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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.

THE U.S. SENATE voted to block the National Labor Relations Board's final definition of joint-employer status, following up on a similar bill passed by the House. President Biden is expected to veto the bill, but opponents of the NLRB joint employer rule, such as the American Hotel & Lodging Association, claim the Senate's resolution was a "win for hoteliers." After the House passed its Congressional Review Act against the NLRB rule in January, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas also issued an order blocking the NLRB rule. AHLA supported both efforts to block the NLRB rule, calling the current joint employer definition a threat to the hotel franchise model. "Today's bipartisan Senate vote is a win for hoteliers and small business owners everywhere, and shows the rule is out of step with Congress, the courts, and America's job creators. Lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate realize the administration's joint-employer rule would acutely suppress job creation for hoteliers and other businesses, and therefore it needs to be abandoned," said Kevin Carey, AHLA Interim president and CEO.

Mit Shah today is CEO of Atlanta-based Noble Investment Group, a multi-million dollar company founded in his lifetime of experience growing up in the hotel business. It's a story he shares with many Indian American hoteliers, but he said it's a story that bears repeating, a story of the American dream. Shah retells his story here for Asian Hospitality's Leadership Series, the first episode for 2024. Along with his family history, he also discussed Nobel's investment practices, the economy in general and lessons learned from hosting interviews with industry leaders for the Bharat Shah Leadership Speaker Series, named after his father, at the Hunter Hotel Conference in Atlanta. "My parents were immigrants to the United States. In the 1960s they came here for a better life and education. As they were doing that, they had friends that found themselves in this industry and buying small properties throughout the country," Shah said, adding that his parents bought their first hotel, the Winkler Motor Inn in Winston Salem, North Carolina in 1979. "I was 10 years old at the time, my younger brother was six years old at the time and that was the family business, a very common story that we hear throughout our industry. It's an important story to continue to tell because it's deeply rooted in the American dream."

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."

Best Western North Side Inn in Wichita Falls and Best Western SeaWorld San Antonio are now open in Texas. The North Side Inn, owned by Nitin Chanana, offers 94 guestrooms, while the San Antonio property, owned by Aman Patel, features 70 guestrooms and 12 suites, Best Western said in a statement. "After a complete renovation, we are excited to welcome guests to our hotel, with recent updates that keep both leisure and business travelers in mind," said Harry Patel, Best Western North Side Inn's general manager. "With our convenient location that provides quick access to the best of Wichita Falls, the Best Western North Side Inn offers something for everyone." The North Side Inn features a fitness center, a meeting room for up to 25 people, business center services, and an outdoor lounge, Best Western said. The hotel is located near Sheppard Air Force Base, downtown Wichita Falls, the Wichita Falls Multi-Purpose Event Center, and Midwestern State University.

ADR is projected to rise by 0.1 percentage points in 2024, with occupancy and RevPAR remaining unchanged from the previous forecast, according to STR and Tourism Economics' initial U.S. hotel forecast for 2024 at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Yet, 2025 projections for key performance metrics were revised downward due to stabilized long-term average trends: occupancy down 0.1 percentage points, ADR down 0.3 points and RevPAR down 0.5 ppts. "U.S. ADR and RevPAR reached record highs in 2023 with solid travel fundamentals and a big year for group business underpinning performance," said Amanda Hite, STR president. "We expect to see continued growth as fundamentals remain more favorable for the travel economy. The indicator that is especially important is the low unemployment rate among college-educated individuals, those most likely to travel for business and leisure." The STR and Tourism Economics forecast a rise in GOPPAR growth due to increased TRevPAR levels and stable labor costs. Among chain scales, luxury and upper upscale hotels are expected to see substantial cost increases, driven by growing group demand.

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."

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS recently launched Wyndham Connect, a new guest engagement platform by Canary Technologies, in North America. The platform, first announced at the company's 2023 global conference, is available at no additional cost to owners, with nearly 2,000 North American hotels already using it, Wyndham said in a statement. "We always put our franchisees first, and investing in innovative technology like AI sets them apart from the competition," said Scott Strickland, Wyndham's chief commercial officer. "With access to powerful solutions like Wyndham Connect, our franchisees can manage their businesses more efficiently and curate guest experiences to help make stays more meaningful than ever. The result? Happier guests, higher chances for repeat business and money in franchisees' pockets."

What if lush greenery and clear blue skies no longer exist? Guess what - dirty business can actually save our planet!

You might be visiting Friends, attend Business or Conference, Tourism; attend sporting event, Cultural Program or transit.

You might be visiting Friends, attend Business or Conference, Tourism; attend sporting event, Cultural Program or transit.

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.

HYATT CORP. HAS expanded its relationship with group hospitality analytics firm Knowland, a statement said. The new partnership is aimed at increasing sales, the company said. With this partnership, Hyatt became the first global hotel brand to offer access to the Knowland database through a portfolio-driven program to its properties, the statement added. Hyatt will use Knowland's business tools that provide intelligence within meetings and events booked in its current markets as well as feeder markets. The expanded Knowland relationship standardizes program terms pre-approved for all Hyatt branded hotels, including franchise operators. "At Hyatt, it's important to be nimble in our commitment to providing technology for all of our hotels," said Steve Enselein, senior vice president of events at Hyatt. "Access to Knowland data allows our hotel sales teams to generate topline revenue that can maximize profit through group sales, creating value across our portfolio for hotel owners and operators."

Cambria Hotel Waco University Riverfront in Waco, Texas, owned by KB Hotels led by Kiran "Kenny" Bhakta as founder and CEO, is now open. It is the ninth Cambria Hotel in the southwest. The new 4-story, 130-room property joins Cambria's Austin Downtown, Austin Uptown, Austin Airport, Houston Downtown, McAllen, Plano, Richardson and Southlake, Choice said in a statement. KB Hotels, led by Kiran "Kenny" Bhakta, a hotel development company in central Texas, is spearheading the development of this hotel. "With a rich history anchored by academia and agriculture, Texas is quickly becoming a hub for vacationers and business travelers alike," said Indy Adenaw, Choice's senior vice president and general manager for upscale. "We look forward to expanding Cambria's unique offerings and top-notch amenities to even more guests in the Lone Star State with the opening of the new Cambria Hotel Waco University Riverfront."

NEXGEN HOTELS HAS acquired EVEN Hotel Miami - Airport in Miami, marking its first wellness-focused brand in the portfolio. Managed by Missouri-based Genuine Hospitality Group, this upscale hotel represents NexGen's third acquisition in a brief two-week span under the leadership of Chris Patel. Located one mile from Miami International Airport and minutes from the Port of Miami, the hotel offers guests access to Waterford Business District, Brickell City Centre, and Miracle Mile, according to NexGen. Nearby attractions include DRV PNK Stadium, LoanDepot Park, the University of Miami, Florida International University, South Beach, Miami Seaquarium, and the future Miami Freedom Park Stadium. "We see Florida as a growing market for us and this acquisition offers an assortment of value opportunities for our company," Patel said. "We are also excited to add the EVEN hotel brand to our portfolio as it is well received by health-conscious travelers."

MORE ASSOCIATIONS ARE joining the American Hotel & Lodging Association in protesting the National Labor Relations Board's recently issued final ruling on the definition of joint-employer status. The ruling essentially broadens the definition to any "entity that has an employment relationship with the employees," and AAHOA, AHLA and the other associations say it could damage the current franchise business model. NLRB's new standard, issued last week, defines a joint employer to be any company that shares or codetermines one or more essential terms and conditions of employment. Those include: Wages, benefits, and other compensation. Hours of work and scheduling. The assignment of duties to be performed. The supervision of the performance of duties. Work rules and directions governing the manner, means, and methods of the performance of duties and the grounds for discipline. The tenure of employment, including hiring and discharge. Working conditions related to the safety and health of employees.

OWNERS OF ECONOMY brand hotels may not always think about improving the appeal of their properties, and up until now their options for interior design have been limited. Alpa Patel discovered those limitations and four years ago it inspired her to do something about it. She has created a company, Spaceez, that offers affordable design work to those owners to give them the option of upgrading their hotels into boutiques, allowing them to charge higher rates accordingly. Her inspiration comes from her efforts to help improve her parents' Super 8 hotel where she grew up in Arlington, Texas. "My dad was going to refresh the property because he hadn't touched it in a decade. I said Dad, do something nice with the lobby. He was just going to do the rooms," Patel said. "The lobbies, it's a public space and people come if it looks nice photographs, nice. You could charge higher rates."

MORE THAN 260 travel industry and business organizations, such as the U.S. Travel Association, urged a repeal of the pre-departure testing requirement for vaccinated international air travelers. The requirement no longer makes sense in the current environment and discourages international travel at a time when a recent survey In a letter to White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, USTA and its cosigners noted that the economic costs associated with maintaining the measure are significant, with international travel spending 78 percent below 2019 levels. The letter stated that many foreign governments with similar infection, vaccination and hospitalization rates-including the UK, Germany and Canada-have already eliminated pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated travelers.

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We got up close and personal with the business mogul, talk-show host, TV star, author and most recently, Harvard graduate - and find out how amusements parks inspired the creation of America's Next Top Model.

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