Hotel industry celebrities, influencers and the financial elite were in Los Angeles this past week for the for the first major hotel conference of the year, the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS).

For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s one of the major tent-pole financial industry conferences for the hotel industry.

And this years was jam packed with a record breaking audience of about 3,000 people. But more important, it’s a great check-up regarding the financial status of the industry, while also getting a great understanding of the direction in which the industry is going.

Here’s what you need to know about the hotel business in 2017.

Hotel Profitability Shaky?

According to the top prognosticators in the business, 2017 should be a strong year financially. But, there’s also a few troubling signs for the future state of the business. Jan Frietag, Senior Vice President of Lodging Insights at STR Global says that while RevPAR will grow this year, it’ll be slower growth than hoteliers have gotten accustomed to.

STR says RevPAR grew 3.2 percent in 2016 but will only grow 2.5 percent in 2017 and 2.6 percent in 2018. Also, expect occupancy to get a little shakier as more supply enters the market. “It is not great, ot bad, just OK,” says Frietag.

Mark Woodworth, President of PKF Hospitality Research, (PKF-HR), a CBRE company, said this year hotel supply is expected to outstrip demand. “This is the first time we are seeing this during the upcycle,” he says, noting that 2016 was a year when hotel occupancy was at its highest level ever.

New Supply Means You Better Get Renovated

According to Lodging Econometrics, there are nearly two million rooms in the Global Construction Pipeline. Since last year, the pipeline has jumped 6 percent by projects and 4 percent by rooms Year-Over-Year (YOY), per LE’s recent Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report.

This means getting serious about renovations. But with RevPAR slowing, and profitability at stake, more hoteliers are looking to reinvent existing furniture rather than spending to replace pieces that can be salvaged. The Refinishing Touch, for example, has been doing just that for 40 years, transforming a guestroom’s furniture from old to like new all without any downtime. Hotels can rent that very same room later that day.

Global Travel Explosion

According to Arne Sorenson, President & CEO of Marriott International, it’s never been a more exciting time to be in the hotel business. “The growth of the global middle class who have the resources to travel is ever expanding and we are seeing an incredible pace of change,” says Sorenson.

Visitation to the United States from other countries was an incredible 77.5 million, the single largest destination for global long-haul travel, and the second-largest destination for overall global travel, according to the U.S. Travel Association. That means certain markets must pay closer attention to the country of origin of their guests and provide them some creature comforts such as television channels in their native language and foods they’re more accustomed.

Technology

With the average number of electronic gadgets hotel guests take with them on the road increasing, charging those devices is more complicated than ever. It’s especially true for older hotels concepted before the smartphone and tablet revolution.

Management company and ownership group executives are looking for ways to add more outlets and electronics to their existing furniture in both public spaces and guestrooms. One way they’re satisfying customers with many power outlets and USB ports is by reengineering, then refinishing, existing pieces of furniture. By doing this, hoteliers are saving up to an astounding 80 percent when compared to purchasing new.

The hotel industry is quickly changing, so now is the right time to get your hotel in perfect condition by refinishing and/or reengineering your furniture. Act now and save money!

For further information about how to plan and manage your furniture assets, please contact our team at marketing@therefinishingtouch.com.

The Refinishing Touch is the definitive global leader for on‐site environmentally safe and sustainable furniture refinishing, re-upholstering, and re-engineering, for private and public organizations in the Hospitality, University and Government markets.

Mario Insenga as the Founder of the Refinishing Touch not only helped invent an industry but was also a founder of the sustainability movement even before the notion of eco-friendly businesses were a part of mainstream thinking.

The Refinishing Touch is ISO 9001 Certified and is a preferred vendor for major hotel companies such as Hilton Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group, Best Western and IHG. The Company has completed more than 6,000 hotel projects, as well as more than 300 military installations and several hundred university student housing buildings.

The Refinishing Touch offers a wide variety of cost-saving environmentally friendly services such as furniture upholstery and engineering, finishing upholstery and textiles, solid surface materials, hardware and more.

Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, The Refinishing Touch was awarded the US General Services Administration Evergreen Award for innovative, environmentally friendly practices.

www.therefinishingtouch.com