Hospitality tips

Join Skift editors and research analysts as we speak with hospitality gamechangers alongside an audience of 300+ leaders, investors, and strategists. You will not want to miss this travel industry event featuring insightful, editorially-driven discussions.

Sales and marketing has been a long established role in the core teams of hotels around the world. There’s a lot to it, but the role generally entails driving demand for a property, liaising with trade partners, and strategically positioning the hotel in the market and with press.

India has restored e-visa services for the nationals of Saudi Arabia wanting to visit the country with immediate effect, the Embassy of India in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia tweeted last week. The facility which had been available for five categories of travel — e-tourist visa, e-business visa, e-medical visa, e-medical attendant visa and e-conference visa — was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. The application and payment of fees are required to be made for a minimum of four days in advance from the date of travel and wait for the approval. For online filling and submission of the application, applicants need to visit the official website — indianvisaonline.gov.in. Earlier, Saudi Arabia had announced a few exemptions for Indian nationals to obtain a visa for traveling to the country as it looks to India as a key source market for tourism, especially with Saudi’s ambition to achieve 100 million visits annually by 2030. Saudi Tourism Authority during its recent delegation visit to India, featured a range of meetings, industry round-tables and networking events followed by two roadshows in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Saudi Tourism Authority has also, commenced an official partnership with the popular cricket meet — Indian Premier League.

Many have a passing familiarity with frankincense given its role in the Bible and symbolic role in religion. In Oman, where some of the world’s best frankincense is produced, it is pervasive in all areas of society: from health and wellness, to hospitality and hosting, where the aromatic fragrance is burned to create a welcoming ambience. It is even burned during a woman’s pregnancy and after birth to protect the newborn and create a purified atmosphere.

The can’t miss hospitality conference of the season is quickly approaching – touching down on March 29 in London, with countless inspiring and knowledgeable speakers taking the stage.

As we look ahead toSkift’s Future of Lodging Forum, happening in London Wednesday, March 29 at The Londoner Hotel, we wanted to unpack some of the big themes and questions facing the industry ahead. 

The best thought leadership hospitality conference is just around the corner, bringing together top travel minds to discuss the future of the lodging industry.

Seven travel tech startups raised more than $102 million this week.

Get ready to blast off to a new frontier of luxury glamping, as El Cosmico’s Martian-inspired retreat is coming to Texas.

Occupancy in Indian hotels is expected to improve to 66 percent in 2023, according to hospitality research firm HVS Anarock’s latest report. India’s hospitality sector ended 2022 with occupancy in the 59-61 percent range, up 15-17 percentage points from the previous year, the report said. Average room rates recovered fully in 2022, crossing 2021 levels by 37-39 percent and revenue per available room in 2022 increased by 89-91 percent over the previous year. Some 166 new hotels with 14,885 rooms were signed in 2022, indicating a 33 percent increase in brand signings by keys over the previous year. “We expect India-wide occupancy to improve to 66 percent in 2023, which coupled with a 16-17 percent increase in average room rates will push revenue per available room to $57 during the year, almost 18 percent higher than the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019,” said Mandeep Singh Lamba president of South Asia at HVS Anarock.

As I sit with general managers and hoteliers around the world, there is a common lament: hiring. At the luxury level, a new crop of talent that lives and breathes the industry is difficult to find. The perception in the job market is that jobs in hotels or hospitality are an easy way to get yelled at our abused by feral guests, and laid off at a moment’s notice when conditions turn. 

As demand outpaces supply in the Indian hotels market, the asset-light Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) reported its highest-ever full year consolidated revenue and a profit after tax of $122 million — a historic first for the company.

A revival in domestic air travel to nearly pre-pandemic level propelled India to the big leagues of major aviation markets, according to the trade body, the International Air Transport Association’s latest market analysis report. Domestic travel in India missed the pre-Covid level by 2.2 percent in February 2023 in terms of passenger revenue kilometers, the study said. The country also emerged as the top domestic market in terms of passenger load factor — which studies how efficiently an airline fills seats and generates revenue — when compared to countries such as the U.S., China and Japan, the report said. India recorded passenger load factors of 81.6 percent in February, 85.2 percent in January, 88.9 percent in December 2022, and 87.9 percent in November 2022. Domestic air passenger traffic for all markets measured for February surged 25.2 percent over the year-ago period. Besides aircraft manufacturers, international airlines too are eyeing the growth potential of the Indian aviation market. Just last week, Hungary budget carrier Wizz Air’s CEO Jozsef Varadi said India is a growing opportunity. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is another airline that is planning to expand its capacity in the country, as it looks to drive 20 percent growth from India in the next year, the airline’s CEO Antonoaldo Neves said during his recent visit to the country.

InterContinental Hotels Group accompanied its first-quarter earnings with the news that group CEO Keith Barr will be replaced by IHG‘s Americas CEO Elie Maalouf on June 30. Barr has led IHG for six years, and Maalouf has been in his role since 2015.

Investments in India’s hospitality industry are likely to surpass $2.3 billion over the next two to five years, with the addition of approximately 12,000 hotel rooms in 2023 alone. Real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia’s report, Indian Hospitality Sector: On a Comeback Trail, predicts that the hotel room numbers are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 3.3 percent by 2025. Last month, three international hotel chains announced the debut of their luxury brands in the country. Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria and Minor Hotels’ Anantara brand are set to make their India debut in Jaipur, while Radisson has picked Hyderabad for the launch of itsRadisson Collection brand. The study further suggests that demand recovery is likely to outpace supply, benefiting key performance metrics of the hotel sector — such as occupancy rates, average daily rates, and revenue per available room — that are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the coming year. For instance, occupancy in Indian hotels is expected to improve to 66 percent this year, according to hospitality research firm HVS Anarock’s latest report. India’s hospitality sector ended 2022 with occupancy in the 59-61 percent range — up 15-17 percentage points from the previous year, and a 94 percent growth in revenue per available room in 2022 compared with 2021. Some 166 new hotels with 14,885 rooms were signed in 2022, which is a 33 percent increase in brand signings by keys over the previous year. The government’s continued focus on reforms is also expected to further enhance the sector’s growth, with projections indicating that India’s tourism and hospitality sector may earn $50.9 billion in visitor exports by 2028, the CBRE report stated. 

Maison Brummell Majorelle – an 8-room design-driven boutique hotel located in Marrakech – balances contemporary sculptural design with a traditional Moroccan undertone to stand out to design-minded travelers coming to Morocco.

Hospitality technology company Mews is partnering with Saira Hospitality on a new staff training initiative aimed at transforming learning within the hospitality industry.

Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy has grown from 60,000 listings to 115,000 in just a year. But the premium short-term rental offering from the world’s largest hospitality group isn’t focused on being the biggest.

There are stories of “software eating the world” and leaving a dust trail of fallen companies behind. This is not that story.

Traditional hospitality brands have risen to the disruption challenge of the short-term rental market. One such brand is Marriott International.

British holidaymakers can now book a TUI hotel stay without choosing a TUI package tour or flight.