Concluding with strong growth in March, the European hotel industry reported increases in each of the three key performance metrics during the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest data from STR. Compared toÊthe first quarter 2016, occupancy in Europe increased by 4.1 per cent to 63.5 per cent.
GCC projects form backbone of regional hospitality sector
Ongoing projects in the GCC will form the backbone of the regional hospitality industry in the coming years, as the governments of the Gulf countries gradually move towards diversifying their revenue base and reducing their dependence on hydrocarbons. The total estimated value of 1,153 active projects in the GCC’s hospitality industry exceeded $148.4 billion in the first quarter of 2017, according to BNC Intelligence.
Hotel voice searches on the rise
Travel searches by voice are on the up according to some figures from Microsoft-owned Bing Ads. The company reveals that Britons are increasingly seeking to book their hotel using the Cortana digital assistant on mobile devices with hotel searches seeing a 343 per centÊyear-on-year increase in the UK.
CaliforniaÕs hotel industry grows in key cities
The most populated state in the US continues to see growth in the hotel industry in two key areas, the San Francisco Bay Area and the metropolis of Los Angeles. With 15 new hotels currently in progress, California’s hotel market is set to expand over the course of this year and next.
Monte-Carlo SBM and Galaxy Entertainment Group form strategic partnership in the Asia-Pacific region
Monte-Carlo Socit des Bains de Mer (SBM), world renowned owner and operator of iconic luxury hotels and resorts in the Principality of Monaco, Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), one of AsiaÕs leading developers and operators of world-class, luxury, integrated entertainment and resort facilities, have announced the formal establishment of a strategic partnership. This partnership includes a mutual commitment to enhance the respective businesses and brands of each company.
Airbnb fires back at hotel industry
Airbnb is hitting back after the hotel industry touted its lobbying efforts against the online room-sharing service. The company’s head of policy, Christopher Lehane, accused hoteliers of price-gouging customers and called their fight against Airbnb a Òcampaign to punish the middle-classÓ in a letter Wednesday.
Sojern creates a European hub for RevDirect, a multichannel direct booking offering
Sojern, travel’s leading performance marketing engine, has announced the opening of its new office in Dublin focused on servicing the European market with its RevDirectÊoffering, a multichannel, pay-for-performance, direct bookings solution for independent hoteliers. Sojern brings its specialised data set of 350 million global traveller profiles, including billions of predictive travel intent data points to target travellers across multi-channels.
Lodging Interactive launches social influencer marketing services for hotels
Lodging Interactive, an award winning digital marketing and social media engagement agency exclusively serving the hospitality industry,Êhas announced the launch of its Social Voices Influencer Marketing Services for the hospitality industry. Social Voices provides hotels with the ability to leverage the social influence of others to drive brand awareness and new revenue opportunities for their properties.
Travel industry investment into data and analytics to rise substantially in 2017
Travel is awash with data and companies are loosening their purse strings to get to the insight this provides, according to EyeforTravelÕs new industry-wide State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017. Amongst respondents, who came from all verticals in the industry, 74.5 per cent report that they expect budget increases in 2017.
Brexit: Hospitality industry warns of worker shortages
The Home Office is lookingÊat plans for ÒBarista VisasÓ and new rules for migrants, afterÊhospitality industry experts warned many business will close. The British Hospitality Industry has warned that hotels, restaurants and bars will be forced to shut as there is a severe shortage of British workers and a steady stream of migrants is needed.
