| November 15, 2012 | News for hotel and lodging professionals |
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- Hotel-data firms reveal upbeat industry outlook for 2013
Research firms PricewaterhouseCoopers, STR and PKF Hospitality Research presented attendees of the AH&LA Hospitality Leadership Forum in New York with a generally optimistic forecast for the hospitality industry in 2013 despite a weak third quarter. Data from STR show strong demand growth in the luxury, upper- and upscale segments, which have reached record-high occupancy levels year-to-date. HotelNewsNow.com
(11/14)      
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- Starwood plans to add 10 hotels in Africa over 3 years
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide says it is looking to open 10 new hotels in Africa within three years for a total of 4,200 additional rooms to its supply in the region. The company has identified a number of countries targeted for expansion, including Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Ghana and Angola. "Home to seven of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies, there could not be a better time to expand our footprint in Africa," said Starwood President and CEO Frits van Paasschen. TravelPulse
(11/13)
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- AAA forecasts increase in 2012 Thanksgiving travel
Travel numbers for Thanksgiving weekend will improve from last year as more Americans regain confidence from an improving economy, AAA predicts. The number of road travelers going on trips 50 miles or more from home is expected to rise 0.6% over last year. The group says it expects about 3 million Americans to go by air, rising 0.7% from the previous year. Reuters
(11/13)
- Slow U.S. economic recovery is deterring hotel investors, group says
Uncertainties over financial-policy issues and the impending U.S. "fiscal cliff" are causing a lag in the country's economic recovery and eroding investors' confidence, researchers at Jones Lang LaSalle said in a recent webinar. "If you're an investor in real estate, how do you make decisions with your business or with your capital until you better understand the rules of the game? ... Until those are clear, it will be relatively slow growth in 2013," said Benjamin Breslau, managing director of Americas Research for Jones Lang LaSalle. However, the group notes that improving hotel performance across several markets is helping to encourage transactions activity. HotelNewsNow.com
(11/14)
| Spotlight on Technology | | |
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- Experts offer tips on connecting with guests through social media
Hoteliers can strengthen their marketing efforts in the social-media space by ensuring that their sales staff's social-media accounts are consistent with the hotel's brand image, a panel of experts suggested during a session last week at the AH&LA 2012 Fall Conference held alongside the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show in New York. "Your people have a voice, and often that is the voice that is going to drive revenue," said Nathan Egan, chairman and CEO of social-media consulting firm PeopleLinx. HotelsMag.com (free registration)
(11/12)
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- Asia-Pacific has nearly 1,700 hotels in pipeline, STR Global says
The STR Global Construction Pipeline Report for October 2012 shows that data on active hotel-development projects in the Middle East and Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. The report indicates that the Asia-Pacific region has the highest number of hotels in its pipeline, with 374,523 rooms in 1,697 hotels. New Delhi led the region's markets in terms of expected room growth, at 42.1%. TravelPulse
(11/14)
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