Hotel industry leaders met in Nashville to discuss their takeaways from the latest hotel performance trends after more than a year of pent-up demand and pricing power.
Top of mind for attendees at the Hotel Data Conference was whether a recession or a recovery was immediately on the horizon, how long guests would continue to pay higher room rates, the challenges of staffing for record levels of travel demand, and more.
STR and Tourism Economics also announced the revised U.S. hotel forecast, which adjusted occupancy expectations downward while projections for average daily rate were lifted.
Click through Hotel News Now's complete coverage of the conference and favorite this page as it will be updated with more content.
article5 Min ReadAugust 15, 2022 10:08 AMHotel industry experts at the 14th annual Hotel Data Conference shared their thoughts on the latest STR forecast and how focusing on profitability helped hoteliers through the pandemic.
article4 Min ReadAugust 16, 2022 09:32 AMHoteliers now have more time to focus on sustainable and meaningful operations, career paths for associates and why this is a golden opportunity for the hospitality sector.
article6 Min ReadAugust 12, 2022 09:13 AMEditors recap the opening day of the 14th annual Hotel Data Conference with takeaways, quotables and more highlights from the event.
article6 Min ReadAugust 12, 2022 05:19 PMDuring the second day of the 14th Annual Hotel Data Conference, industry experts said hotels continue to keep showing better performance, but things they're used to are not the same as before.
article3 Min ReadAugust 18, 2022 09:40 AMSpeaking at the Hotel Data Conference, STR analysts weighed whether a recession was likely in the near term.
article5 Min ReadAugust 17, 2022 08:23 AMDelta Air Lines' chief strategy officer and Carnival Cruise Line's president share examples of leadership through adversity.
article2 Min ReadAugust 12, 2022 09:05 AM-
article3 Min ReadAugust 18, 2022 09:40 AMSpeaking at the Hotel Data Conference, STR analysts weighed whether a recession was likely in the near term.
article2 Min ReadAugust 19, 2022 08:26 AMSTR senior consultant Hannah Smith said the first year of the pandemic was the most volatile period for hotel occupancy.
article3 Min ReadAugust 19, 2022 09:09 AMSpeaking during the Hotel Data Conference, Jan Freitag, national director for hospitality market analytics at CoStar, expressed his doubts on the return of business-transient demand.
article3 Min ReadAugust 22, 2022 09:13 AMTravel-demand uncertainty persists in the business-transient sector more than in any other, and hotel leaders have mixed views of its return and how spending will be distributed.
article4 Min ReadAugust 22, 2022 09:18 AMThree factors are contributing to the slower recovery of business travel demand: company work-from-home policies, executives reevaluating the value of business travel and a broader economic slowdown.
article3 Min ReadAugust 23, 2022 09:07 AMErika Alexander, Marriott's chief global officer, global operations, says travel isn't fundamentally different, but traveler priorities have shifted, and the company is working hard to listen and deliver on expectations.
article4 Min ReadAugust 23, 2022 08:20 AMMarketing executives who work with hotels and resorts shared the wins and learning experiences from trying to recapture demand during the pandemic.
article1 Min ReadAugust 24, 2022 08:21 AMAimbridge Hospitality's Andrew Rubinacci said rate negotiations for corporate travelers have become all-year occurrences for hotels in the company's management portfolio.
article4 Min ReadAugust 24, 2022 09:17 AMHotel revenue management experts said at this point in the industry's recovery, average daily rate is more important than occupancy.
article1 Min ReadAugust 25, 2022 08:02 AMEconomy hotels have been able to realize consistent bookings across the pandemic from growing and new segments of guests, such as digital nomads, according to Red Roof Inn's Alex Cisneros.
article6 Min ReadAugust 25, 2022 09:40 AMFood-and-beverage executives are using better data, balancing guest mix and tailoring menus to adjust to higher food costs and labor issues.
article3 Min ReadAugust 26, 2022 07:45 AMSTR Product Analyst Letizia Rossi-Espagnet said the three factors contributing to rate growth in the U.S. are inflation, leisure demand and volume versus price.
article3 Min ReadAugust 29, 2022 08:16 AMEvents business in the hotel industry has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, but when it does, it will be up against robust demand from leisure guests still seemingly willing to pay higher average daily rates.
article3 Min ReadAugust 29, 2022 08:17 AMFrom the depths of the demand crisis wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, small-town and interstate markets in the U.S. are the only type that have reached normal, pre-pandemic occupancy levels.
article2 Min ReadAugust 30, 2022 09:11 AMTwo years after historic layoffs, hoteliers are still coping with reputational damage from a labor perspective.
article2 Min ReadAugust 30, 2022 09:16 AMData shows short-term rentals are achieving higher average-daily-rate growth than hotels in comparison to 2019.
article3 Min ReadAugust 30, 2022 09:19 AMMitch Patel, president and CEO of Vision Hospitality Group, says he expects a slowdown to the economy in the future, but he remains optimistic about travel demand and his company's culture.
article2 Min ReadAugust 31, 2022 08:12 AMIn a video interview, Marcus Hotels & Resorts' Linda Gulrajani spoke about her company's commercial structure and how the different demand segment recoveries are playing out.
article3 Min ReadAugust 31, 2022 08:13 AMAs rising costs and wages threaten hotel profits, experts said hoteliers should be using the data they have available to them to cut down on staffing and ensure profitability.
article5 Min ReadSeptember 01, 2022 08:27 AMExecutives discuss the evolving relationship between hotels and online travel agencies, and how new technology has provided more and better options to guests as they book online.
article2 Min ReadSeptember 02, 2022 08:49 AMRaines Vice President of Operations Dan Paola has worked across almost every department of hotel operations, which he said gives him perspective on how to help Raines' employees across its portfolio.
article5 Min ReadSeptember 02, 2022 09:04 AMDuring two sessions at the Hotel Data Conference, STR data experts explained what inflation means for hotel profitability and while nominally recovered, they're still working on reaching 2019 performance on a real basis.
article4 Min ReadSeptember 06, 2022 09:15 AMHoteliers spoke about the current state of bleisure travel and how they're willing to pay more for better experiences at the hotel.
article1 Min ReadSeptember 06, 2022 09:19 AMIn a partnership with private equity firm Prospect Ridge, McNeill Hotel Company sold 12 of its hotels but retained the management contracts.
article2 Min ReadSeptember 07, 2022 09:13 AMHotels in leisure-driven cities such as Miami have outperformed while those in business destinations still lag.
article2 Min ReadSeptember 07, 2022 09:14 AMThe costs of construction materials and labor have stymied new hotel development, but improving industry performance is enticing investors to move forward with projects.
article2 Min ReadSeptember 09, 2022 08:56 AMThe mathematics of analyzing hotel profit-and-loss statements have changed to take account of lower occupancy, higher salaries and the vagaries of total revenue per available room as it relates to lower occupancies and stronger average daily rates.
article1 Min ReadSeptember 09, 2022 09:17 AMMonika Morrobel, senior corporate director of commercial strategy for the Kessler Collection, said leisure demand at the company's hotels has remained strong and allows it to continue raising rates.
article1 Min ReadSeptember 12, 2022 07:02 AMHighgate Chief Commercial Officer and Principal Ankur Randev said his company has made investments in a wide array of companies recently, targeting tech platforms that complement its core hotel ownership and operations business.
article1 Min ReadSeptember 13, 2022 07:04 AMWhile Remington Hotels' April acquisition of Chesapeake Hospitality provided growth in scale, Remington's Gilbert Arredondo said the biggest benefit he's seen has been the addition of revenue expertise from Chesapeake, which he added excelled at budgeting and forecasting.