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.
You have a beautiful hotel, filled with luxury touches to make your guests’ stay as comfortable and memorable as possible. But are you truly ‘owning’ the guest experience from the moment of booking and beyond? Communication is the key to the new wave of brand loyalty. If you make communication easy, personal and accessible, you open an opportunity to a new level of guest loyalty… And following loyalty, of course, follows revenue. It’s time to own the guest experience through mobile, personalised, digital technology.
Search online for the term "iconic hotels" and you will find scores of fabulous properties like Belmond Hotel Splendido in Portofino in Italy, to Laucala Island in Fiji. Through some quirk of fate or careless oversight all the luxury hotel experts somehow missed the gem of Yalta, Villa Elena. What follows is a very abbreviated history of the hotel, followed by an exclusive interview with the hotel's Director, Kira Zakharova.
This week's briefing jointly organised by Dentons, Horizons and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum/Bench Events proved to be as insightful as expected. It was a mix of market updates and intelligence, news on up-and- coming restaurant concepts as well as a talk on the do's and dont's when expanding internationally and an earnest discourse on Brexit.
During my many years of travel in the service industry and having stayed in hundreds of hotels worldwide, it's clear that the past five years have brought about enormous change in the hotel industry. Innovation with architecture, interior design and guest comfort is at an all-time high. Widespread revitalisation has been incredibly successful in meeting guest expectations. Yet, in an increasingly demanding world, there still also remains a huge opportunity to truly create a home from home for the traveler.
Last week, in Athens, a cast of hospitality and travel tech experts gathered at the Digi.travel EMEA Conference & Expo. The conference was dedicated to online travel trends and developments, and to solutions for the most pressing challenges facing the industry. Here is a synopsis of the meet-up, and the high points from some of the world's most knowledgeable hospitality-tech experts.
Evros Prefecture is located in the north-eastern part of Greece in the natural boundary of the country with Bulgaria to the north and Turkey to the east. To the West it borders with the prefecture of Rodopi, access to which is possible via the Egnatia Odos Highway and to the south it lies on the coast of the Thracian Sea (part of the North Aegean Sea). Over the last decade, the tourism sector has recorded significant development while several investments related to the hotel industry have materialized in the area.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) -- the voice of the global business travel industry – and German business travel buyer association VDR – wrapped up their third successful joint conference in Europe this week with record attendance. The event brought together over 950 attendees from 20+ countries for networking, education and top-notch speakers.