Arne Sorenson (Marriott International President and COO) talks to CNBC and shares his views on the state of business for the hotel industry and Marriott:

A number of strategies and tactics that businesses of all sizes can implement to survive the current turbulence and secure the future, from Rohit Talwar, CEO of FastFuture:

Use scenarios to plan for an uncertain future
In this uncertain and turbulent economic climate, businesses no can longer rely on a single business plan or set of assumptions. Instead the most successful are tackling the uncertainty by using scenario planning to prepare for a wide range of possible outcomes and to identify the opportunities that could arise even in the worst case scenarios. At the same time, they are asking themselves tough questions under each scenario:

- Which market segments and aspects of our business would be most at risk?
- What would the implications be in terms of products, pricing and who our key customers would be?
- What resources should we keep or let go?
- Which actions should we be taking under any financial climate?

CNN's Richard Quest takes a peek at the hotel industry and what hotel management companies, big hotel brands and hotel owners are saying about the current economic downturn. The report claims that business / corporate travel is still going strong!




tags: hotel-management, hotels, travel, hospitality, tourism, business, recession

It seems that the world goes through a crash and cleansing process every decade or so...this time it was the banks and financial institutions that brought the house of cards down. As business suffers and companies cut down on travel and "unnecessary" expenditure, hotels in certain parts of the world are suffering. Bill Marriott blogs about the road ahead in the current economic situation and says Marriott is poised for the future. To quote:

I've experienced eight downturns in my 52 years in business and we've always come out of them stronger and more competitive than when the trouble began. In early October, we reported our third quarter earnings results and also provided observations about business for the rest of 2008 and into 2009. At that time, we expected business in late 2008 and 2009 to decline, but in just the last few weeks our business outlook has further weakened. Although business is slowing, our corporate staff and our hotel management teams have been doing everything they can to operate as efficiently as possible.

We're doing what we can to contain costs, keep our loyal customers and attract new ones. This will help preserve jobs for our people, which is a top priority for me and for all of us. We are anxious to support the communities where we operate. Our hotels generate thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in wages and tax receipts that the local governments need to pay for schools, police and fire departments. We're all connected and we're all in this together.

Although we have to work our way through this tough economic patch, it's important to keep our eyes on the road ahead as better times will return.

Words of comfort indeed for many a hotelier! For now, though, it's time to buckle up those belts and go that extra mile to get the business in...the race is on!

tags: hotels,hospitality,hotel, management,hospitality, management,financial, crisis,downturn,recession

Are you a hotel eMarketer looking for ways to better communicate, educate and develop the role at your property/ies? This article explores some of the issues surrounding these efforts, complemented by a dose of perspective and a generous helping of best practices, all garnished, hopefully, by your own ideas and experiences. By Jitendra Jain

Finding Meaning: Wikipedia attributes the word ‘evolution’ to the Latin term ‘evolutio’ meaning "unfolding". While the tech and Internet revolution have anything but “unfolded” upon us (“exploded” would be more appropriate, given the short span of time over which most Internet-related developments have occurred), there is something to be learnt from the nature of these changes.

After a year of successful operations in India, Dynamic Vertical Software Pvt Ltd is all set to strategically expand internationally, and has come up with its new office in Dubai to service the Gulf, Middle East and North African regions.

There are discussions about implementing a voluntary bed tax in the Scottish capital. A mandatory bed tax has been ruled out but it is believed that if you ask in the right way and reassure visitors that the money raised will be spent on environmental and cultural initiatives some visitors will be happy to contribute. It is esimated that around three million pounds could be raised based a contribution of £1 per visitor.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2006--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT) and Special Olympics announced today the launch of a three year, global partnership naming Starwood Hotels as the exclusive hotel sponsor of Special Olympics and the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. The sponsorship includes financial and in-kind support from Starwood. In addition, Starwood will broadcast Special Olympics public service announcements on its internal television channel in its hotels.

Emirates airlines is now offering hotel bookings through the Lastminute.com engine on their official website.

Nearly everyone has heard of the Burj-al-Arab by now...touted to be the most expensive and possibly the best hotel in the world. Some say that the investment put into the hotel will never be recouped...but it still make great business sense, for the country...UAE...since it's yet another landmark thats put Dubai on the map. Burj Al Arab literally means "Tower of Arabia"

The Burj al-Arab does not have ordinary rooms; rather it is divided into 202 duplex suites. The smallest suite occupies an area of 169 square metres (1,819 square feet), and the largest one covers 780 square metres (8,396 square feet). It is one of the most expensive hotels in the world to stay in. The cost of staying in a suite begins at $1,000 per night and increases to over $15,000 per night; the Royal Suite is the most expensive, at $28,000 per night. The total cost to build and furnish the hotel has never been released. The Burj al-Arab features the tallest atrium lobby in the world (180 metres, or 590 feet). The atrium can accommodate the Dubai World Trade Center building, which, at 38 stories, was the tallest building in Dubai from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. Source: Wikipedia

Intercontinental Hotels plans to create short web movies marketing hotels and resorts...much, I imagine, in the same spirit that the Starwood Hawaii post that was featured recently here.

"In the hopes of getting people into its swanky rooms, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts is aiming the camera at what's outside of them. Local online travel video producer and distributor TurnHere has begun producing short Web films about each of the lodging company's 140 worldwide hotel locations....The hotel's sponsored mini-movies will spotlight sights and places of interest surrounding each hotel. Keeping with TurnHere's mission to harness the charismatic appeal of neighborhood characters, the InterContinental flicks will be narrated by each hotel's concierge..."

Congratulations to Mr.Khemraj Lakai on winning the Talent Jungle Summer Competition! Khemraj is SSTH alumni and is currently engaged in the field of hospitality education and recruitment consulting.

You can read and comment on Khemraj's article on the Talent Jungle or the Tourism and Hospitality Diaries. Khemraj's prize was a lifetime email address with the Talent Jungle as well as a homepage on the portal, which will be put up at www.thetalentjungle.com/khemraj.

The Journal News reports that Starwood Hotels & Resorts may be looking for a new HQ. Currently the company is based in White Plains, New York.

"The company is looking for 400,000 square feet in the region to accommodate its 1,085 local employees. That would nearly double the size of the current 205,000-square-foot headquarters at 1111 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. Starwood will consider sites in Westchester County as well as Norwalk and Stamford, Conn., as sites for the headquarters, said spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh. The company denied rumors that it might move to Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta or another region."

Starwood searching for new headquarters

tags: starwood, white-plains, HQ, new-york, moving, shifting, relocating

Came across an interesting campaign by Starwood Hotels & Resorts for US and Canadian citizens - first prize is 600,000 Starpoints (about USD $15000 value)...now thats a LOT of starpoints!! Superb for that world tour you've always been planning! ;) Check out all the details here: THE STARWOOD GRAND TOUR

tags: starwood, grand, tour, starpoints, promotion, special-offer, campaign, SPG, travel

We're happy to announce the Summer Competition on the Talent Jungle Hospitality Alumni Site: www.thetalentjungle.com/alumni

The Competition: Share your views and experiences in the form of an
original article / story (minimum 250 words, maximum 2000 words) with or without photos / pictures on any one of the topics below:

• My experiences in the Hospitality Industry
• What makes a good Hotelier?
• Any Hospitality & Tourism related trend or innovation
• Hospitality education - a review of a school, university or a course you've taken
• Things to do / not to do when you're a ________ (job position in the hospitality / tourism industry)
• Career - tips / advice / experience for those choosing the hospitality or tourism industry
• The Hospitality Industry in pictures: ______________ (pictures or photos must be your own, and topic can be serious or humorous)