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In a cutthroat market, to keep going - every business needs to have a competitive edge over contenders. The scenario in the Hospitality and tourism sector is nothing different, where lot of players can be seen battling for customers and for the bigger market share. Unlike before, with too many Hotels around competing with each other, the customers have a lot on platter to choose from and almost everyone today has the tendency to select nothing but the best service providers in the market. Price was, has been and would always be a prime concern for customers. Earlier when the choices were limited (in terms of service providers), the customers had no option than going for whatever they used to get in the market at the FIXED price asked by the suppliers. However, with the change in market scenario and entry of new players (and the trend is continuing), the customers have the power and they are the ones that have the final say in everything. In such a scenario (in an exclusive buyer's market), it becomes imperative for Hotels (companies) to be flexible in/with their approach towards customers. Irrespective of income group or standard of living, every customer has concerns about pricing. Who does not like best deals in anything? The customers would always look for highest quality products/services that come with the best price tag. The Hotels that befit the requirement of customers with respect to quality and pricing have fair chance of winning them, at the first place. In order to price better and win customers to their business, the Hotels need to know what their competitors are doing and what their pricing or customer strategies are. Watching and following business rivals is very important, because if both (hotels) are offering similar quality services and if one has a better pricing then customers would go with that supplier where they are getting better deals. Hence, to avoid losing customers to business rivals, hotels need to stay ahead of competitors and t

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), maintaining adequate liquidity is essential to ensure smooth operations and sustainable growth. Effective liquidity management involves optimizing cash flow, allowing businesses to meet short-term obligations and invest in new opportunities. The correct strategies help mitigate financial risks and enhance the company's ability to navigate economic fluctuations. Optimizing cash flow Creating detailed cash flow forecasts is necessary for SMEs to predict inflows and outflows accurately. These forecasts help businesses anticipate potential shortfalls and address them proactively. Maintaining a cash reserve provides a buffer against unforeseen expenses or economic downturns, ensuring stability during challenging times. Prompt invoicing with clear payment terms accelerates receivables and improves the cash flow cycle. Electronic invoicing and payment systems enhance efficiency and reduce delays, allowing companies to access their funds more quickly. Negotiating favorable payment terms with suppliers also offers more flexibility in cash management, enabling them to hold onto their cash for longer periods. In addition, regular reviews and audits identify areas for cash flow optimization. By closely monitoring performance, businesses can implement corrective actions promptly, ensuring that cash flow remains steady. Advisors or consultants can provide tailored strategies to enhance liquidity and improve overall financial health. Additionally, automating routine tasks can free up valuable time and resources, allowing staff to focus on more strategic activities. These practical measures help SMEs improve their liquidity, reduce financial risks, and support sustainable growth.

HOTEL OWNERS NAVIGATING industry changes wrought by the pandemic face no dearth of challenges: the decline in business travel, competition from home rental apps and ongoing labor shortages are just a few. Too often, the people owning the hotels - many of them small business owners - are figuring out how to adapt to the new hospitality landscape with added complications from the hotel brands that should be their partners. While many hotel owners have struggled to maintain their livelihoods since the pandemic began three years ago, some big hotel chain franchisers sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of loyalty point value to credit card companies under a system that often fails to adequately reimburse the franchisees. That is the thanks these hardworking franchisees got as they worked hard to keep hotel doors open. It does not have to be this way. Generations of franchise owners have successfully embraced entrepreneurship through the franchising model. Franchising allows budding entrepreneurs to adopt a known brand name and comprehensive business strategies in exchange for a portion of the revenue. This partnership has nurtured our industry: Hotels owned by our members employ 1.1 million Americans and contribute $368 billion to the economy. But the franchising relationship needs to be a two-way street to be truly successful. That is why we must ensure that the franchise industry engages in sustainable practices that recognize and safeguard the contributions of small business owners.

Brent LeBlanc is the new executive vice president of business development at Peachtree Group. In this role, LeBlanc will focus on growing the company's vertically integrated investment platforms by fostering business development and collaborating with investment teams to capture new opportunities. LeBlanc joined Peachtree in 2012 to lead a growth strategy, expanding the company's footprint in the western U.S. and strengthening relationships with premium hotel brands like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG. During that time, he participated in more than $4 billion in real estate transactions across the enterprise, the statement said. Before joining Peachtree, LeBlanc held roles as vice president of franchise development at both Starwood Hotels & Resorts and La Quinta Inn & Suites. He has launched hotel brands and completed complex transactions with major U.S. hotel operators and developers, Peachtree said in a statement. Peachtree is led by CEO and managing principal Greg Friedman, CFO and managing principal Jatin Desai, and principal Mitul Patel.

PEACHTREE GROUP RECENTLY introduced new branding, logo and tagline, "Guided by Intuition, Grounded by Expertise." The branding update aims to project the company's integrated investment strategies and service platforms. This change consolidates the company's varied brand portfolio, renaming Stonehill as Peachtree Group Credit and Peachtree Hospitality Management as Peachtree Group Hospitality Management, the company said in a statement. "The new branding has given us a competitive edge in attracting top-tier talent, ensuring a consistent influx of the best minds and skills to navigate an ever-changing business landscape," said Greg Friedman, CEO and managing principal of Peachtree Group. "Moreover, our strategic branding approach, aimed at consolidating our diverse range of businesses, is poised to unleash even greater untapped potential within our investment platform. This platform, already proven in its value in the hospitality sector, has played a pivotal role in our expansion and diversification into other real estate sectors and ventures."

APPROXIMATELY 48 PERCENT of businesses in the accommodation industry consider "staffing issues" the biggest risk to their operations over the next 12 months, according to a new report by Expert Market. Rising labor costs were identified as the second-largest risk by 34 percent, followed by "rising maintenance costs" at 27 percent. The Expert Market Accommodation Industry Report surveyed more than 400 U.S. accommodation businesses on upcoming challenges and strategies to address them amid the industry's highest quit rates since 2022. "The accommodation industry has faced a number of challenges since the pandemic, but none greater than those around staffing," said Chris Maillard, Expert Market's editor. "At a time when quitting rates remain higher than other industries, the report recommends that accommodation businesses prioritize their staff, from recruitment through to promotion."

Corporate event management enables a firm to enhance its brand image, expand its business, and establish contacts. Conferences, product launches, and team-building retreats are examples of professionally run business events that may have a long-lasting effect on attendees, boost employee morale, and eventually result in financial success.

Melissa Ross Smith is now chief operating officer for Peachtree Group. She will be responsible for the overall performance, strategy and organizational development of Peachtree and its operating businesses. Before joining Peachtree, Smith held several high-level positions at organizations. Most recently, Smith was managing director of OS National, where she managed more than 250 professionals and was responsible for evaluating performance management systems and devising improvements to strengthen controls and optimize results, Peachtree said in a statement. "As Peachtree continues to evolve, improving our foundational processes is imperative to the future growth of our business," said Greg Friedman, managing principal and CEO of Peachtree Group. "Melissa is an excellent complement to our team as she has an exceptional blend of leadership, vision and execution needed to be Peachtree's COO." Smith will report to Friedman, and will be a key executive team member, Peachtree's statement said. Peachtree Group is led by Jatin Desai and Mitul Patel as managing principals. "I am deeply impressed by Peachtree's success," Smith said. "Not only am I excited about the future opportunities, knowing that I can help execute and bring operational excellence across all segments, but I am also pleased to be joining an executive team representing some of the best people in commercial real estate."

Peachtree Group has named Jarred Bussert as vice president of information technology. In this newly created role, Bussert will be responsible for the company's IT infrastructure, including all business applications, information security and data integrity, the company said in a statement. "Jarred's experience and achievements demonstrate his commitment to supporting business strategies with technology infrastructure," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's managing principal and CEO. "As Peachtree continues to grow, I am pleased to attract talented leaders to our best-in-class team. His leadership will be instrumental in building a successful and high-performing organization." Bussert has extensive enterprise-wide technical and IT leadership experience. Before joining Peachtree, he was vice president, information technology for Majors Management, an Atlanta-based retail operator. Bussert started his career with RaceTrac Petroleum holding numerous leadership positions, leaving as director, information systems. He has an MBA and Master of Technology from Georgia Tech and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia.

Michael Harper is promoted to president of Hotel Lending at Peachtree Group, overseeing the company's entire hotel credit platform and guiding all aspects of the credit business. Similarly, Jared Schlosser rises to executive vice president of hotel lending and head of CPACE, while Michael Ritz is promoted to executive vice president of investments, Peachtree Group said in a statement. "These appointments underscore Peachtree's commitment to its core growth initiatives in hotel lending, as well as fostering talent from within our own ranks, with an eye toward further diversifying its allocation strategies as it taps into new investment opportunities," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's CEO and managing principal. Since joining Peachtree in 2014, Harper has held a series of leadership positions, overseeing the company's credit business with a focus on loan originations and strategic acquisition of credit portfolios, Peachtree said. He has guided the team through over 500 investments totaling more than $6 billion.

IDEAS HAS LAUNCHED the G3 RMS Portfolio Navigator for automating multi-property revenue management. The tool analyzes business and market trends to identify revenue opportunities and necessary actions, while streamlining strategy decisions for individual properties and enabling swift responses to market changes for optimal revenue generation, IDeaS said in a statement. "IDeaS is committed to ensuring our customers, regardless of size, have the tools they need to become more efficient and productive," said Sanjay Nagalia, IDeaS' cofounder, COO and chief technology officer. "The addition of Portfolio Navigator to our flagship product, G3 RMS, is a game changer for multi-property revenue management. It helps teams highlight suboptimal business or system conditions by property, prioritize tasks with the highest revenue impact, display outstanding revenue tasks by individual property and scale revenue operations and brand contribution. This functionality helps revenue management leaders turn insights into impactful commercial actions at scale."

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL has named its eight nominees for the board of directors for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to be voted on in Wyndham's 2024 shareholder meeting. The nominees, including Jay Shah, executive chairman at Hersha Hospitality Trust, are expected to support Choice's bid to acquire Wyndham despite multiple rejections by the latter. In response, Wyndham said it will evaluate the nominees as part of its due diligence, but it also said the nominees were "hand-picked to push through their offer." Along with Shah, Choice's nominees are: Barbara Bennett, founder and principal executive of business consulting firm Bennett West LLC. Emanuel Pearlman, founder, chairman and CEO of investment management and financial consulting firm Liberation Investment Group. Fiona Dias, digital commerce consultant who served as the chief strategy officer of online shopping service ShopRunner from 2011 to 2014. James Nelson, CEO of real estate investment trust Global Net Lease, Inc. Nana Mensah, founder, chairman and CEO of food packaging and processing equipment exporter 'XPORTS Inc. Susan Schnabel, founder and co-managing partner of buyout fund advisor aPriori Capital Partners. William Grounds, principal of his advisory business Burraneer Capital Advisors LLC. "These nominees are proven leaders with wide-ranging expertise across relevant industries, including deep proficiency in the hospitality and franchising sectors," said Stewart Bainum, chairman of Choice's board of directors. "We are confident the nominees' industry, finance, governance and board experience will greatly benefit Wyndham shareholders. Most importantly, if elected, the nominees will exercise their independent judgment to serve Wyndham shareholders' best interests, which Choice believes is to move with urgency to maximize the value that could be created for them through a combination with Choice."

Marco Selva is the new senior vice president of business development and operations at Stonebridge Cos., focusing on expanding its luxury, lifestyle and resort portfolio in the Southeast, Caribbean and Latin America. His appointment supports the company's efforts to strengthen its market presence, Stonebridge said in a statement. Stonebridge is led by Founder and Chairman Navin Dimond. Selva will open a Miami office and target high-end projects across the region, aligning with Stonebridge's growth strategy, the company said. Rob Smith, Stonebridge's president and CEO, said Selva's appointment is a step in expanding the company's luxury, lifestyle, and resort footprint in the region. "With my background in the Caribbean and Aruba, combined with Marco's extensive experience and focus on these key markets, we are well-positioned to drive growth in the Caribbean and Latin America," Smith said. "We look forward to building a strong team around Marco in the Miami office to support this exciting new phase of expansion."

INDEPENDENT HOTEL OPERATORS must refine their strategies to stay competitive in 2025 amid labor shortages, price-sensitive travelers and the growing dominance of branded hotels, which now account for 72 percent of U.S. properties, according to Cloudbeds. Furthermore, independent hoteliers are focusing on 2025 as the "year of optimizing performance." Cloudbeds' 2025 State of Independent Lodging Report provides a data-driven analysis of the global independent lodging segment, highlighting key trends across often-overlooked property types. "Hospitality is fundamentally human-and independent properties represent its heart and soul," said Adam Harris, Cloudbeds' cofounder and CEO. "Cloudbeds is helping these businesses transform challenges into opportunities, proving that being independent doesn't mean being alone. Together, we're building a future where independent hospitality businesses don't just survive-with access to technology like Cloudbeds Intelligence, they lead the way forward."

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT management firm Noble Investment Group partnered with Host Hotels & Resorts to tap and expand travel, leisure and hospitality opportunities, a statement said. As part of the initiative, Host will invest $150 million as a limited partner in an existing Noble investment vehicle and provide Noble with first-look at select-service and extended-stay hotel opportunities sourced through Host's channels. Host also will become a minority investment partner in Noble's fee-based asset management business, according to Noble's press release. "As we continue to expand our institutional investment management platform, this strategic partnership further augments Noble's ability to develop, source, and execute innovative growth strategies in travel, leisure, and hospitality," said Mit Shah, Noble's CEO. According to the statement, the partnership will combine Noble's operational expertise and development acumen with Host's scale, market insights, data analytics, and breadth of resources. They aim to source differentiated investment strategies including property technology solutions, development, and alternative lodging.

Group travel business can bring hotels much needed revenue. Jeff Bzdawka, CEO of research firm Knowland, offers tips on how smaller hotels with limited meeting space can capitalize on this revenue stream. There is a science to sales. Those of us who work in the hospitality industry know many essential qualities are needed for successful sales outcomes. Qualities include verbal and non-verbal communication skills, listening skills, and the ability to convey information persuasively. Empathy, product knowledge, problem-solving skills, and a goal-oriented mindset are crucial when understanding and relating to the customer's needs, concerns, and emotions. When these skills come together, the salesperson can build trust and rapport. These are the essential elements for closing the deal.

While we don't know what will happen next, the past several months has shown us that the need to get out and travel is stronger than ever. However, as the labor and staffing crisis continues, some hoteliers struggle to accommodate the uptick in travel. Corporate travel and industry events and the need to meet face-to-face will continue to grow, so now is the time to focus on getting staff ready to welcome back corporate travelers who haven't traveled in 18 months. Taking notes from the entertainment industry One interesting tactic that the hospitality industry should take note of is the way the entertainment industry has handled the return of movies in theaters. If you went to the movies over the summer, you may have seen how the industry pulled together to thank movie-goers for coming back to the theater. Galaxy Theaters CEO came onto the big screen to thank the audience and welcome them back. Regal did something similar. Even more compelling were the messages from directors such as John Krasinski ahead of Quiet Place II and Lin-Manuel Miranda ahead of In the Heights. These two films led the charge in releasing their content to the big screen. In doing so, they took the time to record a message to thank the audience for coming back and for supporting the industry. This strategy works because the theater has a captive audience. After all, unless you are late to the film, or getting popcorn, you are sitting there in anticipation of seeing a movie on the big screen after nearly 18 months of Netflix and microwaved popcorn.

An executive team may escape the daily grind and concentrate on personal growth, team building, and strategy planning during a leadership offsite. These offsites offer a change of scenery together with planned activities that assist executives improve their abilities, encourage teamwork, and propel organizational progress. With the help of our specialist leadership offsite programs, transform your leadership team. Our customized retreats are made to encourage strategic thinking, teamwork, and creativity while guaranteeing your executives are on the same page and driven. Discover the advantages of a strategically designed leadership retreat that promotes teamwork and business success.