I don’t know how you put together a list such as this one featuring “The 100 most sought-after character actors in Hollywood.”
Nothing against J.K. Simmons or Zeljko Ivanek, but there’s no methodology here, no rhyme or reason. It’s as if someone wrote 100 character actors on 100 different note cards, threw them into the air, and picked them up at random.
But that’s beside the point.
I came across the list while searching for that guy from “The Wire.” You know, he was also in “Ray” and “Horrible Bosses.” No? What about the short-lived “The Michael J. Fox Show?” or mildly disappointing “Treme.” Wendell Pierce is his name. He’s good in everything, but he’s not good enough for me to ever remember his name.
And that drives me nuts. There I am, driving into work, debating whether to watch the new show, “Fear the Walking Dead,” which makes me think of “The Walking Dead,” which makes me wonder whether it should be characterized as “prestige” television, which makes me think of other prestige television shows, which makes me think of “The Wire,” which makes me think of what’s-his-name.
Pierce. Wendell Pierce. That’s it.
There are a lot of actors like him. They’re usually character actors, those stalwart supporting players who are unrecognizable from role to role. That’s what makes them so valuable—and, as a consequence, so immune to widespread recognition and accolade.
The hotel industry has an equivalent of sorts.
We write a lot about the scene-stealing online travel agencies here at Hotel News Now. The same is true of metasearch sites such as Kayak and other slick upstarts in the complex and competitive distribution space.
Lacking in this coverage is emphasis on global distribution systems, those tried-and-true character actors of the channel management world that do the job so darn well and consistently that they often escape recognition.
So let me shine a well-deserved spotlight on them, if only for this one column.
The GDSes are kicking butt, folks. And they’re doing it at increasingly higher average daily rates.
Indeed, the channel posted ADR growth of 4.6% during the second quarter, according to data from TravelClick’s “North American distribution review.” That bested not only the OTAs (3.9% ADR growth) but also brand.com as well as central reservation offices, which house central reservations systems (both at 3.8%).
“Interestingly, the GDS continues to demonstrate growth, especially with higher ADR bookings,” TravelClick’s John Hach noted in a news release.
Here’s another case for the GDSes, among which Travelport, Amadeus and Sabre are the most highly billed performers: The channel accounted for 19.3% of all transient rooms sold during the second quarter. That’s behind only contributions from brands (29.1%) and bookings direct to hotel (e.g. calls to the property and walk-ins) at 22%.
Share of transient rooms sold by channel
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| Source: TravelClick’s “North American distribution review” |
Not bad for a channel that gets little coverage in the trade press. But as the best character actors have shown us, coverage does not always equal capability or clout.
Just ask Wendell Pierce.
Now on to the usual stuff …
What’s making me happy this week?
Attending the regional award ceremony of the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ Azbee Awards, where Hotel News Now was recognized for its work in special reporting and infographics, among others.
A little “inside baseball,” I know, but what can I say? I’m proud of our team.
Stat of the week
52.2%: Percentage of survey respondents when asked if they’d be interested in streaming content such as Netflix or Hulu on their hotel room TVs, as laid out in this nifty HNN infographic.
Quote of the week
“YouTube is yesterday. The video medium of today is Facebook.”
—Ubertrend evangelist (and Hotel Data Conference speaker) Michael Tchong on the power of visuals in social media.
Tchong touched on several other trends in his keynote. Check out these five.
Reader comment of the week
“I still think an IHG/Starwood marriage makes a great deal of sense. They have non-competing brands which fit in nicely and would introduce true Luxury product into the IHG stable and address Starwood’s lack of limited service/midscale product. Significant benefit from corporate inversion as well.”
—Reader “Anon” adding fuel to the fires surrounding speculation of a merger between InterContinental Hotels Group (which has denied the claims) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (which has been exploring “strategic and financial alternatives” for months now).
HNN’s editorial director, Jeff Higley, shared his speculations in “Who should get Starwood’s brands.”
Email Patrick Mayock or find him on Twitter.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or its parent company, STR and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.