The InterContinental Hotels Group is holding a memorial service honoring Steve Porter at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta, Ga. For those who cannot be there in person, IHG is providing a live webcast during the memorial.
The webcast will appear on www.celebratingsteve.com. It will be archived for viewing shortly after the memorial and will remain on the website until Sept. 12. Stories and photos of Steve also are being collected on the site and a book will be compiled for the Porter family.
Several industry leaders who worked closely with Steve sent tributes to Hotel & Motel Management magazine, and they can be read here.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Poll shows positive outlooks
Eighty percent of voters in a recent HotelTalk poll think the current hotel industry downturn won't have long-lasting effects.
More specifically, 40 percent responded that "It's a cyclical industry and this is jus
t the typical dip," and an equal amount responded that "The industry will recognize rate parity and use revenue management and marketing strategies to come out unscathed."
Only 20 percent of voters said industry fundamentals are in trouble as supply and demand numbers grow so disproportionately.
The question no one can answer is when things will start looking up.
Peter Willis, SVP of hotel acquisitions for The Kor Group, said we haven't seen the full extent of the downturn yet.
"Corporate accounts are actively out to bid," he said. "Our current challenges with the economy were likely not recognizable far enough in advance for property level annual budgeting to capture, especially given the dramatic rise in costs—energy, food/water, fuel for air lift and the downsizing of airline carriers to certain destinations."
Thanks to all who voted in the HotelTalk poll.
More specifically, 40 percent responded that "It's a cyclical industry and this is jus
t the typical dip," and an equal amount responded that "The industry will recognize rate parity and use revenue management and marketing strategies to come out unscathed."Only 20 percent of voters said industry fundamentals are in trouble as supply and demand numbers grow so disproportionately.
The question no one can answer is when things will start looking up.
Peter Willis, SVP of hotel acquisitions for The Kor Group, said we haven't seen the full extent of the downturn yet.
"Corporate accounts are actively out to bid," he said. "Our current challenges with the economy were likely not recognizable far enough in advance for property level annual budgeting to capture, especially given the dramatic rise in costs—energy, food/water, fuel for air lift and the downsizing of airline carriers to certain destinations."
Thanks to all who voted in the HotelTalk poll.
Come rest in this room
George Costanza would be proud. The five-star Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Ten
n., took home the coveted Best Restroom in America award, given by Cintas, a provider of hygiene products and services. Tens of thousands made their voices heard on the program's website, and in the end, nothing could top the service, cleanliness and public access of the Hermitage Hotel facilities.
The men's restroom was first built in 1910 and remodeled in 1930 as the Art Deco facility you see now, with its lime-green and black
leaded-glass tiles, lime-green fixtures, authentic terrazzo floor and two-seat shoeshine station. Apparently, the legend of this restroom has grown throughout the years, and it has been the backdrop for several music videos, business and political negotiations and wedding photos as you can (unfortunately?) see here.
Other hotels that made the top ten are 21C Museum Hotel in Lousiville, Ky., (second); El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and spa in Taos, New Mexico, (sixth); and The Montville Inn in Montville, NJ., (ninth).
n., took home the coveted Best Restroom in America award, given by Cintas, a provider of hygiene products and services. Tens of thousands made their voices heard on the program's website, and in the end, nothing could top the service, cleanliness and public access of the Hermitage Hotel facilities.The men's restroom was first built in 1910 and remodeled in 1930 as the Art Deco facility you see now, with its lime-green and black
leaded-glass tiles, lime-green fixtures, authentic terrazzo floor and two-seat shoeshine station. Apparently, the legend of this restroom has grown throughout the years, and it has been the backdrop for several music videos, business and political negotiations and wedding photos as you can (unfortunately?) see here.Other hotels that made the top ten are 21C Museum Hotel in Lousiville, Ky., (second); El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and spa in Taos, New Mexico, (sixth); and The Montville Inn in Montville, NJ., (ninth).
My new career as a faucet designer
Okay, so as they say, I probably shouldn't quit my day job. But in all of the websites that I come across, occasionally one sticks out. What impressed me about the California Faucets website is its "Virtual Faucet Creator."This interesting tool allows designers—or, ahem, would-be designers—to choose from a selection of spouts, handles and finishes to create a unique end product. My attempt is shown at right. With 17 spouts, 24 handles and 23 finishes, there are more than 9,000 combinations possible. 
The most amazing part is that the Flash animation on the website creates a realistic montage of your design as you build it. Once you're done, you can name it, print it, save it, download it, or email it.
The most amazing part is that the Flash animation on the website creates a realistic montage of your design as you build it. Once you're done, you can name it, print it, save it, download it, or email it.The company also carries a line of stylish shower drains that look nothing like the boring circular grates that most of us have in our homes. You can check out the site and the Virtual Faucet Creator at www.calfaucets.com.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The green side of Memphis
I was quite impressed with how green the 6th Annual Memphis Hotel & Lodging Industry Summit felt. The meeting featured recycled cup insulators, notepads, tissues, pens and handouts. Chocolates on the table were made from sustainable organic agriculture. Even our lunchtime tablecloths crafted from recycled water bottles. (I still can hardly believe that one, they felt nothing like what I'd have expected, they almost seemed like a finely woven straw.)Green also found its way into the program, with a panel discussion on how to make environmentally friendly hotels pay dividends—those of the financial sort.
Moderator Peggy Berg, president of The Highland Group, Atlanta, noted the way we use resources changes over time, from the cars we drive to recycling in our home to selecting locally grown or organic foods. She said that the green movement has many reasons for being hot, both large and small.
“When my mom went to the farm stand for fresh corn, it wasn’t a political statement, it just tasted better,” Berg said.
“It’s not all just about going green, it’s still about offering a great guest experience,” Wallace said. “A lot of the things that we did when we built the hotel were green, though we weren’t thinking about building a green hotel at the time; they were common sense,” she said.
These items included energy efficient windows, efficient energy systems and Energy Star appliances.
Douglas Gamble, owner of The Q Hotel in Kansas City, said, “When you get ready to do this, write a plan. Put it all in writing, and then reach out to other folks and see what they think about it … some things that may be pertinent, be in demand in some areas, may not be in demand in other areas.”
The Ambrose is the first hotel to go through LEED-EB, a rating system for existing buildings, as opposed to the traditional LEED ratings for new construction. Wallace’s hotel has reached silver status.
“LEED-EB is fantastic for existing buildings because it really focuses on operations and maintenance, so you don’t necessarily have to do a whole overhaul of your existing structure, which can be very cost intensive,” Wallace said.
Wallace started policies and programs focused on green initiatives, including a preferred vendor list, an organic continental breakfast and 24-hour room service they cater through a local green café, converting their shuttle to biodiesel fuel, instituting an on-site composting program and creating an “eco team” that monitors all documents and purchases. This helps avoid companies that are greenwashing—touting that they are greener than they really are.
Gamble agreed that greenwashing was something to watch out for.
“We found early on that people who are really sensitive to this stuff are so aware of greenwashing,” he said.
Environmentally friendly changes in a hotel can start in many ways, from operational changes to infrastructure.
“In-house recycling is one of the easiest things that you can do to green your hotel, it is definitely low-hanging fruit,” said Wallace. “We were a little concerned about how our guests would react to the program, seeing these receptacles in our guest rooms, but … they reacted very positively to it.”
Dennis Quaintance, president and CEO of Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., said his hotel currently has about 4,000 square feet of solar thermal, giving the property more than 60 percent of the energy it needs for hot water.
“It’s amazing, the boilers haven’t kicked on for three months,” he said.
Robert P. Smith, president and chief satisfaction officer, The Allied Group, explained that green can also be a focus both in deconstruction—where up to 90 percent of a building renovation can be reused or recycled—and in reconstruction, by installing environmentally responsible materials and products.
“Currently, the demand outweighs the supply of eco-conscious products and services, so we’re seeing a premium … but we’re beginning to see a shift, as the balance shifts to more prominent display of these products and services, you can expect to see the premium paid … to come down, and the costs become a lot more competitive,” Smith said.
In the green?
“Everyone asks, ‘does this save money?’ Some things do, some things don’t,” said Gamble. But he notes that a lot of government bookings are up at his hotel, as a result of their green initiatives.
Quaintance said it’s possible to do solar thermal fairly inexpensively. They received 30 percent federal and 35 percent state tax credits, and then borrowed $500,000 from the state at 3-percent interest for 10 years.
“When you put it all together, our return is like three years, it’s ridiculous. … We can’t wait for another season to see if there is something that we regret. So far, there hasn’t been, and we’ll put it on our other businesses.”
Additionally, Quaintance said that they were able to accomplish using 41 percent less energy, mostly by incorporating an intelligent, integrated design of the building from the start.
“We took 200,000, almost 300,000 BTUs of load out of the hotel’s HVAC system just by having an efficient building envelope and doing simple things. Everyone’s going to be doing this in a couple of years,” Quaintance said.
Moderator Peggy Berg, president of The Highland Group, Atlanta, noted the way we use resources changes over time, from the cars we drive to recycling in our home to selecting locally grown or organic foods. She said that the green movement has many reasons for being hot, both large and small.
“When my mom went to the farm stand for fresh corn, it wasn’t a political statement, it just tasted better,” Berg said.
Dierdre Wallace, founder and president of The Ambrose Collection, Santa Monica, Calif., said her city is a great place to go green because of the very supportive community environment. Her hotel wasn’t originally envisioned as green when it was built, but their outlook has changed over the years.
“It’s not all just about going green, it’s still about offering a great guest experience,” Wallace said. “A lot of the things that we did when we built the hotel were green, though we weren’t thinking about building a green hotel at the time; they were common sense,” she said.
These items included energy efficient windows, efficient energy systems and Energy Star appliances.
Douglas Gamble, owner of The Q Hotel in Kansas City, said, “When you get ready to do this, write a plan. Put it all in writing, and then reach out to other folks and see what they think about it … some things that may be pertinent, be in demand in some areas, may not be in demand in other areas.”The Ambrose is the first hotel to go through LEED-EB, a rating system for existing buildings, as opposed to the traditional LEED ratings for new construction. Wallace’s hotel has reached silver status.
“LEED-EB is fantastic for existing buildings because it really focuses on operations and maintenance, so you don’t necessarily have to do a whole overhaul of your existing structure, which can be very cost intensive,” Wallace said.
Wallace started policies and programs focused on green initiatives, including a preferred vendor list, an organic continental breakfast and 24-hour room service they cater through a local green café, converting their shuttle to biodiesel fuel, instituting an on-site composting program and creating an “eco team” that monitors all documents and purchases. This helps avoid companies that are greenwashing—touting that they are greener than they really are.
Gamble agreed that greenwashing was something to watch out for.
“We found early on that people who are really sensitive to this stuff are so aware of greenwashing,” he said.
Environmentally friendly changes in a hotel can start in many ways, from operational changes to infrastructure.
“In-house recycling is one of the easiest things that you can do to green your hotel, it is definitely low-hanging fruit,” said Wallace. “We were a little concerned about how our guests would react to the program, seeing these receptacles in our guest rooms, but … they reacted very positively to it.”
Dennis Quaintance, president and CEO of Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., said his hotel currently has about 4,000 square feet of solar thermal, giving the property more than 60 percent of the energy it needs for hot water.“It’s amazing, the boilers haven’t kicked on for three months,” he said.
Robert P. Smith, president and chief satisfaction officer, The Allied Group, explained that green can also be a focus both in deconstruction—where up to 90 percent of a building renovation can be reused or recycled—and in reconstruction, by installing environmentally responsible materials and products.
“Currently, the demand outweighs the supply of eco-conscious products and services, so we’re seeing a premium … but we’re beginning to see a shift, as the balance shifts to more prominent display of these products and services, you can expect to see the premium paid … to come down, and the costs become a lot more competitive,” Smith said.In the green?
“Everyone asks, ‘does this save money?’ Some things do, some things don’t,” said Gamble. But he notes that a lot of government bookings are up at his hotel, as a result of their green initiatives.
Quaintance said it’s possible to do solar thermal fairly inexpensively. They received 30 percent federal and 35 percent state tax credits, and then borrowed $500,000 from the state at 3-percent interest for 10 years.
“When you put it all together, our return is like three years, it’s ridiculous. … We can’t wait for another season to see if there is something that we regret. So far, there hasn’t been, and we’ll put it on our other businesses.”
Additionally, Quaintance said that they were able to accomplish using 41 percent less energy, mostly by incorporating an intelligent, integrated design of the building from the start.
“We took 200,000, almost 300,000 BTUs of load out of the hotel’s HVAC system just by having an efficient building envelope and doing simple things. Everyone’s going to be doing this in a couple of years,” Quaintance said.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Yabba dabba keycards
You know how the Flintstones had modern-day amenities like vacuums and cars but everything was made of stone or woolly mammoth bones? Well, the "progressive" Democratic guests at the DNC in Denver will be entering their rooms with a Flintstone-esque innovation from Sustainable Cards.
These literally are keycards made of wood. They function in the same way—thin rectangles with a magnetic strip that you swipe to unlock a door—the material is just wood instead of plastic. If there was a colonial times version of the Fintstones, this is what guests at their hotels would have used. The reason for these cards in 2008 is the environment. The cards are 100-percent biodegradable, requiring far less fossil fuels to create them. And to top it all off, the wood comes from sustainably harvested forests.
With thousands of keycards plowed through each year per hotel, this may be an interesting move into a cleaner, greener future. Hey, if we ever want to ride in flying cars and have robot maids like the Jetsons, certain steps need to be taken, right?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Memphis preview
The Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association and Pinkowski & Co. are kicking off their annual Memphis Lodging Industry Summit ... this year is the 6th iteration of the event.
The kickoff event this evening was a grand cocktail reception and dinner at Memphis' famous Peabody Hotel. Part of the banquet festivities was a MH&LA PAC silent auction, along with a live auction at the start of dinner. The organization even brought in a genuine auctioneer, who wowed the crowd with her down-home southern charm and insanely rapid-fire auction calling.
Tomorrow's schedule looks great, with speakers including Shawn McBurney, Senior VP, Government Affairs for the AH&LA; Tom Corcoran, Chairman of AH&LA and General Chairman of FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc.; Randy Smith, CEO of Smith Travel Research; and Colin Reed, President and CEO, Gaylord Entertainment. More details on the conference will be posted here in the coming days, so please stay tuned.
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