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WITH DISNEYWORLD AND Universal Studios as a backdrop, the AAHOA Convention & Trade Show 2024 got under way in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday. The show had just begun but attendees were already feeling excited about the week. "I think that is great, the venue is great, and the turnout," said Raj Patel, CEO of Apsilon Hotels in Atlanta. "This is going to be an excellent show. Looking forward to it." More than 6,000 people registered to attend the trade show with more than 1,000 booths and 520 exhibitors. Keynote speakers included: Kevin O'Leary, businessman, SPAC investor, director of Stream Global Services, chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments and Beanstox. Rashmi Airan, professional speaker and coach, speaking at the HerOwnership Women Hoteliers Luncheon and Session. Rahul Kapoor, mindset coach, motivational speaker and author. "It's going to be a fantastic show. It's going to be some great conversations, good educational seminars too," said Raj Trivedi, former la Quinta Hotels head and now managing principal at TST Capital in Dallas. "Most importantly, it's a lot of fun. I think people are going to have a great time."

A LAWSUIT FILED in federal court in Washington state alleges that STR, owned by commercial real estate information researcher CoStar Group, along with several major hotel companies conspired to infLAte luxury hotel rates. The seven individuals named as pLAintiffs in the LAwsuit seek to make it a cLAss-action filing on behalf of every person who stayed at the defendants' hotels from February 2020 until the present for an unspecified amount. CoStar and hotel companies including IHG Hotel & Resorts, Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corp., entered an exchange of "competitively-sensitive information about their prices, supply, and future pLAns" in vioLAtion of the antitrust provisions of the Sherman Act, according to the LAwsuit. STR and most of the other defendants in the suit did not respond to requests for comment in time for this article, but a spokesperson for IHG said the company could not comment on pending litigation. "Teddy Roosevelt passed the antitrust LAws to prevent titans of industry from price fixing in smoke-filled rooms," Steve Berman, the pLAintiffs' lead attorney told Reuters, calling the defendants' conduct the "modern equivalent." The alleged price fixing happened in major cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The LAwsuit focuses on STR's "Forward STAR" product that was expanded into many of those markets in April after LAunching 17 of the country's 25 LArgest hotel markets, including LAs Vegas, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston and Phoenix.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE showed improvement in the second week of January compared to the previous week, with mixed year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar. Key metrics, including occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR, saw moderate increases during the week compared to the New Year's commencement. The performance was influenced by the Consumer Electronics Show. Occupancy came in at 53.3 percent for the week ending Jan. 13, up from the previous week's 46.8 percent and reflecting a 2.8 percent year-over-year decrease. ADR rose to $153.84, compared to the prior week's $152.17, showing a 6.3 percent increase from the previous year. RevPAR increased to $81.96 from the prior week's $71.28, showing a 3.3 percent rise from the corresponding period in 2023. Among the top 25 markets, Las Vegas demonstrated the Largest year-over-year increases in each of the three performance metrics. Occupancy increased by 29 percent to reach 79.8 percent, ADR rose by 77.3 percent to $283.74, and RevPAR increased by 128.8 percent to $226.34.

HOSPITALITY FINANCIAL AND Technology Professionals, the global representative for hospitality technology and producers of HITEC, recently initiated a project to develop a digital responsibility code for the hospitality industry. HFTP is forming a task force of experts and academics to develop the code. HFTP commissioned the University of Houston to write a white paper on digital responsibility, featured in the inaugural issue of HFTP's Tech+Fin Hospitality Magazine at HITEC 2024, HFTP said in a statement. The paper and industry discussions highlighted the need for guidelines on digital responsibility. Task force members include: ProfitSence Favicon Ads by ProfitSence Co-chair Scot Campbell, principal, Integrated Resort Advisors, HFTP Global past president and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Co-chair Agnes DeFranco, Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair at University of Houston and HFTP Global past president Mike Blake, vice president, IT, Kemper Sports Steven Bronken, head of global hospitality, Ruckus Networks Sanovnik Destang, executive director, Bay Gardens Resorts Florian Gallini, CEO, INTEREL Thomas Hempel, vice president, sales and partnerships, VENZA Barry Thomas, vice president, technology, Orient Express and Fairmont Hotels Sherry Marek, founder, Aiken Street Consulting and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Shannon McCallum, vice president, hotel operations, Resorts World las Vegas, Neal Patel, managing partner, Blue Chip Hotels, AAHOA past chairman Andrew Rubinacci, chief advisory officer, FLYR for Hospitality Thomas Atzenhofer, deputy CEO, HFTP "There are many good practices for digital responsibility throughout the industry, but these have never been aggregated, vetted and published as a compilation of the best practices in a uniform guide," said Atzenhofer. "HFTP's task force of global industry technology and business experts, has agreed to tackle the task and make the ind

U.S. HOTEL WEEKLY performance showed mixed results in the fourth week of May compared to the previous week but posted positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar. Despite a slight uptick in occupancy, both ADR and RevPAR decreased week-on-week across all key metrics. Occupancy rose to 67.7 percent for the week ending May 25, up from 67.4 percent the prior week, reflecting a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase. ADR decreased to $160.67 from $163.11, yet still representing a 2.3 percent surge compared to last year. RevPAR stood at $108.73, a decline from the previous week's $109.93, but marking a 3.9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Among the top 25 markets, Houston experienced the most significant year-over-year boosts in occupancy, soaring 20.9 percent to reach 74.1 percent, while RevPAR surged by 29.2 percent to $89.15. las Vegas recorded the sole double-digit increase in ADR, climbing by 10.9 percent to $217.53.

Nice Côte d'Azur International Airport, the second busiest airport in France after Paris-Orly, is located 5.9km away from Nice Arrondissement in the Alpes-Martitimes Department of France. The airport is spread across an area of approximately 370ha and is owned and operated by Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur (ACA).

If You Are Non-European You Certainly Need A French Schengen Visa To Taste Some Of The Best Cuisines France Has Ever Produced. It Can Be Obtained Within Working Days.

NEWCRESTIMAGE RECENTLY FINALIZED its purchase of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, the final part of the company's acquisition of four LaQuinta-branded hotels in a joint venture between Highgate and Cerberus. The company closed on the other three hotels in the deal in August. The 281-room, 10-floor hotel, which will be managed by Highgate Hotels, along with the other hotels in the deal, will add 696 rooms to NewcrestImage's portfolio. The other hotels are the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Irving DFW North in Irving, Texas; LaQuinta Inn & Suites Anaheim in Anaheim, California; and LaQuinta Inn Phoenix North in Phoenix. "These four hotels symbolize our company's strategy of investing in properties and in markets that are well-positioned for long-term growth and prosperity," said Mehul Patel, managing partner and CEO of NewcrestImage.

MORE THAN SEVEN in 10 Americans would be deterred from booking a hotel room in Los Angeles if hotels there are forced to house homeless people next to paying guests, according to a recent poll by American Hotel & Lodging Association. The survey was released as the city of Los Angel considers a proposed ordinance that would require hotels to house homeless individuals alongside paying guests, a change opposed by AHLA and AAHOA. Los Angeles residents will vote in March 2024 on the ballot initiative proposed by Unite Here, a LAbor union representing L.A.-area hotel workers. The AHLA study highlighted the significant impact such a policy would have on tourism and hotel occupancy in the city. However, if Unite Here's ballot initiative passes, Los Angeles would be the first city in American history to require hotels to house homeless people alongside paying guests.

A BALLOT MEASURE in Los Angeles that would have required hotels in the city to house the homeless along with paying guests has been officially withdrawn from consideration. However, the Los Angeles City Council also passed an ordinance to replace the ballot measure that some local hoteliers also protest its passage. The ballot measure, sponsored by Unite Here Local 11 hospitality workers union, would have required hotels to house homeless voucher holders with regular guests, spurring protests by AAHOA, the American Hotel & Lodging Association and others. last week, Unite Here agreed to withdraw that ballot measure, which was going to go before voters in March. Also last week, the council approved the Responsible Hotel Ordinance to replace the ballot measure and that would allow hotels to voluntarily make vacant rooms available for interim housing for the homeless. It also would require developers of new hotel properties to obtain a conditional use permit through a public review of the proposed development's impact on the existing housing supply and to replace any housing that would be demolished or otherwise lost in the neighborhood.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE displayed mixed outcomes in the fourth week of February compared to the previous week, according to CoStar. While occupancy and RevPAR experienced a modest increase, ADR declined from the prior week. Occupancy increased to 62 percent for the week ending Feb. 24, up from the previous week's 59.2 percent, marking a 3.3 percent year-over-year decline. ADR decreased to $156.62 from $162.24 the prior week, reflecting a 0.3 percent increase compared to the previous year. RevPAR rose to $97.12 from $96.10 the prior week, indicating a 2.9 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2023. Among the top 25 markets, Minneapolis reported the highest year-over-year occupancy increase, rising by 4.5 percent to reach 47.8 percent.

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA led in meetings and events growth for the top 25 markets in February with a 20 percent year-over-year increase, according to Knowland. Denver and Boston came in second and third, respectively, while National Associations and Technology groups led in four of the top five markets. Overall, year-over-year event volume growth for the industry reached 5.3 percent, the report said. Meetings in the top 25 markets used an average space of 3,507 square feet, compared to 2,890 square feet in secondary markets. The top 25 markets had an average of 124 attendees, while secondary markets averaged 118 attendees. Additional insights into the key industry drivers for the top 25 markets with the highest meeting volumes include: Tampa-St. Petersburg (up 20 percent): national association, healthcare, charity/non-profit/social services, technology and wedding. Denver (up 7 percent): technology, national association, education, healthcare and construction. Boston (up 15 percent): education, healthcare, technology, training/education and travel.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE dipped in the fourth week of March compared to the previous week but showed positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar. Across all key metrics-occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR-there was a decline in this period compared to the preceding week. Occupancy dropped to 65.3 percent for the week ending March 23, down from the previous week's 66.5 percent, with a 0.7 percent year-over-year increase. ADR decreased to $162.28 from the previous week's $163.21, showing a 2.5 percent climb compared to last year. RevPAR was $106.01, down from the previous week's $108.51, indicating a 3.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Among the top 25 markets, New Orleans saw the highest year-over-year occupancy increase, rising 13.6 percent to 75.5 percent.