Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Southwest's Hawaii Hops + United's New Spin Master + Hyatt CEO Talks Growth

May 4, 2018

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Editor's Note

Hospitality is about the business, of course, of providing hospitality. But more often than not, it's just as much about the tricky business of real estate — when to own it, when to manage it. It's a constant whirling cycle for hotel executives looking to seize opportunity, and avoid flops. These strategies have even created their own vocabulary. Asset-light, for example. Ugh.

The two stories below by Senior Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting and Europe Editor Patrick Whyte underscore this hospitality phenomenon. Hyatt said Thursday it is continuing to pursue property sales worth $1.5 billion, while a Starwood Capital sale of properties created new management opportunities for IHG. It's not the sexiest part of hospitality, but sometimes knowing when to throw up the For Sale sign can be as important as knowing when to change the towels.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

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Even if it seems like Hyatt is jumping on the bandwagon for asset-light, China-centric hotel growth, it's clear the company wants to do so on its own terms.

InterContinental Hotels Boosts Luxury Presence in UK

Starwood Capital's sale of a luxury/upscale portfolio represented a good opportunity for InterContinental Hotels to expand its luxury footprint in the UK. CEO Keith Barr obviously thinks there's plenty of room for growth in the sector.

United Airlines Hires Former White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest

He may have served in one of the most scandal-free administrations in recent White House history, so former press secretary Josh Earnest will be tested in this new role. No CEO has been under fire quite like Oscar Munoz in the past year.

Southwest Will Fly Routes Between Hawaii Islands in Major Challenge to Hawaiian Airlines

Southwest began its life in 1971 as a short-haul airline shuttling commuters around Texas. So perhaps it's fitting that it will try to do something similar in Hawaii. But expect Hawaiian Airlines to vigorously defend its turf.

An Industry in Search of Innovation

Corporate travel managers want to learn and improve what they do. It can be hard to take the risk of trying something new that doesn't work out, though, particularly when cost savings alone can seem like success.

Metasearch is hard, and comparison-shopping for vacation rentals and apartment shares is even harder. Tripping and others are having a hard time building their brands in the face of competition from larger players with more ample resources.

Cape Town's Water Crisis: What the Tourism Industry Can Learn From the Myth and the Reality

The Cape Town water crisis has more to do with improper water management and inaccurate, inconsistent messaging than the city actually being in completely dire circumstances. That's why collaboration matters, between huge global organizations all the way down to individual travelers and locals, to promote the reality of international issues and the benefits tourism can have if done in a sustainable way.

Wyndham Hotels CEO Expects to Pursue More Brands Post-Spin

Like AccorHotels CEO Sebastien Bazin recently said at Skift Forum Europe, you don't limit the number of friends you have, so why limit the number of brands any one hotel company can own?

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