Thursday, July 1, 2010

“Hotels Resilient During Oil Spill” plus 1 more

“Hotels Resilient During Oil Spill” plus 1 more

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Hotels Resilient During Oil Spill

Posted: 01 Jul 2010 10:19 AM PDT

Hotels Resilient During Oil Spill
Thursday, July 1, 2010
By: Robin Sussingham, WUSF

July 1,2010 - We've all seen lots of stories about gulf coast hotels besieged by oily gunk on their doorstep, their rooms emptied as wary vacationers stay away. But the data shows a different picture. Gulf coast hotels are doing pretty well on average, at least for now.

 
To listen to audio, click here.

George Chen owns a Comfort Suites Hotel near Disney World's Animal Kingdom. Although he's hundreds of miles away from the nearest oil-covered beach, he says occupancy is down 15 percent from where he expected it to be.
 
"One out of every 10 or so phone calls we do get questions about the oil spill," Chen says. "And then the imagery of people picking up tar balls along the beaches, is not very conducive to wanting to visit."
 
The images of black sludge washing up onto white Florida beaches are dramatic.But so far, the effects on the lodging industry are not.
 
In fact, effects are "negligible,"according to Jeff Higley. Higley is a spokesman for  independent research firm  STR, which tracks occupancy rates for about two-thirds of Florida's gulf coast hotels.
 
He says as a whole, bookings are up.
 
For example, during one week in mid-June, hotels within ten miles of Florida's gulf coast reported that occupancy rates were up more than six percent from the same time last year.  And on Alabama's coast, they were up over 45 percent.
 
"What we think is happening is that people canceling vacation plans are being replaced by the workers...that are helping with the clean up that need a place to stay," Higley says.
"So we think there is a little bit of an offset there. Long term, it remains to be seen how hotels will be affected.
Also, visitor numbers are driven in large part by the economy. And although they're not great right now, they're still better than last year, which  Higley called "the worst year for the lodging industry in our lifetime."
Then, there's the boy wizard who's flown in to rescue tourism, at least in the Orlando area.
Brian Martin of the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau says area tourism owes a big thanks to Harry Potter. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened June 18th at Universal Studios.
 
"After that," Martin says, "hotels have been filling rapidly. In fact, the week before Harry Potter opened, one of the online travel agencies told us bookings were up double digits -- and most people were saying it was because of Harry Potter."
 
Martin says the Harry Potter attraction is a huge draw for British tourists, who already sunburn here in large numbers. "Florida4Less" bills itself as the largest UK agency specializing in the state's travel and holiday homes. A spokesman for the company said bookings were up six percent over last year.
 
Which raises the question of whether vacationers are shifting from oil-soaked beaches to Orlando attractions?
 
Martin says nobody knows, but he doesn't feel that the oil spill is hurting business, either.
 
"We haven't gotten phone calls saying they were going to cancel because of it," he says, "and we've tried to monitor that. It may be happening at individual hotels, but not destination wide."
 
Great deals on room rates are also snagging more visitors. . In the Tampa Bay area, year-to-date occupancy is up 5 percent -- but rates are almost 12 percent lower than last year.
 
The deals are likely to continue, according to Higley of STR, as long as so much uncertainty surrounds the oil spill itself and its future effects on tourism.
 


 

 

Southern Lodging Summit @ Memphis to Host Eighth Annual Conference August 17th & 18th

Posted: 01 Jul 2010 05:56 AM PDT

MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials of the Southern Lodging Summit @ Memphis, an annual gathering of hoteliers specializing in development and operations in the southern United States, today announced it will host its eighth annual conference on August 17-18, 2010, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

"With the hotel industry continuing to show early signs of recovery, it is more important than ever for savvy hoteliers to meet with their peers to share best practices and exchange information that can lead to better bottom line revenues," said Chuck Pinkowski, president of Pinkowski & Company and conference co-founder.  "The Southern Lodging Summit @ Memphis is an ideal opportunity for hotel owners, operators, developers, lenders and other key players with operations and investments in the southern region of the United States to do just that.  The number of registered attendees is growing, and we hope to meet our goal of 240 people shortly."

The day-and-a-half conference kicks off with a "Lunch with Speakers" on Tuesday, August 17, at the world famous Rendezvous Restaurant.  The luncheon presents attendees with an opportunity to interact one-on-one with speakers.  Following a brief respite, conference goers are invited to attend an evening cocktail reception and dinner at the world famous Peabody Hotel.  The evening event has limited seating, so attendees are encouraged to RSVP early.

On Wednesday morning, August 18, following a continental breakfast at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, participants will receive an industry update from the American Hotel & Lodging Association's chairman, David Kong, and executive vice president of public policy, Marlene Colucci.  Jan Freitag from Smith Travel Research then will provide his company's insights into the current, unprecedented industry market conditions, both from a national and Memphis-specific perspective.  

The President's Panel, moderated by Isaac Collazo, vice president of performance strategy and planning for Intercontinental Hotels, will launch the mid-morning portion of the conference.  This year's participating industry leaders include Wayne Goldberg, president, La Quinta Inns & Suites; David Kong, CEO, Best Western; Adrian Kurre, Global Head, Hilton Garden Inns; Bharat Patel, CEO, Sun Companies; and Mitesh Shah, CEO, Noble Investment Group.

The next session, "Preparing for Recovery," will be led by William Edmundson, president/CEO, Abby Office Centers.  Panelists will be Jonathan Bogatay, president, North Central Group; Karl Fischer, chief human resource officer, Marriott International; Terry Umbreit, director and IHG chair of excellence, Kemmons Wilson School of Hotel & Resort Management at the University of Memphis; and Jason Wagenknecht, president, PRI Enterprises.

Jack DeBoer, the "Godfather of the Extended Stay Segment," will be the luncheon keynote speaker.  DeBoer created the segment in the mid-1970s with the launch of the iconic Residence Inns brand.  The current chairman of ValuePlace, he also created Summerfield Suites and Candlewood Suites, each in its own unique hotel segment.

The final session will focus on Social Media/eCommerce.  Jeff Higley, editorial director of HotelNewsNow.com and STR Global, will host such luminaries as John Fareed, CEO, Fareed Zapala Koepke; Corey Trautvetter, eMarketing and eSales systems, hotel Systems Pro; Kerry Crawford Tisdale, electronic media, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Michelle Lapierre, senior director, customer relationship marketing Marriott International.

The conference concludes with closing remarks by Mary Calorio, general manager of the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel and current president of MMHLA, which will be followed by a $1,000 cash giveaway event sponsored by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Celebrating its 8th year, the Southern Lodging Summit @Memphis was co-founded by the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association and Pinkowski & Company, an independent hotel industry consulting firm headquartered in Memphis.  The hospitality industry event brings together hotel professionals who target the southern and mid-south region of the United States for development and operations.  The annual event draws a diverse group of owners, operators, sales executives, financial institutions, architects, attorneys, and hotel company representatives.

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