INDUSTRY NEWS FOR TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS 2023 | Issue 3 INFLATED PASSPORT PROCESSING TIMES 2023 J.D. POWER GUEST SATISFACTION RANKINGS HOTEL BRAND UPDATES ABC WELCOMES AMY PAAP BUSINESS TRAVEL GAINING MOMENTUM
2 ©2023 Hilton Earn 2X the payout across Hilton’s global portfolio* for every booking that includes a Sunday-Thursday stay. To cash in on Double Dollar (Week)Days: TERMS & CONDITIONS: Promotion valid on all qualifying stays booked and completed between Sept. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023, which include a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday night stay. Friday and Saturday night stays do not qualify towards double dollar rewards. Stays containing a Sunday stay will pay out a maximum payment of $2 unless it is a Homewood stay and meets the 5+ night (Sunday – Thursday) requirement in which case the payout would be $4. Registered travel advisors will earn Double Dollar Rewards at all participating hotels.* All reservations must be booked through the GDS or any Hilton brand website, including travelagents.hilton.com. To be eligible for additional dollars per booking, log into unlimited-rewards.com and enter promotion code DBLDOLLARS in the Promotion Registration section. If registration takes place after the stay date, bonus Rewards will be awarded from the date of registration. Unlimited Rewards® is a travel agent loyalty program of Avis Budget Group and is only available to travel professionals in the U.S. and Canada ages 18 and over. To earn Rewards, you must be enrolled in the Unlimited Rewards Program. Dollar Rewards are in U.S. dollars. Canadian Members will accrue rewards in U.S. dollars, which are converted to Canadian dollars at time of award. To enroll, go to unlimited-rewards.com. Avis Rent A Car, Budget Rent A Car and Hilton are participating brands in Unlimited Rewards. Unlimited Rewards provides dollar rewards on a prepaid debit card. Promotion may be discontinued without notice. For full terms and conditions visit unlimited-rewards.com. ©Hilton 2023 ©Avis Budget Group LLC 2023 1 2 3 Visit Unlimited-Rewards.com and register with promo code: DBLDOLLARS Weekday stays must be booked and completed between Sept. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023. Watch for Double Dollar Rewards to hit your prepaid card! Stay Type Standard Payout Promotion Payout 5 or more night stay (Homewood only*) *Fri-Sat stays do not qualify $2.00 $4.00 Sunday stay $1.00 $2.00 Monday – Thursday stay $.50 $1.00 Book through the GDS using Chain Code EH using Rate Code ABC or visit TravelAgents.Hilton.com Earn Double Dollars LIMITED TIME PROMOTION: Weekday bookings are twice as nice. Include your Unlimited Rewards Number in every booking (e.g., SI-ZD999999999).
3 ABC WELCOMES AMY PAAP We are pleased to announce and welcome Amy Paap to the ABC Global Services team. As Director, Agency Solutions, Amy will manage a portfolio of preferred key agency accounts to build sustainable relationships at all levels. Amy started her career as a management trainee at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. Over 30 years of experience in the travel industry has seen her in key roles in Sales, Account Management and Supplier Relations and most recently working with many of our hotel partners in a supplier relations role with a large TMC. Throughout her career she has received awards as the Top Manager of the Year, Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association outstanding Employee of the Year, President Circle for two consecutive years and probably the award she most proud of - Longest Drive at the GBTA – Rocky Mountain Chapter Golf Tournament! Amy has been a longtime member of GBTA, serving on the Board of the Rocky Mountain Chapter along with receiving her CCTE designation from GBTA. When not a work, Amy enjoys the great outdoors in Colorado; hiking, skiing, walking her new Golden Retriever puppy and volunteering in her church choir. I am delighted to be working for a company that not only brings an incredible hotel program to our agency partners, but also the ability to assist with other travel verticals including air and car along with meetings & events expertise. This well-rounded approach combined allows our partners to concentrate on their business and let us do the heavy lifting on their behalf! INTRODUCING NEW HOTEL OPENINGS AROUND THE GLOBE Tempo by Hilton Times Square New York City INTRODUCING TEMPO BY HILTON. A new lifestyle hotel brand created for discerning and vibrant travelers. Thoughtfully designed, uplifting, and within reach, Tempo empowers guests to maintain their momentum while traveling. No matter how you travel, Tempo is designed to keep up with your pace. A thoughtfully designed place that invites you to live in the moment, Tempo by Hilton Times Square provides Times Square ball drop to Central Park views in this newly built hotel in the heart of NYC.
4 The global business travel industry recovery has accelerated, and spending should fully recover next year, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s Business Travel Index Outlook report. The report, which GBTA produced in collaboration with Visa and released at its annual convention in Dallas in mid-August, projected that global business travel spending will total $1.36 trillion this year, an increase of 32 percent year over year. That follows a growth rate of 47 percent year over year in 2022, when global business travel spending totaled just over $1 trillion. At current rates, GBTA expects annual global business travel spending in 2024 will reach $1.52 trillion, surpassing the $1.4 trillion mark hit prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. That is two years earlier than the association had forecast in last year’s report. By 2027, GBTA forecasts annual global business travel spending will hit $1.78 trillion. Several factors are driving up spending, including continued pent-up travel demand from the pandemic’s travel shutdown and higher travel costs due to inflation, according to the report. The faster-than-expected recovery, however, stems from “the remarkable stability” of the global economy. Forecasts last year were warning of recessions in many major economies amid rising interest rates, but that has not materialized. “While this tightening cycle has led to slowing economic growth, we have yet to see broad deterioration in global economies,” the report said. “In fact, many advanced economies, including those in the EU and the US, currently sit at record employment levels, and corporate profits refuse to retreat, even after hitting record levels in 2022.” Recovery rates, of course, vary by region and by industry. Western Europe, for example, had the largest recovery rate in 2022, with spending more than doubling that of 2021, although that came off an “anemic recovery year” in 2021, the report indicated. North American and Latin America both saw recovery accelerate in 2022, with spending up 73 percent and 63 percent, respectively. Growth in Asia/Pacific, meanwhile, was up only 15 percent year over year in 2022, with the shutdown in China still in effect last year, and the rest of Europe continues to have a slower recovery due to the war in the Ukraine. In terms of industries, the construction, education and professional, scientific and technical sectors are showing the most resiliency in recovery, according to the GBTA. “The headwinds that were anticipated to impact the rebound of global business travel over the past year didn’t materialize, and that is good news,” GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said in a statement. “This latest forecast now indicates an accelerated return to pre-pandemic spending levels sooner than anticipated as well as growth ahead in the coming years. Business travel spending is a key indicator, but how travel volumes will continue to rebound is yet to be seen.” This year, business travel spending in China should increase 39 percent year over year to $360.8 billion, which will put it back on top as far as spending level by country. China had bypassed the United States in terms GBTA REPORT SHOWS BUSINESS TRAVEL RECOVERING GAINING MOMENTUM of spending back in 2015 but slipped back to second amid its shutdown. The US, meanwhile, is projected to see a 25 percent increase year over year in spending for 2023, reaching $329.1 billion—a level more than four times larger than the next-largest country, Germany. Across the top 15 largest countries in terms of business travel spending, total spending is projected to increase 34 percent year over year in 2023. Those increases range from a 69 percent year over year increase in Japan to a 19 percent year over year increase in Spain. In the shorter term, hoteliers in their second-quarter earnings reports indicated that they are continuing to see a recovery in business travel spending as well. Hyatt Hotels Corp., for example, reported that business transient revenue during the quarter was up 36 percent year over year and is not just 14 percent shy of pre-pandemic levels, president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said. Hilton Worldwide president and CEO Christopher Nassetta said his company also has seen continued improvement, with business travel revenues above pre-pandemic levels in the quarter. Marriott International president and CEO Anthony Capuano reported a “slow but steady” recovery in transient business travel revenues in the second quarter, noting that demand from small and midsized companies is strong but slower from larger corporate customers. In its report, GBTA also surveyed 4,700 business travelers across 22 countries, with a strong majority indicating that business travel helps them meet their executives. On average, travelers estimated they spend $1,018 per trip, breaking down to $391 for lodging, $189 for food and beverages, $182 for air travel, $136 for ground transportation and $120 for miscellaneous expenses. More than 60 percent of business travelers said they are blending leisure elements to their business trips more frequently than they did prior to the pandemic, according to GBTA.
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6 Hoteliers’ efforts to restore staffing to pre-pandemic levels are paying dividends in terms of guest satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2023 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. The study, based on responses from 33,754 hotel guests for stays between May 2022 and May 2023, showed that guest satisfaction overall rate 655 on a 1,000-point scale. Satisfaction with hotel staff, however, scored 701, making it the highest-scoring factor in the survey, according to J.D. Power. Other factors in the total score include communications and connectivity, food and beverage, guest rooms, hotel facility and value for price. “Hotel hiring continues to increase, and leisure and hospitality is the ‘rock star’ among industries reported in monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment figures,” J.D. Power hospitality practice lead Andrea Stokes said in a statement. “This boost in hotel staffing is showing up in the form of high customer satisfaction scores. Staff service is now the highest-scoring factor in this study across all hotel segments from economy to luxury, underscoring the critical role that frontline staff play in defining the guest experience.” The study also noted that guests in 86 percent of stays said had they had no problems during their stay, which also can be attributed to the hotel staff. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, as of August, employment in the leisure and hospitality category has been adding an average of 61,000 jobs per month over the previous 12 months. Employment in the category is 1.7 percent, or about 290,000 jobs, below levels seen in February 2020, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the service tiers, brands from a variety of hotel companies earned the highest satisfaction scores, with Hilton Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Red Lion all having topscoring brands. In the luxury tier, travelers gave the highest rating to Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand, with a total score of 788, with last year’s top brand Ritz-Carlton close behind with a score of 776. Four other brands scored above the segment average of 733, including Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, Marriott’s Luxury Collection and W Hotels. Hard Rock Hotels for the third year in a row earned the highest score in the upper upscale tier. This year, however, it was joined by Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts, which tied its score of 723. Other brands meeting or beating the segment average of 693 include Le Méridien, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Regency, Canopy by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, and Hotel Indigo. Choice’s Cambria Hotels & Suites had a strong finish in the upscale tier with its score of 738, more than 30 points higher to the next-highest-scoring brand. Hotels in the tier scored an average rating of 680, with AC Hotels by Marriott, Delta Hotels, Element, Hilton Garden Inn, the Ascend Collection, Hyatt Place, Aloft Hotels and Wyndham Hotels all scoring above that. In the upper midscale tier, Wyndham’s Trademark Collection earned the highest marks with a score of 762, followed by last year’s top brand in the category, Drury Hotels. Wyndham Garden, Hampton by Hilton, Fairfield by Marriott, Holiday Inn, Best Western Plus and Holiday Inn Express all also scored above the segment average of 671. Tru by Hilton had a strong performance in the midscale segment with a score of 708, outscoring the next-highest brand—last year’s top brand, Wingate by Wyndham— by nearly 40 points. With a score of 671, Wingate remained well above the segment average of 625. Best Western, Sleep Inn and AmericInn by Wyndham all also scored above that mark. The economy tier also ended in a tie this year, with Red Lion’s Americas Best Value Inn and Microtel by Wyndham both scoring at the top of the tier with 637 points. Six other brands scored above the segment average of 558, including SureStay, Howard Johnson by Wyndham, Travelodge by Wyndham, Studio 6, Red Roof Inn, and Super 8 by Wyndham. In the extended stay tiers, Hyatt House topped the upscale segment for the second year in a row, earning a score of 729. Hilton’s Home2Suites brand earned the highest score in the midscale extended stay segment, 681, edging out Candlewood Suites by a single point. Marriott’s TownePlace Suites also scored above the segment average of 674. In the study’s newly added economy extended stay segment, WoodSpring Suites earned the highest score of 609. Last year, WoodSpring was categorized in the economy tier and was the highest-scoring brand in that tier. STAFFING DRIVES HOTEL SATISFACTION IN 2023 J.D. POWER RANKINGS
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9 INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS SHOULD PLAN FOR INFLATED PASSPORT PROCESSING TIMES Travelers needing to procure or renew U.S. passports are facing longer-thanusual processing times as the U.S. State Department is managing an inflated volume of applications. The State Department currently lists a wait time for 8 to 11 weeks for routine processing of passport applications. Even those who pay the $60 fee for expedited processing still face a wait of five to seven weeks. Both of those do not including mailing time, which could take up to two weeks for an application to reach a passport agency or center and another two weeks for an applicant to receive the passport by mail once it has been printed. In other words, travelers with international travel plans even into early 2024 least two weeks out, they can attempt to make an urgent travel appointment through the State Department, though appointment availability is limited. The department also offers “life-or-death emergencies” processing, which is limited to applicants who can provide proof that they need to travel internationally for a dead or dying relative within the next 72 hours. The department hopes that processing times will normalize by the end of the year, with wait times nearer to pre-pandemic levels of six to eight weeks for routine processing and two to three weeks for expedited processing, according to The Washington Post. For more information on applying for a U.S. passport, visit https://travel.state.gov/ content/travel/en/passports.html. need to start the process as soon as possible if they need passport services, keeping in mind that many destinations require passport expiration dates beyond at least six months of a traveler’s return date. The extended processing times have been in place since March, as the State Department has seen a surge in demand for passports, The Washington Post reported earlier this summer. While the department is doing what it can handle the influx, including increasing staff and allowing overtime hours, it was handling twice the number of pending applications as of July than it had at the same point the year prior. Those with international travel plans closer in than the expedited processing time do have a few options. If their travel date is at Current Processing Times (applied on or after October 2, 2023) Routine Expedited Routine Expedited 8 to 11 weeks 5 to 7 weeks 10 to 13 weeks 7 to 9 weeks Previous Processing Times (applied between March 24, 2023 and October 1, 2023)
10 IHG Hotels & Resorts in August launched its newest brand: Garner, a midprice brand focusing on guest comfort and satisfaction. The brand will sit at a price point lower than IHG’s Holiday Inn Express brand and will complement its midscale Avid brand, launched in 2017. While Avid is designed for new builds, Garner is designed for conversions, and IHG expects quick growth of the brand. The company projects the first Garner hotels will open by the end of this year and for the brand to grow to 500 hotels in the next 10 years and 1,000 hotels in the next 20 years. Brand features include a friendly, aroundBRAND UPDATES SUMMER BRINGS NEW BRANDS, NEW MARKETING STRATEGIES Hotel companies continued to expand their brand portfolios in recent months, with IHG adding a new midprice offering poised for quick growth and Sonesta providing an opportunity for independent hotels to join its distribution platform. At the same time, short-term accommodation provider Sonder is deepening its hotel presence on its platform, while MGM and Marriott are joining forces in an agreement that includes rewards program cooperation. BWH Hotels, meanwhile, has added new marketing muscle to its executive team. Sonder Powers Up with Hotel Collection the-clock front desk team and a “Make It Yours” hot breakfast with build-your-own protein-packed meals, according to IHG. “We’ve designed this brand to deliver on what’s expected: a great night’s sleep in a clean, comfortable space with a breakfast worth getting up for,” IHG SVP of global marketing for mainstream brands Jen Gribble said in a statement. “But how we deliver it will be different. From the warm and welcoming team to the lobby décor, our style is refreshingly approachable, which appeals to all types of guests.” Short-term accommodation platform Sonder has launched its first hotel collection, Powered by Sonder. The collection, which started with 23 hotels across 13 markets, consists of hotels in the center of key travel destinations, and they prove app-enabled services and “thoughtful” amenities, according to Sonder. Initial hotels in the collection include Atala in Paris, Chambers in New York and Yelo Jean Médecin in Nice, France. Sonder, as of the first quarter of this year, has 18,200 available units across more than 40 markets, and hotels are “a significant and growing” part of the company’s portfolio, Sonder co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson said in a statement. “Each hotel has a strong design perspective, which is distinct from Sonder’s core design aesthetic, while featuring our seamless, app-driven service,” according to Davidson. “Many have unique features for our guests to discover, including on-site food and beverage outlets.” Powered by Sonder hotels are bookable in the same manner as Sonder’s wider portfolio. IHG Adds Midprice Brand Garner Garner Atala powered by Sonder
11 Sonesta Targets Upper-Upscale, Upscale Properties for New Brands Marriott, MGM Form Strategic Licensing Agreement Z Ocean Hotel, part of the Classico Collection Sonesta International Hotel Corp. has added two “soft brands,” in which hotels in the brands keep their own names while affiliating with the Sonesta network. That includes distribution though Sonesta’s website and other distribution channels and services. The new Classico brand fits in the upper-upscale tier and will include properties that “have a distinct identity and offer signature local cuisine, high-touch service and refined interiors,” according to Sonesta. The first brand that joined the collection was the 40-room Z Ocean Hotel in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood. Hotel 11, part of the MOD Collection The second brand, MOD, sits within Sonesta’s upscale folio and also features unique designs and amenities. The first hotel in the brand is Calgary’s Hotel 11. GDS Chain Code: LX | Rate Code: ABC VIP Desk : Tel: +1 646 367 1423 [email protected] www.slh.com Marriott International and MGM Resorts International have partnered for a long-term strategic licensing agreement, set to launch in October. The partnership includes MGM making several of its properties available or booking via Marriott’s platforms while continuing to be available through the MGM Resorts channels as well. It also brings benefits to loyalty program members of by MGM Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, with MGM Rewards members eligible to link accounts with Bonvoy and receive select member benefits while Bonvoy members will be able to earn and redeem points at all MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy properties. Three MGM properties in Las Vegas will join Marriott collection brands. Bellagio Resort & Casino is joining Marriott’s Luxury Collection, Aria Resort & Casino is joining the Autograph Collection and continued on page 13
12 Premier Magazine is published and distributed courtesy of ABC Global Services, Inc. Corporate Headquarters | ABC Global Services, Inc. 1900 NW Corporate Blvd, Suite 410W Boca Raton, Florida 33431 561-300-6645 or 800-722-5179 (US/CA) | [email protected] | www.ABCGlobalServices.com Agency Solutions Team | [email protected] Joelle Park Former Hilton Exec Park Joins BWH Hotels Bellagio Resort & Casino Park MGM will join Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas already is a part of the Autograph Collection. Other MGM resorts in Las Vegas that will be joining the MGM Collection with Bonvoy include Vdara Hotel & Spa, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, NoMad Las Vegas, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino and Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Five MGM properties outside of Las Vegas will be joining as well: Atlantic City’s Borgata, Biloxi’s Beau Rivage, MGM Grand Detroit, Maryland’s MGM National Harbor and Massachusetts’ MGM Springfield. “We’ve seen first-hand the strong demand from Marriott International customers through our existing relationship at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and this new agreement will enable us to further optimize our overall profitability,” MGM Resorts president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to now scale the relationship and offer Marriott Bonvoy members greater distribution access to our award-winning resorts, as well as exclusive event and entertainment opportunities, in Las Vegas and across the U.S.” BWH Hotels recently named former Hilton executive Joelle Park as its SVP and chief marketing officer, leading the company’s global marketing, brand strategy and communications. Park has more than two decades of marketing experience, most recently as Hilton’s VP of global enterprise and crossbrand marketing. She said she was excited to join BWH as it evolves its “strong portfolio of diverse brands,” which include about 4,300 hotels across the WorldHotels, Best Western Hotels & Resorts and SureStay Hotels companies. “I am passionate about brand-building, from uncovering the essence of a brand’s purpose to crafting insight-drive marketing that drives performance,” Park said in a statement. “Each brand in the portfolio is special, making this an exceptional opportunity to curate those unique brand attributes into a compelling story to share with the world.” Park reports to BWH Hotels president and CEO Larry Cuculic, who called her “a tremendously strong leader who will effectively drive our collaborative global spirit and culture of inspiring travel through unique experiences.”