13th Annual Southern Lodging Summit Introduces Its First "State-of-the-Industry" Report
September 03 2015 - 8:56AM
Business Wire
100 Percent of Polled Participants Believe
2016 Will be at Least as Strong as 2015
Officials of the Southern Lodging Summit, an annual gathering of
hoteliers specializing in development and operations in the
southern United States, today released results of its first annual
“State-of-the-Industry” report revealing a continued upbeat mood by
attendees of the recently concluded 13th annual conference.
Attendees were queried on such topics as the future outlook for the
industry, the impact of Airbnb and which technologies will play the
most important role in hotels moving forward.
“Now is an excellent time to be in the hospitality industry, and
our conference attendees clearly believe the good times lie ahead
for the foreseeable future,” said Chuck Pinkowski, president of
Pinkowski & Company and conference co-founder. “Fifty-eight
percent of respondents believe 2016 will be even stronger than
2015, and the remaining 42 percent opined the industry would stay
at its already healthy levels. No one responded that 2016 will be
worse. Barring an unforeseen black swan event, our panelists and
attendees were unanimous in their opinion that the future remains
very bright for hoteliers both in the Southern U.S. and
nationwide.”
Attendees were asked their views on a variety of topics, with
technology being one of the hottest topics. Thirty-five percent of
respondents stated that Wi-Fi broadband capacity would have the
most impact during the next 12 months with an overwhelming 98
percent agreeing that faster, free Wi-Fi is the most important
amenity for millennial guests. Interestingly, attendees were
divided over whether or not Airbnb is a threat to the industry (48
percent think it is, 42 percent do not, and 10 percent remained
undecided). Full results of the poll are available at the SLS
website: http://www.southernlodgingsummit-memphis.com/.
The day-and-a-half conference, held at the Memphis Cook
Convention Center, began with its annual “Lunch with Speakers” at
the world renowned Rendezvous BBQ Restaurant and evening cocktail
party/dinner before a robust schedule that included industry
updates and outlooks from Interstate Hotels & Resorts and
President and Chairman of AH&LA Jim Abrahamson.
Additional panels included The Presidents’ Panel, moderated by
Isaac Collazo, vice president of performance strategy and planning
for Intercontinental Hotels, and featuring Robert Cole, president
& CEO, HVMG; Chip Rogers, AAHOA president & CEO; Michael
Tall, president & COO, Charlestowne Hotels; and Mitch Patel,
president/ CEO, Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. Introduced by John
J. Koshivos, vice president/managing director development for the
southeastern region for Hilton Worldwide, Steve Bartolin, chairman
of The Broadmoor, gave this year’s keynote address. Jeff Higley,
vice president of digital media &
communications/editorial director for STR/STR Global/Hotel
News Now, moderated a well-received panel entitled, “Putting
Technology in the Comfort Zone,” while Lee Davis, AIA, LEED® AP
BD+C, designer/BIM model manager for Earl Swensson, led the
discussion on “Designing for the Future Guest.”
Celebrating its 13th year, the Southern Lodging Summit was
co-founded by Pinkowski & Company, an independent,
Memphis-headquartered hotel industry consulting firm, and the
Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association. The
hospitality industry event brings together hotel professionals who
target the southern and mid-south region of the United States for
development and operations. The annual event draws a diverse group
of owners, operators, sales executives, financial institutions,
architects, attorneys, and hotel company representatives from more
than 22 states nationwide.
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Southern Lodging SummitChris Daly,
media703-435-6293chris@dalygray.com