New York is back – sort of

Plus: Is daily housekeeping gone for good? | Tales from an EV roadtrip | Disappearing hotels

Greetings from the Big Apple, where Barbara’s been attending her first big in-person conference since the pandemic.

She’s spent the last few days in the heart of Times Square for the 44th Annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, one of the hotel industry’s premier events with some 1,600 dealmakers, brand executives and entrepreneurs. And she’s been picking up lots of up intel from industry C-suites about everything from how hoteliers are responding to pandemic-era labor shortages to sustainability, diversity initiatives, and, of course, how the whole lodging experience will change both in the near-term and in the years ahead.

But before we get into that – as well as the rest of the week’s top travel news – we know you’re probably wondering what it’s like to be in New York this summer.

Is Manhattan back? Sort of

By Barbara DeLollis

The signs of New York's recovery seemed everywhere – from my sold-out Amtrak train from Washington, D.C., to my sold-out tourist hotel near Times Square. People love New York and are ready to soak up its energy. Some are even New York newbies. At my hotel, I spoke to one woman who’d just flown in with her 20-something daughter from Los Angeles to catch "Phantom of the Opera" and see the sights. Having never experienced New York she described her first impression with one word: “Busy!”

My hotel, the unbranded Row NYC on 8th Avenue at 44th Street, was sold out for the week. Same for the luxury Peninsula hotel on Fifth Avenue, about a 15-minute stroll away. An acquaintance from Washington, D.C., told me that she and her husband were shocked when they couldn’t get a room there. “And we’ve been clients for 35 years," she said.

And yet, while going back and forth from my hotel to other parts of midtown for the hotel investment conference and other meetings, something felt different.

I didn’t hear the singsong of multiple languages blending on the streets – a once-unmistakable sign that you’re in Manhattan. And the business attire? It's far less common than I was accustomed to seeing in this area before Covid. On top of that, plenty of old haunts that conference goers would frequent to have some fun – like Irish pubs with sports on TV – shuttered during the pandemic. 

The city is still missing most of its 2019-era business travelers and international visitors. Nationally, a Deloitte study says that 2019 levels of corporate travel may still be another two years away. And Loews Hotels CEO Jonathan Tisch pointed out during the hotel conference that the number of international visitors who arrived in the U.S. and spent $239 billion a year before Covid (with New York being a main beneficiary) remains 55% down. And they’re particularly key to New York’s travel and tourism economy.  A decade ago, I wrote a USA Today story about the trend among foreign travelers to book two rooms for their stays – one room for sleeping, another for shopping. This isn’t likely to change anytime soon, though. Wait times for foreigners to receive visas in most of the world’s Top 10 visa-required markets are 100 days with waits in some cities in Mexico and India as long as 800 days, Tisch said.

The experience left me impressed by the city’s never-count-me-out resiliency, and left me (and my feet) very aware that I hadn’t done the conference circuit – in heels – in three years!

Times Square -- Barbara DeLollis

Travel industry gets aggressive over Covid testing

Visa issues aside, another big hindrance to the return of international travelers, of course, is the Covid-19 testing mandate.

We’ve been talking for months about the Biden Administration's seemingly nonsensical and contradictory stances on masking and Covid testing. While travelers – vaccinated or not, tested or not – have been free to roam about the country throughout the pandemic, the administration has refused to drop its requirement that all international inbound travelers, even vaccinated Americans, present a negative Covid test taken within 24 hours before boarding their plane. That’s created all sorts of headaches for travelers who test positive, with some even flying to Mexico or Canada then driving across the border to avoid having to stay out of the country until their quarantine is done, according to a number of recents reports, including this one from The New York Times. 

After more than a year of lobbying for the administration to follow the lead of other countries and eliminate the testing mandate, our good friend Johanna Jainchill at Travel Weekly reports that the industry is done being nice.

"Frankly, in the travel business, we're really nice ladies and gentlemen. But on this, we're turning up the heat,” U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow told the media at the group's big industry conference being held in Orlando this week. “We will be more aggressive because it is causing so many people not to have jobs, so many to not come to America, and there's no logic here. So you'll see us get more aggressive. We've been nice, but now it's time to get this thing turned." 

Dow also told the travel journalists that during a meeting at the White House last week, members of the Coronavirus Task Force agreed that the logic for the testing is "not there.”

Still, we’re not holding our breath.

In other news…

To charge or sleep: Tough choices for next-gen road trips

Thinking about taking a road trip in an electric vehicle this summer? It's becoming all the rage – sort of like 2022's version of the 2021 RV road trip.

If you are, make sure you have plenty of time and map out charging stations to avoid charge anxiety. Our fearless correspondent Stephanie Mehl and her hubby learned a ton of tips and tricks when they drove cross-country in their Tesla from Seattle and Maryland, stopping at nearly 80 changing stations roundtrip. We’ll hear more from Stephanie about her adventure when she’s back from Greece. In the meantime, enjoy this piece from the Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Wolfe, who gives a hilarious account of how she spent more time charging than sleeping while trying to complete a 2,000-mile road trip in four days. 

Making a roadtrip in an EV is all about planning where you will charge in advance – which currently can mean anything from a suburban strip mall to a rural gas station. Gradually, hotel companies are working to be a part of the solution. During the big hotel conference in New York this week, Janis Canon, a senior executive with Choice Hotels, said that 40% of the mid-scale Cambria chain’s hotels today have charging stations. While it’s not a brand requirement, she said more owners are stepping up to install the stations because consumers want them and are willing to pay a premium. We salute you, Cambria!

Airports, get it together!

You think U.S. airports are chaotic? It’s even worse across the pond. In the past few weeks we’ve told you about the hell facing travelers from Amsterdam to Dublin. This week the prize for madness goes to the U.K. Check out this photo from our friend Maya Fisher of London, who got caught in an  e-gate crash that created human logjams across the country last week. It’s just the latest in a string of problems there. Things at Heathrow have gotten so bad that airlines have been ordered to cut passenger numbers there by a third this month, according to The Times.

Back in New York …

As is usually the case at the annual NYU hospitality conference, companies made some announcements though fewer than the norm given the financial env. Marriott unveiled a $50 million initiative to increase minority ownership and development of hotels. Hyatt and Accor talked about expanding development of all-inclusive resorts like those that are so popular in Mexico and the Caribbean globally, even in the United States. And of course, there was a lot of talk about alternative lodging like Airbnb and hotel rates (as we’ve said before, get ready to pay more.)

Here are some other TE takeaways about what to expect from hotels in the new era of travel:

  • Housekeeping every day? It depends.  If you’re staying in luxury hotels (Conrad, Park Hyatt, etc.), it’s back. But if you’re craving freshly made beds and new towels at less-expensive chains, don't hold your breath. The pandemic trend away from what used to be a given may be here to stay. So, be sure to check with your hotel before you book. “Guests don’t necessarily want housekeeping; they’re looking more for a lighter touch – say three days a week,” says Elizabeth Harlow, chief marketing and brand officer of fast-growing Sonesta Hotels. And Crystal Vinesse Thomas, who oversees luxury and lifestyle brands for Hyatt, says Hyatt has learned that non-luxury guests don’t care if their bed is made every day. Today, she said, housekeeping every third day is the default, though guests can request it daily. “They cared more about the bathroom being tended to, new bathroom amenities if needed and having trash discarded vs. a made bed.” Hotel owners have been pushing brands like Marriott and Hilton to do away with automatic housekeeping due to rising labor costs, one owner said at NYU. Another reason: sustainability.

  • Mandatory hotel fees here to stay. As is tradition, the conference was held at the Marriott Marquis, but prices there are high (some attendees said they paid more than $500) and we’re not really fans. Instead, Barbara found a room nearby for $189 at Row NYC. But, like the Marquis and a growing number of hotels nationwide, the Row added A mandatory $35 facilities fee ($40.16 with tax) that covered things like the fitness center she would never have time to use during the conference and a plastic water bottle that's hardly planet friendly. But at least one of the many website pop-ups she encountered while booking alerted her to the fee, which guests often complain they don't know about until check-out. As you may know, the actual owners of hotels (vs. the brand) push for these fees because it is extra revenue. And we’ve seen them run as high as $97 a night. The hotels try to justify it by telling you how much value the fees provide. Traveler tip: You can politely suggest that you don't want to pay the fee; there is a chance that some hotels may cave in – again, if you're nice.

  • Google confirms: Alt lodging will only grow. If anyone's close to truly holding a crystal ball for traveler behavior, we could say it's Google. The giant almost sees into the future through its ability to track real-time search searches for future travel. So our ears perked up when the company's top travel industry segment leader, Richard Holden, told the audience that alternatives to hotels like Airbnb are here to stay. “We’re coming out of the pandemic with people still interested in it," he said. The trend – coupled with "bleisure" and remote/hybrid work – has huge implications for the future of hospitality, travel and tourism.

  • All-inclusive's grow -- and goes luxury. Mark Hoplamazian and Chris Nassetta, the CEOs of Hyatt and Hilton respectively, both confirmed their commitment to growing all-inclusive resort vacations during the conference. But what was new is the desire to create more luxury options. Hilton, for instance, just opened a massive, three-brand all-inclusive resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya that features 2,600 rooms. Guests can pick from staying in Hilton, Conrad or Waldorf Astoria parts of the campus. Hyatt expects to see all-inclusive options in the United States, too.

A housekeeper hard at work at a luxury hotel. -- Barbara DeLollis

And finally ....

What happened to that older hotel that you liked? The pandemic accelerated the demise of some dated properties. We spoke to young entrepreneur Akash Rohera, a cofounder of the pandemic-era company Vivo Investment Group that's rapidly converting dilapidated Marriott Residence Inn and Days Inn hotels across the country into apartment buildings. In fact, it’s their entire business model. Their latest deal is in Baltimore's once-sizzling tourist area – the Inner Harbor – will mean 710 fewer hotel rooms in two towers, including a Radisson tower. Vivo typically adds kitchens and amenities like a gym and pool tables before renting out the rooms as mid-priced apartment units. They have also converted older, defunct hotels in Greenville S.C., Bloomington, Ind., and Wilmington, Del., into apartment buildings. What does this say about hotels in Covid era? “Overbuilt. Under-demolished,” Rohera told Barbara. “The highest and best use of them are apartments since there's an affordability crisis in America right now.”

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