Author: Guy Lean

Briefing: Serviced Accommodation gets five-star recognition

Posted on by Guy Lean

The AA is now taking applications for its new Serviced Accommodation accreditation scheme. Unlike the hotel scheme, which rates properties from one to five stars, the new scheme only accredits properties which achieve a quality rating of three to five stars. This expansion of the AA’s services is a response to the growth of the industry and reflects the increased consumer awareness of the sector.

In these videos experts discuss customer expectations of serviced apartments, and the similarities and differences to hotels.

There is an existing accreditation scheme within the industry run by the The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP). However, this addition could further expand interest in serviced products.

The AA Serviced Accommodation Scheme recognises 9 designators within the sector including Extended stay, Corporate Housing, Serviced Apartments, Budget, Studios and Aparthotel.

Product definition has been a continuing challenge for the industry. In its quality standards, the AA scheme clearly differentiates between Corporate Housing and Aparthotels, while ‘Serviced Apartment’ acts as a catch all designator. A separating criterion, for example, is that Corporate Housing would have a minimum stay and Aparthotels would not. Also aparthotels would have a fixed inventory and corporate housing would have flexible inventory.

The scheme scores the properties across 11 elements, which must all achieve a minimum standard to achieve a star rating. These elements include overall ‘hospitality’ (interaction and customer care), overall ‘service’ (staff performance and information provided), cleanliness, bedroom, bathroom etc.

The AA has been around for over 100 years and is one of the UK’s most recognised and trusted brands. The AA currently accredits Hotels, Restaurants, Guest Accommodation, Self-Catering accommodation, and Caravan and Campsites. The latest version of the AA Hotel Guide has details of over 3,500 establishments.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Pipelines, predictions and provinces in the UK

Posted on by Guy Lean

According to STR’s July 2016 Pipeline Report, Greater London has the most ‘rooms in construction’ in Europe, with 5,400 rooms in 32 hotels. PwC reports that the UK accounted for about 60% of European M&A volumes in 2015. The UK continues to be a strong market, although it is not without its complications. The EU referendum and the introduction of the National Living Wage have been two issues affecting the UK’s hospitality industry this year.

In these videos hospitality experts discuss business in the UK.

Figures from STR for Q2 2016 show that the UK has experienced steady results across three metrics: occupancy (-0.7% to 78.9%), ADR (+1.7 to GBP89.71) and RevPAR (+1.0% to GBP70.82). STR analysts say it is still too early to quantify the impact the vote for the UK to leave the European Union has had or will have on hotels and the European hotel industry as a whole.

Since April this year workers over 25 in the UK have been entitled to a National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour as compared to the minimum wage (previously applied to anyone 21 and over) of £6.70. This is great for the many minimum wage employees working in hospitality in the UK, but has also meant an extra budget consideration for managers. Predictions from PwC last year showed that this National Living Wage would increase the wage bill for Hospitality and Leisure by £2.2m in 2016 and £13.2m by 2020.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Social needs influence consumer behaviour

Posted on by Guy Lean

A recent poll of American leisure travellers by Choice Hotels found that almost one in 10 respondents’ summer travels were motivated by the opportunity to brag to friends and family on social media. This is great evidence of how social behaviours, influenced by current technology, have affected how people make purchasing decisions. Another finding was that 42% of travellers like to stay in a hotel during the summer because they don’t have to clean the bathroom!

Four experts discuss how new consumer demands have changed hospitality.

Statistics from Google show that mobile continues to have a huge role in the travel experience with 60% of people now searching for destination information on a mobile and two thirds of watch time for top travel videos on YouTube happening on mobile. Consumers also continue to rely on their mobiles once they are on holiday. Google says that there was a 30% increase in smartphone searched from hotel properties in the last year.

Choice Hotels’ poll labels 8% of respondents as Social Travelers – for these people the holiday is all about showing of on social media. But a larger percentage, 26% of respondents are classified as Experience Travelers, who prioritise the experience and activities while travelling.

Choice also found that 57% of American travellers save up all their hotel loyalty points towards that all important Instagramable summer vacation.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: In the Clouds – Changing IT systems in hospitality

Posted on by Guy Lean

The latest data from Cisco suggests that by 2019, more than four-fifths (86%) of workloads will be processed by cloud data centres and only 14% will be processed by traditional data centres. Cloud has been a game changer in all businesses, but in hospitality there has also been widespread upgrading of PMS and the introduction of customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

In these videos our experts discuss how the right technology systems can really make a difference:

Cisco’s statistics show that global cloud IP traffic will more than quadruple (4.1-fold) over the next 5 years. In the digital economy data use is rising fast. Cisco report that the workload for cloud data centres are already higher than traditional data centres, and this is increasing. Cisco say that “the workload density (that is, workloads per physical server) for cloud data centres was 5.1 in 2014 and will grow to 8.4 by 2019.”

A separate report by Fruition Partners suggests that switching to the cloud requires careful management. It revealed a fear in “85% of CIOs in the UK and US that cloud is reducing their organisations’ control over IT.” Using cloud systems and teaming up with technology partners with specific expertise is worthwhile part of modern business, but as with any change it should be carefully thought through to ensure it gets maximum results.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Hospitality leadership is more than revenue management

Posted on by Guy Lean

A survey published in the Harvard Business Review has revealed that the top two leadership qualities, as rated by global leaders, are having ‘high ethical and moral standards’ and ‘providing goals and objectives with loose guidelines/direction’. In hospitality, leaders at hotel management level and brand executive level have different but equally important roles to play in the success of a business.

In these videos industry experts discuss the importance of good leadership in hospitality:

In 2016, 89% of companies see leadership as an important or very important issue (up from 87% in 2015). That is according to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016.

As a business or industry develops leaders must be able to change and learn. This was reflected in the number four choice in the HBR survey; having ‘the flexibility to change opinion’.

One report that focused on leadership in a world of change is IBMs Global C-suite Study. This found that today’s CEOs say technology is the chief external influence on their enterprises. They think that user-based mobile solutions and cloud computing will be big drivers of change. 82% of the CEOs surveyed expect to engage more digitally over the next 3 to 5 years.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: The distribution channels keep coming

Posted on by Guy Lean

In June, Ryanair announced its intention to enter into the world of accommodation. “Ryanair Rooms” is just the latest addition to the changing sphere of hospitality distribution. The company has 116m customers and this move from air travel to accommodation booking, again highlights the potential for any established brand to disrupt the industry. There is still much debate around where Airbnb, which has a “mission to change the way people travel”, could sit in the industry in the future.

In these videos, experts discuss developments in distribution and booking behaviour:

In April this year Airbnb launched an updated mobile app with a focus on personalisation that aims to match people to better hosts, neighbourhoods, and experiences. This product indicates Airbnb’s continued effort to use developing technology as an edge.

Ryanair Rooms will launch on the 1st October, and will provide a variety of low cost accommodation in the form of hotel rooms, hostels, B&Bs, holiday villas and homestays. Diversification is a common move from aspirational business in today’s business world. Ryanair sees this as a natural progression towards Ryanair.com becoming the “Amazon of air travel”. Ryanair already has a hire car service which it launched last August.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Business keeps moving forward

Posted on by Guy Lean

According to statistics from STR, in Q2 2016, Europe’s hotel industry reported nearly flat occupancy growth (+0.6% to 73.9%) and Central/South America region reported a decrease in occupancy. This year there has been a lot of reasons for concern around where we are in the economic cycle and whether geopolitical issues could disrupt the market. With all this happening resilience and focus on the future is important.

These videos show different attitudes towards this year’s hospitality market:

STR’s reports show that in the Central/South America region there 5.1% decrease in occupancy to 54.1% compared to Q2 2015. Average daily rate was up 5.3% to US$89.75. Revenue per available room was flat at US$48.58.

Performance in Europe was more positive with average daily rate going up 2.1% to EUR114.33. and revenue per available room up 2.7% to EUR84.49. However, in France there were decreases on all three of these: occupancy (-5.5% to 68.2%), ADR (-7.5% to EUR138.43) and RevPAR (-12.6% to EUR94.34).

And in Asia Pacific again performance is flattening out with an 1.3% increase in occupancy to 68.3% alongside an average daily rate decrease of 1.1% to US$96.95. Revenue per available room was nearly flat (+0.2% to US$66.18).

While these figures look gloomy there is reason to believe that with one recession in recent memory under the belt and markets showing an increased ability to bounce back, businesses can stay positive and face any possible obstacles head on.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: A sense of place and community

Posted on by Guy Lean

How to create effective social spaces is a question posed by many designers of parks, universities, and more recently offices. ABX, a leading building industry event in America is even holding a competition this year to create an innovative design for a social space.

A hotel is a unique kind of space, it overlaps public and private, home, work and leisure. As our experts discuss in the videos below, community elements have become very important to a hotel’s design and sense of place:

An article by fastcodedesign.com suggests that three key elements of a ‘Good Space’ are that the physical space should encourages social activity, there should be a mix of public and private, and there should be mixed uses for the space. These are all things a well-designed hotel can achieve. It should make both business and leisure travellers feel comfortable and ideally be a space that even those who aren’t staying in the hotel would want to enter, when this mix of guests begin to interact, your social space is successful.

Social space is becoming increasing important also in offices to encourage well-being, as discussed in this bizjournals article earlier this year.

This Guardian article discusses how in university spaces, comfort and usability of a space can sometime be compromised in order to create a unique look. This is also very relevant to hotel design, innovation and creativity should always serve a purpose, and the ultimate goal should always be make a better experience for the guest.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Hospitality will always be about people

Posted on by Guy Lean

Research from Forrester found that 73% of people consider “valuing their time” as the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service. Being able to anticipate and react to needs in a friendly accommodating way is vital in hospitality. People skills are essential to a successful career and this focus on relationships is also what makes the industry a rewarding and exciting place to be.

These videos discuss what makes hospitality great:

Forrester’s report Trends 2016: The Future Of Customer Service looked at changing customer service expectations. The report reminds us that dissatisfied customers today have many outlets to share their negative experience. The report states that when dissatisfied by a brand 39% of people tell friends and families about negative experiences and 11% post negative comments about the brand on Facebook.

As well as keeping up face to face communications hospitality companies must maintain good levels of service on all channels. The study found that in the 12 months preceding the survey (published January 2016) 84% of respondents had sought assistance via an app, help page or FAQ page on a company’s website. 83% had spoken to customer service on the telephone and 76% had accessed customer service via email.

Self-service and digital channels are becoming increasingly important, but whatever method is used to deliver the service, the principles of taking people into account remain the same. And in any industry the attitudes people take towards customers and also colleagues will ultimately play into levels of success.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Soft brands compete in independents’ market

Posted on by Guy Lean

This year, Hyatt launched a new ‘soft brand’ The Unbound Collection, a portfolio of individual properties with a ‘distinct character’. The popularity and character of independent hotels is being harnessed by soft brands. For the individual hotel owner being part of a collection offers them better exposure and other benefits in exchange for a fee.

Four hospitality experts discuss branding and independence:

According to STR and The Highland group, the supply of boutique, lifestyle and soft-brand hotels has increased at double-digit annual rates over the last five years, and in 2015 they jointly generated room revenues of $13.7 billion. Their research showed that Soft Brand Collections account for $43.341 bn of this revenue, and Boutiques account for $8.025 bn,

Another soft brand that is aiming to provide an independent feel include Best Western’s Vib, which has a membership fee of 5% of total room revenue. Hilton has several collections in including Canopy and Curio which each sells a slightly differently lifestyle.

It is not just hotels that are following this trend. In the serviced apartment sector Ascott recently launched the crest collection with four properties in Paris and Bangkok.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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