Innkeeper Forums: Featured Thread

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Eating pizza in guest rooms

I was really taken aback when I was told by the owner of a formal, upscale historic inn that a guest recently had a pizza delivered at night, and then proceeded to eat it in her $300+ guest room. Regardless of the formality of the inn or the price of its rooms, I feel this was totally out-of-line and that pizza (or other smelly or fast food items--such as burgers and fries) should be eaten in a guest room. I know I would not want a houseguest eating anything in one of my guest rooms that would leave a pizza parlor or hamburger joint smell--not to mention the possibly of spills that could leave permanent stains.

Have any other innkeepers out there had guests order pizza for delivery to the inn or bring in fast foods to eat in their room? What is the feeling on this issue?

View the complete topic at: http://forums.bedandbreakfast.com/thread/2501.aspx
 

Travel Trends

Occupancy and room rate increase: “Smith Travel Research announced that for 2006, industry occupancy was 63%, up 0.5% versus 2005. Average room rate increased 7% to $97 and revenue per available room (RevPAR) gained 7.5% to $61.69.

“Industry room supply increased 0.6% in 2006, while demand gained 1.1%. Full year 2006 room revenue increased 8.1%, to $100 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2006, industry occupancy was 58.2%, a decrease of 1.3% versus fourth quarter 2005. Average room rate was $98.27 in the quarter, an increase of 7.4% and revenue per available room improved by 6%."

Hotels making teens happy: “Kathleen Cochran, general manager of San Diego's Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa, learned a simple truth from her family about traveling: "When teenagers aren't happy, no one's happy." So Cochran set out to make her hotel teen-friendly, an emerging trend in vacation spots trying to cater to the family.

“Four Seasons hotels hire teen concierges who specialize in providing tips on cool hangouts, stores and activities. Other hotels feature teen-focused spa treatments, such as makeup lessons and facials for acne-prone skin. And some, such as Loews Coronado, are setting aside space and events just for adolescents,” like movie nights, live concerts, flat-screen TVs, video games, magazines and iPod-ready chairs with built-in speakers.

“A recent study showed that Baby Boomers and older members of Generation X were fueling a boom in family vacations, said Bjorn Hanson, hospitality consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Teens are showing more interest in family vacations than they did five or six years ago.”

Retailers and reviews: “Retailers know that customers, especially the younger and more Net-savvy, want to be heard, and they also want to hear what others like them think. Increasingly, retailers are opening up their Web sites to customers, letting them post product reviews, ratings, and in some cases photos and videos. The result is that customer reviews are emerging as a prime place to visit for online shoppers.

“Customer feedback is opening the eyes of the industry, changing the way they market, manufacture, and merchandise. By the end of 2006, 43% of e-commerce sites offered customer reviews and ratings, almost double the 23% figure at the end of 2005, according to New York research firm MarketingSherpa. MarketingSherpa also found that as much as 50% of customers aged 18 to 34 have posted a comment or a review on products they have bought or used.

One reason that most retailers dragged their feet in letting customers post comments and reviews was fear of negative feedback. But Sucharita Mulpuru, a senior retail analyst at Forrester Research, found that 80% of all customer reviews on e-commerce sites are positive.

More females in hospitality industry: “After many years of male domination, the luxury hospitality market is now experiencing a new trend - luxury hotels, resorts and villas owned and designed by women. This new breed of hoteliers is inspired by a booming luxury travel market, as well as personal experiences as hotel guests traveling for corporate and leisure. The end-result is hotels, resorts and villas that focus on the smallest details and design elements which incorporate comfort and style into communal areas to provide an ‘at home’ atmosphere. Another factor that distinguishes this group from its male counterparts is the commitment to using high-end materials for a truly luxurious experience. Women are also designing hotels with an emphasis on providing the ultimate guest experience along with conveniences and comforts of an upscale home. Attention to detail is the focus among female architects and hotel/resort owners.”

Here's where kids wield their purchase influence:
Vacation-Related

• Where family goes: 33%
• Restaurants: 55%
• Things to Do: 67%

Entertainment

• In General: 61%
• Movies: 67%

The hotel of tomorrow: How can hoteliers best serve the road warrior of 2025? What technology will future tourists expect in their Travelodge? Those are the questions that led Chicago-based design firm Gettys and the Hospitality Design Group earlier this year to gather 100 industry experts.

"The result: 1,000 game-changing ideas. One of this year's top ideas - turning hotels into retail showrooms where guests can try out and then buy any of the items on display - has already been implemented by chains such as Hyatt and Kimpton. Here are more ideas:

• A robotic butler that not only carries your bags but lives in your room for the duration of your stay. It can be programmed to fetch room service and take away trash and dirty dishes.
• No longer are your room key, hotel phone, and concierge separate entities. After scanning your fingerprint, this voice- and touch-controlled wireless gizmo lets you read e-mail, book theater tickets, and order room service - while you're still in the elevator.
• Multi-purpose beds that flip over into a work surface or rise all the way up to become a ceiling panel. The bed's base lights up in each configuration, thanks to built-in light-emitting capacitors (LECs).
• Can't decide what to wear to the big meeting? A reader scans the ubiquitous RFID tags in your clothes, and the room's software suggests the best combination - or points you to local clothing boutiques.
• This multitask chair is equipped with reading lights, fold-up tablet tray tables, and integrated speakers near the ears. The nanofabric is flexible, breathable, antimicrobial, and even self-repairing. The vertical antenna on the right tablet functions as a videocamera. When it's active, the tablet screen below becomes a viewing screen. The muscle stimulation switch provides a relaxing massage.
• Pads on the bathroom floor read your vital signs while you're barefoot at the sink and figure out what nutrients you're lacking; they're then mixed in a gel and available in a dispenser next to the faucet.

Pricing model is shifting: “The hospitality industry (both hotels and airlines) is changing the way rates are negotiated – a shift from static to dynamic pricing. Where static pricing generally sets a single rate across all markets, dynamic pricing is a more flexible model where pricing fluctuates based on individual market demand at a particular time, as well as each market’s typical rates.

“Bill Connors, Executive Director and COO, National Business Travel Association said business travel represents the second or third most controllable expense in a corporation. And now that business has soared to pre 9/11 levels, Connors said, companies are planning to spend more on business travel. He said 68% of his organization’s members, which includes 65% of Fortune 500 companies, expect to take more business trips in 2007 and spend more on hotels, flights and car rentals.

“The shift to a dynamic pricing model is gaining popularity because the Internet has made pricing largely transparent. An employee can surf the web to see if their corporate rate is higher or lower than the best available rate, or BAR. Dynamic pricing allows a company to then negotiate a discount off BAR rather than pay a set dollar amount for each room.”

Wireless Internet access on the rise: “More than one-third of Internet users have connected to the Internet wirelessly, up from 22% two years ago, according to a new Pew Internet Project report. The report also showed that 27% of Internet users have used a laptop, cell phone or personal digital assistant to access the Web wirelessly from someplace other than home or work.

“A quarter of Internet users say they have an Internet-enabled cell phone, and 13% have a PDA with a wireless Internet connection. Eighty percent have a laptop with wirelss access. The demographic of a typical wireless user is most likely to be a college-educated white male age 39 to 40, with a salary over $75,000. The Pew study found that 72% of wireless users check e-mail on a given day--compared to 54% of all Internet users--and 46% get news online compared to 31% of all users.”

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