SHR Soundbites

@Christine Lawson, EVP Sales and Revenue, at @Aparium Hotel Group, coming to us from San Francisco.

In her first 90 days with Aparium, Christine must deal with a pandemic. Yikes!

7 boutique hotels with 4 on the way, they’ve enjoyed a historical mix of corporate and leisure. During the pandemic they’ve been doing okay given the circumstances.

Angela Lowe, Corporate Sales & Events, Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort joins me from Darlington, England.

A countryside resort with golf, fishing, and plenty of space, Rockliffe Hall is doing well with those looking to get away this summer, despite the pandemic.

Angela has been busy developing creative offers that are bring in guests.

I am joined by Christine Saleh, Revenue Manager with Dalata Hotel Group, coming to us from London, as I record another episode at Valencia Hotel Group's Hotel Alessandra.

Christine is another hotelier making the most of a bad situation, taking on responsibilities never before presenting themselves, learning key roles within the hotel like reception desk, food and beverage, duty manager, and operations.

Tiffany Charros, Business Travel Sales Manager, joins me from Valencia Hotel Group’s downtown Houston property, Hotel Alessandra.

Tiffany talks about the challenges over the past few months, the passion of hoteliers, and state of her hotel.

Robin Rossmann, Managing Director, STR, joins me from Wimbledon, near London--in my new location for the day, Valencia Hotel Group's Hotel Alessandra.

He quotes James Stockdale, a prisoner of war for over 7 years, during the Vietnam War, to put the current state of the hotel industry in proper context...

"Never confuse the faith you will prevail, in the end, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality."

With over 14,000 rooms, in some of the most beautiful settings in the world, Diego has been working through the pandemic by keeping everything in order, and balanced, while connecting strategy with tactics.

Laura is the Regional Director of Revenue and Distribution for the luxury brand, Mr. C Hotels, who works out of Miami, but had traveled to New York City at the time of the interview. She talks about her entry into NYC, and what her experience has been over the past few months, starting with cancellations in February, all the way to today's slow opening.

Alessandro, the Direct Booking Coach, talks about a couple of case studies he presented at ARMA's latest Revenue Management Summit, during his presentation entitled, 'Where Marketing meets Revenue and Distribution.'

Cypriana George, Services Manager with Sandals Resorts International, joins me from St. Lucia.

With 6 hotels open on the island, the Caribbean is showing signs of re-opening.

Cypriana has some good advice for hoteliers out there:

She's back! Bianca Porto Barga joins me again, and brings a friend, Paula Ruthenberg, Director of Group Sales, with One&Only Resorts.

We talk about group sales amid a pandemic. That's right! Group sales. There's an angle here that is working and these two pros break it down for us.