Hotel Operations

🍗 In New York City, Pat and Bret attended a pig roast at Back Bar, Eventi Hotel, where Chef Laurent Tourondel's team cooked pigs from noon to 6 p.m. using a charcoal-fired "caja chino." At Heritage Grand Bakery, owner Lou Ramirez bakes with "population wheat," a mix of 17 grains. Perkins, renamed to Perkins American Food Co., focuses on bakery items, while Huddle House emphasizes its core menu, avoiding too much flavor innovation. Both chains form part of family-dining chains reinventing their menus.

📝 Homebase survey shows 62% of small business owners and 64% of hourly workers value coworker relationships. Poor team communication can hinder collaboration and lead to job dissatisfaction, particularly during seasonal demand. Flexibility is crucial for preventing burnout and improving job satisfaction. Streamlining communication through a single app for scheduling and timekeeping is recommended for small businesses to enhance flexibility and reduce back-office work.

🍚 U.S. per capita annual consumption of lamb is less than 1 pound vs. over 13 pounds in Australia. Lamb consumers in the U.S. typically have annual incomes over $150,000, tend to be millennials, male, and white. Technomic reports a 0.5% increase in lamb menu mentions over the past year. Fine-dining restaurants (47.2%) and upscale casual-dining restaurants (31.8%) often feature lamb. Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, with its 97th location in Johns Creek, Ga., attributes 10% of sales to lamb dishes. Butchr Bar in Los Angeles offers lamb salami with macadamia nuts and Australian pepper berry.

🏡 Alex Kirkwood, at 38, transitioned from a Hollywood film advertising career to founding the Kirkwood Collection, a luxury boutique hotel firm. Graduated in 2007 from Chapman University, he initially lived on a boat due to L.A. housing costs. Kirkwood's first property investments started with family in 2012. The Kirkwood Collection launched with six hotels in 2016. It has grown to a $100 million real estate value, with a 10-property portfolio and a projected employee count to double from 150 in the next year. The Collection focuses on unique, historic boutique hotels in California, like the 18-room La Serena Villas (1933), the 17-room Del Marcos Hotel (1947), and the 10-room Three Fifty Hotel (1950).

🏖️ BWH Hotels added the Aruba Boutique & Art Hotel to the BW Signature Collection in Palm Beach, Aruba, April 2024, marking their market return. The hotel features a gallery with Steve Francees' artwork and offers amenities like a beach shuttle, cocktail lounge, outdoor pool, and hot tub. Positioned near beaches and attractions like California Lighthouse and Paseo Herencia Mall, it aims to provide guests with both a cultural and relaxing experience.

🌍 Travelogix becomes the preferred data management partner for The Advantage Travel Partnership's Managed Service, enhancing reporting for 76 branches with a collective turnover of £150m. The 15-year-old partnership now includes Analytix and Geo, launched in 2021, for state-of-the-art analytics and duty of care for travel management companies (TMCs). This collaboration aims to deliver advanced support and set industry excellence standards.

🏡 Hospitality industry innovators seek hyper-personalization to meet elevated consumer expectations and navigate data challenges. Hotels and restaurants are leveraging first-party data and identity solutions for personalized experiences to boost summer sales. Marriott's co-branding with United Airlines highlights the potential of partnerships and privacy-enhancing technologies for growth, with only 12% of leaders capable of delivering on these strategies using current resources. Data collaboration technologies enable brands to build richer customer profiles, using events like National French Fries Day on July 12 to tailor offerings. The industry aims to intertwine various data sources for comprehensive customer insights, ensuring success in the busy season and beyond.

💰 Only 28% of Americans strongly agree that they receive relevant communications from hotel loyalty programs. In contrast, 46% of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts guests feel specially recognized by brand representatives, despite the chain not having a formal loyalty program. Human connection remains critical, with 22% of hotel program members feeling recognized by program representatives in 2024, a 1% increase from 2023. Personalization and human-centered experiences are key to fostering loyalty and retaining guests.

🌊 Costa Rica's Marina Bahia Golfito, powered 99% by hydroelectricity, demonstrates luxury and environmental stewardship coexisting, reducing carbon footprint with renewables. Guests contribute to sustainability, using fewer towels and reef-friendly sunscreen. It offers regenerative experiences like catch and release fishing, supporting local conservation. The Enjoy Group and SeaKeepers signed an MOU for sustainability efforts. An Autograph Collection hotel development will create 300 jobs, boosting Golfito's economy and promoting conservation. A Booking.com survey shows 80% of travelers value sustainability, potentially increasing RevPAR by 4%.