement and identifying high-performing employees. EHL Associate Professor, Dr Sébastien Fernandez delivers valuable insights.

Sébastien Fernandez
By Sébastien Fernandez, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, EHL
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Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Digital Transformation in Guest Behaviour: The Ultimate Driver of True Innovation in Hotel Technology

The hospitality industry is facing the challenge of maintaining its customer service excellence in the face of guests' growing expectations for faster service and digital solutions. The pre-arrival experience in travel and hospitality has evolved rapidly with most customers now booking their travel and hotel through digital channels. However, the in-house experience hasn't kept up due to outdated hotel core technology, which makes it difficult to implement new and better workflows. A decade-long search for a future-proof hotel PMS solution revealed that the needs are much more complex than just being cloud-based or API-first. The author claims the primary system, the PMS, must be updated to truly transform guest experiences using all the digital solutions on the market today. 

Kevin King
By Kevin King, Chief Executive Officer, Shiji
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

New attitudes to Circular Economy practices: Rethink and redesign

The circular economy (CE) is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution. Circular economy practices are known to be governed by the ‘3Rs’, namely Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, which are the major strategies used for promoting the circulation of products and materials, thereby lowering waste and pollution, and aiding to regenerate nature.

Florent GirardinLuciano Lopez
By Florent Girardin and Luciano Lopez
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

STR Americas - Market Snapshot 2022/2023

The Americas had a successful year, building on hotel performance recovery already set in place from 2021. While the early months of 2022 showed lower performance due to Omicron, the region held strong from March onwards resulting in levels of average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) that were higher than the 2019 comparables. Occupancy, while improved from the two years prior, still remained slightly below the pre-pandemic comparable.

Isaac Collazo
By Isaac Collazo, Vice President of Analytics, STR, CoStar
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Diversification of restaurant ¶revenue today

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, restaurants relied primarily on the direct sales of food and beverages for revenue, but since the pandemic, many have had to diversify their revenue streams to survive. EHL Assistant Professor, Guy Llewellyn writes that restaurants have used traditional methods such as selling branded merchandise and gift cards, but also modern methods such as investing in a food truck as a mobile second location or using vending machines or local grocery stores to expand their operations. This has allowed them to reduce the risk of relying on one source of revenue and adapt to changing conditions such as closures of in-person dining and social distancing measures.

Guy Llewellyn
By Guy Llewellyn, Assistant Professor, EHL
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Creating communities ¶one hotel at a time

Accor's Gaurav Bhushan reports a positive outlook for the current year compared to the first quarter of last year. The company is forecasting a growth of 5-10% this year, with the UK and France expected to be strong. Accor recently underwent a corporate reorganization, dividing the business into two divisions: Premium, Midscale & Economy division and Luxury & Lifestyle division. The latter division will focus on elevating the experience of the guests and making hotels community hubs. The company is also investing in its "Working from_" co-working brand, with upcoming openings in London, Chicago, Brussels, and Dubai.  He emphasizes that Accor is focused on driving the business around the hotel, not just travelers, and differentiating product types through their existing brands.

Andrew SangsterGaurav Bhushan
By Andrew Sangster and Gaurav Bhushan
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Who owns ¶your rates? Rethinking the hotel tech stack for optimal revenue optimization

Cendyn's Kevin Duncan writes that hotels need to take control of rate ownership as booking patterns have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Successful revenue management requires a complete understanding of search and booking data, which can be achieved by deploying a single interconnected system of Revenue Management System (RMS) and Central Reservation System (CRS). 

Kevin Duncan
By Kevin Duncan, Executive Vice President, Product, Cendyn™
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

STR Asia-Pacific - Market Snapshot 2022/2023

Hotel performance across Asia Pacific trailed the rest of the world on an annual basis, a result of both the region’s strict and long-lasting COVID mitigation strategies as well as its reliance on long-haul international inbound travel. It is important to note that the region is varying and diverse in macroeconomic factors and hospitality indices, and larger economy countries such as Australia, India, Singapore, and Thailand had a higher rate of inflation than some others, and rather closer to those seen in Europe.

Jesper Palmqvist
By Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director Asia Pacific, STR, CoStar
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Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Human-Centric sustainability marketing to drive consumer demand

Many hospitality brands communicate sustainable initiatives in generic ways that are not consistent or meaningful enough to attract additional consumers, and in some cases, may even cause reduced demand or backlash. A study of Swiss consumers found that for effective sustainable marketing, hospitality brands need to pay specific attention to three things: their sustainable initiatives should be specific enough to answer the targeted needs for a large portion of their consumers, they need to be communicated in a way that drives consumer action, and they should not incite dislike, annoyance or criticism from consumers.

Matthias Fuchs
By Matthias Fuchs, Assistant Professor and Director of the Institute for Customer Experience Management, EHL
Hotel Yearbook Article

HFTP Member Spotlight: Amanda Holland

This week's Member Spotlight series features 2022-23 Young Professionals Advisory Councilmember Amanda Holland of Fort Myers, Florida.

HFTP
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

STR Middle East - Market Snapshot 2022/2023

Supply growth has been the name of the game for the Middle East hospitality industry, and 2023 is expected to be no different. Ambitious plans to bolster both tourism and corporate travel across the region have led to significant development efforts from major Western hotel brands. The “Big 6” hotel companies account for nearly half of the new rooms presently under construction across the Middle East, while independently owned properties account for less than one-third of the 93,000 rooms in development. When looking at countries around the world with at least 10,000 room openings scheduled for 2023, Qatar leads in projected supply growth at 29%. Saudi Arabia (+15.3%) and United Arab Emirates (+9.8%), are third and fourth on that list, respectively.

Philip Wooller
By Philip Wooller, Area Director Middle East & Africa, STR, CoStar
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Authenticity in the food and beverage industry

Authenticity has become important in the food and beverage industry and in hospitality, as consumers are increasingly looking for authentic products and experiences. Research shows that authentic products and firms receive greater benefits, and authenticity is characterized by aspects such as small-scale, local production, history, and tradition. EHL Assistant Professor Margarita Cruz provides some unique insights into how authenticity becomes so important for consumer brands.

Margarita Cruz
By Margarita Cruz, Associate Professor of Corporate Strategy and Entrepreneurship EHL Hospitality Business, EHL
Hotel Yearbook Article The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition

Sustainable real estate - Increasing pressures for hotel investors

The hospitality industry, including hotels, is facing a significant challenge in the march towards carbon neutrality. Buildings are a major source of greenhouse gases, with hotel operations consuming more energy than any other type of building and accounting for an estimated 1% of global carbon emissions. The authors of this article claim the long-term commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by most major hotel chains is important, but net-zero operations alone do not tell the whole story. Embodied carbon in the construction and renovation of buildings is another significant contributor to global emissions, with hotel construction accounting for another 2% of global carbon emissions, bringing the total footprint of the hospitality industry to 3%. As regulatory frameworks evolve to meet ambitious emissions reduction targets, the industry will face challenges and opportunities in the coming years.

Remy ReinRené-Ojas Woltering
By Remy Rein and René-Ojas Woltering