No Vacancy Live and No Vacancy News
Your home for No Vacancy with Glenn Haussman as well as Friday Night Audit and more! Each show features incredible hospitality leaders that educate and empower listeners.
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We Drove The Vegas Loop With A Casino Resort President
07/08/2026
We Drove The Vegas Loop With A Casino Resort President
We drove through the Las Vegas Loop in a Tesla with Cami Christensen, President/GM of Westgate Las Vegas, and she's got 25 years of stories to tell from inside one of Vegas's most connected properties. 🏨 Westgate is about to be the first Vegas hotel with direct airport access through The Vegas Loop. End of June. You step off a plane, hop in a Tesla, and you're in your room — no traffic, no surface streets, plane to room to convention center. 🎰 Westgate just partnered with Caesars to power their sports book with Caesars technology. Full circle moment: Cami started at the property 25 years ago when it WAS a Caesars property. Now Caesars is back as a partner. The world's best sports book just got even better. 🍹 The younger generation isn't drinking like they used to. Alcohol is down. So Westgate went from maybe one mocktail option to eight or nine on every bar menu. Small shift. Big difference in revenue. 🎯 Cami's leadership rule: "What are we risking by trying it?" She lets team members pitch ideas. If it doesn't work, pivot. If it does, you get buy-in and engagement that sticks. From The Vegas Loop, Las Vegas #HotelLife #VegasHotels #WestgateLasVegas Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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The Luxury Boom Is Reshaping Where Operators Are Betting
07/07/2026
The Luxury Boom Is Reshaping Where Operators Are Betting
Your mid-market property is about to get a neighbor it didn't expect. Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, explains why 158 luxury conversions are coming — and what that means for everyone else. Luxury used to be exclusive. Expensive to build. Hard to convert. Not anymore. Brands are loosening their grip. Third-party operators are moving in. Mid-market properties are being stripped down and rebuilt as five-star, with new tech and new standards. And they're happening fast. Here's what worries operators: once a guest stays at the converted property next door with all the new tech, better itinerary management, and total customer value strategy, they're not coming back to yours. Bruce talks through the pipeline — where the money is actually flowing and why your market might be next. China has 3 to 3.5 times more rooms under construction than every other country combined. The Middle East is accelerating. And New Orleans just went from one luxury hotel to seven on one street. This isn't coming. It's already here. From Lodging Econometrics. Visit lodging econometrics.com/global insights. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866. Your mid-market property is about to get a neighbor it didn't expect. Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, explains why 158 luxury conversions are coming — and what that means for everyone else. Luxury used to be exclusive. Expensive to build. Hard to convert. Not anymore. Brands are loosening their grip. Third-party operators are moving in. Mid-market properties are being stripped down and rebuilt as five-star, with new tech and new standards. And they're happening fast. Here's what worries operators: once a guest stays at the converted property next door with all the new tech, better itinerary management, and total customer value strategy, they're not coming back to yours. Bruce talks through the pipeline — where the money is actually flowing and why your market might be next. China has 3 to 3.5 times more rooms under construction than every other country combined. The Middle East is accelerating. And New Orleans just went from one luxury hotel to seven on one street. This isn't coming. It's already here. From Lodging Econometrics. Visit lodging econometrics.com/global insights. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Natural Language AI Just Changed Hotel Management Forever
07/06/2026
Natural Language AI Just Changed Hotel Management Forever
Your owners are making decisions blind. PM Hotel Group just fixed that. Steve Marino, VP of IT and Hotel Systems at PM Hotel Group, explained at HITEC how they're using AI as their competitive differentiator — not to replace anyone, but to move owners from reactive to proactive. Most owners aren't hoteliers — they're investor-class people who don't know how to navigate systems or run reports. So they wait. They ask. They get frustrated. PM turned that into natural language: "Give me my cost per occupied room across these hotels for the last three weeks." Instant answers. No friction. On the BD side, AI is now helping them identify which assets and which owners actually fit their model, so they're not taking every deal that walks through the door. They're qualifying for the right fit. From HITEC. Visit pmhotelgroup.com or find them on LinkedIn. Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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How Hotels Are Getting Paid to Reduce Energy Demand
07/02/2026
How Hotels Are Getting Paid to Reduce Energy Demand
Here's obvious: Hotel energy prices aren't coming down. Rick West, CEO at Commercial Green Solutions, and Kenny Weston, VP at Commercial Green Solutions, explained why hoteliers need to stop treating utility costs as fixed. ⚡ The "double whammy" is real: your kWh costs are up AND your demand charges are through the roof. But there's $50 billion in rebates sitting in utility programs that most hotels don't even know exist. 🎯 It's not about spending millions on new infrastructure. One hotel cleaning a P-tack can save 17,500 kWh — paid for entirely by the utility. Multiply that across a portfolio and you're looking at 3-5% energy savings with zero out-of-pocket cost (#NoVacancyNews). 🔌 Peak hours matter more than total usage. If you can shift energy use away from peak demand windows, you save on kWh AND on what utilities call your "demand charge" — the penalty for asking for power when everyone else is. 💡 Utilities will literally pay you to participate in demand response programs. Their job is keeping the lights on 24/7. They'd rather give away rebates than build new power plants. Visit commercialgreensolutions.com or check them out on LinkedIn. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why the Most Confident AI Hotel Pricing Recommendations Are the Least Trustworthy
07/01/2026
Why the Most Confident AI Hotel Pricing Recommendations Are the Least Trustworthy
Kartik Yellepeddi, Chief Product Officer at Duetto, says AI in pricing is stuck at level one: algorithms that recommend prices. That's the problem. Building three levels is the solution. 🎯 Foundation (pricing and forecasting algorithms), layer two (explaining why the AI decided what it decided), and layer three (performance engineering that guides humans across sales, marketing, and distribution). ⚠️ The most confident algorithms are often the least trustworthy. AI has to earn trust by explaining itself, showing its confidence level, and flagging where it's struggling — so humans know exactly where to jump in. 💭 Revenue managers are excellent at judgment. They don't need another dashboard. They need conversational AI that works like the computer in Star Trek — natural, explanatory, collaborative. 💰 Hotels optimize one lever: price. Yellepeddi is pushing for decision-rich systems (#NoVacancyNews) that optimize restrictions, group prices, ancillaries, labor spend — the entire commercial ecosystem at once. From HITEC. Visit duetto.app. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotels Are Asking the Wrong Question at Check-In
06/30/2026
Hotels Are Asking the Wrong Question at Check-In
Hotels are asking the wrong question at check-in — and Alliants just proved it. 🔑 Apple Wallet and Google Wallet keys at Resorts World Las Vegas are table stakes. Member Pass is the real play: loyalty recognition built into the digital key so repeat guests see their benefits the moment they arrive. 🎯 One customer captured additional guest names from 13,000 out of 20,000 check-ins. Hotels book one name. Alliants helps capture the whole group — the difference between selling one spa package and five World Cup packages. ❓ Nobody's asking "What's bringing you to town?" They should be. Tristan Gadsby, CEO, Alberto Santana, Chief Revenue Officer, and Andrew Pirret, SVP Customer Experience at Alliants, explained how the check-in moved to pre-arrival (#NoVacancyNews) — where you can actually tailor the stay and learn why someone came. 💰 Golf packages going to people who haven't golfed since junior high. Hotels finally have the data to ask the right questions. From HITEC. Visit alliants.com or find them on LinkedIn. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel Data Breaches Are Getting Worse. Here's Why.
06/29/2026
Hotel Data Breaches Are Getting Worse. Here's Why.
Matthew Bright, SVP and Head of IT at Davidson Hospitality, made a promise not to talk about AI. He broke it 54 seconds in. 🔒 AI is making security worse and easier at the same time — phishing emails with zero typos, sophisticated language models doing the work bad actors used to do by hand. 🎯 Large hospitality companies getting breached makes the whole industry a target. People now understand what to steal. 👤 Your tools can block entry points. Your users are the real vulnerability — and they're more susceptible than ever. ⚙️ Basic security wins: strong network security, strong endpoint security. Then invest everything into user awareness, because that's where attacks are working now. 🚨 Social engineering and help desk password resets are the attacks happening right now, not the ones you're reading about. From HITEC. Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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FNA 213: At our Baikowitz-end
06/27/2026
FNA 213: At our Baikowitz-end
is a cat whisperer, networking extraordinaire, and the funnest, loudest (the good kind) person you'll ever meet. She joins Friday Night Audit alongside myself, and from Toronto (where she's "in exile" from New York) and the crew immediately put her to work on the pet peeves hotel tournament. 🐱 The parallels between training introverted cats and introverted people are uncanny. Slow blink. Build trust. Don't stare. Feed them. Deena's done it for both species. 🍤 Hotel networking events are broken: greasy sticky fingers on the shrimp, then a handshake, then touching your phone. Someone needs to design a clean-hands networking menu. Deena volunteered. We're here for it. 🏨 The pet peeves tournament is down to the Four Horsemen of Misery — and constantly hidden lamp switches just demolished anti-theft hangers 71-29. The hotel industry is listening now 💼 She speaks five and a half languages (people training and cat training), does coaches, comedy, and will absolutely work a room for you at any conference. Find her: Fireball Deena on Instagram, LinkedIn, or in the indentation at the middle of any crowd. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Curator Hotels VP on Why Labor Costs Drive Every Tech Decision
06/26/2026
Curator Hotels VP on Why Labor Costs Drive Every Tech Decision
Brent Hayhurst, VP at , won't look at a new technology until he knows what KPI it's supposed to move. 💸 Labor is the largest line item on any hotel owner's balance sheet, and that's the number Curator's tech decisions chase. 🏚️ Curator skips the big splashy booths and goes straight to the fringes of the show floor, where the new ideas show up first. 🧪 A pilot that fails isn't wasted. Hayhurst treats it as proof the team needs a different approach entirely. ☎️ AI is already pulling phone calls off the front desk so staff can focus on the guest standing in front of them. More from the show floor at HITEC. #NoVacancyNews Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why Your Hotel Manager Spends Hours on Dashboards (Hint: They Shouldn't)
06/25/2026
Why Your Hotel Manager Spends Hours on Dashboards (Hint: They Shouldn't)
Steven Moore, CEO at Actabl, says you shouldn't need to log in to answer your owner's question. 💬 Altitude, Actabl's new product, lets you have conversations with your data instead of clicking through dashboards and pulling reports. 📊 Instead of logging in, finding the right sheet, and comparing — "What were my labor expenses last two weeks?" takes a conversation. 👥 The payoff: get property managers off screens so staff can focus on what only they can do — physical interaction with guests and the building. 💰 The goal is profitability (down from pre-pandemic levels) without sacrificing guest or associate experience. The tools that do that create lower turnover and better engagement. From HITEC. #NoVacancyNews Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why Aimbridge's CIO Says AI Doesn't Work Without Humans
06/24/2026
Why Aimbridge's CIO Says AI Doesn't Work Without Humans
Keryn McNamara, CIO at Aimbridge, told me AI fails the moment it replaces a human instead of freeing one up. 💰 She's bringing a labor productivity and forecasting tool to market within weeks, built on Aimbridge's scale and data. 🚪 Her go-to comparison: elevator operators disappeared, but new jobs replaced them. She thinks the same thing happens with AI in hotels. 🚩 Her test for separating real AI from marketing AI: ask partners who they're integrated with and who they actually know. ⚡ Her prediction for agentic AI hitting property management systems and point-of-sale: six months, not a year. Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Starwood CIO: AI Is the First Tech I Never Had to Explain
06/23/2026
Starwood CIO: AI Is the First Tech I Never Had to Explain
Denise Walker, CIO at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, started her career on a TRS-80. Thirty years later, she told me AI is the first technology she's never had to explain to anyone — people already see why it matters. 🏨 Smaller hotel companies can move faster than legacy chains that placed big AI bets last year, before pricing models and guest expectations shifted again. 🔐 Fear keeps guest data handled right and security practices tight — Walker calls it a good fear. 🛎️ Starwood wants AI to feel invisible, the way good technology always has. You don't think about water coming out of a pipe. ⚙️ Code written by AI still needs the same quality checks a floor full of developers used to run by hand. Catch the full conversation from the show floor at HITEC. #NoVacancyNews Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why Better Hotel Revenue Doesn’t Always Mean Better Profit
06/22/2026
Why Better Hotel Revenue Doesn’t Always Mean Better Profit
At HITEC, I talked with Michael Grove of HotStats, which is now part of Duetto, about why hotel performance has to move beyond rooms revenue. Michael came with actual numbers on profitability, but the conversation went quickly into how owners and operators should read the business. Demand and rate only tell part of the story. Profit depends on where revenue comes from, what it costs to capture it, and which parts of the operation deserve more attention. We got into U.S. profitability, global travel shifts, food and beverage pressure, wellness, golf, ancillary revenue, and why Michael likes the phrase “performance engineering.” I like that phrase because it gets closer to how owners and operators actually need to think. Revenue is one piece. Profitability tells a much fuller story. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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What Hotel Operators Should Know Before Choosing AI Tools
06/19/2026
What Hotel Operators Should Know Before Choosing AI Tools
Hotel operators don’t lack AI options. They lack a clear way to evaluate them. At HITEC, I talked with Shannon McCallum, VP of Operations at Resorts World Las Vegas, about the HFTP AI Collective and how operators can make smarter decisions around AI tools, robotics, chatbots, reporting, and vendor partners. 🤖 Robotics came up, from food prep to concierge support. 📊 Back-of-house reporting came up as a more realistic starting point for some hotels. 🏨 Resorts World Las Vegas already uses AI and chatbots, and Shannon says agentic AI comes next. 🛎️ Resorts World Las Vegas handled more than 459,000 AI-driven interactions last year across 3,506 rooms and three brands. Shannon also made a practical operator point: guests still need choice. Some want technology. Others want a person. #NoVacancyNews covered this at HITEC with support from Unifocus. Check them out at unifocus.com for labor solutions built for hospitality. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel Revenue Managers Need Less Data Wrangling
06/17/2026
Hotel Revenue Managers Need Less Data Wrangling
During HITEC in San Antonio yesterdayn, I talked with Robert Matsuoka of Duetto about Duetto Labs and how AI could change the daily work of hotel revenue teams. Revenue managers already spend too much time pulling data from different systems, building reports, checking forecasts, and trying to figure out what needs attention first. Robert’s view is that AI should cut through that noise so smart people spend more time making decisions and less time fighting spreadsheets. We also talked about forecasting, pricing, profit data, and how Duetto is thinking about the next phase of revenue management technology. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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HITEC: How Pursuit Collection Uses AI Beyond the Buzz
06/16/2026
HITEC: How Pursuit Collection Uses AI Beyond the Buzz
I’m at HITEC in San Antonio today and tomorrow, and I talked with Stephen Katsirubas, CIO of Pursuit Collection, about AI that’s already doing real work for guests and operators. Pursuit has a lot more going on than rooms and room nights. They’re dealing with lodging, attractions, retail, boating, gondolas, sky trams, and all the guest questions that come with those experiences. Stephen isn’t talking about AI in some vague “future of hospitality” way. He’s talking about using it now so guests get faster answers and teams spend less time buried in the same basic questions. One example got my attention: Pursuit cut call volume by more than 30% in one area by helping guests get answers about hours, parking, pet rules, and other basics before they need a person. Thanks to Unifocus. Workforce management redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why The Lodging Conference Keeps Bringing Hospitality Leaders Back
06/15/2026
Why The Lodging Conference Keeps Bringing Hospitality Leaders Back
I talked with Harry Javer, Founder and Producer of The Lodging Conference, and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera about why this event keeps pulling people back year after year. I’ve been going for about 25 years. Suzanne’s coming for the first time. That gave us two very different ways into the same conversation. The Lodging Conference brings the industry conversations people need right now: finance, construction, development, AI, adaptive reuse, conversions, residential hotels, and the dealmaking that shapes what comes next. I’ll also be back on the main stage hosting one of the general session panels, so I wanted to hear directly from Harry about what’s shaping this year’s event. But the event also has the thing most conferences can’t manufacture: people actually relax. The lazy river race helps. The duck race definitely helps. So do the morning activities, the evening events, and the way the property takeover keeps people running into each other all week. That’s what makes the conversations different. People still talk deals, capital, brands, development, and strategy. They just do it in an environment where everyone feels a little more human. Harry also shared what first-timers should know, why the event keeps selling out, and why registering before June 30 matters. And yes, I fully intend to defend my title as king of the lazy river race. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel AI Won’t Work If the Data Is a Mess
06/14/2026
Hotel AI Won’t Work If the Data Is a Mess
On No Vacancy, I talked with Charif Zahrane, Managing Partner at M7 Services, about the hotel technology mess sitting underneath the AI conversation. Everybody wants to talk about AI. Charif wants hotel operators to look at what sits below it first. Data. Infrastructure. Security. System connections. The unsexy stuff that decides whether the shiny new tool actually works or turns into another headache. That’s where this conversation gets useful. Hotel operators can’t just throw AI on top of messy systems and expect magic. They need a cleaner foundation, a better understanding of what they’re connecting, and partners who understand how hospitality actually runs. Charif also gets into why the old “break-fix” IT model doesn’t match where hotels are headed. This one’s for anyone trying to figure out what hotel tech should look like before AI makes the whole thing even more complicated. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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FNA 212: What Arnie Missed
06/13/2026
FNA 212: What Arnie Missed
Today we answer the most important question of all, what Arnie missed. Arnie Garfinkle tosses back some cocktails with Glenn, Craig and Producer Suzanne for this week's Friday Night Audit. Bets are open to how late Arnie shows up for his guest spot.
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Where Hotel Investment Still Works When New Builds Don’t
06/12/2026
Where Hotel Investment Still Works When New Builds Don’t
At last week’s NYU IHIF, I talked with David Duncan, President and CEO of First Hospitality, about where hotel investment still works when new construction rarely pencils. That’s the part of the market I keep hearing more about: not shiny new projects, but existing hotels where the right capital, brand strategy, operating discipline, or management change can unlock something better. David has a useful view on that because First Hospitality now plays on both sides of the equation: investment and operations. In this conversation, we got into why more opportunities may come from assets that need work, why development still feels difficult, and how First Hospitality thinks about growth when every deal has to earn its way forward. We also talked about new markets, talent, culture, and why entering a city as an operator takes a lot more than running the numbers from a spreadsheet. Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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How Stonebridge Uses AI Inside Hotel Operations
06/12/2026
How Stonebridge Uses AI Inside Hotel Operations
Most hotel AI conversations stay too abstract. , CEO and President of , brought it back to the work operators deal with every day: financials, trip reports, sales data, STR reports, and property-level decisions. I recorded this conversation during last week’s conference, where Rob shared how Stonebridge uses AI inside hotel operations right now. Stonebridge uses , , and Copilot at the corporate level, and the company has rolled out across its hotels. Rob talked about using for faster answers, better property context, and fewer wasted steps before a team has to chase another call, email, or report. 🤖 Stonebridge houses financials, sales data, reports, and trip reports inside its AI workflow 🏨 Rob can pull property-level context in minutes before visiting a hotel or reviewing a performance issue 📊 AI helps the team spot problems earlier and understand what may already explain them 💡 Stonebridge challenged field teams with a clear mission: find the next operational “drive-thru” idea 🔁 Rob sees field-level innovation as the real unlock — ideas from the hotels move into the lab, become best practices, and scale across the company This one gets past AI noise and into the operating reality hotel leaders care about: faster decisions, cleaner visibility, less busywork, and more time focused on guests. Thanks to . Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit . Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from ? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel Booking Windows Are Shrinking. Don’t Panic-Discount.
06/12/2026
Hotel Booking Windows Are Shrinking. Don’t Panic-Discount.
At last week’s NYU IHIF, Glenn Haussman talks with John Schultzel, Chief Growth Officer at Olympia Hospitality, about drive-to demand, shrinking booking windows, rate discipline, destination marketing, and how hotels can stay close to guests without losing the human side of hospitality. Olympia operates across New England, up and down the East Coast, and as far west as Colorado, giving John a clear look at different market patterns. He sees continued opportunity in drive-to leisure markets, even when broader economic stress makes travelers more cautious. Drive-to demand can hold up when travelers still want a getaway but rethink distance or transportation Short booking windows make pricing discipline harder when hotels watch pace late in the week Creative packages beat panic discounting when travelers make last-minute decisions Hotels need stronger destination marketing because guests often choose the place before they choose the property Weather should change the message, not kill the opportunity AI can help marketing teams move faster while still keeping the human side of hospitality intact Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel Deals Are Picking Up, But Closing Them Requires Creativity
06/11/2026
Hotel Deals Are Picking Up, But Closing Them Requires Creativity
During last week's NYU IHIF, I talked with Ryan Bosch of Arriba Capital because hotel transactions have picked up, but closing deals still takes a lot more creativity than people may realize. Ryan sees a growing performance gap between hotels where owners continually invested in their properties during the last six years and hotels where owners delayed CapEx. Now that gap is showing up in value, refinancing pressure, and whether some owners decide they’re better off selling. Deferred CapEx has split hotel performance inside the same markets Owners who continually invested in their properties now have stronger assets Some owners now face refinance pressure and larger cash-in requirements More sellers need a transaction, not another round of market testing Buyers still want “meat on the bone” so they have room for value creation after closing Creative capital stacks and alternative financing help more hotel deals close Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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The Development Engine Behind My Place Hotels’ Next Growth Phase
06/10/2026
The Development Engine Behind My Place Hotels’ Next Growth Phase
During last week's NYU IHIF, I spoke with Ryan Rivett of the Rivett Organization and Brian Quinn, Chief Development Officer at My Place Hotels, because Brian’s new role points to something bigger than a personnel move. Brian matters in this story because My Place is moving into its next phase with the Rivett Organization’s broader platform behind it: ownership, operations, construction management, technology, engineering, design, and franchise development. That combination separates My Place from a lot of franchise organizations. Developers aren’t only hearing about a flag. They’re hearing from a company that still owns hotels, operates hotels, develops hotels, and understands the parts of the process that can overwhelm owners and investors. 🏨 My Place Hotels has roughly 125 franchises and is moving into what Ryan called its next phase of growth 🛠 The Rivett Organization brings construction management, technology, engineering, and design into the development conversation 📍 Ryan sees opportunity in smaller and underserved markets where other brands may miss stability and value 🤝 Brian Quinn adds a key commercial engine as My Place takes that platform to market 📈 Extended stay demand remains strong with consumers and developers, giving the brand a timely growth story This is why I wanted them both in the conversation. Ryan could explain the platform behind My Place, and Brian could speak to how that platform now gets translated into development growth. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hilton Orlando Turns Digital Signage Into Event Revenue
06/09/2026
Hilton Orlando Turns Digital Signage Into Event Revenue
At Hilton Orlando, Glenn Haussman talks with Shannon Butler, Director of Catering and Events, about how the hotel uses Xpodigital for flexible event branding, real-time updates, and incremental revenue through digital signage. Meeting planners want spaces that feel customized to their programs Digital signage lets Hilton Orlando update schedules, sponsor messages, sizzle reels, and award content in real time Xpodigital removes the large upfront investment barrier for the hotel and ownership Revenue share adds incremental income while improving the planner and attendee experience Association groups turn signage into sponsor inventory and build revenue for themselves Xpodigital supports the hotel team on-site and remotely, keeping updates fast and execution tight Hilton Orlando started with one screen, saw results, and expanded from there Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why The Historic Hamilton Princess Wins Repeat Guests in Bermuda
06/08/2026
Why The Historic Hamilton Princess Wins Repeat Guests in Bermuda
Hamilton Princess doesn’t compete like a typical resort. The property leans on 140+ years of history, a museum-level art collection, and a luxury guest who keeps traveling even when the economy gets noisy. Glenn Haussman and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera talk with Diarmaid O’Sullivan, Director of Sales & Marketing at Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, about how the hotel differentiates and keeps repeat business strong. 🎨 The art collection creates an arrival moment you don’t get at most beach resorts 🏨 The property uses heritage + service to attract a luxury audience that stays active through economic swings 🏢 Meetings stay meaningful here, including reinsurance and high-privacy groups 🛫 Airlift keeps the destination in play, with added routes and seat growth from the Northeast 🌊 Experiences go beyond beaches, including wild swimming and cave exploration 🛂 U.S. pre-clearance makes the trip home smoother for U.S. travelers Thanks to Actabl for supporting this episode. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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FNA 211: Tabor or Not Tabor
06/06/2026
FNA 211: Tabor or Not Tabor
Wayne Tabor is President and CEO of the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association and is way too classy to be having happy hour drinks with Glenn, Craig and Suzanne. Yet here we are.
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Gen Z, Millennials, and the Vacation Ownership Shift
06/05/2026
Gen Z, Millennials, and the Vacation Ownership Shift
Seventy-three percent of new vacation ownership purchases now come from Gen Z and millennials. That changes the pitch, product strategy, and member experience conversation for every company in vacation ownership. During ARDA Spring Conference, I spoke with Gordon Gurnik, COO of Hilton Grand Vacations, about younger buyers, points-based flexibility, AI, and the experiences HGV builds around ownership. 🎟 HGV runs about 3,800 member experiences a year, so ownership means access, not just more space 🏎 At Elara in Las Vegas, HGV brings F1 into the owner experience with viewing areas, concerts, food, and beverage 🎤 Chef dinners, wine tastings, baseball suites, and private concerts create moments members may not arrange on their own 🤖 AI opens a path toward more personal recommendations, especially in markets like Las Vegas where too many choices can overwhelm a trip 👨👩👧 Points-based ownership helps younger buyers adapt as their families, schedules, and vacation habits change Gordon also talks about why hospitality keeps people hooked: travel, food and beverage, construction, marketing, sales, entertainment, and the moments when guests create memories right in front of you. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Hotel Owners Facing Tough Choice: PIP, Sell, or Switch Management
06/04/2026
Hotel Owners Facing Tough Choice: PIP, Sell, or Switch Management
Hotel owners staring down PIPs have three choices: spend the money, sell the asset, or rethink management. During NYU IHIF, I spoke with Ben Perelmuter, CEO of Remington Hospitality, and Scott Geres, General Manager of Hotel Edison, from inside the Hotel Edison in Times Square. Ben says hotel deal activity has finally picked up after several slower conference cycles. Owners face brand pressure, capital decisions, and asset sales, and Remington Hospitality has already added 17 new third-party deals in the first four months of the year. 🏨 PIPs and capital pressure now push owners toward harder decisions 📈 Remington has added 17 new third-party deals this year 🔁 Asset sales can create new management opportunities 🌎 Remington continues expanding in the Caribbean and Latin America, including Grand Cayman, Peru, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico 🗽 Scott shares what Hotel Edison sees from the middle of Times Square, including a strong first quarter, softer international demand, and future demand around the World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary We also got The Godfather hallway, Luca Brasi, and a reminder that some hotel interviews come with better scenery than others. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Undergraduate by Hilton: A New Hotel Brand for College Towns
06/03/2026
Undergraduate by Hilton: A New Hotel Brand for College Towns
During NYU IHIF, Hilton debuted Undergraduate by Hilton, a brand-new conversion product aimed at university markets where a full Graduate Hotel may not fit. Jenna Hackett, SVP, Global Leader, Lifestyle Brand Management at Hilton, joined me for a conversation about how Undergraduate by Hilton connects with Graduate Hotels while giving owners a more affordable, scalable conversion option. 🎓 Graduate Hotels brings bespoke, university-adjacent storytelling across more than 35 locations 🏨 Undergraduate by Hilton gives Hilton a growth path across hundreds of additional university markets 🔁 Owners can use the brand for conversion and new-build opportunities 🎨 Hilton created a playful university feel and gave owners room for local color through artwork, paint, and design details Jenna also talked about Hilton’s broader conversion momentum, including Curio Collection, Tapestry Collection, and Outset Collection. University markets keep creating opportunity, and Hilton sees more room for growth. Watch the full conversation on #NoVacancyNews.
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