How the Hotel Industry Views Its Future (and Airbnb)
When Jeff Weinstein stays at a hotel, he is no average guest. Every little detail gets his attention. He notices the finishes on the furniture and scrutinizes the room’s layout. “If I’m having a meal, I might turn over the plate to see what manufacturer they’re using for porcelain,” he says.
Weinstein is cued into such minutiae because it is his job to be. He is the editor of Hotels, a trade publication covering full-service and luxury hotels—think Hilton, not Motel 6.
That industry is a mix of large, big-name companies (like Hyatt and the Four Seasons) and smaller boutique brands. The former are dominant, but, Weinstein says, there is room for upstarts; for instance, the gym operator Equinox is preparing to launch a fitness-themed hotel brand.
In the past decade, the industry has thrived, as both leisure and business travel have ascended alongside GDP. Upscale hotels, being as they are at the high end of the market, are that do quite well as the number of very rich people (and the size of their collective wealth) grows. At the same time, a little lower down the market, hotels’ revenues have also been
