Hotel & Motel Management - February 18, 2008 - (Page 6)

Checking In PERSPECTIVE H&MM February 18, 2008 | HotelMotel.com EDITORIAL Industry will weather economic uncertainty IN THE details 2008 looks optimistic Happy times at ALIS It’s game time! Farewell, H&MM readers By Jeff Higley Editorial Director udging by the mood of attendees at the industry’s kickoff event of 2008, there’s no fear of the big, bad recession. Even if there are two consecutive months of negative gross domestic product growth, attendees of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in late January gave the impression that hotels will weather the storm. The nearly 3,000 suits jammed into the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles had moments in which caution entered their minds, but all in all, the expectations are that 2008 is going to be a good year for the lodging business. There are plenty of reasons for this, including a stellar performance by hotels in 2007 and a pretty good showing in January. Yes, ﬁnancing is harder to come by, but, in my opinion, that’s a good thing if the industry wants to keep supply growth in check. J The subprime mortgage mess is having an effect on the borrowing process, but local banks have been stepping up to the plate. As usual, the Wednesday morning general session featuring members of the Industry Real Estate Financial Advisory Council duking it out was a great barometer for the health of the industry. In a nutshell, the panel said to not expect a recession, to not plan for many deals over $100 million, and that large mergerand-acquisition activity of the Blackstone-buys-Hilton variety will be nonexistent in 2008. Forgot to pack your favorite issue of Hotel & Motel Management? Visit www.HotelMotel.com and go to www.HotelMotel.com/digitalarchive to download, browse through and search the text of each issue, click on links in the articles and advertisements and quickly navigate to any page. 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 Jeff Higley, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . jhigley@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3728 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Stephanie Ricca, MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . sricca@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3791 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Elaine Simon, SENIOR EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . esimon@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3782 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Stacey Mieyal Higgins, SENIOR EDITOR . . . . . .shiggins@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3783 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heather Gunter, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . hgunter@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3792 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Jason Q. Freed, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . . jfreed@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3727 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Emily Hanna, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . ehanna@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3784 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Patricia Sheehan, MANAGING EDITOR, Hotel Design Ph: (216) 706-3753. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .psheehan@questex.com Amy B. Witek, ART DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . awitek@questex.com Rob Ghosh, ART DIRECTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rghosh@questex.com ADVERTISING/SALES/CIRCULATION 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 John McMahon, GROUP PUBLISHER . . . . . jmcmahon@questex.com 757 Third Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Ph: (212) 895-8243 | Fax: (212) 895-8212 Matt Waddell, PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mwaddell@questex.com 2835 N. Shefﬁeld Ave, Suite 236, Chicago, IL 60657 Ph: (773) 880-2240 | Fax: (773) 880-2241 Mary Malloy, NORTHEAST, INT’L. . . . . . . . . .mmalloy@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3790 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Brian Levine, SOUTHEAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blevine@questex.com 757 Third Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Ph: (212) 895-8285 | Fax: (212) 895-8215 Jason Wallace, WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jwallace@questex.com 1461 S. 375 E., Kaysville, UT 84037 Ph: (801) 499-9999 | Fax: (801) 315-4137 Brian Olesinski, CLASSIFIEDS, RECRUITMENT, DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .bolesinski@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3794 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heidi Spangler, DIR., AUDIENCE DEV. . . . . . . . hspangler@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3705 | Fax: (216) 706-3714 the advice that kept popping up during conversations throughout the conference— don’t wait for something bad to happen to develop contingency plans. It’s important to be able to react quickly to whatever economic environment lies ahead. That translates into one core strategy that already is being touted: Don’t panic and lower rates out of desperation. As the industry learned after 9/11, taking that approach puts pressure on a hotel’s performance for several years afterward. Game face The Higley family got a Nintendo Wii from Santa and is putting it to good use. The interactivity between man and machine means I don’t have to leave the house to experience watching a drive slice into the woods. Being a video game freak back to the days of Pac-Man, Joust and Burger Time, I always enjoy seeing the next wave of games (boy, is video tennis different than it was when Pong came onto the Of course, there can be no true comfort zone for the lodging industry because so much of its success is predicated on the behavior of others. For example, predicting whether corporate America will cut business travel is an important variable in any hotel’s strategic plan. And that’s scene!). Video games are ﬁnding their way into the lodging industry through interactive games used for training. Adrian Kurre, senior v.p. for Hilton Garden Inn, has his 13-year-old daughter, Nicole, to thank for inspiring him to launch the brand’s Ultimate Team Play interactive game. The concept is in development and will put employees in a virtual Hilton Garden Inn property and allow them to make real-life decisions to fulﬁll a guest’s request and/or complete a speciﬁc task. Good decisions will reward employees with appropriate loyalty points to extend their playing time. Not only is this going to be a hit with young employees at the company, it will be adaptable to any language. As HGI continues its international expansion, the game will be a fantastic training tool. Plus, the marketing opportunities will be endless. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Stacy Silver, BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR. . . . . ssilver@questex.com Ph: (954) 306-0747 | Fax: (954) 697-6265 J. Richard Casson, ASSOCIATE BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rcasson@questex.com Ph: (212) 895-8426 | Fax: (212) 895-8210 PRODUCTION 306 W. Michigan St., Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802 Jamie Kleist, ASST. PRODUCTION DIR. . . . . . . jkleist@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8855 | Fax: (218) 279-8812 Janelle Heller, SR. PRODUCTION MANAGER . . jheller@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8834 | Fax: (218) 279-8815 MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, LISTS . . . . . . . . .ilene@krolldirect.com Ph: (216) 371-1667 | Fax: (216) 371-1669 PERMISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 494-9051 Ext. 100 REPRINTS . . . . . . . . . . .HotelandMotelManagement@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 290-5460 Ext. 100 SUBSCRIPTIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE. .hspangler@questex.com Ph: (847) 763-9594 | Fax: (847) 763-9694 BACK ISSUES, SINGLE CURRENT COPIES Ph: (847) 763-9594 | Fax: (847) 763-9694 My ﬁnal column This is the ﬁnal column I’m writing for Hotel & Motel Management. After nearly 11 years, I’m checking out of the magazine to join Smith Travel Research. It has been a privilege to serve readers over the years, and it was a tough decision to move on. But with a top-notch staff in place, I am leaving it in good hands. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lodging world. I’ll see ya around. jhigley@questex.com PRESIDENT & CEO—Kerry C. Gumas EXECUTIVE V.P. & CFO—Tom Caridi EXECUTIVE V.P.—Robert S. Ingraham EXECUTIVE V.P.—Tony D’Avino EXECUTIVE V.P., CORP. DEV.—Claudia Flowers V.P. & G.M.—Don Rosenberg V.P., DIGITAL MEDIA—Seth Nichols V.P., HUMAN RESOURCES—Diane M. Evans Copyright 2008 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of speciﬁc clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; phone: (978) 750-8400; fax (978) 7504470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com; phone: (800) 494-9051 Ext. 100. Hotel & Motel Management does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Hotel & Motel Management welcomes unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations and other materials but cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping or return. Questex Media Group, Inc. provides certain customer contact data (such as customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses) to third parties who wish to promote relevant products, services and other opportunities which may be of interest to you. If you do not want Questex Media Group to make your contact information available to third parties for marketing purposes, simply call toll-free (866) 344-1315 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. CT and a customer service representative will assist you in removing your name from Questex Media Group’s lists. Outside the U.S., please phone (847) 763-9594. Clariﬁcation Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP conducted the lending survey for HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT that appeared in The Advisor [Dec. 27, 2007, page 36]. We welcome your comments, criticisms and compliments. Address corre http://HotelMotel.com http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digitalarchive

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - February 18, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - February 18, 2008 Contents ALIS Attendees: Bumpy Road Ahead Denihan Expands with James Hotel Purchase AAA Updates its Diamond Rating Guidelines Perspective Letters to the Editor Legal FAQ Satisfaction Trends Sales Clinic HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Locally Grown Food Gains Popularity Companies Cultivate International Ties Wireless Internet Access Opens Up Possibilities Ice Machine Care Improves Efficiency, Performance The Importance of F&B to Leisure Travelers Lamps/Lighting Transactions Events Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - February 18, 2008

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