Tag: CEO

Briefing: Serviced apartment sector is mature and growing

Posted on by Guy Lean

A new report from Travel Intelligence Network (TIN) shows that there has been a 14% growth in the serviced apartment supply chain globally since last year. The report, commissioned by The Apartment Service, found that there are almost 750,000 serviced apartments worldwide. It shows that serviced apartments are increasingly used by businesses for project work. And, like the rest of the hospitality industry, this sector has not gone unaffected by changes in distribution with 75% of operators receiving bookings from OTAs.

As serviced apartments gain prominence in the hospitality industry, four experts discuss the unique benefits and challenges of business and investment in the sector:

According to The Apartment Service: ‘The report highlights that the serviced apartment industry has reached a level of maturity that is showing future growth of supply.’ Deals are being done across the industry. At the end of 2014 there were approximately 1.700 units in the development pipeline in London according to the UK Serviced Apartment Report – Q4 2014 by Savills. There is also strong industry growth in Scotland with RevPAA up 16.2% year on year.

A recent merger between SACO and Oaktree Capital Management, announced on the 2nd March 2015, has resulted in the formation of a £60m hospitality company. The combined company has an inventory of 1645 apartments and is launching a new brand – Beyonder ApartHotels, which will focus on millennial travellers and will open its first ApartHotel in December 2015.

Frasers Hospitality announced the development of a new property in Hamburg recently (20th March 2015) which is the 50th city the company has entered.

Dublin based serviced apartment company StayCity has 1000 apartments across Europe and is due to open properties in Birmingham, Lyon and London in 2015.

And an industry leader BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, which rebranded last year, is going strong with 50,000 apartments in 60 countries and a collection of awards.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: 2015 could be a tipping point for mobile commerce

Posted on by Guy Lean

30% of travel will be booked on mobile devices in 2015 according to Expedia. Mobile and tablet usage is set to grow further in all industries this year following 2014 during which the number of people owning both a smartphone and a tablet in Europe more than doubled to 48%. eMarketer predict that in 2015 half of digital travel researchers will use mobiles as well as PCs, while Gartner predicts that by 2018 more that 50% of users will use a tablet or a smartphone first for all online activities.

In the following videos industry insiders explain how mobile devices are being used in hospitality today:

Criteo’s report State of Mobile Commerce Q4 2014 shows that at the end of 2014 mobile accounted for 30% of ecommerce transactions in the US.  Smartphones have overtaken tablets in mobile transactions in the US, although there are currently higher conversion rates on tablets than mobile. The difference is being attributed to the larger screen size and the fact that not all websites are designed for easy mobile use. Criteo’s global research shows that Japan is the most advanced mobile shopping market with 49% of retail transactions being done on mobile there. The UK is not far behind this at 41% and the US is at 27%.

2014 saw an increase in hospitality companies using apps. Mobile only companies such as Hotel Tonight have grown, and more sophisticated approaches to mobile commerce are emerging. Expedia’s Scratchpad software is designed to help customers use the Expedia website across multiple devices. Apps can be used to show hotel information and process bookings. They can also be used to enhance the guest experience inside the hotel or for travel around the area. In America 33% of hotels now offer an app for their guests. According to Expedia almost 1 in 5 travellers globally have checked into a hotel on their mobile for business purposes, with around 15 percent having done so for a leisure trip. Mobile technology is sure to be integrated yet further in of all aspects of the travel and hospitality experience over the next 12 months and will continue to be a focus point for the industry.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: keeping your team and colleagues motivated

Posted on by HPG Advisory

In a global hospitality organisation it can be very difficult to keep in touch with colleagues in multiple locations, in multiple languages, across multiple timezones. Motivating these cherished members of your team is a task which shouldn’t be taken lightly considering these people are conveying the brand standards to your guests 24/7.

But how do you maintain the high-standards you expect? And, perhaps more importantly, how do you retain those members of staff who are the true champions of your hospitality organisation. This is discussed in this week’s briefing, with comments from:

  • Pierre O. Botteron, VP – Human Resources for Swissotel Hotels & Resorts on the need to deliver in-house consistency
  • Gerald Lawless, President & Group Chief Executive Officer for Jumeirah Group on keeping his colleagues motivated
  • David Thomson, COO for JA Resorts & Hotels, on retaining your cherished staff
  • Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO of Sofitel Luxury Hotels on retaining the brand philosophy globally

If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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