Revenue Management

🍎 Food and drink prices in hospitality increased by 0.2% month-on-month in July, according to the Foodservice Price Index from NIQ and Prestige Purchasing. The rate of increase slowed from June's 1.8%. Inflation pressures persist in supply chains, with heatwaves causing uncertainty for buyers, particularly in vegetable categories. Hot and dry weather has impacted UK crops like broccoli.

🍷 Price architecture in wine lists is crucial and consists of four tiers: Accessible, Core, Premium, and Prestige. Examples include Domaine Gayda Chardonnay ($15, $70, 21.4%) for entry-level and Domaine Chevrot Maranges Premier Cru ($55, $180, 30.6%) for premium. The structure supports commercial substitutes over isolated references, such as Raffaitin-Planchon Sancerre ($28, $110, 25.5%). Success depends on sales distribution, premium conversion, and gross profit, not just markup percentages or inventory beauty.

🍷 A well-structured wine list increases sales and guest satisfaction by presenting a clear pricing hierarchy. Price laddering offers a progression of value, encouraging guests to "trade up" to higher-priced options. Examples include a New Zealand Sauvignon at $75 and a Touraine at $85. A Bordeaux list might offer a $85 Châteauneuf entry point, progressing to a $2,900 Château Lafite Rothschild, with markups ranging from 18.3% to 41.4%, creating an intelligible upgrade path and enhancing perceived value.

📅 Aug 14, 2026: Marriott's corporate room nights fell slightly, but a mid-single-digit rate increase offset this decline, boosting revenue. Host Hotels saw a 4% corporate revenue rise due to rate hikes, but room-night growth was noted in New York, Washington, and Chicago. Hilton experienced growth in both occupancy and rates. Many companies forecasted higher room nights than delivered, maintaining discounts based on outdated estimates. The value now lies in the rate and guest experience, rather than sheer volume.

🏨 U.S. hotel industry, 2-8 August 2026: Philadelphia led with a 14.2% occupancy increase to 74.6% and a 27.4% RevPAR rise to $116.29. Chicago's ADR climbed 15.2% to $206.21, boosting RevPAR by 23.8% to $176.93. Miami's occupancy fell 7.2% to 65.8%, and RevPAR dropped 8.5% to $107.60. Nashville faced a 4.1% ADR decrease to $158.12. CoStar, a global real estate data leader with 12.2 million rooms, reported these insights.

🏆 Philadelphia anticipated 450,000-500,000 visitors with an economic impact up to $770 million, seeing hotel revenues rise over 50%. Atlanta's hotel revenue increased 15%, despite lower bookings. In Kansas City, hotel occupancy rose 8%, with spending growth driven by matches involving Algeria, the Netherlands, and Argentina. Miami benefitted from team base camps. Marriott's RevPAR rose 5% in Q2 of 2026, while Mexico City saw booking growth above 150% compared to the seasonal norm. Toronto and Vancouver gained international visibility.

🏨 Philadelphia and St. Louis hotels saw notable performance gains from July 26 to August 1, 2026. Philadelphia's ADR rose 19.6% to $175.02 and RevPAR increased 32.1% to $137.55, aided by Morgan Wallen concerts. St. Louis experienced a 15.1% occupancy lift, ADR grew 13.5% to $140.98, and RevPAR rose 30.6% to $106.27. Las Vegas faced declines with occupancy at 66.2% (-11.7%), ADR at $145.87 (-6.2%), and RevPAR at $96.63 (-17.1%). CoStar's data encompasses 95,000 properties globally.

📈 Across ten hotels, 80% spend up to two days weekly on manual reporting, with an extra day added by head office. This affects general managers' time, impacting growth. Effective forecasting involves four conditions: one definition, cadence, meeting, and escalation line. General manager turnover averages one every 2.5 years, mainly due to owner conflicts. To improve, align definitions, reduce redundant reports, and focus on forward-looking profit views to ensure reliable forecasting and enhanced group performance.

💸 Choice Hotels International, Inc. reported second-quarter 2026 results in North Bethesda, Maryland: net income reached $64 million, yet declined 21% from 2025. U.S. room openings rose 27%, with 6,400 new rooms. Adjusted EBITDA hit $175 million, while adjusted EPS was $2.02. Global net rooms grew 2.6%, with U.S. RevPAR rising 1.3%. Choice returned $139 million to shareholders and reported $475 million in liquidity. Global franchise agreements increased by 20%, reaching 11,200 new rooms.

📈 Cloudbeds and Lighthouse expanded their partnership in January 2023. Their integration now allows Cloudbeds PMS data to flow directly into Lighthouse Performance and Distribution, automating reporting for single and multi-property hotels. This enhances decision-making by analyzing pickup trends, booking pace, and occupancy rates without manual input. Lighthouse services 80,000 hotels across 185 countries. Cloudbeds, founded in 2012, operates in over 150 countries, serving tens of thousands of properties.

📅 Wedding venues typically achieve show rates of 70%-85%, indicating successful operations. However, event no-shows can reach 40%-60% for free events and 10%-30% for paid ones, impacting venue costs. Dynamic pricing has proven to increase revenue by 25% over three years and boost off-peak attendance by 60%, compared to a 38% drop in static pricing venues. Tracking the gap between bookings and actual attendance is essential for optimizing venue utilization and revenue.

🏨 £3.5 billion in UK hotel revenue is at risk annually due to abandoned online bookings. Profitroom's study reveals 26.4% of travelers have "rage-quit" bookings, with 69% facing confusion or technical issues. Over half (55%) prefer online travel agents for smoother processes. Ancillary revenue losses total £32.6 million annually, equating to £154,000 per hotel. Simplifying booking could boost extras purchases, as 65% of 2,000 UK adults experienced difficulties adding services. Profitroom stresses the need to streamline direct booking.

💰 Marriott International reported second-quarter 2026 results in Bethesda, Maryland. RevPAR rose 3.4% globally, with U.S. & Canada seeing a 5% increase, while international RevPAR fell 0.5%. Net income was $766 million, with adjusted net income at $844 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $1,592 million. The firm added 17,900 rooms, totaling over 1,814,000 rooms globally. Marriott repurchased 3 million shares for $1.1 billion. Their development pipeline reached 629,000 rooms, with 44% under construction.

🍻 The Trafalgar in Chelsea, owned by Three Cheers Pub Co, extends its £5 drink offer to weekends. Opened on King’s Road, it's the first new pub there in over 100 years. Offers include pints of ale, cider, and lager, plus wines and spirits from Monday to Friday, 4pm-6:30pm, and Friday to Saturday, 10pm-midnight. Select cocktails are £7. Affordable pub food ranges from £4 to £12. Events include a comedy club on Thursdays and a quiz every Monday.

💰 MGM Resorts reported Q2 2026 financials: Consolidated revenue rose 1% to $4.5 billion, with net income at $292 million (up from $49 million). Las Vegas Strip Resorts generated $2.2 billion (up 3%), and Regional Operations saw $924 million (down 4%) in revenue. MGM China revenue remained flat at $1.1 billion. MGM Digital grew 20% to $196 million. MGM Osaka to open in 2030. Diluted EPS was $1.11, a rise from $0.18.

⚽ Kansas City, MO, experienced the largest increase in Average Daily Rate (ADR) during the FIFA World Cup match days in US host markets. While ADR saw significant changes, occupancy rates fell short because corporate groups either held events elsewhere or rescheduled them for after the World Cup. This decline in corporate bookings was not completely compensated by leisure fans visiting the host cities on game days.

🔥 On July 19, the 54th Oyster Festival in Andernos-les-Bains concluded, followed by a fire on July 21 that spread over 40,000 hectares near Saumos. By July 25, 220,000 people evacuated, impacting 24 hotels and 33 campgrounds, causing weekly revenue losses of 2 to 5 million euros. Bordeaux housed 5,000 evacuees at its exhibition center. The fire disrupted tourism, with significant cancellations affecting local businesses like Catherine Parinaud's properties. Government measures were announced on July 27 to support the affected regions.

🌎 In Alexandria, Va., business travel costs are projected to remain high through 2026. According to the 2027 Global Business Travel Forecast by GBTA and ALTOUR, airfare will rise, with global fares up 4.7% to $756 in 2026 and hotel ADR increasing 3.7% to $168. Fuel and labor costs drive these changes. Airfares, particularly for premium class, face pricing pressure. Hotel rate growth varies significantly by region, with Latin America seeing the highest increase at 9.5%.

🏨 Aimbridge Hospitality EMEA's revenue rose by 4.7% with a 4.8% RevPAR increase in the first half of 2026, surpassing market benchmarks. They focused on maintaining room rates over occupancy and reduced payroll costs by 0.7 percentage points. Strategic energy pre-purchasing and data-driven insights helped counter economic challenges. Daniel Kemp and Will Bishop emphasized adaptability and corporate travel growth as key strategies in a volatile market, demonstrating resilience and effective cost management.

🏨 U.S. hotel performance in June 2026 showed significant year-over-year growth, driven by the World Cup. San Francisco/San Mateo recorded the highest occupancy increase (+7.9% to 80.5%) and RevPAR growth (+31.2% to $212.87), with ADR rising by 21.7% to $264.42. Miami saw the highest ADR jump (+23.2% to $218.37). CoStar’s global hotel sample includes 95,000 properties and 12.2 million rooms. CoStar Group, founded in 1986, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

🍳 Food and drink prices increased by 1.8% in June, according to the latest Foodservice Price Index from NIQ and Prestige Purchasing. This rise comes after a decrease in May, highlighting ongoing procurement challenges. Structural supply issues and unpredictable weather are affecting costs, despite recent drops in global energy prices.

💸 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts reported a 2% U.S. RevPAR increase in Q2 2026. System-wide rooms grew by 4%, excluding Revo Hospitality. The development pipeline reached 261,000 rooms, with a 30% FeePAR premium. Net income rose 17% to $102 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 9% to $212 million. $91 million was generated in operating cash, with $86 million returned to shareholders. Wyndham operates approximately 9,200 hotels in over 95 countries with 110 million loyalty members.

📈 Parsippany, New Jersey, Q2 2026: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts reports a 2% U.S. RevPAR growth, with system-wide room growth at 4%, excluding Revo Hospitality Group. Net income rose 17% to $102 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 9% to $212 million. The development pipeline reached 261,000 rooms. Global RevPAR decreased by 1%, with international decline due to geopolitical and regional issues. The company returned $86 million to shareholders through buybacks and $0.43 dividends per share.

📈 Canada’s hotel industry faced its first decline in monthly occupancy since December 2025 as of June 2026. In Nova Scotia, ADR increased by 15.7% to CAD270.46 and RevPAR by 20.2% to CAD228.22, driven by the Canada Sail Grand Prix. Newfoundland and Labrador saw a 4.6% boost in occupancy (86.4%) due to the Iceberg Festival. Vancouver had a 21.3% ADR increase (CAD406.34), while Montreal had a 6.9% rise in occupancy (78.5%) but a 16% drop in ADR (CAD257.89). Toronto's RevPAR grew by 10.4% (CAD247.18) amidst World Cup matches.

📈 Costs in the U.S. hotels rise by 4% annually while GOP margins decline. With 10 hotels, diverse commission structures and marketing budgets create inconsistencies, hiding true acquisition costs per channel. Groups identifying and solving this issue focus on per-channel visibility, revealing unprofitable channels and adjusting strategies accordingly. Three recommended steps: calculate acquisition costs for one hotel manually, compare channel contribution with RevPAR, make data-driven channel decisions. CEOs can improve margins by optimizing existing demand.

🍴 Fine dining and hotels in the UK excelled in June by increasing productivity, generating higher revenue with fewer labor hours. This trend raises concerns about workforce wellbeing and service sustainability. The hospitality market showed polarization, with premium and experience-driven segments outperforming, unlike value-led dining and certain pub and bar operators.

🏨 A guest in Southern Spain, unaware of a spa, missed a booking opportunity, highlighting a 31% utilization rate. A 200-room hotel at 75% occupancy could boost ancillary spend from €50 to €100 per guest, yielding €4.1 million annually. Renaming "late checkout fee" to "relaxation extension" increased revenue by 30%. Bars closed at 22:00 while demand peaked at 22:30. Timing and language are crucial for transforming hotels into revenue platforms, emphasized by phases to enhance guest experience and revenue.

💰 Spain vs. Argentina marks the finale of a series on pricing strategies. Key takeaway: focus on profit, not just revenue. Since 2019, the industry's revenue per room rose 19%, but costs surged 25%. Up to 40% of revenue growth now comes from non-room sources like food and events. RevPAR can mislead if acquisition costs outweigh gains. To succeed, score what you keep, considering total guest spend, akin to goals in football. Aim for profit, not just revenue.

🍴 In Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Huset is the world’s northernmost fine dining restaurant, originally built in 1951. It features a 14-course Arctic tasting menu and a wine cellar with over 1,000 titles. Recently transformed by Snøhetta, the interior blends stained oak and Swedish pine. Head chef Alberto Lozano emphasizes local ingredients and Nordic preservation techniques, offering dishes like Reindeer charcuterie and Ptarmigan pâté.