TOP NEWS

📅 Business travel spending is set to surpass 2019 figures, reaching $1.5 trillion in 2024. One-day business trips have declined to 5% popularity while 3-5 day trips now comprise 40%, with two-night stays at 32%. This trend is driven by increased focus on productivity, wellbeing, and environmental considerations, with over 70% of companies implementing sustainability initiatives in their travel policies. The shift away from one-day trips is also influenced by economic factors, as business travel costs rise, and operational reasons, given their vulnerability to disruptions. Longer trips are merging with leisure, benefiting related industries financially.

🚀 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025 to return to Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28 to May 1, 2025, focusing on "Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow’s Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity." Dubai welcomed 9.31 million international overnight visitors in H1 2024, a 9% increase from 2023. Dubai Economic Agenda D33 aims to double Dubai's economy in a decade. WTTC predicts a record year for travel and tourism with an economic contribution of $11.1 trillion and 348 million jobs, potentially rising to 449 million by 2033. ATM 2024 saw over 47,000 attendees from 161 countries, a 17.7% increase from the previous year.

🏖 Millennials and Zoomers value personalized travel experiences, with Zoomers 2.5 times more likely to desire personalized service than Baby Boomers. AI helps analyze social media to create personalized traveler profiles, impacting choices like room temperature and amenities. WiFi is essential for younger travelers who expect connectivity. 58% of Millennials and Zoomers prefer a travel agent for booking a major trip, and 55% of Zoomers use smartphones for bookings. Travel and hospitality must offer personalized, unique, and cost-effective experiences with visibility into trip data and costs. Sustainability is also a priority, with operators expected to adhere to social and environmental standards, and AI is used to manage sustainability data.

📝 Recent winners of the Breakthrough Award include Potbelly Sandwich Works, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, and Mamma Ramona’s in 2023; Taco Bell and Border Foods, Checkers and Rally’s, bartaco in 2022; and Little Caesars, El Pollo Loco, Amara at Paraiso in 2021. Hospitality Technology (HT), reaching over 16,000 hospitality executives, covers IT's role in improving performance for hotel and restaurant operators. It is part of EnsembleIQ, based in Chicago, and offers events like MURTEC and resources like the Restaurant Technology Network (www.restauranttechnologynetwork.com).

💸 Over 73% of hotel bookings come through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com or Expedia, with 75% of clicks going to the top 15 listings on the first OTA page. Achieving high visibility on OTAs is vital but requires a deep understanding of ever-changing algorithms that consider factors like guest reviews, content quality, and market trends. Bart-Jan Leyts, CEO of Otamiser, launched the OTA ranking management platform in 2022, focusing on strategic ranking optimization to drive revenue in the hospitality industry.

📌 Provident Realty Advisors, led by Managing Director Mason Miller, entered the extended-stay hotel market by purchasing 16 hotels from Extended Stay America (ESA) in 2018, later converting seven and currently building two ESA Premier Suites. One upcoming Premier Suites is a 115-room hotel in Schertz, TX, slated to open by year-end. Their ESA properties consistently exceed 80% occupancy, and recent conversions have increased occupancy and reduced operating expenses. Provident focuses on Texas for development, where 5 of the 10 fastest-growing markets in the U.S. are located.

📆 Kempinski Hotels launched "Responsible Meetings & Events by Kempinski" to reduce the environmental impact of events, in collaboration with EarthCheck. VenueCheck, an essential part of the initiative, helps assess event sustainability, with 43 Kempinski hotels EarthCheck-certified and 17 more pursuing certification. EventCalculator estimates an event's carbon footprint, ensuring compliance with Greenhouse Gas Protocol and IPCC Reporting Guidelines. Currently, 18 Kempinski hotels are VenueCheck verified, with 12 more pending. By 2025, Kempinski aims for all EarthCheck-certified hotels to join the program.

🌍 The 29th annual Lodging Conference gathers nearly 3,000 hotel execs at JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Phoenix, with record attendance and temperatures. Sold out, the conference hosts a mix of industry professionals, including owners, operators, and CEOs. The event, now the world's largest finance and development conference, reflects optimism in the hotel industry and a resurgence in group travel. Educational sessions feature top economists and CEOs, and Sheila Johnson will receive the Peggy Berg Castell award.

🏨 In Maryland, Choice Hotels introduced Lobby in a Box for Suburban Studios and MainStay Suites, promising lobby transformations in 120 days. The modular design enables hoteliers to cater to extended-stay guests with multifunctional, income-generating spaces. Following the success of Kitchen in a Box, which has been implemented in over 30 hotels since spring 2022, Lobby in a Box supports franchisees in expanding into high-barrier extended-stay markets. Hotel owner Rushi Vaidya reported a 43% increase in RevPAR and a 10.2% rise in guest satisfaction after conversion. Choice Hotels is set to open its 500th extended-stay property this year.