Market Trends

🏛 IHG Hotels & Resorts expanded in Spain with four new hotel signings: Vignette Collection Mallorca – Finca Banyols, Vignette Collection Jerez, Hotel Indigo Gandia – Beach, and Holiday Inn Express San Sebastian – Errenteria. These add to the existing 500 rooms, bringing the total to approximately 13,000 rooms across Spain. The Vignette Collection Mallorca and Jerez are set to open in the first and second half of 2025, respectively, while Hotel Indigo Gandia – Beach will also open in mid-2025. Holiday Inn Express San Sebastian – Errenteria is expected to begin welcoming guests in mid-2026. In the first nine months of the year, IHG signed around 700 rooms in Spain. Currently, IHG operates 55 hotels with 22 Iberostar properties open and 12 more planned, under eight different brands.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, guides F&B trends reporting since joining in 1999. Hosts "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. Wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), and in Thailand for Manager magazine and Asia Times (1995-1997). Magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University (1990), studied at Le Cordon Bleu (1986), and reported for ABC News during the Tiananmen Square protests (1989). His column won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. Inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier (2014). Contact: [email protected]; Social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (@foodwriterdiary), Instagram (@foodwriterdiary).

🏡 The US STR industry generated $64 billion in annual revenue in 2023. Airbnb leads with 7.7 million listings worldwide. STRs are rented for usually less than 30 days, offering flexibility and higher-income potential. Owners benefit from tax deductions, personal use, and a broad guest range, but face challenges like regulatory issues, seasonal income fluctuations, and increased maintenance costs.

🏦 Los Angeles welcomed over 48 million visitors in 2023, drawn by luxury hotels, landmarks, arts, and beaches. Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills offers spacious suites, rooftop bars, and fine dining. The Beverly Hills Hotel features 'The Pink Palace', La Prairie Spa, and the Polo Lounge. Pendry West Hollywood, with views, Spa Pendry, and chef Wolfgang Puck's Merois. Conrad Los Angeles boasts contemporary design, Conrad Spa, and chef José Andrés' Agua Viva. The London West Hollywood provides British-Californian style luxury, rooftop dining at The Rooftop, and Boxwood restaurant.

🏨 U.S. hotel industry experienced declines in occupancy (66.6%, down 1.7%) and RevPAR ($107.86, down 1.4%), with a slight increase in ADR ($162.05, up 0.2%) from September 8-14, 2024, compared to 2023. San Diego had the highest occupancy increase (up 10.5% to 79.9%), while Chicago saw the largest ADR increase (up 15.5% to $216.57). San Francisco faced the biggest RevPAR drop (down 37.2% to $171.26), influenced by the previous year's Dreamforce event.

🏨 Paradise Resort Gold Coast achieved an average upsell per reservation of A$139 using Mews. Hostellerie Cèdre & Spa increased revenue by €14k+ in less than a month. Old Stocks Inn saw an 8% ADR increase within two months. Green Hotels attained an 18% direct booking conversion rate. The Julius, Prague, generated over €55k from parking in the first half of 2023. GuestHouse Hotels earns €9,000/month through upselling. All benefited from Mews Hospitality Cloud's automated solutions for rate management, upselling, secure payments, and direct bookings.

🏆 In the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, mid-tier hotels overestimated demand, causing prices to drop from 530 euros to 274 euros. Short-term rentals doubled to nearly 170,000 units in Paris, impacting hotel pricing and increasing review volume by 90% from August 2023 to 2024. Despite high guest satisfaction, value for money was criticized in three- and four-star hotels due to inflated rates, and luxury hotels were admonished for hidden fees. Key takeaways for hoteliers include adopting a flexible, transparent pricing strategy and utilizing data-driven insights.

🔔 U.S. Leisure & Hospitality sector added 8 million jobs since April 2020, reaching 16.9 million employed by April 2024, yet travel industry unemployment remains at 6%. Over 1 million job openings were reported in Accommodation in May 2024, despite a 7% decline in accommodation employees since March 2019, contrasting a 16% increase in room revenue. Between 2019 and 2024, hotel industry employees decreased by 7%, hourly salary rose by 32% (from $17.98 to $23.76), and room revenue grew by 16% (from $167.9B to $195.5B).

🏦 The EU's Action Plan on Skills and Labour shortages, adopted on 20 March 2024, addresses labour and skills gaps in Member States, especially post-pandemic in sectors like hospitality. It includes five policy areas: activating underrepresented groups, supporting skills and education alignment, improving work conditions, promoting intra-EU mobility, and attracting non-EU talent. European Year of Skills saw over 2000 events, the Pact for Skills reaching 2500 members, and campaigns touching 69 million via social media. The tourism sector can utilize funds like the €99 billion European Social Fund Plus (2021-2027), the Recovery and Resilience Facility with 13% budget for education/training until 2026, and the €26.2 billion Erasmus+ program.

🏠 Australian studio YSG redesigned the Superfreak cafe in Sydney's Marrickville, transforming an old ice cream factory into a vibrant space with a 1970s aesthetic, featuring carpet-lined seating, cork flooring, and high-gloss green paint. Vintage furniture pieces add to the retro ambiance, including a maple timber banquette with inbuilt storage and a record player. A statement lamp by artist Autumn Casey and rice paper lanterns illuminate the cafe, while a mural by Creative Finish adorns the bar area. The exterior facade echoes the interior's green color scheme, complete with a coffee hatch for takeaway orders.