bob rauch
Hotel Guests Getting Used to Changes in Service, Technology
Bob Rauch | July 7, 2022
By Bob Rauch Hotel fundamentals are on an upward trajectory, but several macroeconomic elements are a risk to owners and operators including inflation, higher oil prices, geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates and broader economic growth concerns. A recession would clearly affect near-term hotel stock price performance and sentiment as well as net income; however, hotel industry fundamentals remain solid, midweek business travel is recovering nicely, and groups are coming back. Was COVID-19 good for the industry? No, but much of the technology that was implemented during the pandemic will stay. Contactless check-in and touch...
Finance, Technology and Service Will Dominate
Bob Rauch | January 12, 2022
By Bob Rauch Interest rates are low, consumer confidence is stronger, oil prices are high and employment is very uneven. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is at 58.7 in December 2021, down from 60 in November and 61 in October. Any number over 50 shows that the economy is expanding so the PMI is good news. Threats from COVID-19 variant Omicron should peak this month. Perhaps the biggest threat is inflation as that is starting to impact the middle class as well as the poor. The silver lining is that this inflation might cause hotel room rates to grow beyond the 6% inflation rate. Hotel Finances During most recessions, there is a signi...
10 Travel Trends That Will Happen in 2022
Bob Rauch | December 21, 2021
By Bob Rauch Travel is taking a new direction in 2022 and it’s important for hoteliers to continue adapting to the consumer changes for these travel predictions. Through a combination of technology, guest expectations, and employment, here are the most important traits to consider in your 2022 management plan. Enjoy reading these trends and have a spectacular and very Happy New Year! 1. The talent void – We furloughed and laid off the majority of our workforce, but we can fix it by recruiting those with strong communication, technology, sales and analytic skills. Yes, we will pay them more but they will perform better and will p...
2022 Hospitality Industry Forecast
Robert Rauch | October 7, 2021
By Bob Rauch Note: last month, we started using a debate platform to ask readers about their thoughts on a subject, so we ask this question above that can be answered from the sided.co debate platform. 2022 – A Magical Year or More Misery? That’s easy – our hospitality forecast says the bumpy ride is coming to an end. We should assume 6 more months; October through March might remain uneven or bumpy. Why? Because business travel is not back and group business is just starting to book going forward. International travel will likely return in April, 2022 when we should be back to 2019 numbers. The 2022 hospitality forec...
The Road Ahead for Hotels in 2022 and Beyond
Robert A. Rauch | September 8, 2021
By Bob Rauch Before we jump into 2022 plans, please take the quick survey/debate above of how you view the business and feel free to opine on why. Answers will appear on sided.co and on the hotelguru.com website. Hotel Industry Post-Pandemic The number of areas of responsibility that fall under a hotelier is hard for other businesses to imagine. Development, acquisition, finance, operations, customer service, restaurant, bar, maintenance, sales, marketing, revenue management and much more. The businesses churn guests daily and requires real time daily decision making. As we look toward 2022, what should we look at? Before we start, I’d...
Success in the Summer of ‘21
Robert Rauch | July 19, 2021
How To Welcome Post-Pandemic Travelers Back Into Hotels By Robert Rauch The venerable hotel industry has been completely overturned during the past 15 months. We will have to create a very different strategy to outperform the competition this summer. What are the dynamics of hospitality industry competition today and how can we put together a winning plan in time for the Summer of 2021? Today, a digital marketing strategy is an industry imperative and critical business solution in this digital age. Platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow hotels and restaurants to engage guests and offer a highly personalized level of...
The Current State of the Hospitality Industry
ROBERT RAUCH | May 5, 2021
By Bob Rauch Where is the Hospitality Industry as of Spring 2021? Current conditions in the state of the hospitality industry include leisure travel, employee challenges and reinvented guest programming. While I do not know how we are going to pay for the government spending plans, I do know that in the short-term, we will see huge growth in gross domestic product with some forecasters projecting over 6% for this year. Lenders are back in the game and traffic on the roads seems to me like an increase in business overall. To date, all of the hotel business, by and large, is leisure business. Longer weekends...
The Return of Business Travel
Robert Rauch | April 6, 2021
By Bob Rauch When Is business travel really coming back? Many corporate executives had all their meetings online in 2020. In 2021, we believe that will change soon due to the pace of vaccines, decline of COVID-19 cases, and negative impacts of closed economies. Regional sales trips are beginning again and airport executives suggest that business travelers are coming back. But when will this segment really return? Realistically, look at Q4 of 2021. Q2 will see an uptick, Q3 will be all about pent-up leisure demand and Q4 will see a strong return of business travel. Companies have been able to conduct business online with improved onl...
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