EDITOR ’ S DIARY
DIFFERENT
CAN BE GREAT
As the global hotel industry starts its march back to greater levels of profitability , HOTELS , too is charting new courses – first with its inaugural Opportunities Conference on March 31 in Miami and next back in Miami on August 27 with a new awards program to go along with its coveted Hotelier of the World awards presentation .
Keynote speaker Lee Pillsbury , founder and chairman of TLG Investment Partners , led off the March event by proclaiming , “ Halcyon days in the hospitality industry are here . Carpe Diem … seize the moment for it is upon you .” It set the tone for a full day of panels and networking that included a session on how to pivot and reinvent hotel businesses in a COVID-informed world . The session was led by Rami Zeidan of Life House Hotels and included Sloan Dean of Remington Hotels , Richard Millard of Highgate , Jason Liebman of Auric Road and Raul Leal , former CEO of Virgin Hotels and now with the Virgin Group board .
Perhaps prophetically , as the hotel industry stresses over labor-related issues , Leal warned the crowd of some 250 attendees that customers will not be forgiving to any hotels who are short staffed . “ You can ’ t support revenue and rate growth under these circumstances ,” he said , adding that F & B will have a big impact on revenue as people , especially locals , want to come back . “ Operators must reinvent on the F & B , entertainment and event sides to bring locals back , which will be the bread and butter of the future .” And , yes , that takes well-compensated team members to execute .
HOTELS will be back in Miami again in August and this next event will include the 41st annual Hotelier of the World award presentations , as well as a new awards program dubbed HOTELS Top 10 Awards . We will honor 10 leaders in five important categories : ESG , F & B , Independent Lifestyle Hotels , Emerging Brands and Young Hoteliers . We urge you to submit your nominations at https :// www . surveymonkey . com / r / HOTELS Top10Awards .
This industry needs to celebrate its leaders and visionaries more often , especially as we come out of the most challenging of
Editor In Chief times , and this program aims to honors those who are taking chances , adapting to new expectations , and setting examples for future industry leaders . We are excited to have the opportunity to shine a light on industry stars from around the world .
Yes , the rebound appears to be upon us , but it is not without myriad challenges , ranging from labor shortages and restoring confidence to generate more business transient and group activities , to meeting new consumer expectations and competing with the likes of Airbnb .
This month ’ s issue tackles that very challenge of how hotels can best compete against homesharing business like Airbnb , who are definitely stealing share . While Airbnb might have some deep pockets for marketing , hotels still have advantages to exploit and must do so aggressively . We are all being asked to evolve at a faster pace than ever before . It is no doubt challenging but , of course , necessary to compete in the fast-paced travel world .
So , allow me to quote Ace Hotel Group President Brad Wilson , who we profile this month , as well . When I asked him what his message of the moment was , he recalled a comment he once received from the late Ace Founder Alex Calderwood , “ It ’ s going to be different , but it ’ s going to be great .”
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein Editor In Chief
Ever Villapana Designer
Contributing Writers Jeanette Hurt , Megan Rowe , Juliana Shallcross ,
Alicia Sheber , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING Ali Jahangiri CEO
David Wood Publisher
Marie Ekberg Padilla Senior Editor
Shamsa Bulbulia Editorial Coordinator
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India
Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado
Robert Hecker Managing Director , Horwath HTL Asia Pacific , Singapore
Ramsey Mankarious CEO , Cedar Capital Partners , London
Christopher Nassetta , President and CEO , Hilton , McLean , Virginia
Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta
Susan Terry Vice President of Culinary and Food and Beverage Operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
Trevor Ward , Managing Director , W Hospitality Group , Lagos , Nigeria
ADVERTISING Brian Levine Caroline de Donnea-Birkel Alvan Eric Loreto Matthew Kurtz
ADMINISTRATION Kamyar Amiri-Davani Kristi Carlson
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICES 96 Discovery , Irvine , CA , 92618 , USA info @ hotelsmag . com
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6 hotelsmag . com May / June 2021