NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Hoteliers entered 2025 with a certain level of optimism that hotel performance would not just improve over last year but be strong. Although it started that way in the first few months, the trend quickly shifted down and pessimism set in.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — If there's one thing hoteliers can do to drive growth for their commercial strategy, it's prioritize and incentivize teamwork across revenue management, sales and marketing.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The shift from group demand being a driver of growth for hotels to an area of softness has been difficult for hoteliers to navigate this year as leisure demand also weakened, and experts say companies and properties must shift their strategies along with different group booking behaviors.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — During challenging times, small wins make a big difference to your bottom line. At least, that's one thing Stonebridge Companies' Chris Cheney is seeing amid top-line contraction in the hotel industry.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Hotel leisure demand is full of wild swings, none more so than during major events that lead to a lot of hotel bookings and busy weekends for hoteliers.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The demands on hotel revenue managers have grown even over the past five years, with guest behavior changing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and technology such as artificial intelligence altering the job in fundamental ways.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Guests are increasingly craving unique experiences out of their hotel stays, whether that comes in the form of a one-in-a-kind property or offerings that are specific to that hotel.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Guest booking behaviors are no longer what they used to be. Pandemic- and recovery-era patterns have merged with current economic trends to make a revenue manager's job more complex.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Hotel revenue managers have a lot to feel proud of even amid a difficult demand environment, said Sage Hospitality Group Senior Vice President of Sales, Revenue and Distribution Strategy Priya Chandnani.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The second day of the Hotel Data Conference arrived with an eye on the future. Hoteliers have hope for demand to recover, but they're pairing that with realistic strategies.
Uncertainty has been one of the themes of 2025 for the U.S. hotel industry, but hoteliers are becoming more certain that the recovery may have finally stalled.
INDIANAPOLIS — As more hotel companies work to merge sales, marketing and revenue management into a combined commercial team, experts in those respective fields say it's more important than ever for people in those fields to understand each other.
INDIANAPOLIS — Transparency, alignment on key performance indicators and a general culture of clear communication are what hotel owners want from their on-property teams, including leaders in revenue, sales and marketing.
INDIANAPOLIS — While much of the discussion on hotel distribution over the past decade has focused on the importance of funneling guests into direct channels, experts say hoteliers also need to be thinking critically of how their properties appear on online travel agency websites.
INDIANAPOLIS — Young employees at hotels need more than pure financial compensation and a clear pathway to earning incentives to be properly motivated, according to a panel of experts.
INDIANAPOLIS — The idea that commercial strategy in hotels needs to evolve through better collaboration between revenue management, sales and marketing is not new, but the hope that artificial intelligence can help bring that dream closer to reality is.
Inbound international travel to the United States has been steadily rising year over year since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2025 figures to be more of the same.
In some ways, Brian Hicks stepped into the president and CEO role of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International in uniquely difficult circumstances — stepping in to fill the shoes of a long-time, beloved leader who recently died.
