Hospitality Daily News

As you might have guessed, Coyle Hospitality Group is dedicated to hospitality. That is why we want to provide you with the most up-to-date, relevant news articles about your industry. Everyday, you can visit our Hospitality Daily News page to view hand-selected articles compiled and summarized by our research team. Contact us today to subscribe to our daily newsletter for more in-depth analysis and daily tidbits on what really matters to you in your world of hospitality.

September 2011

Week of September 12, 2011

• STR Reveals Findings from its Luxury Spa Report, USA Today
  • Average price of a treatment at a luxury spa: $134; prices are not expected to decrease
  • Decrease in the use of treatment rooms–either spas are selling fewer treatments, or they are staying open longer
  • Spa industry expert David Stoup describes the spa industry as “overdeveloped, saturated and [lacking] differentiation”
• What to Expect from Google and Zagat, PC World
  • Google will integrate Zagat ratings and reviews, combining them with comments from users’ Google networks and providing more valuable and relevant search results/content
  • Zagat will cover a broader range–they currently only cover 100 cities, but plan to extend this reach
  • Zagat will be more interactive with personalized results and social networking
  • Zagat has always been compared to Yelp (it was offered this deal before, but turned it down); now Yelp will directly compete with Google
• Kent B&B Starborough Manor Wins Google Award, Big Hospitality
  • Won award for proving its website dramatically increased number of bookings
  • Google’s competition was launched to inspire small businesses to improve their websites (offers awards across 7 industry sectors)

Week of September 5, 2011

• Google Buys Zagat: Here’s Why, Huffington Post
  • Google will integrate its powerful tools with Zagat’s products
  • Zagat offers trustworthy reviews (which is especially important right now considering what is going on with TripAdvisor) that will now show up in search results, maps, mobile apps, etc.
• Social Media Strategies for Success, Nation’s Restaurant News
  • Advises companies to use Facebook and Twitter as a focus group
  • Discusses creating a central location where feedback from guests/clients/customers is compiled
  • Experts suggest that video usage is on the rise
  • They also suggest opening a Flickr account to post photos
• Sheraton Launches its Signature Fitness Program, Ehotelier
  • Supports the global trend: fitness and travel go hand in hand
  • Uses training methods developed by professional athletes
  • Includes guestroom workouts, online training, and state of the art facilities
• IHG to Reposition the Crowne Plaza to the Upper-Upscale Segment, Hotel News Now
  • They will be focusing on staff training to get all of their hotels to this new level
  • Will be removing 10% of its franchisees who are unequipped to make the change
• TripAdvisor to be Investigated by Advertising Regulator, Tnooz
  • Regulators will be investigating claims that TripAdvisor provides untrustworthy reviews; are these reviews actually unbiased, genuine reviews from real travelers?
  • One company sued for “misrepresentation, misleading statements and unlawful practices of advertising using reviews where no substantiation is available and from a source where fraudulent reviews are known to be posted”
• TripAdvisor’s Fake Reviews Sickness Goes Critical, Argophilia
  • Expedia is already distancing themselves from the company; who will be next?
  • Allegations that companies are paying people to boost their reviews and to make their competition look bad; there are even websites that allow you to do this on your own with the ‘click of a button’
  • The article discusses the need for credible sources for reviews
• Restaurant Performance Index, National Restaurant Association
  • This monthly index tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry
  • They use both a “Current Situation” index and an “Expectations” index

Week of August 29, 2011

• Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing, Harvard Business Review
  • Groupon declared last week that it is not as profitable as it pretends to be
  • The company had unlimited access to funding too early in its corporate life; now, it has expanded too soon when it is not profitable enough to do so
  • Groupon’s fundamental problem is that it has not yet discovered a viable business model
  • The company needs $750 million to stay in business
• Guestroom Technology Trend, Hotel News Now
  • Certain technology will soon be expected in all guestrooms. Examples include:
    • Improved TV hardware (particularly Hi Def)
    • The use of tablets (mostly the iPad) and mobile devices/applications
    • Interactive connection between guests’ personal devices and in-room devices
  • Check it out if you’d like to see the technology to keep on the radar, the importance of these technologies, and the technology that generates the most revenue (e.g., internet access!)