BANKING ON BREXIT
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Marriott International ’ s disclosure in November that hackers had accessed data of up to 500 million Starwood guests was the biggest reported breach in hospitality — but it also was only the most recent . John Burns , president of Scottsdale , Arizona-based Hospitality Technology Consulting and a member of hospitality technology groups HFTP and HTNG , has a call to action :
The industry ’ s goal to this point has been to meet “ standard ” data security protocols — we strive diligently to do so and generally succeed … It now is apparent that the “ industry standard ” level and focus of data security is no longer sufficient . The time has come for all of us in the lodging industry — and I include shared accommodation representatives and vacation rental aggregators — to devise and lead implementation of more stringent guest data security standards .
1 : Joint Emergency Guest Data Security Workgroup
I recommend that Hospitality Technology — Next Generation ( HTNG ), which already operates its Chief Information Security Officers Forum , and Hospitality Finance and
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Technology Professionals ( HFTP ), which has had a longstanding focus on data security , immediately form a senior-level Joint Emergency Guest Data Security Workgroup . Its aim should be to define immediate , near-term and intermediate-term actions .
2 : Guest Data Security Summit
This three-stage action plan should be presented to the lodging industry — traditional hotel operators , shared accommodation representatives and vacation rental aggregators — at a Guest Data Security Summit in May .
3 : Guest Data Security Summit
Convene a Travel Data Security Summit in November , at which the plans and progress of the May summit and its security standards and processes definition and implementation efforts would be presented to the broader travel community .
We , the hotel industry , and more broadly the travel industry , must act to strengthen guest data security . The security of our guests ’ data is inseparable from our own security and success .
BANKING ON BREXIT
With the pending U . K . withdrawal from the European Union , some London-based banks are planning to move billions of assets to Frankfurt to retain their pan-EU banking licenses . How will that impact the hotel business ?
Given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit , it is hardly surprising that major organizations are hedging their bets . They most likely would not leave the U . K . altogether — the PR fallout would be huge — but moving some operations to the EU would be sensible , particularly in the event of a “ harder ” Brexit .
Banks with European operations based solely in the U . K ., most of them London-centric , are simply being prudent in the event that Brexit leaves the U . K . more isolated economically . Frankfurt seems to be a favored location for such banks to co-locate , although Dublin , and similarly Paris , have been doing their best to entice these organizations . Depending on the scale of this shifting of assets , the effect on the hotel business could be considerable .
For many years London hotels have benefited from overseas and domestic business visitors . The banking sector has helped to drive occupancy and ADR in nearby hotels , with many new establishments opening in their vicinity . Restaurants and bars , some in nearby hotels , have also benefited from business entertaining — bankers have been pretty profligate in such spending ( even if the recently introduced Bribery Act has curtailed some of this ).
Fortunately for London , global tourism is still strong and will remain so post-Brexit . The latent demand from China and India alone could easily fill any voids left by a decline in business travelers , so provided London hoteliers are nimble and sufficiently focused , there should be limited collateral damage in the longer term .
The U . K . economy has an underlying strength that ought to be capable of withstanding any shocks arising from Brexit — whatever form this might eventually take . In the longer term I am confident that London ’ s hotels would once again ride high . Considering there is so much uncertainty around at the time of writing , there seems to be no shortage of investor demand when London hotels come onto the market . — Russell Kett , chairman , HVS London
18 hotelsmag . com January / February 2019