TOP NEWS

🏨 Hyatt Hotels Corporation announces a record pipeline of 138,000 rooms by the end of 2024, with a restructured brand architecture into Luxury, Lifestyle, Inclusive, Classics, and Essentials. The Lifestyle Group, led by Amar Lalvani, increased its pipeline properties by nearly 50% and open hotels by over 20% year-over-year, with notable acquisitions like The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels. New deals include TOOR Hotel (Q1 2025), Andaz Miami Beach (Q1 2025), and The Standard, Brussels (Q2 2025). Hyatt Studios, a new upper-midscale extended-stay brand, has over 50 executed deals, entering 22 new markets with its first location opening in Q1 2025. Growth continues across all portfolios with numerous expected openings through 2027, including the Luxury, Inclusive, and Classics Portfolios, with the Fairmount Hotel already opened on January 16, 2025.

🏨 Paul Russel, General Manager at the Norton Park Hotel, emphasizes sustainability and modernization in his leadership. The hotel, located between Winchester and Basingstoke, features a refurbished 300-year-old Manor House with 13 bedrooms, a full-service hotel, spa, leisure facilities, large conference rooms, and a Tithe Barn. Facing rising costs, Norton Park implemented energy-efficient systems and smarter BMS solutions. Shorter lead times for event bookings have prompted more agility in service. Refurbishments have increased operational capacity and guest accommodation, especially during peak times. Diversification in offerings ensures resilience against market fluctuations. In 2025, Norton Park aims to focus on team well-being, recruitment, and facility upgrades to enhance guest experiences. The hotel caters to a variety of needs, including weddings, corporate events, park-and-sail packages, and regional attractions.

🏨 A webinar by HOTELS Magazine discussed optimizing hotel profitability with industry leaders Dana Cariss (CoralTree Hospitality), Sudharshan Chary (Otelier), and Yohannes Semere (Peregrine Hospitality). Key themes included data consolidation for informed decisions, embracing data-driven culture, labor optimization aiming for less than 3% forecast variance, boosting Total Revenue Per Available Room (TrevPAR), personalized guest experiences, and channel management to increase direct bookings by 5% year-over-year. Investing in technology and employee training for data usage is essential for efficiency and personalization.

🏗️ Choice Hotels International announced a strong year of development in 2024 across various segments. In the extended-stay segment, they opened 61 hotels, including their 500th property in October. The upscale segment saw 27 new hotels, with an 80% year-over-year increase for the Ascend Hotel Collection and a 7.5% RevPAR increase for Radisson brands. The midscale segment included 41 Quality Inn openings during its 85th anniversary, and a 19-point RevPAR Index increase for Country Inn & Suites. Additionally, 20 properties opened under the SOAR program, which supports underrepresented entrepreneurs in hotel ownership.

🏠 Sparcstudio, a spa and wellness design studio with over 15 years of experience, forecasts 2025 trends, focusing on sustainability, longevity, privacy, social wellness, gym floor wellness experiences, and the use of color. Beverley Bayes, Creative Director, emphasizes the importance of durable, local materials, future-proofing facilities, and designing spaces for both social interaction and privacy, such as the spa garden Cabanas at Pennyhill Park and private lodges at South Lodge. The integration of fitness and spa is highlighted through stretch pods, like the Proverb pod at The Grain Store. Pantone's Color of the Year 2025, 'Mocha Mousse,' aligns with the natural and comforting spa environments Sparcstudio creates.

🏢 Brookfield invested $1.6 billion in Japan's real estate, acquiring a stake in Tokyo's Gajoen complex and a land plot in Greater Nagoya. Gajoen features a luxury hotel, two office towers, and retail spaces with 1.5 million square feet. The Nagoya plot will become a 2.4 million-square-foot multi-tenant warehouse, with construction starting in 2025 and completion by 2027. Japan’s real estate attracts foreign investment due to low interest rates, tourism, and rental yields, with cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Niseko as prime locations.

🏨 According to STR, 70% of US hotel rooms belong to brands or chains. Deflagging, a growing trend, allows hotels to escape royalty fees of 4-6% of gross revenue, gaining financial and operational autonomy. Independent hotels leverage local experiences, which is important as 52% of Gen Z travelers prioritize unique experiences. Deflagging can lead to reclaimed revenue, such as saving $100,000 a year on a $2 million revenue with a 5% fee, and higher profit margins by eliminating franchise fees, flexible revenue management, and creating new revenue streams. Successful deflagging involves cost-benefit analysis, technology investments, direct booking strategies, brand identity redefinition, and robust marketing efforts.

🏠 Michiel Bakker, President and CEO of the Culinary Institute of America, shared his hospitality industry journey on Jan. 27, 2025. He discussed pivotal career moments and lessons learned, with support from the technology provider Shiji Group, known for streamlining hotel operations and enhancing guest experiences. The episode featured music by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound, specializing in Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands.

📊 Starbucks shifted focus from average transaction value to customer loyalty, engagement, and lifetime value metrics. Their rewards program accounts for 40% of US sales, with members spending 2-3 times more than non-members. The article stresses the importance of general managers in hospitality tracking metrics like space utilization, daily guest spend, guest lifetime value (LTV), guest acquisition cost (GAC), net promoter score (NPS), sustainability, average length of stay (ALOS), user disengagement, staff turnover rate and cost, and employee net promoter score (eNPS) for competitive success and long-term growth.