Lodging Leaders

Seemingly overnight, the new coronavirus pandemic has dramatically curbed travel in the U.S. Hotels are feeling the pain as occupancies dropped to historic lows, in some cases down by 80 percent.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association on Monday reported major hotel managers said they’ve laid off or furloughed one million employees.

Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has put a temporary hold on its once-a-week programming to provide updates throughout the week on specific issues impacting the hotel business.

In this episode of our special report on how COVID-19 is impacting the hotel industry, Lodging Leaders interviewed a hotel owner who is trying to keep his staff onboard. We also talked to consultants who offered advice on how to manage their workforces and make hard decisions during the crisis.

The U.S. hotel industry is undergoing an unprecedented experience as the new coronavirus or COVID-19 grows more and more real every day.

Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has decided to put a temporary hold on its usual programing from one report a week and move to providing updates throughout the week with short reports focused on specific issues impacting the hotel business.

In this episode we explore pricing in a sudden and steep downturn.

We interview Lily Mockerman, founder and CEO of Total Customized Revenue Management of Phoenix, Arizona, and Susan Barry, founder and president of Hive Marketing of Atlanta, Georgia, on how hotels can effectively manage rate to mitigate the loss of revenue from cancelations as well as attract business from people who still need to travel or from those who choose to travel during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fair franchising. It’s a phrase that’s been used countless times in negotiations with brands, at industry conferences and among associations formed to ensure a balance of power between franchisers and franchisees.

As the hotel industry in the U.S. celebrates nearly a decade of growth, leaner times are ahead, say forecasters. Owner operators are cutting as many expenses as they can but seem to be swimming upstream as costs are claiming more and more of their bottom lines.

Among the biggest expenses are franchisee fees, which are growing at a faster pace than room revenue.

Episode 253 of Lodging Leaders is the first in a series that’s exploring the issues brewing in the franchise industry.

To launch the series, Judy Maxwell, co-host of Lodging Leaders, attended Fair Franchising Initiative, a new organization formed to address hotel franchisees’ concerns with the current state of franchising.

Maxwell also interviewed a hotelier leading a petition drive to get AAHOA back to the discussion table with Choice Hotels International.

Featured are Prakash Shah and Anil Patel, president and chairman, respectively, of Fair Franchising Initiative; Keith Miller, principal of Franchisee Advocacy Consulting; and Sagar Shah, a next-generation hotelier who is leading the franchisee petition drive.

Welcome to the second edition of BulletInn, a news report of Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast.

In this episode, we cover three topics:
• The spread of the new coronavirus and its impact on travel and the legalities around cancelling group meetings in the U.S.
• Surprises in a report by CBRE Americas Hotels Research about the growth of the online short-term rental market in the U.S.
• An interview with Mit Shah, CEO of Noble Investment Group and co-founder of the Bharat Shah Leadership Speaker Series, who, during the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference this month, will interview a billion-dollar entrepreneur not normally seen in hotelier circles.

Thanks to Evan Saunders of UberMedia; Lisa Sommer Devlin of Devlin Law Firm; Barbara Dunn of Barnes & Thornburg Law Firm; Jamie Lane of CBRE Americas Hotels Research; Mit Shah of Noble Investment Group;

Online travel agencies. Hoteliers love them. Hoteliers hate them.

Brand.com, GDS, call centers, travel agents, groups and so on. There are many types of business in every market.

In this episode, Lodging Leaders explores how hotel owners and operators can learn to use third-party platforms such as OTAs, and when to tap other resources for those all-important direct channels that are critical to a hotel’s profit contribution.

Understanding the full array of business in a market and how to manage communication through the full guest journey can improve the relationship a hotel has with its customers and drive retention and repeat bookings.

We feature Mark Lewis-Brown, CEO and president of Vertical Booking USA, which provides customer reservation system software to hotels; Matthew Arrants, executive vice president of Pinnacle Advisory Group; Tim Lee, a consultant with Pinnacle Advisory who used to work for Expedia Group; and Cindy Estis Green, co-founder and CEO of Kalibri Labs, which analyzes the hotel industry’s distribution channels.

In Episode 250 of Lodging Leaders, we talk to several people adept at not only networking but also building a network of mentors and trusted peers you can turn to throughout your career, no matter where you are on the leadership rung.

Episode 249 is a reporter’s notebook of sorts that features various interviews co-host Judy Maxwell conducted during ALIS with several experts on various topics.

You’ll hear from Peggy Berg of Castell Project and the results of its latest study about women advancing in hospitality leadership, which charts some progress; Tracy Prigmore of TLTSolutions and She Has A Deal, a pitch competition for prospective investors and developers; and David Kong, CEO of Best Western Hotels and Resorts, which had an eventful year that included trying to transition the membership-based company into a for-profit model.

We start with exploring what people had to say about women advancing in the industry in light of a newly released Castell Project report.

During the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles last week, Lodging Leaders interviewed hoteliers, restaurateurs and brand designers who are remaking existing F&B programs or introducing new dining concepts in hotels.