No Vacancy Live!

The hotel room someone books online sits at the end of a massive web of technology, partnerships and decisions most of us never see.

Danielle Von Weyhrother, Head of Sales North America at HBX Group, joins me on No Vacancy to pull back the curtain on #HotelDistribution. HBX connects hotels with airlines, travel agencies, OTAs, loyalty programs and more than 100,000 clients worldwide, helping hotels reach demand far beyond the obvious booking channels.

Then #AI changes the equation. Danielle explains why rates, inventory and room photos don't tell technology enough about a hotel. The details that make a property unique now matter more in connecting the right traveler with the right experience. And yes, rainbow-colored ice cream somehow becomes a great example of exactly what she means.

There's a lot happening between "I need a hotel" and "I booked this one." This conversation reveals how much #Hospitality technology influences that decision before most of us ever realize it.

Thanks to our friends at Actabl for supporting No Vacancy. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Something enormous is happening with hotels in India, and I don't think enough people realize the scale of it yet.

I brought Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, back to No Vacancy because the numbers coming out of #India are pretty staggering, but the real story goes much deeper than the size of the pipeline. Global hotel companies are making major moves across the country, investment is accelerating, and Bruce sees development spreading into markets that barely register on most people's radar today.

And this isn't simply another #HotelDevelopment boom. Bruce explains why this cycle looks very different from the last big push into India, what changed, where the opportunities are emerging, and why the #Hospitality industry should start looking at India very differently.

Some of the numbers Bruce drops during this conversation genuinely surprised me, and they may change how you think about where the next major era of hotel growth will come from.

Thanks to our friends at Actabl for supporting No Vacancy. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

And if you want more conversations like this, subscribe to No Vacancy so you don't miss what's coming next.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Friday Night Audit gives hotel company presidents a dangerous combination: cocktails, bad ideas and three people absolutely convinced they know how to run the business better.

Red Roof President Zack Gharib made the mistake of joining us this week. We insisted our advice was genius. Zack knew better.

Between drinks, Craig Sullivan started designing a red-jacket tradition for Red Roof, Suzanne Bagnera battled technical problems, I kept one eye on a pork butt creeping toward 205 degrees, and Zack kept the whole thing moving despite the rest of us.

Then we reached the Final Four of the Friday Night Audit Hotel Pet Peeves contest — the Four Horsemen of Hotel Misery — with Outlet Desert facing Identical Dispenser Bottles for a trip to the championship round. Suzanne picked a side. Zack picked a side. Craig picked a side. I mostly tried to keep the pork alive.

See who Zack backed, hear the ideas we tried to foist on him, and find out how much nonsense one hotel president tolerates before happy hour ends.

#FridayNightAudit #RedRoof #HospitalityIndustry

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

What happens when you build a hotel around elves, orcs, fairies and leprechauns — and commit fully to the idea?

Ancient Lore Village has just 14 rooms, yet some of its social videos draw millions of views, including one that topped 25 million. Now CEO Melissa Blattner is taking the concept much further.

I spoke with Melissa about why immersive storytelling connects so strongly with guests and what separates a real experience from something a hotel simply calls an "experience."

Plenty of hotels deliver perfectly good stays. Far fewer create something guests remember, talk about and share.

That's what Ancient Lore Village is trying to do every day.

See how Melissa builds those experiences and why she thinks the idea can grow far beyond 14 rooms.

Thanks to our friends at Actabl for supporting No Vacancy. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

What if the biggest problem at your hotel isn't what you're missing?

Heidi Stone knows that trap well. She took over Mountain Lake Lodge — the Virginia resort made famous by Dirty Dancing — when the lake had dried up and the property had plenty working against it.

Her answer wasn't to obsess over everything that was wrong.

That mindset changed the property, and it shapes how she looks at independent hotels today.

If you own or operate a hotel, there's a very good chance you're spending time and money fixing the wrong things.

Heidi explains where she'd look first — and why some of the most valuable changes may cost far less than you think.

Thanks to our friends at Actabl for supporting No Vacancy. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Some of the biggest hotel construction opportunities in the world right now are taking shape across Asia Pacific — and India is accelerating fast.

I spoke with Lodging Econometrics' Bruce Ford about where hotel companies are placing their bets next. India's hotel pipeline nearly tripled over the past three years, and Bruce expects a construction wave there for the next five to seven years.

China brings a different story, with huge numbers of rooms opening, major renovation activity and development patterns that look very different from what we typically see in the U.S.

If you want to understand where global hotel growth is heading next, see which Asia Pacific markets Bruce thinks deserve the closest attention now.

Thanks to our friends at Actabl for supporting No Vacancy. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

What if the SBA's $5 million hotel loan limit doesn't actually limit you to $5 million?

At LendingCon, SBA Regional Administrator Tyler Teresa explained how hotel owners now use the 7(a) and 504 programs together for as much as $10 million in total financing. Congress never raised the $5 million limit. The SBA found another route.

Then Tyler dropped another number every hotel buyer should hear: 15%. Under the 504 program, hotel buyers contribute 15% toward the deal. Tyler also took me through an $8 million hotel acquisition and showed exactly where the 7(a) and 504 pieces fit.

I spend plenty of time talking with hotel owners about the struggle to find capital that makes deals pencil. This conversation gave me a financing strategy I didn't know about, and I suspect plenty of hotel owners don't know about it either.

If hotel acquisitions factor into your plans, Tyler's explanation deserves five minutes of your attention.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Waiting for "uncertainty" to disappear before making your next hotel deal? Dan Lesser has a technical term for that: a cop-out.

I caught up with the LW Hospitality Advisors president and CEO at LendingCon 2026, and Dan sees considerably more activity in the hotel market than all the hand-wringing might suggest. He says the first half of the year has been phenomenal, people continue to travel, substantial hotel transactions are getting done and there's money available for acquisitions, refinancing and construction when the economics work.

Then we got into what could drive even more deals. Owners who financed three, five or seven years ago now face debt maturities at significantly higher interest rates, while brands are also pushing properties that postponed renovations to get the work done. Some owners will refinance. Some will renovate. Others are going to decide they've had enough and sell.

That's when things get interesting for everyone else.

Dan explains why he doesn't believe the money ever really disappeared to the sidelines, where he's seeing hotels repriced and why his business currently spans everything from proposed new developments to distressed and bankruptcy-related assets. There's a lot happening underneath all that "uncertainty."

Thanks to my friends at Actabl for supporting #NoVacancyNews. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com.

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Staypineapple Hotels President Dina Belon joined us for Friday Night Audit, and within minutes we were talking about underground printer-paper markets, retired Peabody ducks and why her early Google results once featured photos from the Playboy Club.

So, pretty much a standard Friday Night Audit.

Craig Sullivan and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera were along for the ride, while I broadcast from EPCOT, questioned ducks about their employment history and went five-for-five on a Phish quiz. After more than 200 shows, I would've been embarrassed if I missed one.

Dina also had plenty to say about what Staypineapple is doing with AI, guest experience, technology and those famous pineapple chunks.

🍍 Pineapples 🦆 Ducks 🎸 Phish 🖨️ An office-paper black market 🍸 And eventually, drinks

Watch the latest Friday Night Audit and see how far we managed to wander while still technically talking about hotels. #NoVacancyNews

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

During LendingCon 2026, Glenn Haussman asks Red Roof's Lina Patel why conversions now account for roughly 80% of the company's hotels this year.

Lina also explains how Red Roof's RIDE initiative has helped 40 people become hotel owners and why the company sees more room to grow that number.

Watch the conversation to hear what Red Roof sees happening in the hotel deal market right now.

#NoVacancyNews #RedRoof #LendingCon

Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.