Separating reality from hype and headlines was a common theme across the last month's worth of CoStar News Hotels' podcasts.
Here are some highlights from recent episodes.
CoStar News Hotels Podcast
Max Spangler, vice president of technology of third-party hotel management company Charlestowne Hotels, said with so much attention paid to artificial intelligence, hoteliers must avoid being drawn into the "AI hype echo chamber" and instead be deliberate about finding efficient and practical tools.
"Most of what people hear about AI right now is either too broad or too vague," he said. "The useful version is actually much more specific, and it helps with the first version of work — drafting, summarizing, comparing, rewriting, organizing, analyzing and getting unstuck — and that's what we constantly are telling our team members."
Perhaps the only thing garnering more attention than artificial intelligence right now is the ongoing FIFA World Cup, which Didio Pequeno, director of hospitality market analytics for the Northeast and Midwestern U.S. at CoStar Group, said has been a big win for hotels in terms of driving rate.
But that lift does vary from market to market.
"You have reports of people paying thousands of dollars to attend matches, travel, hotels and all of that," he said. "Personally, I think New York is most likely going to absolutely crush it for the final."
On the other side of the globe, hotels across the Asia-Pacific region are enjoying an increase in development and lender activity, said STR's regional vice president in the Asia-Pacific region Jesper Palmqvist, although all that new construction is not evenly distributed.
"Technically it's an all-time high — almost 2,500 projects around, [but] India is about a third of that," he said. "That speaks to the activity in that country."
Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast
While the World Cup so far has been a win, it's not the only win hoteliers have been enjoying this summer, according to the experts on "Tell Me More."
Las Vegas hotels experienced 17.9% year-over-year revenue per available room growth in May due to several large events. El Paso, Texas, saw the biggest RevPAR growth of all U.S. markets that month with 37.9% growth because of two sold-out concert dates by K-pop boy band BTS.
"It's good to see the midweek continue to do its thing and be strong," said Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics for CoStar. "Group demand is back."
Next Gen in Lodging
The most recent episode of "Next Gen in Lodging" zoomed in on the travel aspects of Pride month, focusing on how Kimpton properties in Los Angeles interacted with that city's Pride events.
Kimpton Hotel Wilshire General Manager Justin Henry said sister property Kimpton Everly was the official hotel of Los Angeles Pride, and he was glad to see colleagues from across Kimpton's LA presence take part in the Pride parade on June 14.
"I have the smallest of the four properties, so we had eight from my property, then in total between the four, close to 40 colleagues marched in Pride," he said.
The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News
Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the biggest news in recent months has been ongoing turmoil as the U.S. and Israel wage war against Iran, snarling the global oil trade due to closures on the Strait of Hormuz.
Manesh Balani, managing director of Dubai-based procurement firm Orsini SPI, joined “The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News” podcast to discuss his company's pivot over the last several months. The first priority was safety, followed by coming up with a new strategy to meet hotel clients' needs and address their concerns.
“OK, now what do we do and how do we continue to operate? … We’ve been working together with our clients seamlessly, making sure that their projects are not going to be interrupted,” Balani said. “Saudi Arabia, fortunately their shipping ports have remained open; likewise across Africa there is no disruption.”
Matt Lederer, director of acquisitions at The Sirius Hotel Group, also appeared on a separate episode of the podcast, discussing his company's recent shifts, keeping it's owned and operated The Resident brand and affiliated with Marriott International on a portfolio of Four Points Flex by Sheraton properties. The company also a majority stake in Sleeperz Hotel group in 2022.
The plan allows “for multiple brands under one umbrella, one operating company, and with the acquisition of [the Sleeperz] portfolio … it felt, I think, all in all, the right time to rebrand and be ready for the next five to 10 years where we hope to take the portfolio from nine hotels now to 30-plus,” Lederer said.