Shows
Lodging LeadersCOVID Comp Sets: The pandemic has dramatically altered hotels’ playing fieldsThe coronavirus crisis has altered the business models of many hotels. For that reason, the pandemic also is forcing hotel managers to reconsider their competitive sets and how to benchmark their hotel’s business performance. Episode 315 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the genesis of the hotel industry comp set and how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed the strategic business tool.2021-03-3134 min
Lodging LeadersNo Discounts Available: Smart rate management keeps hotels afloat amid COVID-19 stormThe U.S. hotel industry has seen rates decline over the past 12 months, but the numbers may not be telling the whole story. Industry rate watchers as well as asset managers Lodging Leaders interviewed say, for the most part, hotel owners and operators are being smart about pricing while other pandemic-related factors are skewing rate metrics. Episode 314 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores what is truly impacting hotel pricing during the coronavirus crisis.2021-03-2421 min
Lodging LeadersStaging a Comeback: Hospitality leader Ron Vlasic helps industry build post-pandemic revivalRon Vlasic has held several leadership roles over the course of his 30 years in the hospitality industry. While serving as COO at Hostmark Hospitality Group, the Chicago native has answered the call to help the U.S. travel and tourism industry recover from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. For the next two years, he will serve on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In Episode 313 of Lodging Leaders podcast, Vlasic tells the story of his career journey and what it will take...2021-03-1724 min
Lodging LeadersSpring Breaks for Homebodies: Staycations are a growing trend amid the coronavirus pandemicSpring breaks will be shortened or reduced as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact travel and tourism. Many schools and colleges are skipping the annual rite to party. But that doesn’t mean hotels have to give up trying to attract guests this season. Staycations are increasing as people tired of being cooped up seek a respite close to home. Episode 312 of Lodging Leader podcast explores the origin and evolution of the staycation and how hotels can capitalize on people’s desire to get away from it all, even if it’s just for one or two nights2021-03-1022 min
Lodging LeadersShelters From the Norm: Hotels used for hospitals and housing face unexpected problemsAs hospitals throughout the U.S. turned to hotels to absorb patient overflows caused by the coronavirus pandemic and public agencies contracted with properties to house unsheltered populations, many owners weren’t prepared for the challenges these urgent decisions have created, including property damage, increased costs and eviction bans. Episode 311 of Lodging Leaders podcast is the final in a two-part series examining the pros and cons of opening hotels to alternative uses amid the coronavirus crisis.2021-03-0325 min
Lodging LeadersHotels Convert to Housing: Federal COVID-19-relief funds fuel transactionsThough the hotel transaction pace has slowed during the coronavirus pandemic, an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic-relief money boosted by state and local government grants is fueling the sale of lodging assets to affordable-housing developers. Episode 310 of Lodging Leaders podcast is the first of a two-part series examining what it takes to convert a hotel into long-term housing.2021-02-2425 min
Lodging Leaders‘Stay the Course’: Kathleen Bertrand recalls hospitality career focused on growth through diversityKathleen Bertrand believes Atlanta is a city where dreams can come true. A jazz recording artist, she served at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau for more than 30 years, finding new ways to promote to the world the best things about the city she calls a “melting pot” of races and cultures. In Episode 309 of Lodging Leaders podcast Bertrand gets vocal and tells her story of rising through the ranks as one of the few Black women in leadership in the tourism industry. This session is part of Long Live Lodging’s special report commemorating Black...2021-02-2225 min
Lodging LeadersFrom Guests’ Mouths to Managers’ Ears: J.D. Power study reveals what satisfies hotel customers in COVID-19 ageAlthough most hotels in the U.S. have remained open since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, many guests are traveling for the first time in months. Hotel staff are tasked with helping guests navigate a whole new world while easing their fears of contracting COVID-19. Episode 308 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how Crestline Hotels & Resorts, winner of J.D. Power’s inaugural Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark report, is keeping customer satisfaction at an all-time high in a challenging business environment.2021-02-1720 min
Lodging Leaders‘A National Story’: Black travel in America evolved with the Civil Rights MovementTravel means freedom for most Americans, but not too long ago and even today, that’s not always the case for Black citizens. While leading the quest for civil rights, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advised his followers to “keep moving forward,” no matter what. Episode 307 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how African American travelers learned to safely navigate the nation’s highways and byways during the age of segregation. This report is part of a special project by Long Live Lodging that commemorates Black History Month by exploring the impact the travel and hosp...2021-02-1530 min
Lodging LeadersCalculated Risks: Catastrophic 2020 means higher insuranceWhen it comes to insurance coverage for hotels, the coronavirus pandemic is top of mind for most owners and operators these days. However, other areas of business protection cannot be a low priority. The U.S. in 2020 experienced a record number of billion-dollar weather-related catastrophes. Expect the same level of threat this year, say experts. Episode 306 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how a hard commercial property insurance market is affecting the hotel industry.2021-02-1021 min
Lodging Leaders‘Traveling on Hospitality’: Andrew Young remembers life on the road toward civil rightsEpisode 305 of Lodging Leaders podcast features civil rights icon Andrew Young Jr. of Atlanta sharing his remembrances of hoteliers and private homeowners in the segregated South showing hospitality to civil rights workers in mid-20th-century America. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s special project commemorating Black History Month and how the travel and hospitality industries impacted the Civil Rights Movement.2021-02-0827 min
Lodging Leaders‘This is Huge’: Choice Hotels makes history with Black-owned multi-unit dealA new hotel investor, Fred Washington recently made history when he signed Choice Hotels International’s first minority-led multi-unit franchise development deal. Episode 304 of Lodging Leaders podcast kicks off our special series commemorating Black History Month that explores the impact the hotel industry has had on the Civil Rights Movement. This report also is part of our ongoing coverage of the state of diversity, inclusion and equality in hospitality leadership.2021-02-0332 min
Lodging LeadersHotel Tech Goes Viral: COVID pandemic forces industry to modernize operationsThe coronavirus pandemic is forcing hoteliers to deploy new technology to run more cost-efficient businesses and to ensure customers that properties are safe by providing such services as contactless check in and mobile key. Episode 303 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how the COVID-19 outbreak has invigorated hotels’ adoption of tech solutions and looks at what types of products owners and operators are investing in. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.2021-01-2727 min
Lodging LeadersValue Judgment: Hotel asset pricing in COVID-19 age is different from previous recessionsHotel appraisers and brokers expect distressed assets to come to market as the pandemic recession continues into 2021. But pricing will be different than in previous economic downturns. Episode 302 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of hotel values and what may lie ahead for sellers and opportunistic investors. This is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry.2021-01-2031 min
Lodging LeadersThe Road Warrior Ahead: Business travel will come back ‘with a vengeance,’ say expertsBusiness travel is expected to begin a comeback in 2021 as the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, consumers regain confidence and corporations put some of their people on road. In Episode 301 of Lodging Leaders podcast, we explore the outlook for business travel as hotels, airlines and others in the travel industry hope to make up for the $113 billion and 200 million jobs lost to the coronavirus pandemic.2021-01-1333 min
Lodging Leaders2020 Hindsight: Lodging Leaders reviews hot topics, gives sneak peek of what’s aheadWelcome to the podcast’s 300th episode of Lodging Leaders podcast, a milestone fellow co-hosts Jon Albano and Judy Maxwell plan to mark by reviewing the hot topics of 2020 as well as looking ahead to what we have planned for 2021. As we all know by now, the best laid plans are often tabled when an unexpected crisis impacts our lives and our businesses, but having a strategy for how you plan to move forward get beyond survival mode is also important. And, we think we can all agree that the events of 2020 have given us a new aw...2021-01-0654 min
Lodging LeadersConserve Cash, Save the Hotel: What asset managers are doing to survive the long COVID winterThe damage wrought on hotel businesses by the coronavirus pandemic is wide and deep. But the longevity of the pandemic is proving to be truly devastating, especially as the U.S. experiences another surge in the infection rate. Episode 299 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores what asset managers did in the early days of the crisis to save hotels’ business; what they’re doing now to stay alive; and what they’re planning for the coming months as a vaccine emerges as a solution. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis a...2020-12-3026 min
Lodging LeadersReady to Order: Ghost kitchen concepts may save the restaurant industryA little more than a year ago, the National Restaurant Association forecasted the hot culinary trends of 2020. Among its top 10 were “delivery-friendly” menu items and recipe ingredients that relieve stress. Here we are nine months since the coronavirus pandemic came to America, and at least these predictions were spot on. Owners and operators of restaurants, including those associated with hotels, have come up with creative ways to do business and stay open to some degree. In this episode of Lodging Leaders podcast, we talk to two restauranteurs who differ in their business models and...2020-12-1623 min
Lodging LeadersReply All: How hotels can use email to build back businessThe coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of business. Consumer buying habits are no exception as more sales than ever have shifted online. Omnisend reported that in the first quarter of this year digital shoppers increased their number of unique page views by 15 percent and online orders by 21 percent from the same quarter a year before. That’s a noteworthy uptick. But it’s nothing compared to April when page views jumped by 96 percent and orders skyrocketed by 88 percent year over year. A lot of the online buying growth is the result of m...2020-12-0924 min
Lodging LeadersFlexible Business Model: Apartment-hotels are an emerging trend in an industry in crisisLike the extended-stay hotel sector, the short-term rental business has held its own since the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. in mid-March. Longer stays have buoyed the short-term rental sector, which experienced an average 5 percent decline in demand from April 2019 to April 2020 while transient hotel demand dropped by an average 29 percent in the same time period, according to a joint report by The Highland Group and All The Rooms. Such demand is also supporting apartment-hotels. The category includes serviced apartments; lodging accommodations with a mix of hotel rooms and serviced apartments; and privately owned...2020-12-0236 min
Lodging LeadersDoing Well: Coronavirus pandemic advances wellness design and programs in hotelsThe coronavirus pandemic is forcing the lodging industry to rethink health and wellness. Designers like Blanche Garcia of B. Garcia Designs see this as an opportunity for hotels to revise their messaging beyond clean and safe by introducing wellness products and programs they can market to attract guests who want to feel good during their stay and return home feeling better than when they left. Episode 295 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how implementing elements of wellness can be a cure for hotel businesses struggling to survive. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of...2020-11-1834 min
Lodging LeadersShe is a Hotel Investor: What She Has a Deal can teach every hotel investorShe Has a Deal, a program that promotes women as hotel owners, last month minted several new investors through its inaugural pitch competition. Episode 294 of Lodging Leaders podcast examines what it took for the three women who make up the team called Datcher to win the top prize of $50,000 in equity in an investment fund that would include financing toward its $27-million project proposed for downtown Detroit. What we found out can help prospective hotel developers find capital and guide would-be investors on where to risk their money when the lodging industry begins to shift from survival...2020-11-1134 min
Lodging LeadersCrisis Managers: Coronavirus challenge redefines GM roleGeneral managers of hotels throughout the U.S. are redefining their job descriptions as they make beds, do laundry, vacuum lobbies and patrol parking lots – all jobs once done by employees they’ve had to lay off when the coronavirus pandemic struck in March. GMs also are charged with cutting costs and finding ways to maintain asset values amid a steep downturn in business. In Episode 293 of Lodging Leaders podcast, general managers talk about what it’s like to run a hotel amid a global health pandemic. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage...2020-11-0443 min
Lodging LeadersPeople of Persuasion: Travel influencers grow in sophistication and significance in COVID-19 ageFor many hotel owners and operators, the term “influencer marketing” conjures up an image of a selfie-obsessed millennial who wants free room nights in exchange for some positive social media posts about her stay experience. Hoteliers often felt the so-called influencer took advantage of their hospitality and provided little return on the hotel’s in-kind investment. In the COVID-19 age, those days are over. To be sure, influencers are not going away. In fact, their numbers and significance are growing as influencers become mainstream in the marketing world. Digitally savvy brand ambass...2020-10-2834 min
Lodging LeadersOn The Brink: Hotel associations lobby on Capitol Hill to ward off disasterThe U.S. hotel industry is hanging on by a thread. According to research from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, two thirds of the nation’s 57,000 hotels will close without federal government relief. Experts Lodging Leaders interviewed say hotel businesses are on the precipice of failure, and if they fall they’re taking more than 5 million jobs with them. In this episode of Lodging Leaders we talk to Cecil Staton, president and CEO of AAHOA in Atlanta, Georgia, and Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA in Washington, D.C., who update the asso...2020-10-2135 min
Lodging LeadersDAY-CATIONS: Hotels turn guest rooms into private office spacesWith hotel occupancies hovering around an average of 50 percent, owners and operators are seeking new ways to generate revenue beyond traditional overnight stays. One solution in the works is day use of hotel rooms. Hotel companies Accor and Hilton are promoting the practice and individual hotels are also accommodating work-from-hotel concepts to boost business performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Lodging Leaders explores the practice of day use in the hotel industry. We feature Yannis Moati, founder of Hotels by Day in New York City, a booking platform; Raj Chudasama of Kriya Hotels...2020-10-1436 min
Lodging Leaders5 - She Has a Deal - Marlene ReyesMarlene Reyes is 34 years old with an MBA from Cornell University. Her teammate is Nancy Guzman, also an alum of Cornell. They learned about She Has a Deal from an email shared among Cornell alumni.2020-10-0703 min
Lodging Leaders4 - She Has a Deal - Viviana WilkinsViviana Wilkins is a 27-year-old master’s student at San Diego State University and leader of the three-woman team named Fernweh Partners. Her cohorts are Meaghan Carfrey, 35, a fellow student, and Nikki Gonzales, 22 and a graduate of the university. Viviana said it was Carl Winston, director of SDSU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, who told them about She Has a Deal.2020-10-0705 min
Lodging Leaders3 - She Has a Deal - Regina YooRegina Yoo is a 21-year-old senior in the hotel development program at NYU. Her cohort is Eng Sou, who’s 22 and a recent graduate of the program who works for Urbanland Asia Investment Co. in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Together they comprise the She Has a Deal team of Lodgingco.2020-10-0705 min
Lodging Leaders2 - She Has a Deal - Lera CovingtonLera Covington is captain of Datcher, a three-member team named for Jane Eleanor Datcher, who in 1890 was the first African American woman to earn an advanced degree from Cornell University. Lera is 34 and will graduate in December with dual master degrees in real estate and in regional planning. Her teammates are 27-year-old Joanne Angbazo and Kristen Collins, who’s 25. They’re graduates of Cornell and, along with Lera, are members of Cornell Real Estate Women. Lera describes the project they plan to pitch.2020-10-0704 min
Lodging Leaders1 - She Has a Deal - Heaven DouglasHeaven Douglas is a 24-year-old honors graduate of Howard University and a financial analyst at RLJ Lodging Trust. Heaven has teamed up with Chelsea Lawson, 21 and a senior at University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Their team is called Phoenix Capital. Heaven and Chelsea met at Hospitality Leaders Today 100, an organization dedicated to creating a pipeline of minority business executives. Heaven is a native of New Orleans. She explains she decided to pursue a career in hospitality finance to gain an early foothold in the industry.2020-10-0705 min
Lodging LeadersOTA Protest: Reform Lodging members to blackout roomsSince the coronavirus pandemic crippled the U.S. lodging industry beginning in mid-March, tens of thousands of hotels have struggled to keep their lights on and attract business. However, a new group of hoteliers this week hopes to disrupt third-party booking channels with a blackout campaign to protest the commissions charged by online travel agencies during the COVID-19 crisis. Reform Lodging is asking its nearly 2,000 members to shut off their branded room inventory from Expedia Group and Booking Holdings on Friday and Saturday in what it calls a “symbolic” act of defiance. In this...2020-10-0736 min
Lodging Leaders‘The Big Pause’: Hotels retooling employment policies as business slowly returnsOn average, staffing levels in U.S. hotels are half of what they were in mid-March, when the federal government declared the new-coronavirus outbreak a national emergency and travel came to an abrupt halt. Hotel Effectiveness recently reported that re-hiring in recent months is a mixed bag. *Economy-segmented hotels are almost back to full staff while staffing at hotels from midscale to luxury tiers ranges from 75 percent to 45 percent, respectively. However, at the end of summer, hiring had slowed across the board. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we take a look at...2020-09-3035 min
Lodging LeadersThe Long Haul: Extended-stay hotels show their strength in a crisisExtended Stay America lost money in the second quarter of this year, but in the COVID-19 age the company found reasons to celebrate. It was able to keep its 636 hotels open since the pandemic struck in mid-March. It furloughed few of its 8,000 employees. And, at the end of June, its hotels had an average across-the-board occupancy of 80 percent, up from a low of 50 percent in mid-April. The story is not Extended Stay America’s alone. The U.S. extended-stay hotel sector has proven to be the most resilient of the lodging segments amid the coronavirus cr...2020-09-2331 min
Lodging LeadersCare Packages: Hotels can attract business with cause marketingMcKinsey & Company’s COVID-19 U.S. Consumer Pulse Survey released in late August shows how consumer sentiment has changed over the six months since COVID-19 arrived in the U.S. People are tuned into what researchers are calling the health-and-caring economy. And hotels are part of the mix. The survey shows an increase since mid-March of consumers’ intent to book a hotel stay in the U.S. The study also reveals more people are shopping and buying online. But for consumers who plan to show up in person at a business, incl...2020-09-1634 min
Lodging Leaders‘Allure of the Door’: Exterior-corridor hotels trending in COVID-19 pandemicMMGY Travel Intelligence reported in August that most of the 1,200 would-be vacationers it surveyed plan to travel by car during the next six months. The 73 percent of respondents over 18 years of age who plan a road trip is up by 6 percent compared to a similar survey in July. These days, travel consumers rank health and safety as the number-one guest amenity in the age of COVID-19. And they feel more in control behind the wheel versus on an airline or cruise ship. “The road is king,” says Andrew Alexander, president of Red Roof, in a rece...2020-09-0925 min
Lodging LeadersSharing the Wealth: Hotel industry leaders want to bring Black investors into the foldThe coronavirus pandemic and the resulting downturn in the travel industry will make it difficult for investors to find the capital they need to acquire and develop hotels. That means minority investors, in particular Black Americans, might face an uphill climb in qualifying for bank loans unless they can close the ever-widening equity gap. Several industry groups, including owners, are looking post-pandemic and reviving efforts to partner with Black investors in hotel development, including partially financing new projects. Industry leaders also want to educate minority owners of other commercial real estate assets how...2020-09-0326 min
Lodging LeadersSeizing the Moment: Black hotel owners and investors see opportunity to prosperIn a recent Zoom conference hosted by the African American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, hospitality entrepreneur Kristin Kitchen talked about her lodging company that showcases Black heritage and supports minority-owned companies. Kitchen is part of a trend toward building hospitality ventures related to Black history and culture, a sub-sector of the $200 billion global Heritage Tourism movement, which also ranks as the fastest-growing travel trend in America. As with most hospitality ventures, Kitchen and her company, Sojourn Heritage Accommodations, are struggling to do business amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the effort...2020-08-2629 min
Lodging Leaders‘People Have Changed’: Hospitality industry deals with workers’ mental health in the age of COVID-19The coronavirus crisis has put unprecedented amounts of stress not only on health care systems and economies but on workers’ mental health. That’s the first and bottom line of a recent study by the Society of Human Resource Managers. The professional association surveyed more than a thousand workers in mid-April and found that nearly half feel emotionally drained from their work. The younger the employee, the more likely they feel burned out. Employees who feel totally sapped of energy are more prone to depression. As state and local economies reopen amid...2020-08-1938 min
Lodging LeadersRescue Capital: Hotel financiers seek opportunities to invest in distressed assetsIn June, Watermark Lodging Trust, a Chicago REIT, sold its Hutton Hotel in Nashville for $70 million. The price is $7 million less than what the REIT said it paid to acquire and upgrade the hotel seven years ago. A month later, Watermark said it signed a deal in which it sold shares worth $200 million to a joint venture between Ascendant Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management. The influx of cash will be used to keep Watermark in business and give Ascendant and Oaktree preferred equity positions. Watermark will pay the JV a 12 percent annual dividend rate.2020-08-1231 min
Lodging LeadersPremium Letdown: Hotels challenge property insurers’ refusal to cover COVID-19 revenue lossAs the hospitality industry struggles to mitigate the massive loss of revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of hotel owners are filing lawsuits to force their property insurance providers to cover their financial casualties. Meantime, state and federal lawmakers are considering legislation that would mandate U.S. insurance companies pay for business losses related to COVID-19. Such a payout could surpass $600 billion, reported Best’s Insurance in May. American Property Casualty Insurance Association, a trade group, puts the payouts even higher. In June, the association reportedly estimated payouts to would cost insurers $255 bi...2020-08-0528 min
Lodging LeadersInclusion is a Unicorn Part 2: ‘We are actually doing badly’We’re trying something different today. We’ve teamed up with a group called Next Generation in Lodging, a diverse team of mid-career hospitality professionals who want to have significant input into the future of the hospitality industry. We’ve worked with them to produce and provide a platform for a panel discussion about diversity and inclusion in the hospitality industry. We featured the Next Generation in Lodging co-founders in episode 275 that reported on the hacking of their Inclusion is a Unicorn Part 1 webinar on Zoom. We also explored the social awakening taking place...2020-07-2951 min
Lodging LeadersCMBS Distress: Thousands of hotel owners seek relief from billions of dollars in debtSince the beginning of March, the hotel industry has lost more than $40 billion in room revenue. Hotels continue to lose $400 million every day, according to STR and Tourism Economics. The historic loss of income caused by the coronavirus pandemic is rendering hotel owners unable to pay their property mortgages. While many have worked out payment deferments with their local and regional lenders, thousands of other owners indebted with commercial mortgage backed securities or CMBS loans have no such recourse to stave off financial ruin. Out of the $300 billion in CMBS loans in the...2020-07-2229 min
Lodging LeadersContagious Ideas: Hospitality brand and design experts search for creative solutions in the age of COVID-19In the introduction of his book, “Hotel, an American History,” A.K. Sandoval-Strausz writes: “The hotel as we know it today did not evolve randomly or naturally, nor did it develop as some sort of automatic response to structural needs. Rather, it was the deliberate creation of an identifiable group of people who lived in a specific place and time.” Hotels, he writes, are an artifact of an epochal shift, an important period in history. At the same time, the hotel is a microcosm of key challenges of modern life. In the year 2020, we are living i...2020-07-0843 min
Lodging LeadersA Measured Response: Hotel industry hires for diversity but fails with inclusionMany companies in the hotel industry claim they practice diversity in their hiring practices. When questioned about how many Black people they employ, most companies can back up their hiring outcomes with data. That’s all well and good, but what’s missing in most employment demographics is a measurement of how inclusive the company is not only in its rank-and-file but also across all levels of leadership. A new study that measures inclusivity reveals what we really all know: The hotel industry in America has few Black people in senior leadership roles. And even the...2020-07-0132 min
Lodging Leaders‘Inclusion is a Myth’: Next Generation in Lodging challenges industry’s status quo on race and diversImagine holding a conference on racism, diversity and inclusion in Corporate America and seeing your event invaded by outsiders shouting racial epithets and vulgarities while flying both the Nazi and American flags. Actually, there is no need to imagine it because it happened earlier this month during a digital event organized by the founders of a group called Next Generation in Lodging. The webcast was the second in a series in which Next Generation in Lodging is examining how the U.S. hospitality industry can truly and effectively address racism among its ranks and propel...2020-06-2424 min
Lodging Leaders‘Inclusion is a Myth’: Next Generation in Lodging challenges industry’s status quo on race and diversityImagine holding a conference on racism, diversity and inclusion in Corporate America and seeing your event invaded by outsiders shouting racial epithets and vulgarities while flying both the Nazi and American flags. Actually, there is no need to imagine it because it happened earlier this month during a digital event organized by the founders of a group called Next Generation in Lodging. The webcast was the second in a series in which Next Generation in Lodging is examining how the U.S. hospitality industry can truly and effectively address racism among its ranks and propel...2020-06-2424 min
Lodging LeadersConstruction in a Pandemic: Hotel builders face unexpected challengesIn the first quarter of this year, more than 140 new hotels opened in the U.S., reported Lodging Econometrics. In March, the U.S. had 150,000 rooms under construction, said STR. It’s the highest end-of-month total the company has reported. Jan Freitag, senior vice president of lodging insights at STR, said he expects hotel construction to continue throughout the year. But because of the low customer demand caused by the coronavirus crisis, hotel developers are not in a rush to open and projects will spend more time in construction. Also impacting the timelines ar...2020-06-1735 min
Lodging LeadersDigital Divides: Technology builds a hybrid of meetings and events in age of COVID-19he U.S. hospitality industry is slowly getting back to business. Leisure travelers are responsible for occupancy boosts in late May, especially Memorial Day weekend, STR reports. Leisure travelers will continue to drive demand as the coronavirus crisis begins to ease, experts say. Meanwhile, Oxford Tourism Economics reports that business transient and group bookings are not expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2023. What meetings will look like in the near term is anyone’s guess in the age of social distancing. Will groups be smaller? Will they include overnight stays? Wi...2020-06-1031 min
Lodging LeadersA New Digital Reality: Hotels turn to technology to redefine guest engagementAs the U.S. lodging sector begins to get back to business amid the coronavirus crisis, technology will play a much bigger role in operations than before the outbreak paralyzed the industry. Technological solutions in operations and guest management were emerging in hotels before the COVID-19 pandemic. But experts say the next generation of tech is quickly dawning as owners, operators, employees and guests face a new digital reality in light of health and safety. This episode of Lodging Leaders focuses on what might be ahead as hoteliers begin to rethink how technology can help...2020-06-0329 min
Lodging LeadersClean Breaks: Hotels face new expectations of health and safety in the age of COVID-19The U.S. hotel industry has begun its comeback as all states are reopening their economies. The numbers show that occupancy is slowly but steadily increasing as hotels get back to business. But, to be sure, it is not business as usual. Relatively few hotels completely closed during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 percent remained open and found themselves serving essential workers, housing vulnerable populations or being transitioned into health care facilities. During this time, hotel owners and operators have discovered and introduced new health and safety protocols into their standard operating procedures. This is...2020-05-2738 min
Lodging LeadersCritical Messages: Hotel marketing in the wake of COVID-19With more than half of the states in America reopening their economies, owners and operators of lodging accommodations might be tempted to return to business as usual. That includes sales and marketing strategies that management was deploying before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the hospitality industry. But hotel marketing experts we interviewed say business will be anything but usual as the hospitality sector begins to recover in a consumer environment influenced by fear and an abundance of caution. COVID-19 is still with us and it dictates new ways of doing business. In this episode...2020-05-2025 min
Lodging LeadersRays of Light: Hotels are guiding beacons as states reopen economiesThe COVID-19 crisis is far from over. How long the crisis remains is still an unknown. As many states are taking steps to reopen their marketplaces, government leaders and business owners may want to look to the hotel industry for some best practices. While nearly 20 percent of the nation’s 57,000 hotels have closed, according to reports, the rest have remained open throughout the pandemic. Despite that, owners and operators know life will never go back to way it was before the crisis. Never before has innovative thought mattered more than during the current co...2020-05-1328 min
Lodging LeadersPeaks and Valleys: COVID-19 crisis cuts hotel values and creates opportunitySuzanne Mellen, senior managing director and practice leader at HVS, has been in the hotel valuation business for 40 years. She’s witnessed a lot of ups and downs. She’s also noticed how investors are eager to talk about their hotel’s market value during the good times but reluctant to face the truth in a downturn. Mellen and her colleagues recently released a report that shows a decrease in hotel market values across the U.S. No surprise there, given the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on industry performance. But this is als...2020-05-0616 min
Lodging LeadersComeback Opportunity: LodgingStream digital conference looks toward a post-COVID-19 futureThis episode is a short promotion of our upcoming digital conference called LodgingStream: A Brave New World. What you’ve just heard were sound bites from previous podcast reports covering the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry. The voices belong to Lily Mockerman, Dave Shah, Darshan Patel, Andressa Chapman, Jamie Lane and Ron Mitchell. They have all been featured in our special news project that’s focused on the crisis. So far, we’ve produced 13 podcast episodes exploring different facets of the industry as it navigates the pandemic’s econom...2020-04-2708 min
Lodging LeadersReturn Policies: Hotel industry works out rehiring plansAs the recognized COVID-19 infection rate began to gain strength in the U.S. in mid-March, lodging industry analysts said they expected at least half of the nation’s 4 million hotel employees would be laid off. It’s a startling number when you consider that six weeks ago, most hospitality jobs were firmly intact. In fact, in the beginning of 2020, the hospitality industry was grappling with a problem indicative of a healthy economy – a shallow labor pool. Competition from employers in and outside the industry forced hotel owners and operators to increase wages and figure out wa...2020-04-2227 min
Lodging LeadersFranchising In Deconstruction: COVID-19 crisis amplifies problems in brand licensingEarlier this year, a large group of hotel owners began to organize and create a comprehensive push back at the hotel franchising model. Fair Franchising Initiative held its launch conference on March 5, a little more than a week before President Trump declared a national emergency as the new coronavirus pandemic spread to the U.S. The crisis has all but paralyzed the lodging sector and the U.S. economy as a whole. It has also exposed the cracks in the franchiser-franchisee relationship as frightened and frustrated owners say hotel companies are not doing enough to...2020-04-1535 min
Lodging LeadersSeeking Signs of Relief: Hoteliers wade through financial aid programs and proposalsAs the recognized COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. and the nation’s subsequent shutdown approaches its fifth week, hotels and other small businesses are seeing some relief ahead. Federal financial aid is coming in the form of loans and grants from the Small Business Administration. In the past week, hundreds of thousands hotel owners have filed applications with their SBA-approved lenders for the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program. But when hotel owners and operators will see the money is anyone’s guess as both banks and small-business owners report being overwhelmed with the fili...2020-04-1033 min
Lodging LeadersRisk Adjustment: Hotel tech platforms face their own COVID-19 crisisLast week, Zoom, a video-conferencing program, was prime bait for hackers who infiltrated conversations taking place among people working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. As if Zoom bombers weren’t bad enough, a day or two later, the internet-based program crashed because it could not handle the surge of users from businesses, schools and friends and families eager for face time. Today, Zoom founder and CEO Eric Yuan is promising stronger security measures, but the fiasco is a stark reminder of how easy it is for bad actors to access public internet programs, especially th...2020-04-0830 min
Lodging Leaders262 | Strongest Link: Hotel procurement specialists keep supply chain connectedThe coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain. With most whole goods and components coming from China, the U.S. hospitality industry began to scramble in January to keep the supplies coming. Manufacturing has resumed in China as the crisis has reportedly eased there, but the outbreak has yet to reach its peak in the U.S. As COVID-19 continues its rampage across the country, factories are closing or retooling to make medical supplies. It’s a fluid situation that changes day by day and hospitality procurement specialists have been wo...2020-04-0321 min
Lodging LeadersLet’s Make a Deal: Coronavirus crisis alters hotel transaction landscapeThe U.S. hotel industry has practically grinded to a halt in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. As Lodging Leaders shared in our previous report, Episode 260, hotel business performance has declined to unprecedented levels. Another area of the industry that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting is hotel transactions. Properties remain on the market, but lenders have stopped underwriting new deals for the time being. So, if you’re eager to buy a hotel, bring your cash. In this episode of Lodging Leaders we examine the current state of the hotel sales market. We feature Ca...2020-04-0118 min
Lodging LeadersStartling Statistics: Industry analysts stunned at depth of downturnLast week, several hospitality-focused analytical companies released data that specifically show how the coronavirus pandemic is decimating the U.S. hotel industry. The picture they paint is grim. And – though experts say they believe the industry will eventually resurge – the months ahead will be hard. In this report we review reports from STR, CBRE Hotels Americas Research and Hotstats. We interview Jamie Lane, senior managing economist with CBRE Hotels research, and David Eisen, director of hotel intelligence at HotStats. And we feature sound bites of a March 26 webinar on U.S...2020-03-3017 min
Lodging LeadersTrust Factor: Hotels can channel the right message during the coronavirus crisisWhile many of the country’s 57,000 hotels have closed during the coronavirus pandemic, owners and operators are spending limited resources and a whole lot of time on retooling their property systems and deep cleaning rooms and public areas. They want to be ready when the nation starts traveling again. And that’s a message that needs to be shared with the world. Now is not the time to be silent. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, hospitality marketing and business communication experts advise on what message hotels should be sending to consumers during the COVID-19 cris...2020-03-2719 min
Lodging LeadersCash in a Crisis: SBA launches COVID-19 loan program, but experts urge cautionDave Shah grew up in his family’s hotel and watch is parents and other hoteliers struggle to stay in business during the Great Recession. He thinks the economic situation for hoteliers during the COVID-19 crisis is growing worse than that time. Shah founded Pineapple Capital Group five years ago to help hotels and other small business owners buy, sell and borrow. In Episode 258, Lodging Leaders examines what financial solutions are available to hotel owners during the crisis, including the SBA emergency loan programs. We also talked to Paul Darrow of PHD Financial which specializes in helping sm...2020-03-2529 min
Lodging LeadersHotels Become Hospitals: Government takeover of lodging leaves big questions for ownerss hotels in the U.S. are forced to dramatically scale back operations or close altogether because of the new coronavirus pandemic, government officials are looking to use the empty rooms to fight the spread of the virus or help patients recover. Meantime, hotel operators are taking a fresh look at cleaning procedures to assure guests both now and in the future that their properties are focused on the health and safety of guests and employees. In this episode, Lodging Leaders talks to Darshan Patel, a lawyer who also runs his family’s business – the Hote...2020-03-2323 min
Lodging LeadersWhat’s a Hotelier To Do? AAHOA’s Cecil Staton on the industry’s ‘dark times’Cecil Staton has had his hands full to say the least. He has been at the helm of AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners association, for just four months. The new coronavirus outbreak and its devastating effect on the travel industry has hotel owners turning to him for solutions. This is the third installment of a special report by Lodging Leaders podcast that examines the impact the coronavirus is having on the U.S. hotel industry. In today’s episode, Staton shares his views regarding the “heartbreaking” decisions owners are having to make in...2020-03-2021 min
Lodging LeadersWorkforce Woes: Hotels try to avoid layoffs, and support employeesSeemingly overnight, the new coronavirus pandemic has dramatically curbed travel in the U.S. Hotels are feeling the pain as occupancies dropped to historic lows, in some cases down by 80 percent. The American Hotel and Lodging Association on Monday reported major hotel managers said they’ve laid off or furloughed one million employees. Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has put a temporary hold on its once-a-week programming to provide updates throughout the week on specific issues impacting the hotel business. In this episode of our special report on how COVID-19 is...2020-03-1819 min
Lodging LeadersHigh Cancelations and Low Demand: Hotel pricing in a steep downturnThe U.S. hotel industry is undergoing an unprecedented experience as the new coronavirus or COVID-19 grows more and more real every day. Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has decided to put a temporary hold on its usual programing from one report a week and move to providing updates throughout the week with short reports focused on specific issues impacting the hotel business. In this episode we explore pricing in a sudden and steep downturn. We interview Lily Mockerman, founder and CEO of Total Customized Revenue Management of Phoenix, Arizona...2020-03-1617 min
Lodging LeadersFranchising Report Part 1 - Power Struggle: New hotelier organization lobbies for franchisee protectionFair franchising. It’s a phrase that’s been used countless times in negotiations with brands, at industry conferences and among associations formed to ensure a balance of power between franchisers and franchisees. As the hotel industry in the U.S. celebrates nearly a decade of growth, leaner times are ahead, say forecasters. Owner operators are cutting as many expenses as they can but seem to be swimming upstream as costs are claiming more and more of their bottom lines. Among the biggest expenses are franchisee fees, which are growing at a faster pace than room...2020-03-1125 min
Lodging LeadersCoronavirus and group business; Sara Blakely of Spanx at Hunter conference; and short-term rental’s surprising shiftWelcome to the second edition of BulletInn, a news report of Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast. In this episode, we cover three topics: • The spread of the new coronavirus and its impact on travel and the legalities around cancelling group meetings in the U.S. • Surprises in a report by CBRE Americas Hotels Research about the growth of the online short-term rental market in the U.S. • An interview with Mit Shah, CEO of Noble Investment Group and co-founder of the Bharat Shah Leadership Speaker Series, who, during the Hunter Hotel Invest...2020-03-0436 min
Lodging LeadersChannel Mix: Hotels balance costs of guest acquisition, OTAs and overall business opportunitiesOnline travel agencies. Hoteliers love them. Hoteliers hate them. Brand.com, GDS, call centers, travel agents, groups and so on. There are many types of business in every market. In this episode, Lodging Leaders explores how hotel owners and operators can learn to use third-party platforms such as OTAs, and when to tap other resources for those all-important direct channels that are critical to a hotel’s profit contribution. Understanding the full array of business in a market and how to manage communication through the full guest journey can improve the relationship a hot...2020-02-2637 min
Lodging LeadersCold Calls or Warm Greetings: How to meet people and build a networkIn Episode 250 of Lodging Leaders, we talk to several people adept at not only networking but also building a network of mentors and trusted peers you can turn to throughout your career, no matter where you are on the leadership rung.2020-02-1934 min
Lodging LeadersThe BulletInn: ALIS 2020 news updatesEpisode 249 is a reporter’s notebook of sorts that features various interviews co-host Judy Maxwell conducted during ALIS with several experts on various topics. You’ll hear from Peggy Berg of Castell Project and the results of its latest study about women advancing in hospitality leadership, which charts some progress; Tracy Prigmore of TLTSolutions and She Has A Deal, a pitch competition for prospective investors and developers; and David Kong, CEO of Best Western Hotels and Resorts, which had an eventful year that included trying to transition the membership-based company into a for-profit model. We star...2020-02-1227 min
Lodging LeadersRecipe for Success: Hotel F&B gets a redoDuring the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles last week, Lodging Leaders interviewed hoteliers, restaurateurs and brand designers who are remaking existing F&B programs or introducing new dining concepts in hotels.2020-02-0532 min
Lodging LeadersArtistic Moments: Art can paint your hotel’s storyAmericans for the Arts’ public-opinion survey in 2018 found citizens value the arts and believe it benefits the community and its businesses. In the U.S. hospitality sector, art is becoming more mainstream as hotels integrate different artistic mediums into design and décor as well as guest programs. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we explore how hotels use art to set themselves apart from the competition and attract guests who would not have otherwise stayed at the hotel. Along with the business perspective, hotel owners and managers also promote non-traditional art concepts and...2020-01-2931 minLodging LeadersTransitional Transactions: Hotel brokers, investors prepare for a new normalHunter Hotel Advisors brokered the sales of more hotels in 2019 than in any year in its history. Sellers and buyers that generated $1.2 billion under Hunter’s guidance were a mixed bag and included institutional firms, private investment groups and hotel companies. Many hotel brokers expect to tally similar results, making 2019 one of the most active years in hotel transactions in the U.S. Industry analysts we interviewed expect 2020 to be an even busier period of hotel investment in part because private investors will continue to recycle their capital and shop for places to st...2020-01-2236 min
Lodging LeadersWin-Win: Women of AAHOA step up to the leadership plateThis is the second of a two-part update about people, campaigns and programs that are furthering the mission to promote more women into leadership roles in the hospitality industry. In this episode we touch base with Jagruti Panwala and Rachel Humphrey who are in top leadership roles at AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners association with more than 19,000 members. Panwala is chair of AAHOA and Humphrey is the COO and VP of franchise relations who just finished a year of serving as interim president and CEO of the association. For the first ti...2020-01-1529 min
Lodging LeadersMissing Rungs: A slow climb for women in hospitality leadershipA new study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org reveals that over the past five years Corporate America has made some progress in gender diversity, including increasing the number of women in leadership. Although that finding is promising, women remain underrepresented in business leadership across the board and continue to lack access to opportunities available to their male counterparts. Representation of women in high-ranking leadership has grown since 2015, according to the findings in the report titled Women in the Workplace 2019. Forty-four percent of the 330 companies participating in the study have slightly increased the number of...2020-01-0834 min
Lodging LeadersDon’t Leave Me Now: How to reduce employee turnoverThe annual employee turnover rate in the U.S. hospitality industry is 70 percent. When compared with 10 to 25 percent at other industries, the rate at which people leave hospitality jobs is at a “disastrous level,” said one of the experts we interviewed about recruiting and retaining employees. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we report exclusive data on retention and turnover rates. Guests also offer practical solutions to the problem, including better managing labor costs to be able to give employees a pay raise. Overall, the experts agree that creating awareness about the...2020-01-0133 min
Lodging LeadersDesk Sets: Hoteliers capitalize on coworking trendCoworking is a primary growth driver of the office market, reports JLL. The sector has an annual growth rate of about 24 percent. No segment of the market has demonstrated more overall growth than the coworking industry. JLL’s report is focused on the office sector, but the commercial real estate asset class is crossing over into hospitality as hotel companies, investors and owners are either incorporating coworking programs into their hotels’ public spaces, building separate coworking facilities or both. In today’s episode, Lodging Leaders takes a look at the coworking trend and its impact on the...2019-12-1819 min
Lodging LeadersLet’s Stay Together: New design concepts connect small-group travelers and local communitiesIn the 19th and early-20th centuries, hotels in America offered more than room and board. They defined a community by attracting crowds to their lobbies and restaurants and establishing themselves as vital centers of civic life, writes A.K. Sandoval-Strausz, author of “Hotel: An American Story.” “Hotels,” writes Sandoval-Strausz, “were points of contact between local communities and the larger society beyond.” As the saying goes, “Everything old is new again.” Modern-day hotels are returning to the communal spirit that early accommodations depended on to attract business from travelers and locals alike. In today’s epi...2019-12-1118 min
Lodging LeadersRoom at The Inn: How hotels can avoid silent nights this holiday seasonThe holiday season is upon us. For many hotels, regular business tends to drop off this time of year. Seasonality takes different forms and depends on several factors, including your hotel’s target market and its location. In this episode, we find out how hoteliers can leverage the traditional retail sales season as well as the consumer-spending mindset to drive business to their properties. We talk to Stephanie Sparks Smith, founder of Cogwheel Marketing in Seattle, Washington, and Stuart Butler, COO of Fuel Travel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.2019-12-0424 min
Lodging LeadersGood As New: Surge in hotel renovations expected to boost businessHotel industry analysts and watchers expect property renovations in the United States to surge over the next two years. They cite several reasons for the outlook, including: The industry has surpassed the peak of its recovery from the Great Recession; A slowdown in revenue growth is predicted for this year and next; The leveling off of a robust construction pipeline; and A record-breaking transaction pace in 2018. Construction companies, suppliers and others anticipate investors will focus on upgrading and improving existing assets. The 700 hotels that changed hands in 2018 and the approximate 115 assets sold in the first...2019-11-2732 min
Lodging LeadersReaching the Finish Line: Hotel construction companies hurdle project barriersSTR recently reported the hotel construction pipeline for the U.S. was up 5.5 percent in October. It was the lowest year-over-year increase in lodging construction activity in six months. Despite the slowdown, construction companies say they are as busy as ever. However, they do anticipate a leveling off of new builds over the next couple years. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we talk to specialists in hotel construction to find out what they think is causing the muted growth. They share industry challenges and outlooks and discuss emerging trends such as Design-Build that help...2019-11-1927 min
Lodging LeadersShop ’Til You Drop: Hospitality procurement specialists manage a mixed bag of challengesU.S.-China trade war. Design-savvy online furniture retailers. Hurricanes. Marijuana. These things and more are having an impact on hospitality purchasing. And they’re influencing the prices of hotel FF&E and OS&E as well as the cost of construction. In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we talk to specialists in procurement and logistics to find out the trends and challenges facing the hospitality industry as it continues to build new hotels and renovate existing ones. We find out what’s costing your project more money than it should. And we iden...2019-11-1330 minLodging LeadersBreach of Trust: Cybercrime a pervasive threat to the hospitality industryIt’s a given in today’s technological age that you operate a hotel business that depends on technology to process customer credit card purchases and to store personal information about your guests that helps you serve them better. In addition, you probably are aware of cybercrime and that nefarious hackers frequently target payment systems. You’ve done all you can to make sure your customers’ data is secure, even adhering to payment card industry data security standards or PCI DSS and other processing protocols such as the European Union’s general data protection regulation or GDPR. Whil...2019-11-0628 minLodging LeadersLodging Leaders Spotlight: Yotel a tech-forward brand worth watchingTaco Bell made headlines when it opened a 70-room pop-up hotel in August in Palm Springs, California. It was a marketing scheme that lasted four days. The day The Bell Hotel began to accept reservations, it sold out in two minutes. The guaranteed novelty of staying in a Taco Bell hotel obviously paid off for the company, but it’s not the only fast food business that has ventured into the hotel space. Ten years ago, Simon Woodroffe, founded YO! Sushi, which delivers food on a conveyor belt and has robots th...2019-10-3025 minLodging LeadersMore for the Money: Upselling generates significant revenue gains for hotelsThough average daily rate in U.S. hotels continues to grow year over year, hotel operators are not so eager to increase room prices these days. STR and Oxford Economics forecast ADR will increase by 1.9 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2020. While an increase is usually viewed as a positive, the joy is muted in the hotel industry. STR noted in August that inflation coupled with increasing room supply are outpacing the rise in hotel revenue. Hotel operators are experiencing what STR calls “an absence of pricing confidence.” So, you don’t want...2019-10-2331 minLodging LeadersHow Does Your Hotel Rate? Smart pricing strategies key to winning in a downturnIt’s often said the U.S. hotel industry is a street-corner business. With that point of view, it may not take much for a hotel operator to panic and set off a price war on your block. The industry fell victim to mindless discounting in the days immediately after 9/11 and during the depth of the Great Recession. Today’s hotel owners and operators like to think they’re smarter than that. Over the past decade, revenue management – the science of smart pricing – has become a standard practice. At the same time, tech...2019-10-0933 minLodging LeadersWage Pressures: How to plug cost leaks in your hotel’s labor pool (Labor and Hiring Part 2)At the peak of a great upward climb from the Great Recession, the U.S. lodging industry is seeing a leveling off in business performance. During the 25th annual Lodging Conference in Phoenix last week, many industry experts talked about a new normal of muted revenue gains and thinner profit margins as expenses continue to grow. The biggest and fastest-growing operating expense in the hotel industry today is labor. STR reports U.S. hotels saw labor costs grow an average 3.7 percent from 2016 through 2018. Those three years are the only period in the past 20...2019-10-0232 minLodging LeadersCulture Club: Your hotel’s work environment may be bad for business (Labor and Hiring Part 1)Is your hotel a fun place to work? Do your employees look forward to spending their day at your hotel? If the answers are no, then your business is in trouble. Do you have difficulty keeping good employees? Do you see staff members whispering in huddled groups? Do you or your supervisors work behind closed doors? If the answers are yes, then your business is in trouble. Many hotel managers know how to build a culture of service to attract guests. At the same time, they may overlook the needs and...2019-09-2529 minLodging LeadersFunding CapEx: New report tells what it takes for hotels to stay competitiveMore than 20 years ago, a team of hotel industry consultants and asset managers got together to figure out how much hotels in the U.S. spend each year on property improvements and maintenance. The idea was if owners and operators know in advance what it will cost to keep a hotel property up to date and in good working order, it would help them put the right amount of cash in reserve to deal with the expected ,as well as the unexpected. In 1997, David Berins and Peggy Berg produced the industry’s first CapEx study. Th...2019-09-1829 minLodging LeadersPanic Buttons: Hospitality Workers Sound the Alarm (Hotel Safety Part 2)When Robb Monkman was a college student, he and his roommates were robbed at gunpoint. The home invasion and hostage taking rocked Monkman to his core and determined the course of his career. Monkman is founder and CEO of ReactMobile, which provides electronic security devices, or panic buttons, for businesses, including the hospitality industry. ReactMobile is among several technology companies included in the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Five Star Promise, a pledge by major hotel companies to establish and implement best practices to protect their employees. The promise includes the deployment of hand-held technology, ho...2019-09-1133 minLodging LeadersRun, Hide, Fight: How to prepare for an active shooter (Hotel Safety Part 1)“Active shooter” is a term used by law enforcement to describe a situation in which a shooting is in progress. The classification calls into action protocols relating to response and reaction – not only by police but also by citizens, says the FBI. In the case of an “active shooter,” everyone’s response and reaction can affect the outcome. The bureau has counted 288 active shooter incidents in the U.S. from 2000 through 2018. Twenty-one of those occurred at places of business. Of those, five were at hotels or motels. Though lodging accounted for less than 2...2019-09-0426 minLodging LeadersMass Appeal: Crowdfunding for hotel development mines new sources of cashWhen it launched five years ago, crowdfunding for real estate development was a hot topic, especially among hotel developers seeking new ways to pay for their projects. Though it’s not creating the same level of buzz as it did when it first became a federally sanctioned option in 2014, crowdfunding remains a viable tool in attracting a wide range of investors and sourcing new streams of cash. Basically, crowdfunding is a campaign for small amounts of money from a large number of people. It is friends and family financing gone viral. We talk to...2019-08-2824 min
The Unspoken PodcastThe Unspoken Podcast Ep 68It's a doozy of an episode for The Unspoken Podcast and hosts Tom Albano, Nick Fodera & Nick Morgasen! TWO special guests this week in Jon Sciambi (ESPN play-by-play man) & Reid Forgrave (who covers the NBA for CBS). Plus, get the guys' live reaction to hearing about Matt Harvey being DFA'd. Also, discussion on Redskins cheerleaders, Tom Brady, Baker Mayfield and more all on this jam-packed episode!2018-05-051h 11The Unspoken PodcastThe Unspoken Podcast Ep 68It's a doozy of an episode for The Unspoken Podcast and hosts Tom Albano, Nick Fodera & Nick Morgasen! TWO special guests this week in Jon Sciambi (ESPN play-by-play man) & Reid Forgrave (who covers the NBA for CBS). Plus, get the guys' live reaction to hearing about Matt Harvey being DFA'd. Also, discussion on Redskins cheerleaders, Tom Brady, Baker Mayfield and more all on this jam-packed episode!2018-05-051h 11
The Unspoken PodcastThe Unspoken Podcast Ep 51The beginning of a new era. It's episode 51 of The Unspoken Podcast — the premiere of Season 2! New segments, same ol' ramblin' hosts. This time around Tom Albano and Nick Fodera discuss the NFL Coaching Carousel, Jon Gruden's supposed new deal with the Raiders, Eric Hosmer, drama in Patriots land, NFL Wild Card Weekend & Playoffs predictions and much more!2018-01-061h 04The Unspoken PodcastThe Unspoken Podcast Ep 51The beginning of a new era. It's episode 51 of The Unspoken Podcast — the premiere of Season 2! New segments, same ol' ramblin' hosts. This time around Tom Albano and Nick Fodera discuss the NFL Coaching Carousel, Jon Gruden's supposed new deal with the Raiders, Eric Hosmer, drama in Patriots land, NFL Wild Card Weekend & Playoffs predictions and much more!2018-01-061h 04Lodging LeadersAbout the Lodging Leaders Podcast with Jon Albano2015-04-2811 min