Now is the time to put revenue management and sales and marketing strategies in place to eke out your fair share. Think of creative ways to capture that demand. Easy-to-book packages that offer value and a taste of the local surroundings are en vogue.

By Patrick Mayock
Editor-in-Chief
patrick@hotelnewsnow.com

I’ve seen numerous sources touting this summer as one to remember.

First, AAA released its Memorial Day weekend forecast, which predicted 36.1 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more away from home. Then D.K. Shifflet & Associates predicted leisure travel during the summer months would increase 7%.

Our own parent company, STR, mirrored this optimism. The data firm’s summer forecast called for occupancy to increase 1.8% to 71.2%; average daily rate to rise 4% to $116.44; and revenue per available room to increase 5.8% to $82.90 during June, July and August when compared to 2013.

By all accounts, hotel demand will heat up faster than a sun-soaked Alabama afternoon.

If your business on the books doesn’t reflect such sweltering prognostications, fear not. Demand is out there—it just might be filtering in later than normal.

That’s the key takeaway from an Airfarewatchdog survey that polled more than 13,000 of its subscribers. While 83% of them said they are taking at least one vacation this summer, 46% have yet to book any part of their trip. (Only 15% have booked part of their vacation.)

Shorter booking windows are nothing new. They’ve been perhaps the defining characteristic of the “new normal” the industry has settled into after the downturn. But the trend is worth pointing out amid this flurry of forecasts.

The An insecure revenue manager, upon hearing a record summer season is in the works, might panic if his or her own booking patterns don’t match up. Don’t give in to such temptations. Stay the course, dear reader. Keep your pricing policies in place, and don’t sacrifice high-priced business just to secure any business.

Summer vacationers are traveling with thicker wallets, after all. According to the aforementioned Airfarewatchdog survey, the average overall summer travel budget is $4,467.

Now is the time to put revenue management and sales and marketing strategies in place to eke out your fair share. Think of creative ways to capture that demand. Easy-to-book packages that offer value and a taste of the local surroundings are en vogue. Today’s travelers want unique experiences, if recent comments from the 36th annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference are any indication. Help them make some.

Those who fail to leverage the undoubtedly record demand this summer season will not only miss out on extra revenue and profit, they could be missing the peak of the cycle. While performance is said to increase into 2015, this these good times won’t last forever in this cyclical industry. STR Global’s Elizabeth Winkle, speaking from the U.K. perspective, gives us another 12 to 15 months of what she called the industry’s “golden” period.

I hope she’s right. But just as summer comes and goes, so too do up cycles. To paraphrase from those noble denizens of fictional Winterfell, winter, sooner or later, is coming.

Now on to the usual goodies …

What’s making me happy this week?

I gave colleague and HNN’s Editor-at-Large Ed Watkins a shout out in my column two weeks ago, but the guy deserves another. This time it came on the grand stage of the NYU Investment Conference. After presenting the Hotel News Now Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate Award, which Ed founded during his tenure at Lodging Hospitality, the dean of hotel trade journalists was surprised with his own feting, complements of conference chair Jonathan M. Tisch.

I wasn’t there to witness it firsthand, but I hear Ed received a standing ovation after the crowd heard a bit about his 40-year career and instrumental role in helping to shape the conference.

This is likely Ed’s last NYU event before he rides off into the sunset, with a Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA in his hand. I’m glad to hear he went out with a bang.

Stat(s) of the week

5.7% and 4.9%: Projected RevPAR increases for the U.S. hotel industry during 2014 and 2015, respectively, according to STR’s updated forecast.

"Overall our forecast is very positive for the next two years, and we expect robust growth,” said Amanda Hite, COO and president of STR, while presenting at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference on Monday.

Quote of the week

“Our North Star is trying to find hard assets you can buy at a discount.”

—Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray, summarizing Blackstone’s the company’s hotel acquisition strategy, during a general session at the NYU Investment Conference.

Reader comment of the week

“And the rest of us are ... chopped liver? Not all transient or meeting guests are millennials. There are plenty of Boomers and Xers working and traveling. Even a bunch of ‘Silents’ around. Not to mention the GI gen still alive and having a great time on the road. Sure, focus on the Millennials for some things (that awful low lobby furniture and low lighting) and remember the rest of us.”

—Reader “Joan Eisenstodt” in response to an article titled “Millennials driving changes in guests’ needs.”

You’re not off base, Joan. There are many in the hotel industry, many boomers among them, who feel they’re getting short shrift. While it’s important for hoteliers to make sure their offerings evolve with the changing needs of guests, they shouldn’t do so at the expense of their most loyal (and largest) customer base. A happy medium should be reached to develop products that make travelers of all ages happy.