Stories last week that we follow as part of our hospitality consulting practice covered a variety of topics including new hotel ramp-up timelines, using Facebook to increase hotel revenues, and the downturn in the timeshare resort industry. Here is some of that commentary and our take on it: I. STR did an analysis from their collective database on the amount of time it took for new midscale and upscale hotels entering the market to achieve a stabilized RevPar. It was not surprising from a hotel advisors viewpoint that most took between 9 to 12 months to reach projections and probably longer. In our experience opening or expanding hotels in these same segments, a 6 to 18 month ramp up period is often the norm. II. In Lodging Hospitality, there are several interviews of a hotel owner, property management company and consultant that talk about the success that has been derived from placing a hotel’s booking engine directly on their Facebook page. It also added that Facebook is beginning to supersede travel leader Trip Advisor with more room reservation conversions. Clearly and from a hospitality consulting position, owners and operators should not ignore the benefits of getting an online presence on their respective “Pages” as soon as possible. III. At the ARDA convention, statistics show that sales are down $6.3 billion and 40% from the record high in 2007. If you are an investor in a resort timeshare or looking to add those specialized real estate assets to your investment portfolio, now is the time to buy a hotel with that component while pricing remains soft. Have you invested in new or existing timeshare resorts in the last five years? If so, do you expect from a hospitality consulting perspective to regain your lost valuation and in what time frame??
Perry Group
Hotel & Restaurant Experts For The Hospitality Industry
