HDC: Download with Dragonfly
While the threat of recession and inflation hovered in the background, the data feed from the HDC Conference still left people with a sense of moving forward. The Dragonfly Strategists team at the conference reflected on the following: Forward-Focus, Segmentation Shifts and Diversity
Forward-Focus
From the conference, Dragonfly Strategists personnel are particularly focused on how the industry is doing in 2022 and, like many other corporate entities, taking their cues from 2021 and 2022 versus attempting to compare liberally with 2019.
While optimistic, Alise Deeb, Chief Revenue Officer for Dragonfly Strategists, said there is continued caution in place as inflation and recessionary talk are still in play, as well as including 2019.
“It’s just not the same environment,” Deeb said. “The work force has changed dramatically, how they are deployed, where they work, how they work. (In addition), the landscape and the desire for the traveler has changed. We’ve become even more transparent, because people had a lot of down time to wonder what travel would look like once it was open again.”
Nicole Tomasso, revenue strategist for Dragonfly Strategists, agreed.
“We need to focus on the forward look and the current trends that are happening, evaluating week over week, month over month, versus what happened in 2019, especially since seasonality and segmentation have changed,” Tomasso said.
Speakers at the Hotel Data Conference Discuss hotel best practices on a panel titled “The dos and don’ts of selling your hotel guestrooms” moderated by Caryl Helsel of Dragonfly Strategists.
Segmentation Shifts
Along those lines, a July report from IBISWorld’s research showed that in 2022, market size for boutique hotels is projected to grow 36.1 percent this year and that, even with the pandemic, growth was only minus 1.7 percent. Boutique hotels are independent hotels that tend to be smaller, upscale luxury hotels that focus on more personalized service and reflect the areas they are located.
Data provided during the conference from STR, a hotel industry data group showed that such hotels were indeed showing better recovery than other urban brands, due in part to slower return of group business.
Raul Leaf, CEO of SH Hotels and Resorts, said in a newly minted podcast on the boutique industry, that boutiques are important disruptors to the industry:
“(This)is creating experiences that our customers have and can post and brag about for years,” Leaf said via the Unfamiliar Shift podcast.
Sponsors at the sold out Hotel Data Conference: Dragonfly Strategists booth photo featured Anne Niemic,VP, Business Development & Sales Practice Lead of Dragonfly Strategists.
Diversity
Anne Niemiec said she also noticed and appreciated the diversity at this year’s HDC, which was in contrast to HITEC (Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference a month before in Orlando.
“I found that to be promising,” Niemiec said. “It is an important component in the industry to maximize revenue, think differently, and have diversity of thought that is so vital for us to move forward. You only get that with a diverse audience.”
Nashville also offered visitors an example of a city that is recovering well and presents a strong example of what recovery can look like as well as the potential future for both leisure and professional hotel stays. Hospitality Net wrote about said growth a month before the conference, saying that its reputation as a major leisure destination aligned with the gradual return of business travel has been helpful in its recovery.