Market Trends

🏢 Isaure Yeodet, a French Master’s student at Glion London, participated in a week-long field trip to Switzerland as part of her studies in Real Estate, Finance and Hotel Development. The trip focused on hands-on learning and included meetings with industry professionals and alumni. Students acted as consultants, investigating issues at each hotel and presenting solutions to general managers. They explored sustainable practices, such as W Verbier’s on-request housekeeping service, and gained insights into hotel consulting careers.

📊 July 2024: 123Compare.me released the World Parity Monitor report. Major OTAs like Expedia Group and Booking.com show stable or improved direct price parity. Minor OTA Reserving experienced a 5-point increase in price disparities. A 1.5% shift to ‘Beat’ cases in total disparity occurred, continuing June's 4-point positive parity trend. Long-term bookings are doing better in ‘Beat’ category. Palma de Mallorca gained 10 points, and Frankfurt am Main increased by 12 points in ‘Beat’ performance, indicating better price distribution management. Overall destination performance remains stable.

🏨 Aligned Hospitality Management, founded in 2021, recently acquired its 26th property, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Globe in Globe, Arizona. The Tucson-based company, led by CEO Bryan Tubaugh and President Helinda Lizarraga, has exceeded its 10-year expansion plan in just three years. Initially focused on properties in Colorado and Arizona, they expanded into California with the M Solvang Gardens. The team's growth has been fueled largely by word of mouth and is known for a hands-on operational approach, emphasizing line-level experience. The portfolio is diverse, including the 204-key DoubleTree, with future growth targeting midscale, upper midscale, and boutique properties, potentially moving towards larger portfolio deals and acquisitions within the next five years.

🏨 The U.S. and China dominate the global hotel construction pipeline, contributing 64% with the U.S. having 6,095 projects/713,151 rooms and China 3,815 projects/699,786 rooms as of Q2 2024. A record 15,453 hotel projects and 2,395,726 rooms reported worldwide, with 6,265 projects/1,115,989 rooms currently under construction. New hotel openings are slated to reach 2,534 in 2023, 2,756 in 2025, and 2,812 in 2026. Dallas, Atlanta, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Inland Empire, Calif. lead in city pipelines. Upper midscale projects total 4,540/585,688 rooms, upscale 3,688/634,050 rooms, and luxury segment projects up 13% YOY with 1,066/214,270 rooms.

🌱 Banyan Group introduced Banyan Tree brand in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward, Japan. This luxury hotel, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, features 52 rooms, a spa, natural Onsen, and two dining venues. The hotel is close to the UNESCO heritage site Kiyomizu-dera Temple and offers traditional Japanese architecture with modern influences by Kengo Kuma and Yukio Hashimoto. It joins Banyan Group's eight hotels in Japan and forms part of their global portfolio of 80 hotels, targeting to double their footprint by 2025.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, reports on food and beverage trends and hosts "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. Wrote "Kitchen Dish" column for The New York Sun (2005-2008), worked in Thailand as journalist (1992-1997), and received the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award. A magna cum laude Tufts University graduate, studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Lives in Brooklyn, NY.

📚 TrustYou's consumer research reveals generational differences in travel review behaviors. Millennials and Gen Z (18-39) read (84%) and write (66%) more reviews than Baby Boomers and Gen X (40-65), especially after a positive experience (37% vs. 24%). Baby Boomers and Gen X prefer hotel websites for reviews, while younger generations favor Google. For surveys, 83% of older travelers respond to emails, whereas 33% of younger ones prefer text messages. Negative reviews are considered genuine by 68% of older vs. 57% of younger travelers. Cleanliness is vital for Baby Boomers and Gen X (7/10), and Wi-Fi is crucial for 43% of Millennials and Gen Z. Younger travelers expect rapid responses to negative reviews, with 55% stating a response doesn't change dissatisfaction. The survey included 800 U.S. hotel bookers, 45% aged 18-39, and 55% aged 40-65, conducted in September 2022.