Not every cheap room is a bargain....

Less than a 10-minute walk from Soho is the Sun Bright Hotel - where men pay just $10 a night to live in tiny cells bounded by chicken wire.

This single-room-occupancy hotel has been operating since the late 19th century and I doubt much has changed.  Today men still live side by side in filth.

“It was horrible - like an animal shelter,” a first-responder, recently summoned to the hotel.  “I picked up a suit on the wall and roaches fell out,” the rescuer said, “hundreds of them.”

For the full story on this "hotel", where some rooms measure 7 x 5 feet; smaller than the average 8 x 10 solitary-confinement cell in a state prison, check out the article in the New York Post.

But if you're squeamish and roaches, bedbugs, fleas and assorted other vermin aren't your thing, I probably wouldn't put this one on your shortlist.

Hotel guests are finally happier!

Well, at least that's according to a new report released by J.D. Power & Associates.  Perhaps it's easier to make a reservation, maybe employees are smiling more or checking-in guests faster than ever.  Whatever it is, the survey results show that the hotel industry is finally making guests happier than ever before, a lot happier!  Guests' levels of satisfaction with their home away from home experience is better than it has been for the last seven years and leapfrogged a full 20 points over 2012.  And the increases in satisfaction are across the board, often in areas that upset guests the most; reservations, costs and fees and check-in/check-out.  Check out J.D. Power's report here.

Top 10 ways to make incentives more effective

Trying to work out which incentives actually work has never been easy - in part, because we're dealing with people and what works for one, doesn't always work for another!  To achieve the maximum impact on performance while keeping the incentives meaningful to those in question requires skill, strategy and systematic trial and error!  One has to combine behavioral science and pure economics in the context of the people that you're trying to motivate.  Check out Incentive Magazine's top 10 ways to make incentives more effective.

Business meetings on the increase, although many still booking inside of 12 months

Destination Hotels & Resorts (Destination) tapped a diverse dataset of planners from around the United States to gauge their interest and focus for 2013. The fourth largest management company in the United States, Destination asked meeting planners to comment on new trends, tools and resources that can set a property apart from the pack. The results yielded six specific trends for hotels and resorts to take note of, and one overarching theme: cautious optimism. More than 30% of planners expect an increase in the number of meetings for 2013. Most planners felt budgets have stabilized, with 20% anticipating increased budget flexibility in the coming year.

"In almost every segment, we’re seeing positive indicators that 2013 will be a growth year for groups and meetings," stated André Fournier, vice president of sales & marketing of Destination Hotels & Resorts. "Another indication of a rebounding market is the anticipated increase in lead time on bookings after a flat line for several years. We found that 55% of meeting planners are looking at longer lead times, with 12% booking at least a year in advance."

Which suggests that 88% are still booking within twelve months!  Click here to review the entire "State of the Industry Survey" and to learn what the six specific trends, tools or resources are that will set one property apart from the rest. 

Travel and Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy

The International Business Times recently highlighted a just-released report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showing that the travel and tourism sector grew at an annualized rate of 6.8 percent in the first three months of 2013. In the same period, the U.S. economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.4 percent, according to. Not only is the U.S. travel and tourism industry growing more than three times as fast as the rest of the economy, it’s doing so despite a slowing in growth in prices. Passenger flights, which grew 19 percent in the first quarter of 2013, were the biggest contributor to the increased spending in the travel and tourism sector. Other transportation-related industries, like car rentals, also saw increased spending. However, growth in spending in restaurants, bars and hotels slowed down. The travel and tourism industry is also hiring people at a much faster rate than other sectors of the U.S. economy. Employment in this sector grew 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2013, 0.4 percentage points faster than the pace at which the rest of the U.S. economy added jobs -- 1.9 percent.

The U.S. welcomed a record 67 million global visitors in 2012, representing a 7% gain over the prior year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s "International Visitation to the United States" report. The top inbound markets during the year continued to be Canada and Mexico. Non-resident visits from Canada set a record with 22.7 million visitors, up 6%. Mexico was second with a record 14.5 million visits, up 8%. The Mexico growth performance reflected a recovery following four years of small increases or moderate declines in traveler volume. The United Kingdom (-2%), Japan (+14%), and Germany (+3%) rounded out the top five. Top inbound countries with the largest increases in visits in 2012 were: China, excluding Hong Kong, (+35%), Colombia (+21%), Venezuela (+20%), Argentina (+20%) and Brazil (+19%). All five countries set new records for visits to the U.S.

Airlines are forecast to earn just $4 profit per passenger in 2013

Airlines are forecast to earn just $4 profit per passenger, but $12.7 billion overall in 2013  - less than the cost of a sandwich in most places.  This may seem strange considering the slew of charges every time one travels for everything from baggage to exactly where you sit in the airplane. However, this is the case according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which recently released an upgraded global outlook for the airline industry, despite carriers’ slim margins, which total just 1.8 percent. That’s not much of a margin, but I guess it beats losing money like they have for so many of the past years!  Successful Meetings has more details here.

Most executives are in over their heads

Well, at least that's the idea discussed in a recent article in Forbes, highlighted on PCMA's website.  If this is the case, it's little wonder that many meetings and events lack focus or direction based on the findings of a recent  survey that suggests that most Executives are in over their heads! Booz & Co gave the online survey to more than 3,500 managers around the world; some 550 of the recipients identified themselves as CEOs and 325 were other executives in the C-suite. The rest were managers below the C-level. The survey had 21 questions about strategy, decision making, setting priorities, growth and cost-cutting.

Here are some of the findings:

  • A majority, 64%, said their biggest frustration was having too many conflicting priorities.
  • Not quite as large a majority, 54%, said they don’t believe that both employees and customers understand their strategy.
  • Only 33% said they thought the company’s "core capabilities" support their company’s strategy.
  • Just 21% said that all their businesses "leverage their core capabilities".
  • Only 20% said they think their company has a "right to win" in all the markets where it competes.

IMEX goes from strength to strength

Nearly 9,000 visitors attended the 2013 edition of the annual IMEX Europe trade show, which took place May 21-23 in Frankfurt, Germany. Of that group, 39 percent were hosted buyers from 75 countries. 27 percent of the hosted buyers came from long-haul markets, up from 25 percent in 2012. In other show results, more than 53,000 individual appointments were made between buyers and exhibitors, an increase of 33 percent over 2012 numbers.

The upside of business travel

Researchers found that every dollar invested in business travel yielded $9.50 in revenue. Adjusting for higher operational costs and real wage growth, that $9.50 translates into $2.90 profit per dollar spent — nearly triple return on investment.

Oxford Economics has recently completed a study into the real value of business travel on company and industry performance.  For more information visit http://traveleffect.com/business-travel-roi.  

Crowded airplanes and airports

A forecast by Airlines for America published in the LA Times predicts that airports will be crowded this summer and empty cabin seats extremely rare as Americans take to the skies in numbers that are expected to edge closer to the pre-recession peak. Nearly 209 million people will fly on U.S.-based airlines this summer, up 1% from last summer, according to a projection released by the trade group for the nation's airlines. The travel forecast would mark the fourth year in a row that passenger totals have increased, climbing close to the all-time high of nearly 218 million in 2007. U.S. carriers are expected to set a new record with 27 million travelers flying to international destinations this summer.

Business travel to increase by more than 5% in 2013

An improving economic outlook with business and consumer confidence on the rise is expected to boost business travel in 2013, leading the Global Business Travel Association to upgrade its forecast for the year.  Stronger corporate profits, increasing job development and improvements in key export markets are fueling business travel spending after a sluggish fourth quarter that was dampened by political uncertainty due to the “fiscal cliff” debate.

According to the GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United States 2013 Q1, a report from the Global Business Travel Association sponsored by Visa, Inc., U.S. business travel is now expected to rise 5.1% in 2013 to $268.5 billion, which is an upgrade from the 4.6% growth to $266.7 billion that GBTA predicted last quarter and a substantial increase from 1.8% growth in 2012. 

  • GBTA’s forecast upgrade will be driven in part by stronger growth in group spending, which is now expected to increase 6.0% to $115.9 billion – up from 5.2% growth forecast in Q4.
  • GBTA’s outlook for trip volume remains essentially the same from last quarter – a slight decline of -1.1% to 431.7 million person-trips. 

“Business confidence is up and the need to compete in the global economy is driving companies to invest in business travel,” said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO.  “Despite continued political uncertainty in the U.S. and around the world, businesses are beginning to break out of their holding pattern and seek growth more aggressively.  While there are still many factors that could hamper the economy again, from the impact of sequestration to rising energy prices, business travel spending is heading in the right direction so far in 2013.”

For more information on this story, visit GBTA's site.

 

Airports prepare for flight delays, long security lines

Airport officials across the country say they're bracing for flight delays and longer security lines in April, even as details remain scarce about precisely where $85 billion in federal spending cuts will hit. "We're planning for the worst and our country's air travel system is at the forefront of the potential budget sequester." Since Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated that if the FAA has to implement $600 million in budget cuts, the cuts it chooses to make will impact air travel by "lengthy delays and cancellations." U.S. airlines safely and efficiently transport 2 million people and nearly 50,000 tons of cargo every day. It is these very passengers and shippers who provide a full two-thirds - more than $12 billion - of the FAA’s budget through the taxes and fees they pay.  

For more on this story click here for the full article on USA Today. 

 

 

 

 

Do loyalty programs still matter?

It seems that the days of loyalty programs could be over for the majority of travelers, at least that is what is suggested by a recent article on PCMA's website.  According to a recent survey from global consulting firm Deloitte, travelers have almost forgotten the concept of loyalty. The results show that just eight percent of respondents are always loyal to the same hotel brand, while just 14 percent always book on the same airline.

Most overhyped hotel trends

It used to be that a hotel could secure travelers’ loyalty by providing the cornerstones of comfortable lodging: a great location, well-appointed rooms, dining and entertainment options, and doting service. But those days are long gone. Today’s savvy 21st-century travelers routinely check out beach conditions via webcam, are accustomed to interiors decorated by celebrity designers, and expect concierges to be quicker than Google and more discerning than Yelp. Nabbing their allegiance is no easy feat.

As a result, hotels have been steadily upping the ante in trying to entice guests. Some pile on extra high-tech gadgetry to lure the geek-minded to their properties. Others rely on showy design elements (peekaboo bathrooms), luxury amenities (1,500-thread-count linens), retro appliances (record players with a selection of vinyl), customized services (on-call butlers), and personal touches (nightly poems left on your pillow) to woo you. Oh—and your little dog too: some hotels have started to offer weekends of “pet pampering.”

For the complete list the most overhyped hotel trends as compiled by Travel + Leisure, click here.