Group items tagged

JOBS IN THE hotel industry are projected to exceed overall job market growth in the next five years, according to recent research commissioned by the AHLA Foundation. The foundation has also introduced an interactive dashboard enabling job seekers to explore and compare roles, requirements and compensation within various hospitality careers. The foundation tasked Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, with providing data on demographic and growth trends crucial for identifying and mapping career pathways within the hotel and lodging industry, the AHLA Foundation said in a statement. With its real-time, proprietary databases and industry parsing capabilities, Lightcast created an interactive dashboard illustrating career pathways in the hotel and lodging industry from 2010 to 2023. "It's an attractive time to enter the hotel industry," said Anna Blue, AHLA Foundation's president. "A key part of our work at AHLA Foundation is supporting the recruitment, retention and advancement of people in our industry. Understanding the entry points where careers begin, where they lead and what paths they take is a critical step to helping find their home in hospitality."

For Teague Hunter, president and CEO of Hunter Hotel Advisors, buying and selling hotels is a family tradition. He shared that lifetime of experience with Asian Hospitality in the second installment of our Leadership Series interviews with top voices in the industry. Hunter leads the Atlanta-based hotel brokerage founded in 1978 by his father Bob Hunter with his brother Lee Hunter as chief operating officer. Last year, Hunter had its most successful year to date after closing nearly $2.5 billion in sales. In March it will host its 35th Hunter Hotel Conference, which has rebounded to full attendance three years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Teague Hunter also is the host of Teague Talks, a twice weekly series of podcasts offering advice and interviews with other industry heads. In his interview with Asian Hospitality, Hunter discussed his early days in the industry, current trends in the hotel market and the future of his company and its namesake conference. The video of the full interview is now available on our website, and the following includes excerpts from the interview with additional information. Rise up early in the morning Hunter said his first hotel job was as a bellhop in the morning shift at the old Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Powers Ferry in Marietta, Georgia. It was quiet, but instructive. "I ran around and helped everybody with everything and learned the business," he said. His experience in hospitality, however, began at a much earlier age. He was 5 years old when Bob Hunter started his business. Teague Hunter recalled stories of childhood trips to the beach, during which he would tour hotels with his father along the way. After graduating college, Hunter worked as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and held a position with IBM before he realized that was not what he wanted to do with his life.

PEACHTREE GROUP, A commercial real estate investment firm with a $6.4 billion portfolio, has closed its third hotel property structured as a Delaware Statutory Trust with the acquisition of the 98-key Hilton Garden Inn in Jackson, Tennessee. The acquisition provides 1031 exchange investors the chance to reinvest proceeds from real estate sales, enjoying tax deferral benefits and maintaining a strong real estate allocation, Peachtree said in a statement. "The hotel's strategic location near healthcare and manufacturing jobs, including Ford's planned $5.6-billion Blue Oval City, along with a diverse collection of entertainment and retail destinations, establishes it as a valuable addition to our expanding portfolio of DST properties," said Tim Witt, Peachtree's president for 1031 Exchange/DST Products. Peachtree launched its DST program in August 2022 and is a top-15 sponsor in the securitized 1031 exchange marketplace, according to Mountain Dell Consulting's year-end market equity update.