Industry Leaders Expound on 2010 Challenges, Strategies

Nov 17, 09 | 1:57 am

By Chris Crowell

On day one of the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show, during the Hospitality Leadership Forum, Jim Abrahamson, president of InterContinental Hotels Group, joked that his company "canceled the rest of 2009" in order to shift focus to 2010. And even though most of the hoteliers in attendance at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show laughed, everyone surely hoped it was possible.

Abrahamson was joined by Hubert Joly, president & CEO of Carlson, and Jeff Wagoner, president of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, on the CEO Leadership Panel panel and, as leaders often do, they maintained as much optimism as they could, but delivered a clear message that 2010 is going to be a battle for the industry.

Abrahamson forecasted a long, slow recovery curve, and instead of using the typical U, V or L shape comparisons, he used an identifiable brand logo.

"We think it looks more like a Nike swoosh," he said, "A sharp dip and a long climb up."

And any recovery that does take place, he said, is not necessarily going to be industry-wide. He made a distinction between the "haves and the have-nots" of the market.

"The haves are markets that have a great location or destination people want to go," he said. "Have markets have a good employment base and a good manufacturing environment or an oil patch ... they have some dynamic element. Or they also have a renovated hotel, or new or repositioned hotels, and they're doing OK now.

"The have-nots are really struggling. It's a tale of two worlds. They're not in a good location ... there's no Nike swoosh there. I don't know what brings back Janesville, Wisc."

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Source: hotelworldnetwork.com