Articles tagged “independent hotels”

Traveler expectations have shifted dramatically since before the pandemic. To capture demand in a competitive market, independent hotel brands need to deliver a compelling alternative to the traditional loyalty programs offered by the large chains. The challenge? Scaling up their infrastructure, support systems, and marketing reach without losing their individuality.

The conventional wisdom is that hotel brands are a safe harbor for owners during a storm. But has that been the case during Covid-19? Recent data suggests that the reality is far more nuanced.

In this roundup, we highlight our coverage of Airbnb's financials released ahead of its initial public offering (we wrote eight articles!), the key takeaways from the inaugural Skit Aviation Forum, and a look at smarter destination marketing.

Independent hoteliers with smaller back offices could find a third-party company like Blue Canary useful in mapping out heightened health and safety protocols. But it isn't clear if bigger brands with compliance departments will ever find need for outside help on cleaning.

We like to say there's always a way to create your own white space. HotelRunner is a startup looking at the crowded hospitality sector in fresh ways. Think the budget model of EasyJet or AirAsia, but for a hotel tech stack.

The startup Life House has a new white-labeled full management service that doesn't require a costly rebrand or renovation. We expect only a few dozen hotels will sign up this year for it. But the new offering underscores the bigger picture, stark choices facing the owners of tens of thousands of independent hotels now.

Independent hotels struggle to keep up with larger hotels and chains when it comes to adopting the latest technology, thanks to high costs and complexity of implementation. However, they stand to benefit substantially if they adopt the right systems.

Attaining direct bookings can be a tough fight, especially for independent hotels that tend to operate on tighter marketing budgets than their corporate counterparts. But if the independents get the tactics right, there’s a lot of room for growth.

Is this the beginning of a new cycle of global hotel chains buying independent hotel groups? As competition intensifies for soft brands, more of such consolidations should not surprise anyone.

A year from now — or perhaps sooner — we wouldn't be at all surprised to hear Expedia executives admit that hotels' direct-booking campaigns were having more of an adverse impact than the company initially articulated. Hotels have taken back some control from Expedia, and its shift toward independent hotels has far-reaching implications.