Article by France24 September 30, 2021 Interview conducted during the Global Lodging Forum 2021, on September 28, 2021 at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand. Source: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/people-profit/20210930-staying-power-hotel-industry-executives-discuss-post-covid-challenges Although travel has slumped over the past year and a half due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many tourist destinations in Europe had a better summer season than expected. Karin Sheppard, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Europe at IHG, the hotel group that includes brands like the Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. She tells us how her summer season compared to 2020 and pre-pandemic years. Read the full article here

Article by European Travel Commission - September 23, 2021 Rising COVID-19 cases and the Delta variant might have been affecting Europe lately but travel sentiment among Europeans has remained high over the summer. Almost 70% of Europeans surveyed stated they have plans to travel between July 2021 and January 2022, while significantly fewer expressed unwillingness (17%) or uncertainty (15%) about travelling in the short-term. This is according to the latest research on “Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel – Wave 8” [1] by the European Travel Commission (ETC), which provides timely insights on Europeans’ [2] travel intentions and preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine shows the way to steady tourism recovery The COVID-19 vaccine remains an essential prerequisite for traveller confidence and booking behaviour. Recent vaccination rollouts allowed more than half (54%) of Europeans to feel much more optimistic regarding trip planning within the next months, with only 21% expressing scepticism. Furthermore, 1 in 2 Europeans plan to book a trip as soon as they are vaccinated. At the same time, more than half (57%) of the respondents expect the EU Digital COVID Certificate to facilitate planning their next trip and crossing borders, while only 18% doubt that it will ease and simplify their travel experience. Almost 70% of all surveyed Europeans plan to travel by the end of January 2022. Of those with short-term travel plans, over half favour visiting another European country and 35% plan to travel domestically. An increasing share of Europeans sticks to their original travel plans but concerns over rising COVID-19 cases at destinations have intensified by 20%. Read the full article here

Article by Siteminder September 21, 2021 While uncertainty continues to dominate headlines, there is a new constant that remains chronically underreported. Booked travel. In fact, it’s now been four consecutive months that hotel bookings globally have remained over 60% of 2019 levels. As I write this, they’re sitting at 68% – their highest point since the pandemic began. Let’s examine why. Europeans are redefining ‘summer’ In Europe, pent-up demand has redefined summer from the warmest months of the year to a state of travel freedom. Fifteen of the 17 European countries on the World Hotel Index are currently outpacing the global average for hotel bookings, with only Austria and Finland narrowly below it. Meanwhile, hotels in Iceland and Spain are receiving more hotel bookings now than this time two years ago. The performance of Spain, which withstood another surge of Covid cases in late July, is of particular note. It could very well represent the world’s first case study of how travel can successfully coexist alongside looming threats. The MEA region is also bouncing back. This past month, Namibia joined the handful of countries on the World Hotel Index to exceed its 2019 hotel booking levels, after a strong dip in local Covid cases. The UAE, Morocco and South Africa are seeing an uptick of booking activity for the same reason. Fastest risers are in Asia In Asia, hotel booking volumes remain low overall, but in certain markets are now rising relatively faster than anywhere in the world. After four months, Indonesia is again above 50% of its 2019 hotel booking levels, as restrictions ease in Bali. Malaysia has experienced a sharp jump in bookings to 38% of 2019 levels, from below 10% at the beginning of the month. And, Thailand, which is eyeing a broadening of travel options to vaccinated tourists from October, has risen from 10% of 2019 levels at the start of August, to 24%. In the Pacific, Fiji has also seen a small, yet significant rise in bookings. The archipelago, which relies on tourism for roughly 40% of its GDP, is now targeting a November 1 reopening date, which has resulted in an initial rallying of bookings in recent days. North and Central America are showing stability Despite the ongoing presence of the Delta strain, North and Central America remain two of the most stable regions on SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index, showcasing their resilience. In the United States, hotel booking momentum has remained between 70% and 90% of 2019 levels since April, while, in Canada, it has stayed above 75% of 2019 levels since July. In Mexico, which currently leads the region, the momentum has remained above 80% of 2019 levels since mid-March. Read the full article here

Whenever you have a product or service that meets all or most of the following criteria. 📎 Follow our next 15 chapters, this is for you. This is new! 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBfx-nD #revenuemanagement #hotelrevenuemanagement #hotelier #hotelrm #revinsight #hotelowners #hotelmanagement #hotellife #hotelconsulting #revenueoptimization #rm#educateyourself #education #academy #revenuemanager #hoteldevelopment #hoteltip#hotelierlove #hôtel #hotel #hospitality#hotels #hospitalityindustry #hoteliers #revenuegrowth #hotelrevenue #revenueacademy by RevInsight Chapter 1. The principles of hotel revenue management.

Article by STR May 06, 2021 For a third week, U.S. hotel occupancy remained just above 57% and 54% on a total-room-inventory basis (TRI), which accounts for temporarily closed hotels. Room demand fell slightly with the weekly level staying above 21 million for a seventh consecutive week. A closer look revealed that room demand dropped during the weekdays and increased over the weekend. Weekend occupancy advanced week over week to 71%, with room demand up 1.1%. Notably, Saturday’s room demand was the highest recorded since 15 February 2020 with occupancy at 73% (69% TRI). Read the full article here

Article by businesswire May 04, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has made a binding offer to acquire Egencia, Expedia Group’s corporate travel arm. As part of the transaction, Expedia Group would become a shareholder in, and enter a long-term strategic commercial agreement with, GBT. The deal would bring Egencia, a leading digital travel management company, into the GBT family. GBT would continue to invest in the Egencia brand, its people and technology, as part of the world’s leading business travel platform. Paul Abbott, GBT’s CEO, said: “Our strategy is to provide customers with unparalleled choice by having the best solutions for each managed travel segment that we serve. In Egencia, we would welcome the industry’s leading digital business travel platform. “Egencia would be strengthened by GBT’s complementary technology, enterprise capabilities and cutting-edge content. This would create new opportunities for both multinational and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients, suppliers and the talented teams within both organizations.” Together, GBT and Egencia would offer comprehensive technology and customer solutions across every segment of business travel. Teaming Egencia with GBT’s Supply MarketPlace, one of the most comprehensive sources for content and experiences for business travelers, would give customers more choice and suppliers more access to business travelers. Read the full article here