PHOENIX— In more ways than one, veteran industry leaders took center stage during the second full day of the Eighth Annual Lodging Conference here, with American Hotel & Lodging Association Chairman Kirby Payne warming up a General Session audience for a host of other industry honorees and luminaries. Kicking off the Thursday-morning agenda, Payne outlined the current ambitious slate of his national industry organization, in particular noting its efforts and involvement in such activities as: combating a growing scourge of drive-by ADA lawsuits; working on the ADA guidelines/governance board; wresting up to $10 million in federal funding for each state’s travel/tourism promotional efforts (making that a potential $50-million undertaking); providing input and direction on terrorism-insurance legislation; participating in continued workforce development; and furthering the premise of America’s Promise. Following Payne was Hospitality Solutions President/CEO Steve Belmonte, who presented this year’s Above & Beyond Award to long-time industry executive Lee Dushoff. (In point of fact, Belmonte paid homage to Dushoff via a bit of ceremonial kow-towing at the 2003 honoree’s feet.) In the wake of this ceremony, conference attendees were treated to a high-profile Power Panel presentation comprising the likes of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide’ Curtis Nelson, Hilton Hotels Corp.’s Dieter Huckestein, Mike Leven of US Franchise Systems, American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Joe McInerney and American Resort Development Association’s Howard Nusbaum surveying the state of the hotel arena today. Speaking from the heart, each of the high-powered panelists offered a capsule version of their views… then expanded/expounded on them further. For Nelson, the gist of his message was what he felt to be an overwhelming need to persuade everyone in the industry to raise their room-rates “so we could all make some money.” Follow-up comments by Huckestein and Leven proved to be surprisingly similar, with both extolling the virtues of putting the guest first and foremost. While Huckestein clearly advocated putting the “focus on guest service [where it belongs],” Leven said the watchword at his organization today is “less emphasis on growth and more focus on guest-service.” As for McInerney, he said AH&LA is more committed than ever to rolling out “programs [its]members want to see, and not programs [Washington] wants for them.” Meanwhile, Nusbaum noted this is indeed “a time of crossroads for timeshare marketing;” a development that could heavily impact much of the popularity this particular travel/vacation genre has enjoyed of late. In line with the exploration of such points as profit-leakage to third-party Internet distributors and its impact on overall rate integrity, the seemingly growing incidence of ownership/management friction vis-à-vis contractual language and expectations, and the more-sluggish-than-forecast pace of the nation’s (and industry’s) economic recovery, panelists imparted several memorable observations and prognostications to the audience. Unfortunately, some of the opinions voiced may well invoke painful memories, as Nelson (for starters) maintained he sees an “elongated period of weakness” in the lodging marketplace, what with no substantial recovery as yet teaming with inordinately high consumer debt levels to create a less-than-certain scenario going forward. Moreover, it’s his view the situation “has not bottom out yet; that we still have a way to go” before the national economy— and the hotel arena— begin to take a measurable turn for the better. On the subject of bargain-hunting hotel guests, Huckestein contended we’ve entered the era of the vigilant consumer, bent on finding “the better rate.” To that end, he cautioned hoteliers to keep in mind: “We control our inventory and, as such, at the end of the day we have to have rate integrity.” In a sense, Huckestein said that while third-party portals have to be figured
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