Category Archives: News & Notes

Weekly Hotel Occupancy Rate Above 75 Percent for the First Time Since 2007

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Time for a quick check with one of our favorite blogs on economics, Calculated Risk.  For the first time since 2007, weekly hotel occupancy topped 75 percent!  It is amazing to follow the CR chart, which shows the median of 2000 to 2007 and compares it with 2009 (the worst year since the great depression) and 2011 and 2012.  From Calculated Risk:

This could be the peak weekly occupancy rate for 2012 (the 4-week average will move up some more). Overall occupancy is back to normal, and will probably move higher over the next couple of years since there is limited new supply being built. 

Now, if we could only work on getting those average daily rates back!

Source:  Calculated Risk

Hotel Guest Satisfaction Posts a Huge Decline in JD Power 2012 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Survey

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Overall guest satisfaction has declined to 757 (out of 1000) in the most recent JD Power Hotel Guest Satisfaction rankings, a drop of 7 points since last year.  A decline is to be somewhat expected as hotels continue to post higher and higher average room rates.  However, the JW Power survey really shows some key areas of struggle.  From the press release:

“However, guest satisfaction with the underlying experience has deteriorated much more than this score suggests, as relatively high levels of satisfaction with cost and fees mask declines in other areas of the guest experience. Satisfaction with check-in/check-out; food and beverage; hotel services; and hotel facilities are at new lows since the 2006 study and satisfaction with guest room has declined within one point of its lowest level in the past seven years.”

The problems are much more than high rates and poor internet.  Surprisingly, only 56 percent of hotel guests have a high opinion of the staff.  From the press release:

Continue reading →

HFTP Launches a New Mobile App for iPhone and Android

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We are excited to find out that HFTP has launched a new app for either iPhone or Android.  The app has information about upcoming HFTP events and the latest industry news.  From the HFTP press release:

“HFTP is a technology-based association, so it is only fitting that we provide technology-friendly member benefits,” said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP. “This app gives HFTP members and interested hospitality professionals easy access to important information about our association and HFTP Global events.”

If you are not familiar with the HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technologies Professionals) organization, check them out by clicking the links below.

Links:

HFTP Launches Mobile App

HFTP Home Page

Forbes Travel Guide’s 2012 Five Star Hotel Award Winners

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Since we posted the recent AAA TrueGuest Award winners, many people have asked about the Forbes Travel Guide List.  Forbes now rates 57 hotels in the world as 5 Star.

Here is the 2012 list:

ForbesTravelGuide
 

 

 

 

CALIFORNIA

The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills
Chateau du Sureau, Oakhurst
Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco, San Francisco
Montage Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills 
The Peninsula Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills
L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills
The Grand Del Mar, San Diego 
The St. Regis San Francisco, San Francisco
The St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point

Continue reading →

AAA Adds 9 Hotels to their Five Diamond List for 2012

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For the year 2012, 9 new hotels have attained AAA’s highest property rating.  7 hotels have lost their 5 Diamond status, bringing the total AAA 5 Diamond hotels to 126.

The new Five Diamond Hotels are:

aaa-five-diamond-awardARIA Sky Suites, Las Vegas, Nev.

The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, S.C.

Jumby Bay, A Rosewood Resort, Jumby Bay, Antigua

Mandarin Oriental, Miami, Fla.

Montage Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Ocean House, Watch Hill, R.I.

The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Calif.

The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The St. Regis Houston, Houston, Texas

A few other key notes from AAA’s press release:

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Unveils New Website and Inaugural Luxury Trend Report

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Just a few months ago, we wrote about how Starwood was the first to allow guests to post reviews on the Starwood website.  Now, Four Seasons is unveiling a brand new website with ‘social media integration’.  Those are fancy words that mean you can now share with Facebook and Twitter or connect with their pages.  Overall, the new website design looks terrific.  The photography is exceptional.  A few highlights from the press release:

As the first luxury hotel brand to fully embrace social media,Four Seasons moved digital to the forefront early on with Four Seasons Magazines Online , the introduction of blogs such as Have Family Will Travel, and a strong presence on social networking sites to suit the ways guests and travel partners communicate. The newFour Seasons website was thoughtfully designed in the same vein, to deliver an immersive and effortless experience tailored to every user. The brand’s signature service, locations and experiences are showcased through photo-rich, informative property and destination pages. Key features of fourseasons.com include: Continue reading →

Starwood Now Allows Guests To Post Reviews On Starwood.com

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We have been talking about hotels managing their internet reputation ever since the days of MySpace.  Yes, that long ago!  One of our recommendations was to allow guests to post reviews directly onto your own website, instead of a third-party site like TripAdvisor.  Finally, a hotel company has gotten it right!  Starwood.com will now allow guests to post reviews (good and bad we assume) after check out.  Guests can post a review for a visit within 18 months after logging in and verifying that they were a guest of the hotel.  They currently have the following guidelines for posting reviews:

  1. Keep your review focused on the hotel
  2. Contact us if you have an issue that requires immediate assistance
  3. Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the hotel
  4. Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names

Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express names best travel reward credit card by NextAdvisor.com

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starwood ccNextAdvisor.com, a website that offers independent research on all different types of products from Auto Insurance to Web Hosting, just released their analyst on reward credit cards.  Three hotel-branded credit cards made it into the top 8 with the Starwood Amex taking the top spot.  The other 5 reward cards are all airline cards.

The Starwood Amex returns about 2.1 cents per point, the highest in the study.  The Marriott Rewards card came in 7th place with a return of about .8 cents per point.  The Hilton HHonors card was 8th with a return of .5 cents per point.  For a full list, hit up the link below.

Source:

NextAdvisor.com

Hotel Occupancy Above Pre-Recession Levels, REVPAR & ADR Gaining Ground

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We have not checked in with our favorite financial blog, Calculated Risk,  in a while.  We are pleased to see the incredible progress hotels have made in both occupancy and ADR. Occupancy has now recovered to the median after falling off a cliff in 2008.  REVPAR is now about 3 percent below the median.  Check out the full details by clicking on the graph.

 

Source:  Calculated Risk