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 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!