How Three—or Four—Factors Have Combined to Increase Travel's Affordability
Below, we take a deep dive into the data and what it means for travel.
By Aaron Szyf, Economist, U.S. Travel Association
Opinion Articles
As Camping Popularity Surges, RV Resorts Look to Capitalize With Hotel-Like Comforts
Over the past several years, H&LA has seen a marked increase in interest from developers and investors in campgrounds and RV resorts. RV parks are rebranding as resorts as they add more amenities. Though camping is far from a new phenomenon, its uptick in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic helped introduce it to many first-time campers, which boosted participation to higher levels. One of the most popular pastimes in North America, camping has the added benefit for travelers of also being one of the most affordable and accessible vacation options.
By Anthony DiPonio, CHIA, Associate, Hotel & Leisure Advisors (H&LA)
Industry Perspectives: Looking Ahead for the Travel Industry
These insights and perspectives help us understand how some of the largest travel corporate players are viewing the state of the economy and its impact on the travel industry as well as the main factors they are monitoring that may hinder their continued growth.
By Jamie Mageau, Director of Research Products, U.S. Travel Association
Independent Hotels Have Largely Shed 'Inferiority Complex'
Between the 1950s and the year 2000, hotel owners wishing to expand business beyond their local community had two options.
By Thomas Magnuson, Co-Founder & CEO Magnuson Hotels, Magnuson Hotels
Hotel Conversions to Residential Use Heat Up
As economy and budget hotels are nearing the end of their economic life, some properties are finding new capital for renovations from buyers seeking to convert properties to residential use. In this article, we provide a sample list of hotels that have gone through this metamorphosis.
By Koby Kearney and Rodney Clough
Data Security and Privacy in Hospitality – Who’s Paying the Bill?
One of the most valuable assets of a hotel brand is information – detailed personal information about guests at their hotels, participants in their loyalty programs, and visitors to their websites. This information allows hotel brands to focus on creating guest loyalty, acquiring potential guests, engaging in effective marketing, expanding market share, and creating properties and services that entice and satisfy hotel guests. Because of this, hotel brands have long contended that they “own” hotel guest data and have unencumbered rights to use it, without respect to the interests of hotel owners and even the guests themselves.
By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM
Highs, Lows and Some In-Between: 2022 in Review
What a year. 2022 was a mix of setbacks and recovery, coupled with seemingly contradictory economic and consumer data.
By Jamie Mageau and Aaron Szyf
Hotel Data Security Update: Hotels, Hotel Owners and Employee Personal Information
Hotel operators and owners have long been focused on the privacy of the personal information they collect from guests – because of the global nature of the hospitality business, hotel brands have focused on complying with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and beginning in 2018, the Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the first comprehensive law designed to protect the privacy of consumers’ personal information.
By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM
Q3 Business Travel Tracker: Restricting Policies Limiting Business Travel are Diminishing
Company policies restricting business travel are diminishing for both small and large organizations. The negative impacts of reduced business travel are increasingly evident.
By Jamie Mageau, Director of Research Products, U.S. Travel Association
Paging Business Traveler
At the Hotel Data Conference in August, there were several panel discussions focused on the state and return of business travel. The one that piqued my interest was not the one focused on “Bleisure” but a much more demurely titled “The return of business (transient) travel”.
By Eric Amador, Customer Success Manager, BirchStreet Systems
Emphasizing Indigenous Hotelier Education with Firecircle
Indigenous tourism is a burgeoning pillar within Canadian travel, growing at four times the pace of other tourism sectors and contributing more than $1.7 billion to the GDP from over 1,875 businesses (prior to the pandemic). And despite the crushing impact of the past two years, there is more interest than ever from Indigenous entrepreneurs to take their place in the Canadian hospitality industry. Supporting these ventures in turn presents lucrative opportunities for investors, brands and management companies.
By Larry Mogelonsky and Adam Mogelonsky
Another Death - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
“He’s over there! I think it’s an emergency!” Emerging from the elevator, I did not want to hear this. Despite the impression left by television, cardiac arrests are usually fatal. Outside a hospital, about ten percent survive.
My Last Bad Check - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
A guest at the Hyatt had fallen ill and cancelled a flight. He had recovered, but the airline insisted on a doctor’s note before allowing him on board.
The Occasional Surprise - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
A travel insurer asked me to see a lady in Mission Hills complaining of high blood pressure.
The Power of Three Hotels: Constructing One Collection
Combining two hotels in the same vicinity into one operation isn't a new concept. Hotels often do this as it makes a lot of sense, resulting in greater productivity, strategic advantages and greater efficiencies that a single hotel cannot provide on its own.
A Dog-Eat-Dog Business, Part 5 - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
I was attending a guest at Le Mondrian when there was a knock. The guest was not dressed, so I opened the door to find myself eye-to-eye with another doctor. I recognized him as one of the new concierge physicians eager to serve hotels, including mine.
A Treatment Better Than the Best - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
She had a fourteen hour flight to Australia, explained a woman with a thick French accent. Unfortunately, she had thrown her back out again. Would I come and give something to relax her muscles for that long journey?
The Glamorous Life of the Call Girl - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
The man who opened the door was past sixty, short, plump, balding, and tieless, wearing a rumpled suit which I suspected he’d put on to greet me. Across the room, wearing a bathrobe, a young woman sat on the bed, staring sullenly at the floor.
Good Doctors Do It - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
“I’m coughing my head off. My head is plugged. I have a fever. I’m on vacation, and I need something.” I’ve seen over 4,000 guests with respiratory infections. To the average hotel doctor, this is an easy visit. He arrives, performs the traditional exam, prescribes the traditional antibiotic, and accepts his fee and the guest’s thanks. What’s not to like?
Sticking With the Errant Doctor - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
A guest had a flight in a few hours, explained the front desk manager of the Marina Marriott. His wife was ill and needed a doctor’s note to reschedule. How fast could I get there?