Burton Books, Ed James and Steve Kirby attended The Lodging Conference 2021 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix last week. Kirby said, “It was great to be back amongst our industry peers. The attendees were largely upbeat – still some hurdles ahead with labor and the need for the return of commercial and group business but sentiment was overall bullish towards 2022 and beyond.”
Burton Books, Ed James and Steve Kirby attended The Lodging Conference 2021 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix last week. Kirby said, “It was great to be back amongst our industry peers. The attendees were largely upbeat – still some hurdles ahead with labor and the need for the return of commercial and group business but sentiment was overall bullish towards 2022 and beyond.”
Moderator Chip Rogers, President/CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), surveyed the audience and a panel of CEO’s on the issues facing the lodging industry during the opening general session, “A View from the Top.” While many agreed that the hospitality industry is suffering a labor crisis, the opinions on how to fix the issue differed widely. Chairman/CEO of MCR, Tyler Morse advocated for immigration reform, while Michael J. Deitemeyer, President/CEO of Aimbridge Hospitality suggested that flexible scheduling would bring more people into the hospitality industry. Life will still be hard on the operations front and everyone seems to have accepted the labor challenges could be here for a long time.
David Kong, President/CEOof Best Western Hotels & Resorts, pointed out that the industry must pay competitive wages to recruit and retain talent as the industry competes against other industries. In keeping with this theme, Rob Palleschi, CEO of G6 Hospitality, countered that management should stress the career opportunities available in the industry. As he pointed out “This is why this (hospitality) is great because we all started this as desk clerks and in housekeeping.”
During the morning session on the second day, Ken Greene, President/CEO of AAHOA, moderated a general session “Deals: Development, Investment, M&A”. Several industry executives offered their take on issues in those areas of hospitality.
Allison Reid, chief development officer at Kimpton Hotel Group advised investors to invest in markets and segments that they understand. As she said “…if you know what you’re doing. If you know a segment invest there.” To follow the lead of others is a recipe for disaster.
In the earliest stages of the pandemic, everyone expected that there would be an opportunity to buy for huge discounts – “getting this Covid discount” said Greg Friedman, managing principal/CEOof Peachtree Hotel Group. “It really never came to bear. Candidly, I think there’s a lot of motivating factors that are going to drive potential asset sales in the fourth quarter of this year.”
(All quotes were taken from articles that first appeared in HB On the Scene, and distributed via their newsletter.)
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