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New DC hotel targets powerful women
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event Management#MeToo is not dead, it is sleeping — at a new hotel that hopes to attract the bold and the beautiful, if not the most powerful women on the emerging political landscape. Viceroy Hotels & Resorts is changing the conversation in Washington, D.C., and beyond, with the opening of Hotel Zena, a brash new cultural magnet giving special attention to the accomplishments of women and their enduring struggle for gender equality. It's an interactive venue where every architectural line, material and art installation have been thoughtfully designed and curated to send a message of female empowerment.
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A new era for Berlin as Brandenburg Airport finally opens
Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & AutomotiveA mere nine years late and approximately $3.8 billion over budget, Berlin’s new Brandenburg Airport (BER) finally opened on Oct. 31. A muted ceremony, at what is arguably the worst time to open a new airport aimed at handling more flights and passengers than ever before, allowed Germany to at least save face and put the huge debacle of this construction project behind it. Originally planned to open in 2011, the flagship airport project has been plagued by problematic safety measures, insufficient retail space, and fraud as many reasons for delay stacked up.
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US payrolls add 638,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 6.9%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementU.S. employers added 638,000 nonfarm jobs in October, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. October’s rate of unemployment fell to 6.9% from September’s 7.9% and August’s 8.4%. The gradual employment improvement is a result of eased COVID-19 restrictions on social movement and resuming of commerce, though the pandemic remains uncontained and prospects for a vaccine available to the public are unclear. "The number of unemployed persons fell by 1.5 million to 11.1 million," according to the BLS. "Both measures have declined for 6 consecutive months but are nearly twice their February levels."
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Missed diagnosis: Travel amnesia
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementIs travel becoming a distant memory? After seven-plus months of lockdown by a global pandemic, an overlooked side effect may not be so obvious as a persistent cough or intermittent fatigue, but it is making its mark none the less: Travel amnesia. Americans are not only missing travel right now, they are struggling to remember what it felt like. But for all that forgetting, Americans say travel is their most frequently recalled happy memory, more than special occasions or personal achievements. In fact, the majority cite creating lasting memories as a primary motive for trips, according to a recent study conducted on behalf of Hilton.
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Handling money while RVing
Cindy Belt Recreation & LeisureNo one talks about it much, but handling money is a part of traveling. You need to decide how you want to manage your financial affairs during an extended RV trip. Adjust the hints in this article based on your comfort level with the internet and philosophy on money.
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Hawaii inches toward opening for tourism
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementTraveling to Hawaii has never been tougher. The Aloha State, which saw visitor numbers nearing 10.5 million in 2019, has seen visitation decrease by some 50% this year so far. In May alone, that was down 98.9%. That number came to 9,116 visitors, and they traveled to Hawaii by air. That figure compared to 841,376 total visitors that entered by air and cruise ships during the same month a year ago. On the upside, a new pre-travel testing program recently began in October that will allow visitors in Hawaii who test negative for COVID-19 to avoid the two weeks of mandatory quarantine Hawaii has had in place since the pandemic began.
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Putting on the best virtual conference — Part 2: Learning to be more…
Linda Popky Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementThe recent virtual annual meeting for my association, the Society for the Advancement of Consulting, was a great success. We had 34 Zoom sessions and more than 50 speakers over a two-day period. More than three times the number of people attended as the previous in-person event. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Not everything was perfect, of course. But the event ran smoothly, even in spite of a few behind-the-scenes glitches. Here are our key learnings — of both what went well and areas for improvement.
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Can leisure and work-from-home demand stimulate extended-stay hotel growth…
Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementThe lodging industry is still struggling to fill empty rooms. For months, U.S. hotels have been running at an occupancy of 50% or lower. Not every segment in the industry suffers the same impact from the pandemic, however. Demand for home-sharing facilities already bounced back over the summer. Airbnb reported a higher booking rate than last year. Marriott’s home-sharing arm is also doing well, seeing a sevenfold increase in booking over last summer. Similar to what a residential rental or home-sharing facility offers, guestrooms in extended-stay hotels also feature a full-size kitchen or a kitchenette.
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The future of restaurants and restaurant marketing
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageAdaptability is truly a great human phenomenon. Perhaps that's why we emerge from the worst of times with new knowledge and ways to thrive. This is precisely what we see happening across industries, particularly in the food and beverage industry. Restaurant brands are evaluating their post-COVID-19 strategies. They have to devise ways to drive as much revenue as they can and satisfy new consumer expectations at the same time. They realize they have to adjust and adapt on the fly to deal with future changes.
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Putting on the best virtual conference — Part 1: A successful pandemic…
Linda Popky Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementApril seems like about a thousand years ago, but even back then, we realized the chances were slim to none that we’d be able to hold the 17th annual meeting of our association, the Society for the Advancement of Consulting, in New York City this fall as planned. We correctly surmised that there would be insurmountable issues, so we pivoted to producing an online meeting instead. We knew we’d miss the engagement and camaraderie of an in-person event, but we also realized we had new opportunities. How do you plan and pull off an outstanding online event? Here’s where to start.
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