We recently attended Travelmedia Congres in Brugge to meet with hoteliers and exchange insights with other hospitality industry experts. Those who attended got to see trivago data on traveler search behavior, learn about the importance of affordable and intuitive hotel technology, connect with travel experts, and gain access to the latest insights on hotel marketing.
When heads of state come to visit your hotel they usually make a bit of a show. The Russians are no exception, they even bring their own warship, the KGB and a wad of cash!
I do not advertise any product. Never did, never will. However, I am occasionally impressed with the way certain people do things, especially as compared to the way other people do it.
Working in Hospitality, people are the key to success; full-time, part-time, flexitime, and temps; the individuals that form your team propel you ahead of the competition. You may decide to take on apprentices as part of your staff; these members of your team require more attention than others.
'Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.' Henry James
As an independent hotelier, you don't want to buy 10 different hotel technology solutions. You need to spend your money wisely, and invest only in those technologies that will add value to your business and, importantly, grow your profits. But how can you know which hotel technology will accomplish this?
To stand out hotels must have more than a pretty face. Yet creating a great concept is not an easy task. Here are a few insights on the challenges and pitfalls of hotel concept development.
This afternoon in Brussels, GBTA met various leaders including Mr. Tim Figures, Head of the Competitiveness and Market department as part of the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom to the European Union on this historical day in the future of Europe.
This March 28–30, HFTP is producing its newest endeavor, HITEC Amsterdam, a smaller, boutique version of the ongoing, popular 45-year event. Helping to guide the educational component is long-time HFTP member, Carson Booth, vice president of global technology for Marriott International (Starwood). Using his expertise in the European, and international, hotel market, Booth leads a council of advisors to make the program uniquely European, with global appeal.
This market snapshot presents current data and information on the upscale and luxury hotel and tourism industry in Florence, Italy. In writing such articles, we utilise the expertise of HVS in each market to the full extent by combining our in-house data and research together with published information regarding the examined destinations. A separate publication about the region of Tuscany will follow.
Besides obvious industry standards, guest experience can never be standardized. It's always a matter of one-on-one interaction, people greeting people, or else, we'd need to redefine "hospitality" as a whole. In 2017, more than ever so, the guest experience is about standing out through particularities rather than standards. This is why Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa on Santorini is redefining its own norms, pushing boundaries in an attempt to remain relevant while different on an island where expectations fall under the "posh and demanding" umbrella.
U.S. President Trump's forthcoming state visit to the U.K. may only be in the planning stages as yet but it has already proved to be controversial. A state visit is largely ceremonial but the pomp and pageantry can help to cement relations between two countries – and with Brexit on the horizon, Britain will need all the friends it can muster, especially when it comes to negotiating trade deals.
The referendum result in the U.K. this past summer has plunged the U.K. into a period of uncertainty as the country waits to find out what the decision to leave the European Union will mean exactly. A plummeting in the value of the pound was the most apparent immediate impact of the vote in June, along with a whirlwind of successive resignations among the country's political leadership. As the U.K. waits for Article 50 to be triggered and for the terms of exit from the EU to become apparent, we take a look at what immediate impact there has been on the U.K. hospitality sector and what the future may look like.
Recently Italian financial markets have had a negative influence from the result of Brexit and the lately bank crisis. Therefore, the pursuit of protected goods like properties increased. Italian houses prices have been declining since 2008, especially in some metropolitan cities and tourist resorts. According to the ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics), the prices have fallen by 13.7% from Q1 2010 to Q1 2015. While in the first 3 quarters of 2016, the prices fell by 0.9% over the same period of the last year.
Despite the accumulation of natural catastrophes, social movements, terrorist attacks and economic depression, tourists are still present in France. And we might almost admire them for all the challenges they must get through to reach the destination. While their numbers may be smaller, there are still plenty left to welcome under excellent conditions.
IntroductionSince the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, Iceland has seen an incredible boom in tourism with growth rates unmatched anywhere else in Europe. Media coverage of the eruption brought increased awareness of the natural beauty of the remote nation which, when coupled with the severe decline in the Icelandic krona compared to other major currencies after the financial crisis, led to an unforeseen explosion in tourism of volcanic proportions. With the growth in hotels unable to keep pace with the record number of tourists visiting the country, Airbnb and similar companies have flourished. This article provides an overview of Iceland's hotel market followed by a brief look at its sharing economy.
Innovation. It's the lifeblood of many industries. But in our industry, hospitality, innovation tends to be incremental rather than radical. That's not to say there have not been new and innovative practices, but by and large it's a conservative and traditional industry, which focuses on best practices and processes. In an ever-changing corporate landscape, the need for continuous innovation has become a prerequisite to stay competitive and conduct business in a new way.
Lewis once called stories love gifts and indeed they are as when we narrate a story we devote time of our lives to a person whom we find important to spend time with. Story is what we do everyday on Facebook and on Instagram and story is also what we do in the business of dating.
A while back we spoke with Stephen Minall, member of the HITEC Amsterdam Advisory Council and owner of Moving Food Ltd., to address the issue of whether the industry needs to elevate the role of IT Managers. Minall is a man of few words and a brilliant strategist. His answer back then was simple: "it should be a challenge to all hotels."
Franchise contracts are based on a reciprocal commitment between the investor-operator and the brand. Since investment funds set their sights on the hotel industry, such contracts have run into serious pitfalls. More concerned about seeing share prices climb on the stock exchange, financial shareholders have driven corporate communication to the detriment of brand marketing, thereby weakening awareness, the image and the attributes that make up the essential capital of any consumer brand.