http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:49:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I got a big chuckle this week reading an online think piece in Crain’s New York Business. The story, titled “The Trauma of Tourism” and written by Erik Ipsen, recounts the disgust some New York residents have for tourists fouling their otherwise-perfect lives. In particular, people living in SoHo are ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/02/02/bratty-new-yorkers-want-tourists-to-stay-away/ God bless, the revenue manager. He or she may be the most valuable player in any hotel organization. At any given moment, they’ve got multiple balls in the air and have multiple masters to please. Their job, of course, is to maximize the revenue stream of a particular hotel or ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/30/the-27000-a-year-hotel-revenue-manager/ The first Americas Lodging Investment Summit at LA Live started Monday under dark clouds and heavy rain — at least by Los Angeles standards — but by the end of the event, the sun was shining outside the JW Marriott and inside the mood was just as bright. The forecasts and ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/27/hints-of-lending-and-other-reflections-from-alis/ Day one of this year’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit underway in Los Angeles produced no surprises: no big announcements, no rhetorical gaffes, very few laughs and only a couple of spontaneous applause lines. It’s the beginning of the year, following a pretty good year for the industry, so the mood ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/24/nothing-else-to-expect-but-optimism-at-alis/ It’s good to see President Obama reads our Front Desk blog and Editor Ed Watkins (Tourism: A Winning Platform in Presidential Politics). It’s even better to see the president finally take action on an issue that will not only help travel, tourism and the hotel industry, but also the entire ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/20/finally-boosting-tourism-will-bring-visitors-money-and-new-jobs/ Next week’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit will provide the hotel industry with a good early barometer to the outlook for the business in 2012. And, as it is at most industry conferences, it won’t necessarily be what is said on the podium of various general sessions and breakout discussions that ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/17/what-to-expect-at-next-week%e2%80%99s-alis/ The fact the six founding partners of Room Key are going to be directing an equal proportion of consumers from THEIR booking websites to Roomkey.com showing five of their biggest competitors’ offerings tells you plenty about how important this venture is to them. The fact Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, Choice, IHG ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/13/room-key-could-be-the-answer-but-it-needs-all-the-brands/ Here’s some unsolicited advice for any of the candidates running for President this year. When the topic comes around to creating more jobs—and in my mind that should be the signature issue of the entire campaign—a smart candidate will veer the conversation away from foolhardy promises of recreating the nation’s ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/09/tourism-a-winning-platform-in-presidential-politics/ The global hotel transaction volume forecast from Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels on Thursday was for $30 billion, the same total reached last year. The global hotel investment services firm said volume would “hold steady.” Yes, by definition that means deals will be flat, a year without any growth, but describing ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/06/transaction-volume-should-better-30-billion/ If you haven’t decided on a New Year’s resolution yet, here’s one to consider. By all accounts, 2012 will be a good and perhaps great year for the hotel industry. You’ve heard it before: Business travelers are back, leisure guests never left, no new hotels are being built and the ... http://blog.lhonline.com/front-desk/2012/01/03/a-2012-resolution-for-hoteliers/