Author: Daniel Wilson

In an increasingly saturated hospitality world, flagships offer innovative designs, services and amenities.

The W New York in 1998 was the epitome of cool. It was the first property of the W Hotel brand, then part of Starwood, now Marriott, and boasted rooms with silver couches and mirrored ceilings. The lobby was designed to act as a lounge. The pool was called a wet deck. The presidential suite was titled an “E WOW” suite — Extreme Wow. The W was the most playful hotel around.

Twenty years later the brand has built shinier, more attention-grabbing flagships. One, W Dubai – The Palm, opened in February. Guests are greeted by Orsoni glass tiles that reflect the sun, and then sleep in guest rooms with walls designed to mirror the sea and Arabic lyrics written graffiti style. They eat at the celebrity chef Massimo Bottura’s first restaurant outside of Italy.

In the world of retail, flagship properties have always been big in every sense of the world. At Nike’s in New York, visitors can design their own sneakers. At the Microsoft flagship in London, they can play the latest Xbox games in a gaming lounge.

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In an increasingly saturated hospitality world where hotels must compete for attention from clients and investors, Flagships give operators the opportunity to put on a show, offering innovative designs, services and amenities.

“The flagship Apple store in New York is bigger, more modern and offers more services than the local Apple store at your mall,” said Barak Hirschowitz, president of the International Luxury Hotel Association. “Similarly a flagship hotel will be in the best location, is usually larger, and offers more bars, restaurants and services than other properties within the brand.”

Like the W Hotels, many brands that have longstanding flagships are replacing them or creating newer siblings. The Ritz-Carlton is building a new flagship in New York City with less formal restaurants and local design elements. It will open in 2021 and most definitely steal some attention away from the old one.

By the end of 2020 Crowne Plaza will introduce six flagship hotels, the brand’s first. To date, the company has 426 properties and 119,494 hotel rooms across the world.

In Hamburg guests will check into rooms with separate places to work, play and sleep. In Paris they will be able to browse local art on the walls of their lobby.

“These properties will elevate our entire estate,” said Eric Lent, a senior vice president at IHG, which owns the chain. “They give our guests a first-look at where the brand is going.”

“They represent places where we can innovate, test, and learn,” said Mr. Lent. A few of these flagships will test out circadian lighting in guest rooms to see if it results in sounder sleep.

Other brands want their flagships to be places that attract attention from key clients and investors in busy markets.

Simon Naudi, the chief executive of Corinthia Hotels, decided to make its London property his flagship because of its prime location (The group has four openings in the pipeline in Dubai, Bucharest, Moscow and Brussels, so it has a lot of choices.)

“We are proud of what we have achieved in London, and we want as many people as possible to experience it,” he said. The Corinthia London has the largest spa in London, along with a new restaurant by Tom Kerridge, a chef made famous when his pub, The Hand and Flowers, received two Michelin stars.

At some of these properties guests might not even know they are staying at a flagship. They might just think they are in a darn good hotel.

Of course, there are the brands that hold tight to tradition and still believe their flagship should be their original property, the place where standards were set.

Foiz Ahmed, president of Quadrum Hospitality Group, which owns Arlo Hotels, wants his new properties in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Wynwood, Fla., to take after his first property in New York’s Soho neighborhood. It has trendy dining areas that change seasonally (think ski chalets in the winter and gardens in the summer).

“We’re always trying to emulate what we have at our flagship, because it’s proven successful,” he said.

The Hoxton, a hipster brand based in London, has new hotels in Chicago, Portland, Ore., and soon Los Angeles. Still, it tapped the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, location, the first on the North American continent, as its beacon. The brand gambled on introducing a retail store and a sprawling rooftop bar there. These ideas worked, so the location gets rewarded with the flagship status.

Then there are the hotel groups that believe even the idea of a flagship goes against the current zeitgeist.

Autograph Collection Hotels refuses to name a flagship property because it wants each of its hotels to stand out, the company said.

“We believe today’s travelers are collecting hotels like a foodie would collect a restaurant,” said Sarah Lipton, a senior director of global brand marketing for Autograph. “It’s hard to pick out one because it’s about getting unique experiences at every single one.”

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Shoulder season — just before and after peak summer travel time — is when you’ll find warm temperatures, smaller crowds and deals.

Summer vacation may be coming to an end, but savvy travelers know that the best time of year to book and take a trip is starting. Shoulder season — the months just before and after peak summer travel time — is when you’ll find warm temperatures, smaller crowds and deals on flights, home rentals and more. Here’s a primer on how to take advantage:

What is shoulder season?

Many travelers may have heard of the term shoulder season, but don’t know exactly what it means.

“Shoulder season is a travel industry insider term that refers to the two times of year that ‘shoulder’ the summer months, especially May, September and October,” Kelly Soderlund, communications manager of the travel booking site Hipmunk, said. “The weather is still warm, and prices really start to decline.”

Travelers can expect lower prices as well as fewer crowds. And while they risk an increased chance of inclement weather, temperature drops are often minimal.

“At many U.S. beach destinations, the average temperature drops about 1 percent between August and September, while price drops are much more dramatic,” Melanie Fish, public relations director of VRBO, said.

Ms. Soderlund recommends approaching the Caribbean with caution, or at least keeping a careful eye on hurricane season.

How much can I save?

“The biggest price drops are in the most popular destinations,” Ms. Soderlund said. “And we see the biggest drop-off of visitors right after Labor Day.”

Data from Hipmunk, shows an average 18 percent decrease, compared to the summer months, in fares this fall for international flights departing from the United States.

According to Hipmunk, airfares for international flights departing from the United States are, on average, 18 percent less than they were this summer. Travelers looking to head to Nairobi, Venice or Shanghai could save 37 percent on flights, and a similar price drop — 34 percent — was seen for flights to Milan and Hong Kong. Domestic flights drop an average of 9 percent.

Hotel prices plunge as well, according to Hipmunk, with rates dropping around 50 percent in destinations ranging from Santorini, Greece, to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

VRBO data shows comparably significant price drops for home rentals. Last year, average nightly rates in Ocean City, N.J., dropped 29 percent between August and September, and 25 percent in Cape Cod. Travelers to Europe saw lower rental prices in Edinburgh (33 percent decrease), Nice, France, (24 percent) and Barcelona (21 percent).

Ali Killam, a consumer trends spokeswoman at Airbnb, recommends researching specific destinations to get the best deals.

“Prices tend to rise during local school breaks and holidays,” she said. “Since different destinations around the world observe different school breaks, take some time to learn more about the area’s academic and cultural calendar before booking.”

When should you book shoulder season travel?

Ms. Soderlund recommended booking international travel at least six weeks out on the busiest routes. Domestic flights tend to be cheapest about three months out.

The best way to capture these deals: Keep an eye out for fare sales and set price alerts for multiple airports. It’s worth researching new routes that may have opened up, like a new direct flight from San Jose, Calif., to London.

Whether booking flights, hotels or houses, Ms. Killam recommends making sure your trip falls firmly outside of high season.

“If you depart during high season but return in shoulder season, you likely won’t get the best price,” she said.

Where should you go?

Ms. Fish suggested travelers consider popular beach and mountain destinations throughout the United States, or places that are “typically associated with summer vacation.” And those always-popular international destinations, like London and Paris, have lower fares as well (though the price drops are not so stark).

[Here are eight destinations where you can stretch your summer beyond Labor Day.]

Of course, keep in mind that shoulder season months have their own spikes — typically around events or holidays.

In case of popular events, think about hitting a lesser-known destination, Ms. Killam recommended.

“One of our trending destinations for fall is Halle, Germany — a great alternative to Munich during Oktoberfest,” she said. “And Regina, Canada, which has some of the best and brightest fall foliage, is a great alternative to pricier New England foliage hot spots.”

Maintaining a degree of flexibility can be a boon in taking advantage of shoulder season travel, and, said Ms. Fish, is now easier than ever.

“Technology allows us to do jobs and stay connected even if ‘official’ lazy days of summer are over. Combine that with less-crowded destinations, even if it’s just for a weekend — it’s a delicious recipe for travel.”

Concierge apps can also help you get last-minute deals, keep track of your rewards programs and increasing direct bookings. Please feel free to share your experiences, tips and ideas.

Amateurs cut rates to fill hotel rooms. Pros take more sophisticated approaches, such as coordinating to stimulate demand from the most profitable customers.

Some hotel operators — MGM Resorts, RLH, Omni, Radisson, and Melia — have been fine-tuning their efforts at setting rates for rooms, upgrades, and other services. They’ve been leveraging a growing prowess at automation and cross-department teamwork to set prices for maximum profit.

A case in point: MGM Resorts International has aimed to add tens of millions to its bottom line this year from enhanced revenue management.

MGM Resorts intends to focus more on reserving space for its most profitable customers —namely, gamblers, convention-goers, and leisure travelers who book directly. It can do that by targeting promotions to people who are more willing to spend on food, drink, and upgrades.

The Human Problem

Other hotel groups are also retooling their revenue management approaches in ways that focus less on technology and more on how teams operate.

Reflecting an industrywide move, RLH, owner of the Red Lion brand, is breaking down the silos between revenue managers and sales and marketing leaders.

This year, RLH is reorganizing its structure. It wants its revenue managers and sales and marketing decision-makers to act more in tandem, such as by sharing data and analytical tools.

The historical problem is that teams can have conflicting goals, tools, and incentives, and they often don’t share data.

Revenue managers tend to focus on price-setting. Sales and marketing teams typically look at stimulating demand, such as by running email marketing campaigns or advertising on search engines like Google.

In a change, many hotel owners are insisting on greater cooperation among the teams. For example, rather than cut room rates, a hotel could use outbound sales and marketing efforts to grow demand in other ways.

Radisson has worked this year to improve its revenue management effort. The Sweden-based hotel group has in the past year adopted a new third-party software system and centralized the decision-making for using it at offices in London, Stockholm, and Frankfurt.

Radisson’s goal is to leverage expertise, ensure consistency, and take taking advantage of guest data it collects from many points to measure promotion effectiveness.

Until now, hoteliers have mainly set rates for rooms. But computers now enable it and other hospitality companies to fine-tune its revenue management down to room type and length of stay. This year InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) began using software from Amadeus to start offering so-called attribute-based selling, which recognizes that not all rooms are alike and, thus, deserve different prices.

Independents Looking for a Level Playing Field

Revenue management technology is, for the first time, scaling down to the level of a single property.

“What we are seeing is an unprecedented level of interest and action being taken by independent hotels around pricing and forecasting decisions,” said Vivek Bhogaraju, director, revenue management platform solutions at Expedia Group.

If you remove the traditional barriers of adoption, such as by not requiring trained revenue management analysts and instead empowering hotel managers to make data-driven decisions, independent hoteliers are up for a fight, Bhogaraju said.

Tech Vendors Eye an Opportunity

Companies that sell software to help with revenue management are salivating at the prospect of increased sales.

In theory, the market potential is large for software that automates some parts of rate-setting.

Only 4 percent of the world’s 600,000 hotels use revenue management software, Skift Research estimated.

If you include tools like Expedia’s Rev+ rate guidance service, only 16 percent of hotels worldwide use revenue management tech, said Skift Research. For more context, subscribers can read Skift Research’s The Hotel Revenue Management Landscape 2019 report.

Several mid-size hotel brands have been taking action.

For example, Omni Hotels and Resorts has adopted a new revenue management system, which it hopes will be able to understand the total value of meetings and events segment at its 60 hotels and resorts in North America.

Model Talk

Revenue management may seem it ought to be a table-stakes skill. But it has historically been a tough problem to crack.

Critics say much of the hotel industry in the U.S. is dominated by chains who tend to want to own their guest data. So they tend to build in-house, centralized revenue management environments. That stifles some innovation on the vendor side as the total addressable market remains small.

It can be hard for a hotel to move from one provider’s system to another. The switching cost is high because a lot of business process logic gets baked into systems. So vendors tend to go after operators and management companies that haven’t picked a new system yet.

That’s not to downplay industry competitiveness. A brief list suggests the dynamic: Duetto, for example, has in the past two years lost Red Lion, Denihan, and others. Rainmaker took Sands Macau from IDeaS.

Two other issues that have held back the industry have been poor data quality and poor data integration.

In the late 1990s, IDeaS began building software for hotels. It found that hotel systems often couldn’t share accurate transaction data with it. IDeaS created a workaround to extract insights about customers. But its forecasts suffered.

“The design mistake sent us down a wrong path and cost us a few years of development time,” said Ravi Mehrotra, president, founder, and chief scientist at IDeaS. IDeaS discovered it must insist on obtaining full transactional data. It also found it must clean up that data before using it.

The lessons helped put IDeaS into a market-leading position today.

“Everybody talks about machine learning, or operations research, or about general purpose models,” Mehrotra said. “But model quality matters the most. How well you model hotel supply and demand is an issue I don’t hear discussed.”

Many New Products

Today, IDeaS, Infor’s EzRMS, and Duetto are the sector’s frontrunners. Accel-KKR-owned Cendyn’s acquisition of Rainmaker this month may lead to a fourth powerhouse.

A few months ago, SHR (Sceptre Hospitality Resources) launched a revenue management system called Wave RMS. SHR hopes to cross-sell the system to its base of customers that use its Windsurfer central reservation system. SHR has also become integrated with DerbySoft, a distribution service that helps hotels distribute rates and inventory via 280 connections to online travel agencies, wholesalers, and tour operators worldwide.

Hoteliers will favor systems that let them reduce low-value tasks, such as pulling reports and manual keystroking, said Duetto CEO Patrick Bosworth. “They also want more actionable insight into their data.”

But it takes time for hoteliers to trust automated systems. In a test, Melia Hotels International has been setting rates on auto-pilot at six properties. It’s still evaluating the accuracy.

A Revenue Strategy Approach

Hotels are finding it’s not enough to get revenue managers and sales and marketing teams to talk and coordinate with each other more often. They need broader insights into the true cost of each method it uses to get a guest.

“Rate optimization alone will not be enough,” said Cindy Estis Green, CEO and co-founder of Kalibri Labs, another hotel vendor. “The legacy tools that have been in use for 20 or 30 years are not going to be adequate to meet the demands of today’s digitally dominated market.”

Green said her company focuses on the profit contribution of each method a hotel uses to draw guests. Earlier this year, Kalibri Labs launched a product called Hummingbird.

“We generate competitive sets for each rate category or each market segment, such as corporate, online travel agency, government, and group,” Green said.

“We look at the half-dozen or so hotels that have transactions that match most closely with your hotel,” Green said. “Then we generate ten market segments for weekends and ten market segments for weekdays.”

The company says hoteliers, owners, developers, brokers, appraisers, and major brands use its data and related tools, which go beyond Hummingbird. But it declined to give details.

“Rather than thinking about which hotels you compete with, we help you think about who has the business you want to go after and that could be gotten without inflating your bottom-line costs,” Green said.

The Hummingbird tool is unlike any traditional revenue management system. Whether the product will be a market success remains to be seen. But its approach represents a change in how hoteliers are thinking about broader issues.

“We point hotels to demand that is coming into the market and that looks like business that would be a match for your hotel,” Green said. “We show you which competitors are getting that business, how much it’s worth, what channel it’s coming through and when, and whether you need to dial up your sales effort or dial up your paid search or dial down your pricing to get it.”

In 2017, investors valued Kalibri Labs at $33 million during an investment round that included Shiji Group.

It’s difficult to judge how well Kalibri Labs’ tools work. Hotel chains like InterContinental Hotels Group that have worked with the company have been quiet about their views of its new Hummingbird product.

Stimulating Demand

Duetto has raised $143.2 million in funding since its founding in 2012, which has afforded a lot of research and development spending. But it hasn’t yet become like a Salesforce-type success in travel.

Hoteliers have remained reluctant to try some of the tech industry’s new automation. Many hotel groups have only begun to plow investment into years-long efforts to merge disparate data sets.

Some well-known industry names like MGM Resorts are taking intermediate steps. Some are trying to think more strategically about planning and resource allocation. They’re figuring out which mix of technologies will best determine how much they should spend on marketing and for which market segments and when.

Other hotel companies are honing their tactics, too. Tactical changes include more efforts to optimize a hotel’s direct sales activity. Hoteliers are focusing on the channels that provide the most cost-effective returns.

In the next year, many industry eyes will study the changes pioneering hotels have been making. Expect wide imitation if their efforts pay off. A concierge service app is a software product which serves as a personal assistant app in hospitality industries if you want to know more details please contact us.

Industry standards put the average hotel marketing budget at about 4 to 5% of the property’s total revenue. That’s a nice starting point and marketing certainly is a necessary expense (and one that can deliver pretty awesome ROI), but what if you could get some of your exposure for free?

Social moments are a low-to-no-cost way to connect, engage, and convert, but they won’t just happen. You have to know how to give this phenomenon the room — sometimes literally — it needs to flourish.

What is a Social Moment?

A social moment is basically a snippet of an experience that ends up on social media. That definition makes the entire concept sound almost accidental, like a byproduct of a really good time, but in reality these moments are highly curated, highly orchestrated, and potentially highly profitable.

Anytime someone takes a picture in front of your towering flagstone fireplace and posts it on Instagram with hashtags likes #hotelname, #AspenGetaway, and #SkiCation, or does a Facebook Live of your newly refurbished spa-like bathrooms, that’s a social moment.

These moments could come courtesy of experts, celebrities, popular opinion, friends, or the average Joe who just knows how to conjure up shareable content.

Power of Social Proof: Using Social Media for Hotels

Whenever someone books a room in your hotel and says they found you because of someone else’s social media post, that’s social proof at work. It’s the 21^st-century version of word of mouth except it comes with pictures and people can click through from an influencer’s post and find your site in mere seconds.

• Approximately 65% of the population can be categorized as visual learners
• Customer testimonials are rated 89% effective, the highest of any type of content marketing
• Visual content is exponentially more likely to garner social media shares
• Nearly 90% of consumers say they trust online reviews from strangers as much as they trust their friend’s recommendations

The desire to have a good time is contagious. People love aspirational marketing, and social proof is the epitome of putting dreams on full display.

Creating a Social-Friendly Environment

No one wants to take a picture or videotape a tour of something ugly. To give your hotel a chance to shine, you need to set the scene with mood lighting, interesting décor, eye-catching architectural elements, and the staff to help it all come together.

A social moment could be:

• Two friends making faces in your mirrored elevator
• A short video of guests decorating your annual lobby Christmas tree
• A celebrity couple taking pictures in your hot tub and sharing them with followers
• A sponsored tweet talking up the grub at your new on-site restaurant

Organic social posts cost you nothing. Sponsored posts and influencer partnerships could cost you a free stay or thousands of dollars, it all depends on the situation.

Social Moments in Action: The Brands Who Are Doing It Best

At Chef José Andrés’ Las Vegas restaurant Jaleo, delicious, creamy croquettes are served in a shoe, a choice that has led to countless social media posts featuring the quirky vessel.

The artsy vibe of Ace Hotel’s downtown Los Angeles location makes it one of the most Instagrammable hotels, and guests don’t hesitate to take advantage.

We Work, a co-working company with some 400 locations in 26 countries, is killing it on Instagram thanks to a feed featuring 90% user-generated content. People love being part of the company’s community and that translates into social proof incarnate.

Putting together an “Instagram hot spot” increases your chances of gaining online traction, but most social moments come about organically and you may be surprised at what guests decide to feature.

Focus on creating incredible experiences for everyone who walks through your front door and the social proof will follow. If you are in search of best concierge app then please contact us and know more details about it.