Lodging Leaders

When it comes to insurance coverage for hotels, the coronavirus pandemic is top of mind for most owners and operators these days. However, other areas of business protection cannot be a low priority. The U.S. in 2020 experienced a record number of billion-dollar weather-related catastrophes. Expect the same level of threat this year, say experts. Episode 306 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how a hard commercial property insurance market is affecting the hotel industry.

Episode 305 of Lodging Leaders podcast features civil rights icon Andrew Young Jr. of Atlanta sharing his remembrances of hoteliers and private homeowners in the segregated South showing hospitality to civil rights workers in mid-20th-century America.

This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s special project commemorating Black History Month and how the travel and hospitality industries impacted the Civil Rights Movement.

A new hotel investor, Fred Washington recently made history when he signed Choice Hotels International’s first minority-led multi-unit franchise development deal.

Episode 304 of Lodging Leaders podcast kicks off our special series commemorating Black History Month that explores the impact the hotel industry has had on the Civil Rights Movement.

This report also is part of our ongoing coverage of the state of diversity, inclusion and equality in hospitality leadership.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing hoteliers to deploy new technology to run more cost-efficient businesses and to ensure customers that properties are safe by providing such services as contactless check in and mobile key.

Episode 303 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores how the COVID-19 outbreak has invigorated hotels’ adoption of tech solutions and looks at what types of products owners and operators are investing in. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.

Hotel appraisers and brokers expect distressed assets to come to market as the pandemic recession continues into 2021. But pricing will be different than in previous economic downturns. Episode 302 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of hotel values and what may lie ahead for sellers and opportunistic investors. This is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry.

Business travel is expected to begin a comeback in 2021 as the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, consumers regain confidence and corporations put some of their people on road. In Episode 301 of Lodging Leaders podcast, we explore the outlook for business travel as hotels, airlines and others in the travel industry hope to make up for the $113 billion and 200 million jobs lost to the coronavirus pandemic.

Welcome to the podcast’s 300th episode of Lodging Leaders podcast, a milestone fellow co-hosts Jon Albano and Judy Maxwell plan to mark by reviewing the hot topics of 2020 as well as looking ahead to what we have planned for 2021.

As we all know by now, the best laid plans are often tabled when an unexpected crisis impacts our lives and our businesses, but having a strategy for how you plan to move forward get beyond survival mode is also important. And, we think we can all agree that the events of 2020 have given us a new awareness and have made us kinder, wiser and more resilient.

With that in mind, we invite you to join Jon and Judy as they recap a unique and historical year and share a sneak preview of what we plan to cover in 2021.

Lodging Leaders podcast is part of Long Live Lodging, an online multimedia news organization the covers the hospitality industry. Though the podcast is more than five years old and is the industry’s longest-running weekly podcast, Long Live Lodging officially launched 18 months ago. We have plans to grow this year and thanks to your continued support, we have faith we can continue to give you unique programming that informs and encourages you as you chart your professional and personal journey.

The damage wrought on hotel businesses by the coronavirus pandemic is wide and deep. But the longevity of the pandemic is proving to be truly devastating, especially as the U.S. experiences another surge in the infection rate.

Episode 299 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores what asset managers did in the early days of the crisis to save hotels’ business; what they’re doing now to stay alive; and what they’re planning for the coming months as a vaccine emerges as a solution. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.

A little more than a year ago, the National Restaurant Association forecasted the hot culinary trends of 2020. Among its top 10 were “delivery-friendly” menu items and recipe ingredients that relieve stress.

Here we are nine months since the coronavirus pandemic came to America, and at least these predictions were spot on.

Owners and operators of restaurants, including those associated with hotels, have come up with creative ways to do business and stay open to some degree.

In this episode of Lodging Leaders podcast, we talk to two restauranteurs who differ in their business models and strategies to sustain or grow their business during the coronavirus crisis.

Steve Palmer is a James Beard restaurateur nominee and founder of The Indigo Road Hospitality Group in Charleston, South Carolina, who has kept most of his 24 restaurants open by shifting to a home-delivery model. Alp Franko is founder of The Local Culinary, a ghost kitchen franchise in Miami, Florida, who sees online meal ordering and delivery as the hottest food-and-beverage trend of the early 21st century.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of business. Consumer buying habits are no exception as more sales than ever have shifted online.

Omnisend reported that in the first quarter of this year digital shoppers increased their number of unique page views by 15 percent and online orders by 21 percent from the same quarter a year before.

That’s a noteworthy uptick. But it’s nothing compared to April when page views jumped by 96 percent and orders skyrocketed by 88 percent year over year.

A lot of the online buying growth is the result of merchants’ email campaigns, which reveal consumers are more responsive to email marketing these days.

The hospitality industry can take a page from retailers’ email-marketing playbook as hotels and other accommodations brainstorm for creative ways to reach out to a captive audience of travel consumers.

In this episode of Lodging Leaders podcast, we explore how hotels can use email to connect with both loyal and prospective guests as the lodging industry prepares to emerge from its COVID-19 quarantine.

Featured are Mike Medsker, co-founder and president of Focal Revenue Solutions in Denver, Colorado, and Mike Schmitt, owner and CEO of Clairvoyix in Las Vegas, Nevada.