All articles by Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Trend watch 2024
Andreas Scriven, head of hospitality and leisure at Deloitte UK, explains why confidence in the hotel industry is high with investment and M&A on the agenda for 2024.
The future of European hospitality
The landscape of hospitality has been in constant flux since its post-pandemic recovery. Particularly in Europe, the industry continues to grapple with the challenges of staffing, emerging technologies and cybersecurity. HFTP COO Carson Booth discusses how to address these concerns. Meanwhile Yiannis Denaxas, HFTP competition winner and global hospitality business graduate student, describes how Web3 will shape online reviews and ultimately transform trust in hospitality.
A sense of place
Hotel design is increasingly becoming more than just an aesthetic; it reflects the property’s identity and helps draw out the guest’s experience of the local culture. Abi Millar speaks to hoteliers across the industry who are bringing the surrounding area and the history of the property to bear on the design.
Invest in tomorrow
Since the pandemic, hotels have struggled to recruit the staff they need, with competition from other sectors rising all the time. No wonder so many operators are moving towards more holistic recruitment programmes, offering a range of appealing benefits for apprentices. Young people, for their part, are at the centres of these developments. Andrea Valentino investigates, hearing from Anjana Raza, head of social responsibility at the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.
The high-tech touch
The world of spa and wellness changed forever with the onset of technology, from cryotherapy chairs to multi-sensory experiences and meditation pods. Designed for a more comfortable and relaxing wellness experience, wellness technology helps cultivate an immersive and accessible environment for hotel guests. Ellys Woodhouse speaks to Anna Bjurstam, wellness pioneer at Six Senses Spas and Wellness, to find out more.
Waste not, want not
Food waste is one of the main emergencies facing our planet, not least in the hospitality sector, with hotels dumping roughly 79,000t of leftover food each year. Beyond the obvious ethical and environmental challenges, that is a shame from an efficiency perspective: leftover food can be used in a variety of interesting ways, even as some hotels are working to cut the amount guests put on their plates to begin with. Andrea Valentino talks to Jeffery Smith from Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas and Adam Crocini from Hilton Hotels & Resorts to learn more.
A wealth of knowledge
The luxury hotel sector is driven by increasing global wealth, and analysis suggests a rising number of high-net-worth guests could fuel new development. Jim Banks talks to development experts Willemijn Geels of InterContinental, Francesco Cefalu of Mandarin Oriental and Jan Hazelton of Kerzner about the market segments and regions that offer the best prospects for new luxury hotel projects.
Jetting into 2024
As the year draws to a close, president of EHMA Panos Almyrantis shares his update on the association and gives his expectations for the industry in the year ahead.
Data reservations: No vacancies
The past year has been an interesting one, with leisure travel demand softening but business demand improving. With the purse strings expected to be tighter, the guest segment is expected to change according to STR’s latest Independent Hotel Show report.
Great expectations
With a ten-year career at IHG Hotels & Resorts, Phoebe Galbraith speaks to Joanna Kurowska, vice-president and managing director, UK and Ireland, to find out how her time and experience in hospitality has shaped her as a hotelier as well as her expectations for the industry.