Automatic

One year after U.S. Travel’s Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel released its landmark report, the U.S. Travel Association today highlighted meaningful progress in modernizing America’s travel system—while warning that certain policy proposals, including a $250 "visa integrity fee” and expanded social media screening requirements for visa waiver travelers, could undermine recent gains and weaken U.S. competitiveness.

After several years of post-pandemic reset, the hospitality and leisure dealmaking sector is settling into a new rhythm. Growth is no longer about adding scale alone, but about how well companies can connect experiences, customer data and loyalty across their portfolios. The assets attracting the most interest are those designed to work together.

The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar’s latest data through 14 February. CoStar is a global leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.

I’m going to say something that sounds counterintuitive for an agency owner:

For those who have not followed our writing, the Mille Club refers to properties with rates over one thousand dollars, pounds or euros, with the ‘mille’ picked up from the Italian language. The Mille Club’s premise is that guests at this level are looking for an incredible experience rather than mere accommodations. Instead, hoteliers’ offerings compete for guests independent of location, making comp sets typically geographically derived moot. With great rate comes great expectations…

Recruitment is a race in hospitality. There’s urgency in filling open roles—especially when guest expectations remain high and operations never pause. When you have openings in certain roles, you risk revenue. Take a Sales Manager vacancy – who is handling that role’s book of business? Who is filling the rooms that Sales Manager would have filled?