China outbound drives growth across Asia Pacific, US hotel construction pipeline, the year hotels get a grip on acquisition costs and is there an one-size-fits-all approach for technology?.

China outbound drives growth across Asia Pacific
Friday, 1st February 2019

The growing volume and financial clout of Chinese tourists presents considerable opportunities — while simultaneously posing new challenges — for hoteliers, tour group operators, retailers and national governments.

While swelling numbers of Chinese visitors have already acted as a major growth engine throughout Asia Pacific, less than 10% of the population currently holds a passport, meaning the rise of the Chinese tourist is a trend still in its relative infancy >>

US hotel construction continues steady growth trend
1 Feb 2019 : At the end of 2018, analysts at Lodging Econometrics reported that the total US construction pipeline continued to trend upward with 5,530 projects/669,456 rooms, both up a strong 7% year-over-year (YOY) >>

To Mars and Beyond
1 Feb 2019 : Many of us have dreamed of traveling into space or even to Mars, Elon Musk CEO of SpaceX wants to support the settlement of Mars, and he believes he can begin sending people there as early as 2024 >>

Happy Lunar New Year! Welcome to the Year of the Pig
1 Feb 2019 : We are entering soon the Year of the Pig and we take this opportunity to wish our readers, supporters, advertisers and their families a happy and prosperious new year! >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

Hotels Get a Grip on Acquisition Costs
Friday, 1st February 2019

On one hand, OTAs continue to grow share, release new features to better connect with your guest and, in general, innovate faster than the large hotel brands.

This is a problem because part of the allure of a hotel brand is the giant distribution system that comes with it, supposedly bringing guests at a much lower cost. >>

Three Modern Anchors of Hotel Success (And some old ones, too)
The only way to deliver a consistently great product is to be deeply established in principles and protocols. A great hotel is a strong part of community, has a sense of identity, and delivers consistently across all touchpoints of the guest experience, from the booking portals to the bed sheets >>

The Best Feedback Question
Here are a few questions to get you thinking—and each of these questions can be answered using the keypad of a phone. The secret to the success of the survey is the simplicity and speed by which the questions can be answered >>

Why Retailers Are Opening Stores That Don’t Sell Anything
Retail brands across the world creating Instagram-ready rooms that focus on wowing the customer and encouraging social media posts. The trend is a boon for commercial real estate landlords renting these spaces to pop-ups and longer-term installations >>

2019 and Lodging Technology: Is There A One-Size-Fits-All Approach?
Following is a look into two specific groups, employee and customer experiences, and how we should continue to embrace technology so it can positively affect the bottom line. With higher costs and questionable growth over the next few years, employee costs and retention will continue to be a hot topic >>