TOP NEWS

🔔 Stayntouch, a leader in cloud hotel PMS and guest-centric technology, introduced UpsellPRO, enabling hotels to market room features individually during booking. Partnering with NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, they found that roughly 50% of respondents with over a month booking window would pay more for ABS. The panel, including experts Flo Lugli, George Roukas, John Burns, Klaus Kohlmayr, and Nichole Dehler, discussed ABS benefits like expanded booking control, increased visibility for upselling, and enhanced personalization. ABS offers insights into guest preferences, creating opportunities for higher satisfaction and revenue. The industry, influenced by the airline's unbundling approach, seeks a unified definition of ABS to avoid consumer dissatisfaction and an overload of choices.

🍴 Thomas Straker plans to open a second café-style eatery in Notting Hill at 60 Golborne Road. The UK Government, with the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act received in May last year, will enforce new tipping measures in October 2024. John and Desiree Chantarasak are set to open AngloThai, a 50-cover restaurant in Marylebone this autumn. Turtle Bay's '4 days at the Bay' initiative has seen a 'phenomenal' response, improving 90% of staff well-being. Philip Warren's Native Burger opened in Launceston, offering a 20-cover space with nine burger options.

🍴 Restaurant365's midyear industry survey of nearly 3,700 QSR and dining locations reveals top 2024 challenges: labor cost increases (80% of operators, with 64% noting a 1-5% rise), food cost increases (80% reported, 51% seeing 1-5%, 40% noting 6-14%), and sales concerns (38%). Despite challenges, 49% experienced sales growth. Investment shifts towards back-of-house tech, marketing, and staff training with 37% focusing on staff enhancements, and 55% allocating 1-2 hours weekly for training. Sustainability measures are adopted by 68%, including food waste tracking (39%).

💰 Marriott International reported Q2 2024 results with worldwide RevPAR up 4.9%, U.S. and Canada RevPAR up 3.9%, and international markets up 7.4%, compared to Q2 2023. Diluted EPS was $2.69, net income $772 million, and adjusted EBITDA $1,324 million. Added approximately 15,500 net rooms, with a development pipeline of 3,500 properties and over 559,000 rooms. Repurchased 1 million shares for $1.0 billion and returned $2.8 billion to shareholders through July 29, targeting $4.3 billion for the full year.

🏅 Paris Olympics designed for TV viewing, but facing lower hotel occupancy in 2023; hotel rates increased by 500% despite past lessons from London and Milan. Booking.com perceived as lacking hotelier-friendly services; marketing and storytelling in hotel industry highlighted as crucial for guest connection. American travel intent at an all-time high, with 20% planning to travel abroad. Biometric technology in hotels expected to rise in adoption by 2024-2025, although GDPR concerns linger. Hotel industry needs data cleanup before AI implementation can be effective. Sales and Marketing discussed as fundamentally similar, with different communication channels.

📈 Room revenue is the main income for hotels, with KPIs like occupancy percentage, RevPAR, ADR, MPI, ARI, and RGI being critical. Other revenue, such as F&B sales, spa services, event hosting, and additional amenities, can significantly increase profitability. Customer acquisition costs can range from 15% to 25% according to Kalibri Labs. Variables costs include housekeeping, utilities, room amenities, and wear and tear. The contribution margin, calculated as Contribution/Gross Revenue, is key to profitability analysis, with examples illustrating the importance of balancing total contribution and percentage. Strategic management requires comprehensive revenue analysis, cost control, and informed decision-making to maximize profit and ensure sustainable hotel growth.

💸 Attribute-based selling (ABS) revolutionizes hotel booking by offering guests the choice to select room features and amenities during reservation. ABS enhances guest satisfaction, increases average daily rates (ADR), and optimizes revenue per available room (RevPAR). Peter Waters of Amadeus predicts hotels moving from room-sellers to merchandisers. For implementation, ABS complexity and the potential revenue benefit must be weighed, advises Andrew Rubinacci of FLYR. Priya Rajamani of Stayntouch emphasizes ABS can be integrated with existing technology. Hoteliers should evaluate tech capabilities, understand their property's unique attributes, assess market demand, consider staff impact, perform cost-benefit analyses, pilot the program, and be patient with adoption, following the crawl-walk-run approach.

📢 In Miami, the Converge Hospitality Revenue Summit recently concluded with nearly 300 attendees including IDeaS' clients, partners, and leaders. Keynote speakers like Chris Hemmeter forecasted hospitality tech growth, Cassie Kozyrkov discussed AI as an enhancement tool, Maricarmen Cardenas and Rob Darrow advocated for data-driven decisions, and Sanjay Nagalia offered a glimpse into IDeaS' product future. The summit acknowledged innovators Alexis Remy with the Innovation Award and Angus Blair with the Changemaker Award. Upcoming events include Converge Bangkok on Nov. 4-5, 2024, and Converge London on July 22-23, 2025, with early bird registration available until September 31.