A Discussion with Bonotel Exclusive Travel’s Faisal Sublaban
Faisal Sublaban, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based Bonotel Exclusive Travel, joined the company in June 2011 as Vice President of Business Development and Contracting. He was tapped to be President and CEO just about four years ago, in February 2014*. Since then, he has become widely regarded as a tour and travel industry innovator, especially as one who understands and gets the most out of the potential of digital marketing tools and applications. We recently interviewed Sublaban in order get his thoughts and perspectives on his company and how it grown and expanded its global footprint in the tour and travel industry and what the company’s plans are for the future. Following are excerpts from the interview.
INBOUND: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. We would like to start by asking you how Bonotel Exclusive Travel has changed since you took over as president and CEO?
Sublaban: Basically we’ve evolved a company that was a successful small family business into a truly professionalized business with infrastructure and an executive team—repositioning the organization to be scalable for the future, with a significant investment in IT, and human capital.
INBOUND: By how much has business turnover increased during this time?
Sublaban: I’d say it’s probably 100 percent.
INBOUND: So, what’s new for Bonotel in 2018?
Sublaban: We have a huge focus on our value proposition to both our hotel partners and our international and domestic partners that we sell and distribute to. And so, for me, when everyone is kind of sitting back and looking at all the M&A that’s going on—all the mergers and acquisitions—and the emergence of more and more technology disrupting the way of working, what often gets forgotten, and especially as an intermediary, is the need to keep constantly innovating around your value proposition to both sides of the spectrum. That’s really kind of core for 2018 as to what Bonotel is going to be focused on: How do we provide more value and create more “stickiness” with our hotel partners, and really focusing on those who’ve been engaged with Bonotel, and also doing the same for our customers, predominantly internationally. The key for Bonotel is helping our customers innovate in a way that continues to help them differentiate from the OTAs and their value proposition to the end consumer.
INBOUND: What do you regard as Bonotel’s market niche?
Sublaban: Bonotel is still primarily focuses within the luxury segment, although, as we move into secondary and tertiary destinations, in which there maybe isn’t a Four Seasons available there, you have to expand your product portfolio and as our distribution base is expanded, it necessitates having a wider array of product; not everybody fits within the luxury label. That being said, we still focus on luxury—all things underpin luxury … such as quality customer service 24/7, curating our product by only working with the best partners, providing end-to-end solutions from touch down to take off.
INBOUND: From the Bonotel perspective, what regions of North America do you see emerging?
Sublaban: Over the past few years we have already seen an explosion into Canada, and secondary destinations—as far as a product standpoint for Bonotel—and you’ll continue to see us expand into Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Cuba.
INBOUND: Any surprises in this regard?
Sublaban: Not really surprises. We’re actually still seeing growth out of the Middle East, although that market has been contracting this year to the US. I think that’s just from a penetration standpoint. We’re stealing share; and then when you look at China and Asia, we’re starting to make some real traction within that market. And one of the newer markets for us is domestic—selling to domestic travelers. What we see is a lot of Americans traveling into secondary and tertiary cities—the new hot markets, such as New Orleans and Nashville and Seattle. I think that there’s a constant evolution and shift toward experiences … and not just going to New York and staying in a hotel but actually experiencing the soul of a destination.
INBOUND: Does this mean that the hotel itself should be an experience, or part of the experience?
Sublaban: Yes, in a lot of ways the hotel room has been somewhat commoditized. So, it’s kind of: What offering does the hotel, or unique experience of the hotel and/or city provide? Because people are looking more than just a place to sleep. They want more out of a destination and are therefore traveling to new unique destinations with unique experiences, and this is illustrated by what’s happening with the international traveler coming to the U.S. and going to new secondary destinations. Just follow the airlift: You’re seeing new service into New Orleans, new service into Seattle, new service into Boston, new service into Nashville, and into Texas from Australia and the UK. All of those things are driven by demand. Most of the airlines are very calculated with their service expansion—they’re not hoping and praying. Part of the success and expansion into these new destinations in the U.S. can also be attributed to the marketing done by Brand USA.
Getting back to hotels I believe that oftentimes, you’ll see hoteliers trying to be everything to everyone, including trying to be hotel distributors and marketers. They’re trying to message and create their own branding. And often, what sometimes become secondary, or third or fourth on the list, is remembering to be a hotelier. And, so, whether you look at the Millennial generation on the way up, the one thing that doesn’t go away, irrespective of any technology that’s coming through and disrupting a space is, it’s still the hospitality industry. And people come and want to have a good experience—on property or when they arrive within a city, and that’s that emotional connection that people make, whether that’s with the décor in the room or the lobby that they have, the interaction with the front desk clerk, the history or story behind a property … or even internationally, when you first touch down in the U.S.—how seamless is that process when you’re going through customs, and those sorts of things. This is another area where the U.S. has made significant headway over the last couple of years—in order to simplify the process of coming into the U.S. (Everyone has to go through customs; that’s just a necessary evil when you travel around the world ) but making it as painless as possible.
INBOUND: How is Bonotel—
Sublaban: I think that one thing I glossed over, as far as another point of differentiation is and one of the ways that we are expanding, and this will dovetail with your question: We acquired a company out of Las Vegas at the beginning of this year, 2017, and re-launched and re-branded it as “Beyond.” Beyond is kind of thinking beyond just your hotel room. It’s anything outside of just looking at a show ticket or a leisure room. What that’s enabled us to do now is building out unique experiences and then tying in the Bonotel sports program, in which we have access through another strong partner to Super Bowl tickets, Super Bowl experiences, the Masters golf tournament, the Kentucky Derby or that sort of stuff—and some unique experiences in Vegas, providing not just helicopters, but luxury helicopters for the Grand Canyon, with private tours, champagne … or if you wish, even pushing the button at the Bellagio fountains at the Hyde night club … the list goes on and on and on. These are things that differentiate us and are another pivot that Bonotel has made. Additionally, we have also expanded into corporate meetings and incentive groups, and we’re glad to have brought on such big customers such as Yahoo and Google and Facebook, and putting together unique events around the U.S.
INBOUND: What I hear coming through in your comments is that, in addition to digital applications, the personal touch, personal relationships are still a part of the process in this industry.
Sublaban: Oh yes, relationships are always going to be relevant, especially in the hospitality industry. But, what happens when you have technology and disruption, is there’s a higher level of transparency, and so, people are aware and want more constant feedback, and are constantly able to track what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. The efficacy of your campaign or what your company is doing on behalf of a hotelier’s brand becomes a major focal point outside of just distribution. And so, what I think is happening for us is that it’s forcing us to innovate again, which is exciting because I think that there’s a lot of complacency that’s gone on within our industry—not across the board, but you see what Expedia and Priceline and some of the others are doing as far as innovating over the psat 10-15 years. But when you look within the B2B space, we’ve kind of been: “Yes, we have to evolve, we have to invest in technology, but we have been slow to move and there’s not a ton of innovation that has gone on there.
And for us, one of the critical things is being able to put our money where our mouth is, and doing so in a manner that’s valuable to our hoteliers and our customers. So, what does that mean? The big focus, going into 2018, it’s going to be building out our media and content strategy in which we can unlock additional value within the industry for our partners: Take the stature of Bonotel’s being kind of the luxury authority and hospitality expert, and being able to disseminate the message that the hotel is trying to get across into the market and doing so in a manner that leverages the platforms where all the attention seems to be sitting—and that’s predominantly within the social media area: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Podcasts and those sorts of places.
So, you’re going to see a big push from us, leveraging the relationships that we have—that are still critical—but also being able to come up with some unique content around those relationships that will truly be differentiated because we’re now taking the assets that Bonotel has at a very high level, all the way up within the hotels, the hotel management companies and ownership groups, in order to penetrate a little deeper and give a unique insight that, maybe, others don’t have traditional access to. What does that do? When you look at luxury hotels, gone are the days where people resonate with a photo with, say, a beautiful woman wearing her pearls, and wearing a black dress with a martini in her hand … that doesn’t jump off the page; people don’t resonate with that.
Conversely, you see a bunch of content coming out by hoteliers in which (the photo) is not authentic. It seems very canned and forced upon the viewer. So, people are shying away from that. However, when you have real yet aspirational content asking the hotelier “What’s the best drink in this hotel?” … “Have you ever seen a celebrity get kicked out.” … “What’s the craziest story of what’s happened here?” … Or “Why don’t you tell us the story of your iconic hotel and what has gone on here?” There are so many landmark hotels with so much rich history that people just don’t know about, that are actually really cool, that actually transcend into much of the experience that Millennials and up are now looking for.
It’s not as if the template is not there; it’s just that the platform for execution and dissemination of that information kind of gets lost in translation. And what’s happened in the BSB space, specifically, is that nobody has taken the time to unpack that and figure out how to articulate it, package it and disseminate it in a way that people can interact with, and actually jump on to it, resonate with it. So, when you think about experience and those sorts of things, it’s not as if we’re turning the hotel industry on its head. We’re actually taking a lot of what’s there—but it’s been largely ignored—in order to repurpose it in a manner that actually reaches people and touches them emotionally, and draws them into something different.
INBOUND: That was a very thorough answer—almost five minutes long. Is there anything else that you want to address, anything that we haven’t touched on?
Sublaban: Since our inception Bonotel has always sat in its own unique niche. We’re not trying to be an OTA, and we’re not trying to be a bedbank. We’re doing something different. I think that you are going to see in the industry a lot of innovation coming forward and Bonotel aspires to be apart of that in our own way. There is something special about Bonotel that people want to gravitate toward and work with. We’re going to do so in a manner in which it’s exciting, fun and one that you can’t get anywhere else.
INBOUND: Thank you. And thank you again for taking the time to talk with us today.
Canada Looking for Record Year for International Arrivals
2017 Arrivals from Mexico up by More Than Half over 2016: All the statistical indicators suggest that, while the U.S. tour and travel industry will experience a year-on-year loss in the number of 2017 international visitors, Canada seems headed for a record year. The latest monthly report of Destination Canada, the nation’s tourism promotion arm, showed that the country is on pace to exceed both 2016’s second highest number of annual visitors (19.979 million), as well as the all-time annual record of 20.179 million visitors set in 2002.
In the report, which tallied activity for October 2017, overnight arrivals from Destination Canada’s core international markets rose 5.2 percent for the month, as arrivals from its targeted overseas markets (up 6.2 percent) outpaced arrivals from the United States (up 4.9 percent), which is Canada’s largest source market. While double-digit growth characterized overnight arrivals from Latin America (up 48.1 percent) and Asia-Pacific (up 11 percent), the Europe region lost ground (down 5.3 percent) amid Brexit-related concerns in the UK (down 12.7 percent).
- For the year-to-date (from January to October 2017), overnight arrivals from ten of Destination Canada’s core eleven international markets increased over the same period in 2016, with the overseas markets gaining nine percent and arrivals from the U.S. improving by 2.9 percent. The UK (down 3.3 per cent) registered the sole year-to-date decline in arrivals. U.S. arrivals by air and other non-auto entry modes were up 5.8 percent and 10.1 percent respectively, while auto arrivals remained on par with the first ten months of 2016.
- Destination Canada’s Latin American markets continued to lead international arrivals to Canada, with Mexico—its visitor traffic to the U.S. is down for the first seven months of 2017 is down 8.5 percent—showing a year-to-date increase in visitor numbers of nearly 52 percent. The major reason for the stratospheric increase in Mexican travel to Canada was the announcement in June 2016 that, starting in December 2016, travel to Canada for Mexicans would be visa-free. It was part of an agreement in which Mexico announced it would open its markets to Canadian beef.
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German Trade: Always Look on the Bright Side
Last week, the authoritative German travel trade publication FVW wrote: “The German tourism industry is looking ahead optimistically to 2018 after overcoming setbacks such as airline and tour operator insolvencies to generate solid low growth last year.” In digesting a report of the Nuremberg-based research organization GfK (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung, or Society for Consumer Research), FVW made the following points:
—The German tour operator market increased turnover by about 4 percent in summer 2017 and by at least 2 percent for the full 2016/17 business year.
—However, several leading tour operators have reported higher growth rates.
—In addition, cruise holiday sales continued to grow strongly last year, probably again at a double-digit rate, according to experts.
Also, the German travel industry association DRV predicts further market growth and similar demand trends again in 2018 as last year as the markets of Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey are expected to recover following a year in which there was no major terrorist activity that would cause anxiety among German travelers.
As well, Thomas Cook Germany reported last month that summer 2018 bookings are strong for Spain, especially Majorca, as well as Greece and Bulgaria, while Turkey is recovering with a double-digit rise in customer numbers, and Egypt and Tunisia are continuing their comeback.
“These figures and predictions have left German travel agents in an optimistic mood, according to the latest monthly FVW ‘sales climate index,’” adding, “This soared to a new all-time high of 120.7 points in December. More than half (57 percent) of the survey participants described their current sales figures as good.”
Air Traffic Expected to Increase: An update from Flughafenverband ADV (German Airports Association) showed that German airports are optimistic about the new year. In its annual forecast for 2018, ADV indicated that:
- There will be growth in passenger demand of 4.2 percent.
- In flight movements, the pace of growth will stabilize at one percent.
- In a number that has particular meaning for the U.S. tour and travel industry, ADV said that intercontinental routes also remained “an important engine of growth” with a forecast increase of 4.6 percent to 43 million passengers.
- Overall, ADV is satisfied with the past year, and it expects a significant increase of 224 million passengers in the previous year to a record level of around 235 million.
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Note: For the record, in its 2018 Market Report, INBOUND has forecast a year-on-year decline of 1 to 3 percent in arrivals from Germany for 2018. To access the report, visit:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UJ5PU0Vj2w27aa7QuXyk-5HzFm9Gdlbf/view
North America is Tops for Those Searching for a New Place to Live and Work
Probably a better measure of an aspirational destination than are the regular surveys of “Where-I-would-like-to-visit-next,” the latest report from the global business consultant and accounting firm DBO tells us that the United States remains the most desired work destination for global employees. The just-released DBO report, which surveyed more than 10,000 people across 20 countries—in which respondents were asked to pick their three top destinations to work—indicates that the United States still holds the top spot as the most desired country to relocate to, although its ranking as dropped 4 percent in the last five years.
Most interesting, according to the news accounts that paid attention to the BDO report, was the position of the UK. It dropped to Number 3, as Canada leap-frogged into the Number 2 ranking. The consensus seems to be that the UK has suffered from widespread uncertainty over the impact of the Brexit vote. That referendum took place June 23, 2016 when Britons voted by a narrow margin to withdraw from the European Union; the withdrawal becomes effective in late March 2019– Other findings from the BDO report include the following:
- The UK is still third most attractive destination despite EU referendum result.
- Europeans most prefer the United States as a work destination despite a drop of 5 percent in the last five years to 24 percent.
- Canada was up 2 percent to 22 percent compared to the UK which has fallen by 3 percent to 19 percent (now level pegging with Australia)
- 18 percent of employees said they’d be very likely to relocate for up to two years and take a full time job in another country without any incentives beyond an increase in pay. This group – the ‘eager minority’ has shrunk considerably over the past five years (25 percent in 2012).
- Geography, common language, culture and business practices often exert a significant influence on where employees are most likely to relocate to.
Note: The research was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Canadian Employment Relocation Council (CERC) and BDO. The poll ran in 20 countries via the Ipsos Online Panel system. It fielded between February 2017 and March 2017. Approximately 300-500 individuals participated on a country by country basis with the exception of Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US which each have a sample of 500+.
UK Couple Faces Jail Time over Fraudulent Sickness Claim
The British government has successfully prosecuted an apparently very fit couple who took a June 2015 holiday in Turkey, posting selfies online suggesting they were having a wonderful time eating, drinking, recreating and having a wonderful time. But when they returned home, they filed claims against the hotel where they stayed and the tour operator who packaged their holiday—TUI. But after evidence showed that they were making a false claim, they pled guilty to fraud and were awaiting sentencing as INBOUND published. The issue of false claims had gotten to such a stage that in the spring of 2017 UK tour operator Jet2Holidays hired private detectives in its battle against such claims. For the complete article, visit: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/
Brazilians Hope National Holiday schedule will boost Travel this year
A new survey-based report shows that 75 percent of Brazilians want to take advantage of this year’s 10 major holidays and do some travel. One reason for the higher-than-usual desire to travel is due to the country’s holiday calendar. All nine official national holidays (plus Carnaval) fall on weekends or on Tuesdays or Thursdays The net effect is that all eight remaining holidays (Jan. 1 is past) will mean three-or-four-day holiday periods. Carnaval, though regarded as a de facto holiday period, is not officially designated as such.
The 75 percent figure is based on a survey conducted by Booking.com among 19,000 travelers from 26 countries. In addition to the 75 percent who want to take advantage this year’s extended holidays, 72 percent of Brazilians said that they want to make more trips in this year than in 2017. More than two-thirds of the total (67 percent) intend to go to more places on weekends.
The short trips, will be more common this year, as four holidays will fall on a Friday – Passion of Christ or Good Friday (March 30), Independence of Brazil (September 7), Our Lady Aparecida (October12) and All Souls Day (November 2).
- The survey also indicated that:
- Seven out of ten Brazilians (71 percent) want to do as many activities as possible when visiting a new place.
- Two-thirds (67percent) of Brazilians prefer to spend money on an experience that includes material goods such as outlet shopping and souvenirs.
- More than half (55 percent) want speed and seeks to plan their activities by cell phone while they travel. (This, according to Booking.com, an online travel agency, would, in theory, rule out contact with a traditional travel agent.)
- Thirty-four percent of travelers want to stay in a house instead of a hotel.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents want to visit a destination that none of their friends have gone before.
While a Miracle is not Required … Many U.S. travel suppliers are hoping for a break in a three year run (2015, 2016 and 2017) in which travel to the U.S. by Brazilians has declined, year-over-year: down 2 percent n 2015, 24 percent in 2016 and 12.5 percent for the first seven months of 2017 (the data are the latest available for the year). Moreover, in its 2018 Market Outlook, INBOUND has forecast “at best, no change” from 2017.*
One will notice that four of the holidays listed above are religious or Roman Catholic in nature. This is due primarily to the fact that, while its numbers have diminished since the turn of the century, the
Catholic Church is still the largest denomination, with well over half of the nation’s 210 million people identifying as such.
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* To see a copy of INBOUND’s 2018 Market Outlook, visit:
https://www.inboundreport.com/2017/12/19/inbounds-market-outlook-for-2018/
Latest Group to Embrace RV Camping: Chinese Travelers
Last year, during its series of NAJ’s RTO Summit series, Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of the NAJ Group, which publishes the INBOUND report discussed a new trend that receptive tour operators in the U.S. had picked up regarding Chinese visitors to the USA: “More and more Chinese travelers are exhibiting a preference for self-driving tours—sometimes these tours involve extended families with friends who use vans and/or travel in small ‘caravans.’”
Just recently, there has been a confirmation of the trend, one that is likely a global trend—not all destinations have the capacity to accommodate it—in Australia. As described in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Intrepid Chinese tourists are eschewing the traditional package tour and hitting the bitumen, according to figures showing a sharp rise in those opting for a caravan or camping trip around Australia.”
Cited as evidence were data from Tourism Research Australia showing a 112 per cent growth in Chinese caravan or camping visitor nights in the year-to-date (through September 2017),” as more opt to organize their own travel.”
While the total number of Chinese “caravanners” and campers remains small compared to traditional European markets, the article said, “more Chinese are seeking cheaper self-drive holidays as the Chinese economy slows and people feel less wealthy.”
Stuart Lamont, chief executive of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, said Chinese tourists, especially its youth, were becoming more confident to travel independently and aware of the sights Australia had to offer.
“They are looking for some quintessential Australian experiences, ones that are genuine and authentic,” he said, adding, “Caravanning and camping offers that. As they become more confident and look to travel outside the gateway ports [of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane] that they traditionally visit.”
The growth in Chinese caravanners and campers represents a total 103,000 visitor nights, and almost 11,500 visitors—a 45 per cent increase over the previous year.
Lamont said research showed that for every 91 international caravanning and camping visitors an additional $1 million worth of economic value is generated—much of it in regional Australia.
He said official data to be released later this month would also show continued growth in the campervan market, which last year reported the largest growth rate in registrations of any vehicle type in Australia, at 4.5 per cent.
The International Visitors in Australia report showed the nation’s broader international caravan and camping visitor economy was continuing to grow. Some 373,000 international visitors took a caravan and camping holiday in the year to September, a 7.5 per cent increase.
Luke Trouchet, chief executive of Apollo Tourism, which is Australia’s largest renter of motorhomes and campervans, said that just three years ago Asian customers were “very rare.” Now, however, Chinese tourists were “our fastest growing inbound market. It’s from a very small base but it keeps growing,” he said.
In response to the growth of the market, Trouchet said that Apollo had translated its website, brochures and road safety guidelines into Mandarin, and has employed a dedicated Chinese sales manager.
Will 5000+ Hotels now under Construction in U.S. Drive Lower ADR?
One wonders if the boom in hotel construction globally and, in particular, the United States, will have any impact this year on U.S.-based receptive tour operators and international tour operators who will be negotiating for room allotments for late 2019 and 2020. Why? Because there is a continued boom in construction in new rooms globally, and, in particular, in the United States. The latter has North America leading other world regions in hotels in development and/or under construction (in the pipeline.) And within the U.S. itself are the two cities (Houston and Dallas) that lead the world in the number of hotels and rooms in the pipeline.
Portsmouth, N.H.-based Lodging Econometrics, which produces the Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report and compiles the construction pipeline for every country and market in the world, says in its latest report that the Total Pipeline stands at 12,427 projects accounting for 2,084,940 rooms—up by 8 percent year-on-year vs. 2016.
Currently (mid-December 2017) under construction are 5,885 projects representing 1,086,966 rooms (up 9 percent); 3,723 Projects representing 538,061 rooms (up 6 percent) scheduled to start construction in the next year; and 2,819 representing 459,913 rooms (up 8 percent) in early planning.
What Impact Will this Have on Rates? At first blush, the metrics seem to be increasingly favorable to the buyer (operators) as, given the numbers above, demand has not keep place with new supply. In fact, perilous times could be ahead for the hotel industry. Here is how the situation was described in the Lodging Economics statement that accompanied the release of the numbers:
One analysis indicated that supply growth in excess of demand is the reason why 50 of the 60 major markets in the CBRE Hotel Horizons universe are projected to realize a decline in occupancy in 2018. The disparity between the performance of the overall national market and the major local markets is driven by the skew of development activity. Nearly 90 percent of the new hotel rooms entering the U.S. in 2018 will reside in the 60 Hotel Horizons markets. Despite the increase in competition, the aggregate occupancy levels for the Hotel Horizons markets are forecast to remain above 70 percent through 2021. In 2018, 52 of the 60 markets are projected to achieve occupancies above their long-run average.
Said John Corgel, professor of real estate at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration,
“Given such lofty occupancy levels, 49 of the Hotel Horizons markets are forecast to enjoy an ADR increase in excess of the projected 2.2 percent rate of inflation.”
One wonders if the boom in hotel construction globally and, in particular, the United States, will have any impact this year on U.S.-based receptive tour operators and international tour operators who will be negotiating for room allotments for late 2019 and 2020. Why? Because there is a continued boom in construction in new rooms globally, and, in particular, in the United States. The latter has North America leading other world regions in hotels in development and/or under construction (in the pipeline.) And within the U.S. itself are the two cities (Houston and Dallas) that lead the world in the number of hotels and rooms in the pipeline.
Portsmouth, N.H.-based Lodging Econometrics, which produces the Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report and compiles the construction pipeline for every country and market in the world, says in its latest report that the Total Pipeline stands at 12,427 projects accounting for 2,084,940 rooms—up by 8 percent year-on-year vs. 2016.
Currently (mid-December 2017) under construction are 5,885 projects representing 1,086,966 rooms (up 9 percent); 3,723 Projects representing 538,061 rooms (up 6 percent) scheduled to start construction in the next year; and 2,819 representing 459,913 rooms (up 8 percent) in early planning.
What Impact Will this Have on Rates? At first blush, the metrics seem to be increasingly favorable to the buyer (operators) as, given the numbers above, demand has not keep place with new supply. In fact, perilous times could be ahead for the hotel industry. Here is how the situation was described in the Lodging Economics statement that accompanied the release of the numbers:
One analysis indicated that supply growth in excess of demand is the reason why 50 of the 60 major markets in the CBRE Hotel Horizons universe are projected to realize a decline in occupancy in 2018. The disparity between the performance of the overall national market and the major local markets is driven by the skew of development activity. Nearly 90 percent of the new hotel rooms entering the U.S. in 2018 will reside in the 60 Hotel Horizons markets. Despite the increase in competition, the aggregate occupancy levels for the Hotel Horizons markets are forecast to remain above 70 percent through 2021. In 2018, 52 of the 60 markets are projected to achieve occupancies above their long-run average.
Said John Corgel, professor of real estate at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration,
“Given such lofty occupancy levels, 49 of the Hotel Horizons markets are forecast to enjoy an ADR increase in excess of the projected 2.2 percent rate of inflation.”
At a Glance: Norfolk, Virginia
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HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry
Ian Chambers has been named head of media and digital marketing at TUI UK and Ireland. Chambers joins the company after serving Monarch Airlines for more than a dozen years in a variety of senior positions, including that of chief commercial officer, for Monarch Airlines which, along with Monarch Holidays, shut down three months ago.
Julie Greenhill has joined The Greg Evans Consultancy in London as director. Greenhill has more than three decades of experience in the UK tour and travel Industry, holding various roles including product and marketing managerial posts for the USA, Canada and the Caribbean. She has worked in representation since 2007 serving such clientele as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Texas, Scottsdale, Louisiana and the Deep South.
Steve Ellis has been hired to assist U.S. Tours, a leading American tour operator, with sales, marketing and strategic planning. Ellis has been a leader in the Tour and Travel Industry for 40 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and unique experience to this new role. Ellis recently retired from Dixie Stampede where he worked these past 6 years after selling his business “Steve Ellis Tours” to U.S. Tours, which is owned by Bob Cline.
Gustavo Syllos has left his position as chief marketing officer of São Paulo-based Costa do Sauípe after little more than two years in the job. The move follows the recent acquisition of Costa do Sauípe by the Rio Quente Group. Costa do Sauípe CEO Mark Campbell is expected to remain with the company, but will return to the position of Operations Director, making room for Rio Quente’s CEO, Francisco Costa Neto. Syllos said he will return to his consulting firm, Form and Content.
Decolar.com, one of the largest OTAs in Brazil, confirmed that André Alves no longer holds the position of country manager of the company in Brazil. The company’s commercial flight manager, Paulo Padula, is temporarily in charge. The company gave no reason for the departure of Alves, although it did indicate that there were no immediate plans to name replace Alves.
In France, Claude Blanc (left) is leaving his position as president and co-director of Travel & Co. He had co-founded the group with Jacques Judéaux (right), who remains alone at the head of the company. Blanc remains a 20 percent shareholder and wants to embark on a new start-up project that he does not yet want to disclose. Travel & Co is the owner of East West Travel, which includes Australia Tours, Alma Latina and Asia Infiny, Terres de Charme, Back Roads brands and Local Travel Heroes brands. Discover Albany also created a new position, partnership & community relations manager and promoted Danielle Walsh serve in this role. Walsh was formerly sales coordinator.
Discover Albany kicked off the New Year with the announcement of three new hires to the sales and marketing departments, including Jay Cloutier, who will serve as director of sales, and Michelle Santos, who will serve as the new marketing coordinator and social media strategist. Cloutier, who previously worked for the Albany CVB for six years beginning in 1999, was most recently a group sales manager for three conference hotels in Albany. Santos previously worked at a boutique public relations firm in New York City and as a project manager at Albany-based Behan Communications. Discover Albany also created a new position, partnership and community relations manager, and promoted Danielle Walsh to serve in this role. Walsh was formerly sales coordinator. And Sara Reed has also joined Discover Albany, serving as the new sales/services administrator. Before joining Discover Albany, Reed was a financial service representative for Nationwide Financial.
