By Erinn Tucker, Leora Lanz, & Juan Lesmes There is a saying in events management, “If the event goes well, the client is congratulated. If the event goes wrong, blame the event planner.” This saying holds true when cities bid, plan and execute a spotlight event, such as the 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The […]
By Bradford Hudson Almost everyone understands that fantasy is integral to the thematic elements in a Disney amusement park. Less understood, especially among people who have never visited one of these parks, is that Disney themes are often historical. Occasionally such themes relate to the heritage of the company itself, but in many cases […]
By Makarand Mody No one can deny that the hotel industry has a fight on its hands when it comes to the peer-to-peer accommodation market. A recent PWC report showed that while 6% of the US population has participated in the sharing economy for the hospitality industry as a consumer; 1.4% has served as a […]
By Leora Halpern Lanz, Juan Lesmes, & Erinn Tucker When a New York City tourist arrives at Times Square, the territory from 40th street to 53rd between 6th and 8th avenues, they become one of the other 330,000+ monthly visitors (Times Square Alliance) of the city’s most popular destination. The pedestrian-only square is consumed by […]
By Bradford Hudson During the early 1920s, the Earl of Grantham traveled from England to the United States. The British aristocrat would appear as a character witness for his American brother-in-law, who was a defendant in a trial related to the notorious Teapot Dome political scandal. Naturally he chose to travel aboard a British ship […]
By Leora Halpern Lanz It’s challenging to be a hotel market today, let alone one who needs to understand and masterfully manage digital marketing for one or more properties. How do the hotel marketer and revenue manager ride the endless wave of online travel agency (OTA) distribution, commission structures, and rate parity? How much should […]
By Daniel Lesser,Jonathan Jaeger, & Jeremy Gilston of LW Hospitality Advisors® Should the deal ultimately close, the recently announced acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT) by Marriott International (MI) will be a lodging industry game changer. MI is a trailblazer of the dual-branded hotel trend and will be well poised to accelerate this […]
By Morgan Brown Shortly before Thanksgiving of 2015, it was announced that Airbnb had raised $100 million at a valuation of $25.5 billion. That $100 million was a drop in the bucket compared to the war chest of $1.5 billion the company raised earlier in the summer, raised on the back of increasingly strong growth. […]
By Leora Halpern Lanz and Megan Carmichael The hotel marketing budget, typically amounting to approximately 4-5% of an asset’s total revenue, must remain fluid, so that the marketing director can constantly adapt the marketing tools to meet consumer communications methods and demands. Though only a small amount of a hotel’s revenue is traditionally allocated […]
By: Rachel DeSimone Photography: Kristen Tieg Formal restaurant reviews made their debut back in 1941 when Duncan Hines, known today for his boxed-cake mix, put out his first restaurant guidebook, Adventures in Good Eating. The intention was, “to guide travelers and protect them from eating poisonous food from unsanitary places,” according to his biography by […]