Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The world's craziest hotel resumes construction

When crazed dictators say they're going to finish something, chances are they will. No, I'm not talking about Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, it's our old friend Kim Jong-Il's 105-story monstrosity in Pyongyang, North Korea, the Ryugyong Hotel. For those of you unfamiliar with this bizarre piece of architecture, it began construction more than 20 years ago, and has remained as a mostly topped-off concrete shell since about 1992, complete with an unmoving construction crane poised at its pinnacle. Derided in architectural circles, the 1,083-ft structure's unfinished state has been attributed to either North Korea running out of money or to structural problems that were discovered too late in the construction process. Either way, this massive pyramid has loomed over the city's residents ever since.

Now, strangely, as the rest of the world has paused in the midst of this worldwide economic slowdown, North Korea is moving forward with construction on this hotel, something that observers think has been going on for perhaps 6-8 months. Photos on architectural/construction forums and other sites have been showing glass creeping up the side of the building.

In all honestly, I'm not sure of the purpose or necessity of this project. North Korea's restrictive travel policies—not to mention its lack of a relationship with most of the rest of the world—don't exactly encourage many leisure or business travelers. I'm not really one to argue for killing any sort of hotel project, but here's one where I think that money would certainly better be spent elsewhere.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Abrahamson leaves Hyatt for IHG president role


InterContinental Hotels Group announced today that Jim Abrahamson will be the new president for the Americas Region.
Abrahamson most recently held the position of head of development for the Americas at Global Hyatt Corp. He was responsible for the development and growth of Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites, which both opened their first flagged properties in 2007. Hyatt Place was ranked “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Mid-Scale Hotel Chains with Full Service” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.
At IHG, Abrahamson will take over for Richard Solomons, who was serving as interim president of the Americas after Stevan Porter died in August. Solomons also serves as finance director for IHG.
More to come here.

Monday, December 15, 2008

ABVI shares its successes with members

It’s been nine years since the launch of America’s Best Value Inn. And the brand definitely is not worse for wear.

This year brought a record number of applications to join the economy flag, with 100 approved and 75 turned down. Another 61 were eliminated from the system, which stood at 768 members in 2007, because they didn’t make the grade.

And in the end, despite the falling numbers we’ve all become used to when talking about the hospitality industry, ABVI executives were proud to announce one that went up.

“We actually had a good year,” said Patrick Mullinix, VP of development for ABVI, as he noted that the brand has now surpassed the 800-property mark and will begin 2009 with 809 members in its family.

The announcement was made last week during the brand’s 2008 International Educational Conference and Trade Show held at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

And if that number wasn’t high enough, leaders also discussed expansion of the Best Value Inn line of hotels in Canada and China as well as Value Inn Worldwide in North Africa and Dubai. “Every time we put a sign up outside this country, it’s to your benefit. Every sign that goes up is an advertisement for you,” said Bill Hanley, partner and managing director of international development.

Other achievements over the past year were also noted, including an overall increase in reservations by 18 percent and an overall revenue growth of 20 percent.

And because of the value ABVI offers guests as well as the unique membership it provides owners, Bernie Moyle, COO and CFO for ABVI, said it stands to see the same success in 2009 despite the dreary economy.

“Our business model works in good and in challenging times,” Moyle said.

That model also provides members the opportunity each year to meet at the conference and vote on the issues affecting them each day. Here is a rundown of those results:
1) Extending the expiration date for one of the brand's Internet marketing funds: Passed
2) Changing the quality assurance rating system scores for new and existing members: Passed
3) Requiring all employees to wear a logoed shirt and well-maintained clothing while on duty: Passed
4) Increasing the budget for Buddy dolls and other promotional materials: Failed
5) Instituting a policy for a percentage of smoke-free guestrooms: Failed

Check out the Feb. 2 issue of H&MM to read more conference highlights.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The new Fairfield

Several members of our editorial team were treated to a fantastic tour of the recently renovated Fairfield Inn & Suites in Beachwood, Ohio, an east-side suburb of Cleveland.

Connie Steinwart, director of sales, and Jason Jackson, the GM, showed us around this former Holiday Inn property that has been totally reimagined. Concord Hospitality took the "Green Tea" design option and kicked it up a couple of notches. Impressive features included a wide, welcoming lobby with both ceiling and flooring that sweeps the visitor back into a spacious area, dotted with wide screen televisions, colored LED lighting, plenty of art, and funky seating to boot. 

The property has also recently installed a two-story indoor waterslide, sure to be a big selling point, as it is the only hotel waterslide between Erie, Pa. and Sandusky, Ohio. And in the midst of this cold winter we're having, it was tempting to give it a try.

All in all, this certainly isn't the Fairfield of old, with the small, rectangular lobby. I'm glad to see what's happening with this brand, and look forward to seeing the other design options in the near future.






Wednesday, December 10, 2008

ABVI members get ready to vote

Smoking policies and staff uniforms will be the topics up for vote tomorrow at Americas Best Value Inn’s annual membership meeting. A unique business model, ABVI considers its owners members in the brand. And that means that at the end of each year, those same members decide what policies they want to be put into place for the coming year, rather than the brand alone making mandates.

And, luckily, they’ve invited me to watch them in action. Today at the ABVI Educational Conference and Trade Show being held at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, I was able to hear what member representatives from different regions of the U.S. had to say about the topics at hand for 2009.

The first on tap was support of maintaining a search engine marketing fund to position ABVI for a stronger digital presence. The issue received overwhelming support from the panel, with Ken Johnson of north central region calling it a “no brainer.” “In fact, I thought why don’t we put more money into this,” Johnson said. Panelists asked that there may be a report system added that would show how much pay per click money was being spent by property or even region.

The group addressed its quality assessment program, which basically rates each property by an A, B, C or D grade. Jordan Langlois, VP of brand management, said about 80 percent of that rating is based on cleanliness. However, some argument to the tactic was heard from those who attributed lower ratings to the economy preventing owners from making capital improvements, while others said it’s important to work with failing properties and not just kick them out of the system. Others called for assessments to be more stringent.

On the topic of uniforms, the groups showed agreement across the board that at least front desk employees should wear shirts distinguishing themselves as ABVI employees, while many others supported that should be extended to all personnel, including maintenance and cleaning workers.

The group also tackled the issue of whether to make ABVI hotels non-smoking. The majority of its membership so far supports allowing the percentage of rooms that will be non-smoking to be left up to the individual property, based upon the customers they have in their region. “What I hear overwhelmingly is leave it at the property’s discretion,” Langlois noted.

We’ll find out tomorrow what the members decide.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Russian review

For those of you who weren't able to make it to our amazing hotel investment conference in Moscow earlier this year, the Russia & CIS Investment Conference has just released a short recap video. Check it out:


Inauguration builds demand


Demand for inauguration week hotel rooms has skyrocketed since the election, giving Washington-area hotels (and those as far away as Richmond, Va., and Baltimore, Md.) leverage normally seen during events like the Super Bowl.

Reports say many hotels have doubled or tripled rates. Some hotels are requiring customers to book a four-night minimum while others are collecting payment in advance.

There also are a few stories out there of hotels trying to capitalize on the inauguration excitement by changing the terms of reservations for guests who had booked prior to election night. In this Washington Post story, Emily Durso, president of the Hotel Association of Washington, said, “What you have is a lot of venues that don’t normally face this kind of demand. They're dealing with it for the first time. They were dumb enough to give out rooms over the inauguration dates months ago at a low price. Oops -- now they have to fix it.”

Hotels like the St. Regis Washington, D.C., (pictured above) are building on the excitement with their own events and packages. The St. Regis—located two blocks from the White House—partnered with Neiman Marcus to set up a retail boutique in the hotel’s lobby from Jan. 16-21. An “eye bar” from Yves Saint Laurent Beauté will offer makeup and eyelash application. A Manolo Blahnik shoeshine and bowtie-tying service will help guests prepare for formal functions.
Link
The Hilton Washington offered a $44,000, 4-night package promising guests a behind-the-scenes look at its inaugural ball.

But my favorite story is of the non-profit Stafford Foundation, which bought a $1-million “build your own ball” package at the JW Marriott in Washington. The package includes 300 rooms, four suites and $200,000 worth of F&B at the hotel overlooking the inaugural parade route. The foundation will invite disadvantaged people, homeless people, Hurricane Katrina survivors and wounded soldiers to stay at the hotel and attend its ball.

Sounds like quite the party.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Staybridge hits milestone


I had the pleasure of attending the Staybridge Suites 10th anniversary event this week — another fine celebration organized by the media team at InterContinental Hotels Group.
The event was held at the first Staybridge property, which opened in December 1998 in Alpharetta, Ga., about 35 minutes north of Atlanta. Many IHG executives were on hand to celebrate the success of Staybridge, an extended-stay brand with 142 properties open currently.

The extended-stay segment intrigues me. I understand the concept: target those travelers who, for one reason or another, need to spend a significant amount of time on the road. But are there really that many travelers that fit the bill? Who spends weeks at a time in a hotel?
I sat down with Rob Radomski, VP of brand management, extended-stay brands, and asked him these very questions.
"Certain types of demand generators provide the business to extended stay," Radomski said, "and it's corporate training, government and military, education — you look for large universities ... large medical centers will provide some of that extended stay as well."
Radomski said IHG has good relationships with many global corporations, so the hotel giant is able to determine where those companies do their training with a phone call.
The Alpharetta Staybridge Suites is located in a corporate market, smack dab in the middle of an office park. Radomski said a nearby medical facility provides a significant amount of extended-stay business.
"For example, even in individual medical offices, they're becoming more technology-based where doctors and nurses will keep their patients' records in the examining room on a portable laptop," Radomski said. "So when this software and all this equipment is installed into an office, there's installation, training, maintenance and refreshing courses that come out. So that has created a whole new set of opportunities for extended stay because you have these individuals that go around and install all this equipment and train on it and support it. It's a new source for extended stay."
At Staybridge, Radomski said the average guest stays eight nights. Twenty-five percent of the business stays more than 30 nights, he said. Therefore, if someone were spending a month in a hotel room, they would need more space and different amenities than the typical transient hotel room.

Also, as part of the celebration, IHG organized an hour-long panel on the state of the extended-stay industry, featuring Staybridge owners and executives who track the success of the extended-stay market. For coverage of that panel, click here.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Don't forget H&MM's live chat with TripAdvisor

It's the day before our first in a series of webinars we have planned for the coming year, so here's your friendly reminder not to miss out.

Tomorrow, Dec. 3, we have on tap a live chat titled "What can TripAdvisor do for you?" The event will be held at 11 a.m. and all you have to do to take part is register at http://www.hotelmotel.com/TripAdvisorWebinar.

As of now, we have nearly 1,000 people registered to take part. Attendees will hear from executives at TripAdvisor on how reviews are posted, how hoteliers can become involved in the process and how to use listings to a hotel's advantage. There also will be a Q&A session following the presentation.

I hope to see you there.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Join in on the discussions

We're in the midst of a lot of improvements to our online properties, and I'd like to share the latest with readers of this blog. As a companion of sorts to the HotelTalk Blog, we've launched the HotelTalk Forums, located at www.hotelworldnetwork.com/forums.

These discussion forums are divided into subforums, which include General Discussions, Design, Luxury, Operations/Technology, Sales/Marketing and more. Anyone can view the comments and discussions that are taking place there, although you do have to register to start your own thread or reply to others. Registration is free and it's pretty easy, so I encourage you to do so today.

Click over to the forums, and get involved in this newest part of our online lodging community. See what your colleagues are talking about, and find the answers to your questions from numerous industry experts. I look forward to seeing you there.