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EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com Barbara Bohn , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : bbohn @ hotelsmag . com Chloe Riley , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : criley @ hotelsmag . com Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com Brittney Hackbart , Freelance Design 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com Carolina Martinez , Freelance Design E-mail : cmartinez @ mtgmediagroup . com Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Oriana Lerner , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING David Wood , Publisher 1.312.274.2225 dwood @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo Susan Terry Vice president of culinary and food and beverage operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
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YOU CAN LIVE WITH
THEM
Is disruption in the hotel space overstated ? After convening a Wall Street Journal-sponsored roundtable in January with high-powered leaders from the likes of Hilton , Marriott , Airbnb and Expedia ( p . 18 ), I am starting to feel that there is plenty of room for all the constituencies angling for their piece of the pie . There are simply no bogeymen or dark sides – it is the free will of the market recognizing opportunities .
How Hilton , Marriott , Best Western , Loews , Hard Rock , Omni ( the hoteliers at the roundtable just before the start of ALIS ), as well as every operator , responds , with more experiential stays , big data extrapolations , new services and “ oldschool ” anticipatory , bespoke service , will separate the winners from the also-rans .
Hilton ’ s Global Head of Brands , Loyalty and Marketing Jim Holthouser said the industry sometimes wants to create drama around reported bad blood between OTAs and hotel brands , which in his mind does not exist , adding that brand-direct discounts have helped rebalance relations . “ It ’ s a recalibration ,” he said . “ I really don ’ t like it when the media says it ’ s a war . It ’ s not a war .”
As for Airbnb and its supposed big grab for hotel customers , Holthouser pointed to how good business and market share have remained throughout the rise of the shared economy , and while Airbnb has its market , it is not a plague on the hotel industry .
In fact , Marriott Global Chief Commercial Officer Stephanie Linnartz said Airbnb has helped put the experiential travel movement into context , leading to countless hotel innovations and product delivery refinements . Most hoteliers now try to deliver more authentic , local experiences . So maybe Airbnb accelerated needed change to keep guests interested and refreshed . And what the hotel
Editor In Chief industry offers that shared economy players can ’ t deliver in the same fashion is the ability to meet travelers ’ growing desire to be part of a community . Hoteliers can continue to build upon that .
Always one to be forward thinking , long-time hotel owner and operator Chip Conley , who during the roundtable was spending his last day as a full-timer at Airbnb , gave attendees something else to think about : an increasingly mobile society that more and more will not be tethered to homes and offices , and more often found roaming the experiential landscape for months at a time . How does the small hotel box work for someone like that who might stay a week or longer ? It doesn ’ t , he contended , while also making a case for the shared economy model .
Perhaps leading hoteliers will take note again and respond to this long-term trend by reengineering boxes and creating even more extended-stay concepts . It may have already started with the likes of Jo & Joe and co-living / working concepts like WeWork .
At the end of the day , if the new landscape has taught hoteliers anything , it is to become more agile and open to conceptualizing . Perhaps so-called disruption has been the best thing to come along .
May 2017 hotelsmag . com 7