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The new rules for working with influencers in the age of COVID-19

Lisa Mulcahy Marketing

As a digital/social media marketer, you know the power and value of having strong influencers tout the benefits of your brand. In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, though, the way you work with and position influencers for your audience has to be appropriate and strategically wise. Consumers are focused on issues of survival these days, not as much about how a celebrity is promoting a product. Consumers still want influencer connection, though.

Interior designers drawn to top metro areas

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

For the second year in a row, during a 12-month period from May 2018 to May 2019, the numbers of employed interior designers shifted dramatically toward the nation's top metro areas. Demand for designers, as indicated by a substantial rise in hiring, seems to have made it possible for some designers to relocate to more desirable positions and/or locations. Even though interior design employment has grown every year since 2015, some states have experienced notable declines in employed designers.

Sellers pull back as housing market tumbles

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

In spite of rising home values, sellers began pulling their homes off the market during the last two weeks of March as the health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down the economy. Consequently, sales for the month plummeted, and already tight inventories declined even further. Homebuying activity has not stopped altogether but is expected to slow substantially throughout the spring.

Steps for maintaining and securing vacant facilities

Scott E. Rupp Facilities & Grounds

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to lash the United States, the pandemic has continued to force facilities to shut. Nonessential offices are shuttered with workers at home. Schools are mostly closed until next fall, hotels are dark, restaurants shut, and many churches and other gathering places are locked until further notice. The coronavirus shutdown means the time is ripe for a discussion of how to maintain and ensure the security of any closed facility.

Design’s role in the coming recovery

Lloyd Princeton Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Nobel laureate in physics Nils Bohr wisely observed, "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." With so many things in flux at the moment, it is pointless to try to predict what will happen in the coming months or years as countries around the world seek to recuperate from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. I do think, however, it is useful as a means of preparation to consider what recovery may look like and how interior design can help to facilitate the transition to whatever the new normal will be.

What happens when the hospitality sector reopens?

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the industry nearly to a halt, U.S. hotel construction hit an all-time high in March. Other projects were queueing up in the pipeline. Now, as with so many industries at present, the future of those projects as well as of hospitality in general remains in doubt. Once travel restrictions begin to loosen up, will guests come back, which ones, and how soon are questions both travel and hospitality analysts are trying to answer.

Why contractors need to prepare for legal disputes due to COVID-19

Justin Gitelman Construction & Building Materials

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the construction game. Contractors are trying to hold onto their cash as long as possible while still having to pay their subcontractors and suppliers. Cash is tight right now, and it’s leaving contractors with a major cash threat. Contractors already are faced with the longest waits for payment of businesses in any industry, which makes matters worse when the country is in the middle of a recession. As social distancing and stay-at-home orders remain in place, coronavirus will continue to impact the construction industry.

Remodeling activity tapers off amidst economic standstill

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Concerns for health and safety as well as the economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have brought about an abrupt reversal in remodeling activity in the past month. Several recent industry surveys show that between 70 to 90% of firms engaged in remodeling and renovation have seen a substantial decline in new business inquiries along with increasing numbers of client requests for project delays or cancellations. Nonetheless, many are hopeful business will return when living and working conditions improve.

Interior design employment growth highest in 5 years, per most recent data

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Since 2015, when the industry rebounded from the Great Recession, the number of employed interior designers has been gradually increasing each year. In the 12-month period from May 2018 to May 2019, however, the number of interior designers added to the employment rolls grew by nearly 6% — the largest increase since 2015. Employment for interior designers in 2019 was the highest it has ever been, with more of them working in A&D firms rather than in other industry-related positions.

How important is good office space design?

Terri Williams Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

There's no magic formula for creating an office environment that fosters productivity and collaboration while increasing employee engagement levels. However, it appears that the physical office space may be as important as the intangible factors that companies routinely chase. A new survey of top-performing employees in Denver conducted by Layton Construction, reveals that office space is so important that it’s only trumped by salary, working hours, healthcare benefits, and the daily commute.

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