CoHosts

Bob Gilbert

Cecil Staton

Chip Rogers

Tim Peter

Kat Mohammed

Stephanie Smith

Valyn Perini

Stuart Butler

Lily Mockerman

Robert Cole

Edward StOnge

Gretta Brooks

Show Notes

00:01 — Introductions of our guests

00:37 — our other co-hosts join

01:07 — Today’s hotel is tomorrow’s coronavirus hospital

All three —  do you have any opinions on when to expect travel to return, and/or what segments they expect to come back first (corporate, leisure, group)? — lily

All three: When we move into recovery mode, are your organizations concerned the hotel industry will rely too heavily on third-party providers for inventory distribution, as it did to its detriment after 9/11 and in 2009?  If so, what are your organizations doing to help maintain a healthy balance between direct and indirect bookings? — Valyn

All Three — Are there any concerns about longer-term impacts on groups and meetings past the near term? Some data suggest social distancing will remain the norm for longer periods once the shorter term effects begin to wind down. What can hotels more dependent on that business do now to be ready if meetings and groups face a longer recovery? — Tim

For Bob:  The sudden proliferation of online video content (live, and streamed on demand) is proving that in-person meetings aren’t the only way to exchange ideas and foster networking.  How will HSMAI take this into account in the short- and long-term planning of member education and events? — Valyn

Bob: What kind of marketing department staffing levels are you hearing about out in the field? If there are skeleton crews, who is being kept? — Robert

Topics

1. Today’s hotel is tomorrow’s coronavirus hospital

    https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hotels-turned-hospitals-coronavirus/index.html

2. Data shows severe impact of coronavirus on global hospitality industry

    https://www.phocuswire.com/str-global-hotel-data-march-21-coronavirus

3. How hotels are keeping guests, staff safe from COVID-19

    http://hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/300909/How-hotels-are-keeping-guests-staff-safe-from-COVID-19

4. Mark Cuban says how companies treat workers during pandemic could define brand ‘for decades’

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/coronavirus-mark-cuban-warns-against-rushing-employees-back-to-work.html

5. Google Travel Search Is Unrecognizable as Advertising Dries Up

    https://skift.com/2020/03/25/google-travel-search-is-unrecognizable-as-advertising-dries-up/

6. Hoteliers accuse OTAs of ‘behaving appallingly’ over changes to terms and conditions

    https://www.thecaterer.com/news/hoteliers-otas-appalling-charges-refunds-coronavirus

7. Back in business, China’s online travel sites Qunar, Ctrip expect a surge in domestic tourism amid global shutdown

    https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3076122/back-business-chinas-online-travel-sites-qunar-ctrip-expect-surge

11. AH&LA projects COVID-19’s state-by-state jobs impact

      https://www.hotelmanagement.net/human-resources/ah-la-projects-covid-19-s-impact-jobs-state-by-state

12. The Comprehensive Situation Analysis: Critical foundation for decisions on lender alternatives for distressed hotel loans

      https://hotellaw.jmbm.com/comprehensive-situation-analysis.html

13. Definitely Doug: Thoughts on Dealing with COVID-19

      https://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/techTalk/March-2020/Definitely-Doug-3-20-20/

14. NYC’s Four Seasons Hotel to House Doctors, Nurses Fighting Coronavirus

      https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nycs-four-seasons-hotel-to-house-doctors-nurses-fighting-coronavirus/2343926/

      a. Accor Group to Make Its Services in France Available to Front-line Medical Staff

        https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article109892.html

      b. Airbnb Hosts to Help Provide Housing to 100,000 COVID-19 Responders

          https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-to-help-provide-housing-to-100000-covid-19-responders/

15. How an Austrian ski resort helped coronavirus spread across Europe

      https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/24/europe/austria-ski-resort-ischgl-coronavirus-intl/index.html

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the US hotel industry is finally beginning to sink in.

STR noted that last week’s occupancy percentage for the group segment within the luxury and upper upscale chain scales (across the entire United States, not just a single city) was… 1%. That reflects a -96.1% drop from the same week last year. Brutal and unexpected.

That was last week. What about this week and next week?

It’s going to get worse. Don’t plan on everything being fine on Easter Sunday.  That’s not a political statement – look at the numbers and decide what measures will slow the growth rate in the US. If you know of any, please drop me a note.

New daily case growth rates in Italy have finally plateaued – 12 days after their nationwide lockdown.

Below are the weekly total coronavirus case counts for China, Italy and the US – aligned by a common start date.  Italy is 2 weeks ahead of the US and China is 4 weeks ahead of Italy.

The accelerating US case growth rate is scary – especially given that US Week 4 of the chart only reflects 5 out of 7 days… Look for this week’s final case count to surpass 125,000 cases by tomorrow (Saturday March 28.)

Broader testing is critical to understanding the virus’ spread, but it will raise the case counts even further. And that’s not good for inspiring people to get out and travel.

A month ago, if someone told you Expedia would be running anti-travel ads, you would have called them crazy.

Well, this week Expedia produced a commercial featuring its Hotels.combrand character Captain Obvious asking people not to travel.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dimCZCfGMI

From a branding and messaging perspective, it’s perfect.

From a corporate social responsibility perspective? Perfect. From a short-term ROI perspective? It might not matter.

We are wading deeper into uncharted territory.