JULIE KEYSER-SQUIRES is the CEO of SOFTSCRIBE Inc., a digital marketing and PR firm in Atlanta. Here she looks at the social media scene and explains how to stay on the leading edge of these increasingly influential – and quick-changing – marketing tools.
For many independent hotels, electronically generated sales are the only viable tools to compete with franchised hotels. Yet, there are still many independent hoteliers who think that volume electronic sales are out of reach, too costly or too complicated to implement.
There has been a ripple of interest lately in a new metric for the hotel industry, GOPPAR. (If it seems strange that an obscure ratio can spark an industry-wide debate, then you should start hanging out at the accounting department water cooler more often.) Proponents of the measure, which computes gross operating profit per available room, argue that it is a more effective benchmark for a hotel’s overall fiscal health than RevPAR is, because it incorporates all operating costs.
Following the severe drop in demand that the industry has been living through for the past year, what should we be expecting in 2010? Is recovery around the corner – and if so, what shape will it take for the US hotel business? JAN D. FREITAG, Vice President of SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH, describes the outlook.
One of California’s most successful contributions to the hotel industry is JOIE DE VIVRE, a collection of 38 boutique properties throughout the Golden State. Founded in 1987 by CHIP CONLEY, a young man still in his mid-twenties, the company’s “brand personality has a lot in common with the California lifestyle experience,” in the words of Joie de Vivre’s Web site. So what is the impact on a company like this when the state itself falls on hard times? Chip tells us about his expectations for 2010 in the California hotel market.
Even during a phone interview, Jim Loyd is in complete control. It’s nothing new for him to be a leader—after all, he spent 38 years in the public service sector, including stints as an EMT and a police officer. In his roles as evening manager, night auditor and director of security for Hotel Teatro, Loyd is a multitasker who has learned to expect the unexpected. Take the night of Tuesday, 26 January 2010, for example. That’s when Loyd saved the life of a Hotel Teatro guest in distress by practicing what he preaches at the downtown Denver luxury boutique hotel.
In an article published in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management in 2007, (Vol. 6, 4-260-263), two faculty members from the Hotel School at Cornell, Assistant Professor Chris Anderson and Senior Lecturer Bill Carroll wrote a very insightful piece on the subject of demand management as it has emerged from its more traditional antecedents of revenue or yield management. What follows is a concise updated summary on that piece.
People often corner me at social functions to tell me about a problem they’ve had in a hotel. It doesn’t matter if I’ve never worked for the hotel or the incident occurred seventeen years ago; apparently, it’s my duty to listen. Sometimes I get the impression they think I’m somehow to blame.
Are location, location, location the three most important things that determine the success of a property? The purpose of a recent Market Metrix global study of the hotel industry was to analyze the reasons why guests select a particular hotel. The results of this study offer insight into the current behavior of hotel guests and the corresponding market opportunities.
I wish hoteliers would stop thinking that lowering your rates will sell more rooms and increase room revenue. That tactic may sell a few more rooms, but it rarely sells enough rooms to offset lowered rates. It’s simple economics; simply selling more rooms increases expenses, while even slightly higher or flat rates increase profit. As occupancy demand increases, ADR should increase as well.
If you are researching a trip to Italy, or want to learn about wines in the region or even just keep track of calories and new recipes while you're away,"there's an App for that." It is important to acknowledge that phrase has now become common vernacular among iphone users just as "Google It" has to the entire population. With a current user base of 1.5 million iphone users and 1.2 Million Ipod Touch users in Canada alone (Mobile Fringe), 2010 just may be your "app-ortunity" to launch a mobile marketing strategy.
As we get ready for another ALIS conference, here are some interesting trends to watch for in the hallways and on the panels: 1.Attendance: The number of people sitting in the opening session is always a good indicator of how the industry feels about itself. Conference organizer Jim Burba is optimistic, and I always find it interesting to estimate the ratio of people in breakout session versus doing deals in the hallways. 2.Operators’ mood: While transient demand numbers seem to have stabilized, group demand is still wanting.
Recognizing that future success in hospitality and tourism will come from different practices if the industry will continue to evolve and grow in the next generation. The hospitality industry in many ways has become a mature industry, with innovations primarily in the technology side. Tourism, by contrast, can continue to evolve as the next generations embrace the traditional venues, while seeking alternative locations and interests such as volunteer tourism, environmentally related sites and humanitarian causes.
We made it through the holidays celebrating responsibly—as those alcoholic beverage commercials remind us so well—but still with that dark cloud hanging overhead, that inescapable awareness that the industry’s tough times will no doubt carry over throughout 2010 and possibly beyond.
Webster’s Dictionary defines “oxymoron” as “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.” And recent comments by some industry experts suggest the following two statements are mutually exclusive: 1.Hotels are more worried about revenue than revenue per available room. 2.They are more concerned about market share than profits.
Dynamic pricing means that a hotel will change its room rates daily or even within a day if up-to-the-minute market information reveals the need for adjustments. It is based on the recognition that the right rate to charge for a room night is what the customer is able and willing to pay. By underpricing, the revenue manager leaves money on table; by overpricing, the hotel may price itself out of the market. Those who practice dynamic pricing believe that the hotel has to continually adjust rates in response to ever changing supply/demand conditions. The constant challenge, of course, is trying to determine the optimal price on a given day or afternoon.
For hoteliers in 2010, very few aspects of daily and strategic operations are going to be as crucial as revenue management. Of course, revenue management is important at all times but as the new year gets underway with a stronger recovery mentality – and about time too - it is especially important now: demand for hotel rooms is forecasted to increase only slightly more than 1%, and occupancy to essentially remain unchanged this year.
Hyatt Hotels’ Andaz brand isn’t the first—and most definitely won’t be the last—brand launched with service as the centerpiece of its mission statement. Many hotel brands focus on customer service to some extent, and most of them earn passing grades. However, when it comes to customer service, it’s guest satisfaction that is the ultimate measuring stick. The recipe is quite simple: If you deliver the service that your guests expect, you will earn their allegiance.
A new mindset is emerging from guests about what they want from their upscale hotel experience. Downward mobility is the new “trading up.” Today’s consumers of luxury goods and services are spending less on bling and more on the basics. Cash-strapped hoteliers should take this into consideration when establishing upscale hotel renovation budgets for 2010 and beyond. Three concepts can help hotel owners and operators better craft their new-reality capital plans for this year and thereby spend their dollars more strategically.
In the uncertainty of today’s economic environment, the old saying, “Plan your work and work your plan,” is not only as good of advice as ever, it takes on a new meaning. We know the annual process of writing business plans produces our blueprint for achieving maximum performance. In this economy we know any number of economic variables could change from the predictions we made during the planning process.