TOP NEWS

🏨 Expedia's study reveals 74% of U.S. travelers prefer experiences over things. Soneva Resorts' "Barefoot Luxury" in the Maldives boasts repeat bookings due to its unique offerings. The Wynn Las Vegas integrates Amazon's Alexa for enhanced guest experiences. Booking.com's 2024 report finds 83% of travelers consider sustainable travel important. Hotels are adopting FOMO-inducing strategies, such as transformative experiences, social media content seeding, technology integration, direct booking incentives, sustainability, and secure data practices to stay competitive and build loyalty.

🏡 Lisa Haude of LKI Architecture emphasized the importance of eco-friendly manufacturing with recycled materials in hotel design, citing advancements like AI and 3D printing to reduce waste. Robert Carl from Remington Hospitality reported an 8-9% annual savings on utilities from low-temperature washing changes, highlighting cost benefits of sustainable products. The vetting process for suppliers is crucial for product dependability and longevity, with certifications such as Certified Carbon Neutral being important. Hoteliers leverage resources like the Green Hotel Association and EPA for guidance. Ben Rafter, CEO of Springboard Hospitality, advocates for local sourcing to support ESG goals and guest engagement, despite higher costs and challenges in obtaining sufficient quantities from local suppliers. Springboard partners with Procure Impact to connect with social enterprises, aiding in their goal of creating 5,000 hours of work for vulnerable communities.

💾 51% of worldwide hotel rooms, or 15 million, use revenue management technology. Hotel Tech Benchmark dashboard estimates that 53% of large chains, 46% of mid-size chains, and 56% of independents see rate parity management as a major manual task. G3 RMS aids in demand forecasting, automation, and strategic decision-making. Among hotel investors using revenue management tech, 25% reported a net operating income increase of over 10%.

🏨 In the hospitality industry, Level 1 Basic Data Utilization has a profit increase of 0% and estimated costs of $1,000-$20,000 annually. Level 2 Intermediate Automation and Integration predicts a profit increase of 10-20% with costs ranging from $20,000-$150,000 annually. Level 3 Advanced Data-Driven Strategies can lead to a profit increase of 30-100% with an estimated annual cost of $150,000-$750,000+. Approximately 70-80% of hotels are at Level 1, 15-25% at Level 2, and less than 5% have reached Level 3. Transitioning through these levels involves assessing needs, implementing phased changes, focusing on ROI, and providing training and support.

🏢 Hoteliers are advised to use Revenue Management Systems (RMS) to stay competitive. RMS automates real-time pricing updates based on demand, market insights, and hotel data. Revenue managers, traditional strategists behind pricing, forecast demand, and analyze data manually. However, RMS's round-the-clock data analysis capabilities outperform human counterparts, leading to 1-0 scoring in the first round. In strategic thinking, revenue managers excel, leveraging RMS data for higher-level planning, tying the score at 1-1. RMS wins in efficiency and productivity, making it 2-1, but revenue managers' collaboration with other departments ties it again at 2-2. The conclusion? A synergistic relationship between RMS and revenue managers optimizes hotel performance.

💻 In the hospitality industry, Generative AI (GenAI) is being leveraged to drive productivity, enhance data access, improve customer interactions, and create new revenue opportunities. Deloitte’s report, "Facing travel’s future," highlights demographic shifts in travel planning, with millennials and Gen Z taking center stage, utilizing social media for trip planning and favoring shorter trips. GenAI agents may soon personalize concierge services, tailor loyalty programs in real-time, and improve post-trip feedback. Hospitality leaders are advised to focus on targeted outcomes, build a solid GenAI foundation, condition their data for accessibility, and prepare their workforce through effective training to maximize GenAI deployment benefits. Matt Usdin, the US hospitality leader at Deloitte, highlights the strategic use of GenAI as transformative for the industry.

📱 Digital connectivity, specifically in-building mobile systems with small cells, is crucial in modern hotels for both guest satisfaction and operational efficiency. Small cells enhance indoor mobile coverage and capacity, connecting to mobile network operators' networks securely. Hotels need to support all necessary mobile operators and avoid providers that amplify outdoor signals without quality control. Improved connectivity benefits hotel staff operations, enabling instant communication, task management, and real-time updates, which is also essential for emergency response and safety.

💰 In Q2 2024, service fees were included in 3.7% of restaurant transactions, a more than 100% increase from early 2022. Cafe Venetia uses service fees to maintain its European operating model. According to the Square Payroll Index, as of July 2024, average hourly earnings for restaurant workers were up 4.10%, surpassing the inflation rate of 2.98%. Boston's late-night transactions surged from 12% in Q2 2019 to 31% in 2024. Washington D.C. neighborhoods like Navy Yard and NoMa saw increased restaurant activity, while areas east of The Potomac experienced declines.

🌎 Davidson Hospitality Group now operates two interconnected resorts in Frenchman’s Reef, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: The Westin Beach Resort & Spa and Morningstar Buoy Haus Beach, both reopening in 2023 after a major $400 million renovation. The resorts boast 486 rooms and suites, 85,000 square feet of meeting space, 10 dining venues, four pools, a Heavenly Spa, and a fitness studio. Extras include a 65' catamaran, speedboats, and a kids club, ensuring diverse experiences for guests.

🏨 Hospitality tech trends include cloud-native tools with open APIs, RMS adoption, AI language models, digital check-in/keyless entry, guest experience hubs, unified inboxes, digital internal communications, conversational commerce, AI-based translation, integrated payment processing, end-to-end reputation management, Google Analytics 4, and IoT technology. RMS data processing doubled since 2018. 34% of chains implemented digital check-in/keyless entry; another 34% plan to. Only 35% have chatbots on websites. Integrated payment solutions score 8.8/10 in importance, but only 34% have implemented them. AI enhances guest experience and operational efficiency.