That sound you heard this past weekend was 170 million people hitting the roof at not being able to access TikTok for roughly 12-16 hours.
As we close the chapter on a transformative 2024 and step into 2025, Newport Hospitality Group continues to lead the charge in redefining operational excellence. Our mission is clear, to empower our general managers and directors of sales with the tools they need to deliver exceptional guest experiences. By leveraging innovative systems, we aim to streamline processes, enhance performance, and allow our leaders to focus on what truly matters—our guests.
A quick jaunt up the coast for Angelenos or anyone else in Southern California (SoCal) is the picturesque haven of Santa Barbara with its never-ending white sand beaches surrounded by trendy restaurants and beachfront accommodations. But drive a few minutes up the city’s hills, and you will reach the El Encanto, a secluded, 7.5-acre oasis of verdant gardens tucked into the upper reaches. Here, a serene presence contrasts the endless hubbub of cars, people, boats, and related commercial activities.
The news is bleeding with travel gloom and discouraging numbers for the hospitality market. Headlines tout softening and consumer spending coming to a halt while exploiting the idea that luxury travel is both thriving and diving. Bloomberg reported that even with deep-pocketed travelers, the word right now is “value.”
As we prepare for the upcoming Commercial Strategy Conference (CSC), I’m excited to share insights from the newly released HSMAI Foundation report, From Solos to Symphony. The Transformational Power of ‘Commercial’. Authored by Breffni M. Noone and Chris Boyd, this report offers the first comprehensive research of how the formalization of the commercial function can revolutionize hotel performance.
For Canadians, Fairmont is not just a hotel brand but a fixture of our nation’s history. In the decades following the country’s confederation in 1867, towns that connected the Eastern hubs of Montreal, Toronto, Quebec and Ottawa with the still-budding Western ports of Vancouver and Victoria were few and far between. It fell up Canadian Pacific – the company that would eventually sell its hotel division to Fairmont Raffles Hotels International then to Accor in 2016 – to not only build a transcontinental railway but to erect a series of what we now deem iconic hotels along the route.
Historically, Las Vegas was a gaming-centric market, with 61% of revenues coming from the casino category in 1990. Although gaming continues to serve as an economic engine in Las Vegas, according to CDC Gaming, food, beverage, and other departments accounted for a record 73.4% of total revenue, up from a combined 69.6% year over year. This trend is not limited to Las Vegas; it is being observed in casino markets worldwide.
The Americas Lodging Investment Symposium has just concluded, and Aperture Hotels CEO Charles Oswald is back with key takeaways from this year’s meeting of hotel owners, investors, and operators.
Today we are asking…
When it comes to showcasing your hotel's unique features and inviting potential guests to experience your property, nothing is more important than your imagery. Investing in high-quality visuals is an investment in your hotel's success for several years to come. However, many hotels make significant mistakes in photo and video production that can hinder their marketing efforts. Let’s explore some common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Last week, we welcomed nearly 40 members of the Research Advisory Committee for our annual in-person meeting in Washington, D.C. Through meaningful presentations from industry experts on the evolving drivers of international travel’s recovery and the disruption and opportunities of ChatGPT, the meeting was extremely informative, engaging and thought provoking. The committee had the opportunity to exchange and share ideas with each other through an open forum discussion. Topics discussed included sustaining leisure travel demand beyond the summer, destination management and sustainability initiatives and business travel’s new normal.
This summer, air travel demand is expected to be the strongest since pre-pandemic—and potentially the strongest ever. Over a quarter of Americans plan to increase the amount they are spending on leisure travel in the next three months (26%) up from 19% in Q1.
These new insights combined with surveys of current business travelers and corporate executive perspectives from the Quarterly Business Travel Tracker in collaboration with JD Power and Tourism Economics will help anticipate and identify consumer opportunities and risks—highlighting the greatest opportunities to grow travel and ensure it is established as essential.
Today we are going to discuss…
Being part of a hotel sales team is a challenging job. Quite frankly, being a hospitality professional – regardless of your scope – is no easy job. The hospitality industry is an ever-shifting, ever-demanding industry that twists and bends according to the whim of travelers, which, as you might have guessed, can be hard to satisfy. But as challenging as it may be, the hospitality landscape offers countless opportunities for personal and professional reward; there is something to be said about working within a landscape so firmly rooted in great service, tradition, and human connection and exploration.
Winning budget to replace your photo assets.
There is no denying that 2021 and 2022 were challenging years for the hospitality industry. While hotels remained shuttered and planes remained uncharacteristically desolate amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hoteliers and hospitality technology vendors contemplated the same question – what would the post-pandemic landscape look like, and when would it (finally) come into view? The long-awaited period of industry revival is now undeniably upon us, and hospitality brands have surged back to life as travelers worldwide look to make up for lost time.
In the span of three years (2019–2021), travelers in the US saved nearly $50 billion on lodging, regardless of how they booked it. This is but one of the conclusions to draw from a recent study by Oxford Economics titled: The Economic Impact of Online Travel Agencies in the United States.
While hospitality brands are well accustomed to seasonal peaks and declines in demand, the prolonged stand-still brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic was a rude – if not entirely devastating – awakening. Around the world, citizens canceled trips, tightened their social bubbles, brought their work home for the foreseeable future, and, most importantly, became accustomed to a socially-distanced way of living. At the same time, airport terminals resembled a post-apocalyptic movie set – desolate and quiet. Hotels remained uncharacteristically empty, roads emptied of their usual rush hour traffic, concert venues locked their doors, and weddings, celebrations, and other events were canceled or rescheduled rapidly.