DECEMBER 2018
Vol . 52 , No . 10
FEATURES
48
SALES & MARKETING
TRIPADVISOR ’ S SOCIAL PUSH
Travel giant TripAdvisor announced that by year-end , it would rebrand itself into a social platform : What effect will that have on hotels ? Or , for that matter , do users even want yet another social media platform to manage ? HOTELS talked with two properties that rank high on TripAdvisor ’ s Travelers ’ Choice 2018 to see what hoteliers think of the move .
20
SPECIAL REPORT
THE BRAND BARGAIN
In the past decade , independent hotel owners have faced a barrage of new brands , new options and newly defined segments when seeking the shelter of a larger organization . For an owner or investor , the choices can be daunting . Go with a traditional brand ? Sign on with a consortium ? Fly solo ? Bet on a not-quite-proven soft brand ? They are faced with yet another factor to settle before committing to any kind of brand : the exit strategy .
40
REGIONAL REPORT
RUSSIA STALLS
“ Russia has a future , but it ' s just in a pretty hard place at the moment ,” says Darren Blanchard , a hotel real estate development professional in Eastern Europe . In a vast country like Russia , whose economy is no bigger than New York state ’ s , when the cost of capital is up , the viability of hotel projects goes down . Part of the problem ? A high cost of borrowing and too-short duration of the credit offered by banks .
December 2018 hotelsmag . com 1