Hotel News For February

This weeks blog is an accumulation of the top articles scattered throughout the internet. Get perspective and insight from various writers and news sources as we wrap up another fantastic week at National Hospitality! Get caught up on the latest news, tips, and trends affecting the hospitality industry, right here!

1) Alternative Accommodation Companies Becoming The New Normal?

As the percentage of U.S. travelers staying at private accommodations increases, Bryan Wroten reports that it's not just millennials encouraging the trend. The article states that in 2011, 1 in 11 travelers used alternative accommodations during leisure travel, while in 2014, 1 in 4 travelers. The fastest growing age group according to Douglas Quinby, VP of research for Phocuswright, is ages 35-44. If there's one apparent takeaway from the article, alternative accommodations aren't going anywhere. Bryan Wroten asks simple questions such as,"Can you do something similar, something better? Can you work with them rather than against them?" Have your hotel amenities or attractions changed since the emergence of vacation rentals and alternative accommodations? Read the full article here.

2) Property Management Systems: 6 Recommendations For Hoteliers

Long are the days of relying on a combination of excel spreadsheets and standalone software programs to run your business. Starlight Research provides an insightful article on Property Management Systems (PMS) and suggests recommendations for features that are crucial to an effective management system. If your property is looking to upgrade or switch property management systems, please check out the 2015 Smart Decision Guide to Hotel Property Management Systems. It Contains a 40 page e-book on buying considerations, recommendations, and the questions you should be asking about property management solutions. Need help deciding which management system is right for you? Find a list of the top 20 companies here. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-1DNK__25o&rel=0]

3) Google's New Trip Planning Feature

Google continues to innovate new features to improve the user experience for travelers. Their latest addition is a trip planning search display. It allows users to plan a step-by-step sequence from flight, lodging, and local destinations. This is outstanding news for hoteliers, as Melody Ciria for 4hotelier.com writes,"It provides more exposure for hotels to potential guests. To take advantage of this extra visibility, hoteliers need to up their SEO efforts to ensure their vanity site maintains organic search visibility." To see how you can prepare for the latest google feature, read the full article here. Example: Customer Search, "Plan a Trip to Los Angeles" After Clicking » Show Hotels

4) Revenue Management FAQs

This article contains the basic framework for revenue management and property management software. It tells you what questions you need to be asking of your revenue management requirements as well as a look at "Best Available Rate" versus "Open Pricing" models. Designed to get you to start thinking about strategy and management software, Nancy from 4hotelier.com will help you get on track. Read the full article here.

5) Sharing Economy Might Be In Choice Hotel's Future

Jeff Higley, an Editorial Director for Hotel News Now, sat down with Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce, to discuss the companies future! Mentioned in the article, Choice Hotels International is about to launch a platform that would allow consumers to rent units from third-party vacation rental management companies. Their plan is to build up a big business of vacation rental management companies, enabling Choice to get back to their goal of "connecting people with people." Joyce is excited about the opportunity to explore the market but states

The issues that we're going to have are the same ones that Airbnb is struggling with now—how do you ensure a consistent delivery of a reasonable amount of (operational hospitality)... turning the key over in the proper way, and making sure the place is clean."

A great article by Jeff Higley, be sure to check out the entire read here.

Closing Remarks

We hope you enjoyed reading this months selections of articles. We appreciate all the gifted writers and websites that provide the industry with important, relevant information.