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The Refinishing Touch

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Renovation Reality: Understanding the numbers of the hotel industry

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As we mentioned in our last blog post, we recently attended the BITAC Purchasing & Design East at the end of July and in addition to meeting some great contacts, we were also able to attend some very informative and educational sessions. One of which was a discussion with Bruce Ford, SVP of Business Development with Lodging Econometrics, a hotel industry research firm.

During the discussion, Bruce provided insight into the current hotel market, including why 27 months of industry improvement has increased the number of renovation projects.

Of the current construction trends, owners of hotel properties in need of renovation are increasingly making those restorations, instead of selling, with the goal of saving long-term money while enabling increased room rates. In fact, this trend has been so widespread, according to Bruce, hotel sale numbers are only half of what experts thought they would be for 2012.

Also, renovation tactics, including refinishing, reupholstering, and remanufacturing, are being used to meet corporate brand product improvement plans (PIPs), which can be pricey and difficult to fulfill. By renovating, as compared to buying new furniture, hotel owners are taking out fewer loans and minimizing upfront costs, while still maintaining their franchise status.

If you’re a hotel owner thinking about renovating, Bruce suggests you start planning now. Even though the summer, conference season and the holidays mean busy hotels for the foreseeable future, the offseason is right around the corner. To read the entire article on Bruce’s BITAC session, visit Hotel Interactive here.

And if you’re looking to complete renovations at your hotel, from armoire conversions to custom remanufacturing, contact The Refinishing Touch for a free quote.

The Refinishing Touch attends the BITAC Owners event

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As the temperatures begin to drop across most of the country, we were lucky enough to spend a few days last week in sunny Palm Beach, Florida attending the first ever BITAC Owners event. The event brought hotel industry executives and suppliers together to discuss thoughts and ideas on the current state and future direction of hotel branding. The Refinishing Touch attend the BITAC Owners event

The event combined panel discussions, attendee polling, and industry speakers. We were particularly interested in the panel discussion that tackled asset value for hotel brands, touching on social media, new technology systems, and the evolution of green hotels:

  • 44% of attendees said that social media was the biggest challenge for them to keep up with, 38% said it was the ever-changing technological systems.
  • 12% of attendees thought that half of hotel guests want green hotels, while 58% said the drive for green hotels is still in early stages.

We also had the opportunity to listen to Bruce Ford from Lodging Econometrics, a hotel industry project research firm, discuss the state of the industry, including lodging trends and markets, why top markets continue to dominate, and how brands and banks are forcing hotel owners to renovate.

The BITAC Owners event was a great experience for The Refinishing Touch, and we thoroughly enjoyed the event. We always love the opportunity to meet with hotel owners directly and create relationships across the industry.  We can’t wait for next year!