Étiquette : restauration @en

Public Toilets: an essential but under-appreciated amenity

Auteur de l’article Par Claudine Barry
Date de l’article 24 novembre 2017
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While most people smile upon hearing them mentioned, public toilets are actually a serious topic, as they enable all human beings to fulfill that most basic human need: answering the call of nature. Some client groups – pregnant women, families with young children and people with special medical needs, for example – are more inconvenienced than others when restrooms are scarce to non-existent. With the growth of tourism in general, and the increase in family and senior travel in particular, demand for these amenities is growing.

Investment, and Image Enhancement

Countries with strong tourism growth have found just how crucial public toilets can be. Iceland, where international visitors have more than tripled in the last five years, reaching over 1.7 million in 2016, has realized that reviewing this basic service is an important priority. The government has invested over CAD$1M to build 15 toilets for tourists all around Iceland, primarily in areas outside the capital city.

An initiative of Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Clean Toilet Campaign was launched to ensure tourism operators provide clean and attractive restrooms in tourist attractions nationwide. The Ministry even launched a Clean Toilet Photo Contest (!), where people are encouraged to take selfies in the country’s clean toilets and share them on social media. The government has said the campaign is about enhancing the image of the country’s tourist attractions and, above all, of Thailand itself.

The Nice Toilet Program

Germany has come up with a sensible, affordable solution to the lack of public toilets. Rather than building and maintaining expensive public restrooms, about 230 cities are taking part in the Nette Toilette or Nice Toilet private program. It works like this: the cities pay a monthly fee ranging anywhere from €30 to €100 (CAD$33 to $110) to restaurants and cafés that display the Nette Toilet logo, complete with pictograms for additional services such as changing tables and wheelchair access. The logo lets passers-by in need know they can use the establishment’s toilet free of charge, without feeling obliged to buy anything. A map showing the location of Nette Toilette participating merchants is available in both paper format and online.

Source: Nette Toilette

A Map of … Public Toilets?

Visitors to Australia can check out the National Public Toilet Map, (available on a government website and as an app) which includes over 16,000 publicly available toilets across the country. The Map also includes the Plan a Trip feature, enabling them to enter the start and end point of their journey and get a list of toilets along the way. Specific information is provided about each toilet on the map (or route), such as opening hours, if it is male, female or unisex, is wheelchair accessible, has showers, change tables, or safe drinking water, etc.

Source: Department of Health, Australian Government

Toilets Worth Stopping For

They create a buzz because of their unique design or the view users can enjoy. Some are even attractions in their own right, as is the case for Lausanne’s transparent toilet. Inspired by the popularity of reality TV shows, the cubicle’s glass becomes opaque when the user pushes a button to lock the door.

Image: Glass Concept

Monica Bonvicini’s work, entitled Don’t Miss a Sec, is a toilet housed in a one-way, mirrored glass cube located on a busy London sidewalk, where the users are invisible but can see everything – and everyone! – around them.

Source: The Green Head

Two architect-designed restrooms (one for each gender), built with organically shaped pieces of wood, has put the tiny Colorado town of Minturn on the map. In homage to the town’s mining history, the wooden slats are designed to look like a mine entrance.

Source: Curbed Ski

The minimalist design of the toilets at Stegastein Viewpoint resembles the lookout platform itself, which provides a spectacular view of the Norwegian fjord. The same breathtaking view can be seen from inside the toilets, which jut out slightly over the cliff edge, creating a dramatic effect.

Source: ArchDaily

Benefitting from Natural Processes

Chemical toilets are usually the go-to solution for large-scale events. The Australian company Natural Event provides waterless, odour-free, eco-friendly toilet solutions that use wood chips for on-site composting of toilet deposits.

Source: Natural Event

Québec-based Darcom Innovations also offers mobile “comfort stations” with a small ecological footprint. The toilets are built inside repurposed shipping containers and use coconut bark to recycle the wastewater.

Source: Darcom Innovations

It’s only natural that washrooms in Helsinki’s airport should have a nature-themed décor; after all, the outdoors is Finland’s country brand. But airport managers decided adding sound effects to the visuals would create a pleasant ambiance for users, so they pipe in birdsong. Audio experts claim that birdsong is both relaxing and reassuring, and makes it easier for people to focus. The following short video provides a preview:

The All-Important Public Toilet

A simple visit to the humble toilet can provide a positive experience that can improve a traveller’s stay. Some toilets are even listed on TripAdvisor. Others, such as the astonishingly luxurious toilet in a Philippine gas station, have gone around the world on YouTube after a video was posted there by a delighted traveller. Lonely Planet has jumped on the bandwagon, publishing Toilets: A Spotter’s Guide that focuses exclusively on “lavish lavatories and outstanding outhouses”. As tourism organizations leverage their products and attractions, they must be careful not to neglect basic services.

Image à la une: Pixabay

Étiquettes branding @en, customer experience, customer service, good practices, innovation, restauration @en

Accommodation

The New Generation of Lifestyle Hotels

Auteur de l’article Par Aude Lenoir
Date de l’article 25 mai 2017
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The new generation of hotels is focusing on innovation by developing hotel concepts or updating existing ones. The so-called lifestyle hotel is a good example of this trend; while examples of this type of hotel have existed for several years, they are now preparing to benefit from the winds of change sweeping through the hotel industry. Read on to learn how three hotel groups have interpreted the lifestyle hotel trend.

M Beta: revamped, customized spaces

The Charlotte Marriott City Center was fully renovated in 2016. In fact, the renovation was so complete, they’re calling it the second iteration M Beta as they gather customer feedback on what works and what doesn’t. (Further details in the first part of the analysis, Comment l’hôtel de demain est-il pensé ?). With a budget of $16M, room design was completely reinvented by installing modular furniture and adding a variety of high-tech tools. Customers can access their Netflix or Hulu account from the guest-room TV and use a tablet to order from room service. One whole floor is devoted to StayWell rooms that feature amenities such as: aromatherapy, a shower head with chlorine filter, lighting that emulates natural outdoor light, and hypoallergenic bedding.

Local ingredients are showcased in the restaurant, the bar can act as a co-working space during the week and the café is designed to support interaction (see photo, below). The café provides free workspaces and has a retail space where upmarket foods are sold.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal

A new bottle shop sells wines to both guests and locals and the gym features a digital system with over 600 exercise programs displayed on a giant screen. The check-in can be done through the brand’s mobile app, with one of the tablets made available to guests in the reception hall, or with a hotel employee.

Source: Marriott

Aparthotels Adagio: where the community itself becomes part of the attraction

According to a recent study of guest expectations conducted by Aparthotels Adagio, these now include a desire to interact with others and to feel a sense of belonging. Based on study results, a brand-new customer experience concept was tested in one of the properties for ten days. Because the goal was to transform the apartment-hotel into a living space with strong community ties, the company asked both guests and locals to try out the new facilities and features. To reinforce that “at-home” feeling, these new features include a shared kitchen, a delicatessen, a supply of objects guests can use to decorate the apartment, wine tastings, cooking and activity classes and foosball matches.

Source: Aparthotels Adagio

Other properties are trying out other services, such as delivering meals from local and gourmet restaurants, dinners with locals,

Aparthotels Adagio wants to focus as much on the destination as on the hotel

cycling or Segway tours of the surrounding area, and a mobile app with the kind of information that allows visitors to feel more like a resident. Aparthotels Adagio wants to focus as much on the destination as on the hotel. The group will use the results of the customer experience tests to roll out the most popular services across the entire network.

JO&JOE: Focus on mingling

In September 2016, AccorHotels unveiled its innovative new brand, JO&JOE: a cross between youth hostels and apartment hotels. These yet-to-be-built hotels have been dubbed “Open Houses”, where the focus is on creating spaces for living and shared experiences.

The focus is on creating spaces for living and shared experiences

The concept is aimed specifically at millennials, whether they’re a “Townster” (local resident) or “Tripster” (an explorer from out of town).

Common areas promote relaxation and spontaneous interaction. The reception desk is gone; guests enter at the bar; there’s an outdoor “Playground” for events, and the “Happy House” (see picture, below), a private areas for guests only, will be used to relax, work, cook or even do their laundry. The large tables in the shared kitchen promote togetherness and sharing.

Source: AccorHotels

The brand also offers a variety of innovative forms of accommodation for guests traveling solo, in couple, in a family or as a group. The “Together” format provides shared, modulable sleeping spaces, while the “Yours” format is a room or apartment for two to five people with a private bathroom and (sometimes) a kitchen area (see picture, below). Last, there are the “OOO” options (for “Out Of the Ordinary”). As the name implies, this means unusual accommodation, including yurts, hammocks and caravans, and varies from one property to the next.

Source: AccorHotels

Naturally, this innovative new concept for millennials has its own booking app! The community-oriented, experiential tool helps users organize events, share recommendations of must-see places, create groups with other guests for where to go and what to do, and chat with JO&JOE staff.

The plan is to build a portfolio of 50 properties, with the first ones due to open in 2018. The brand is part of AccorHotel’s new lifestyle division, also comprising the Mama Shelter and 25hours brands. In designing these new-generation hostels, JO&JOE is positioning itself in a niche market already well populated with new players, and is also entering into direct competition with Airbnb.

Because the new living spaces focus on mingling and experiencing local culture, each hotel can guarantee a unique experience. This trend of focusing on local elements has spread to all sectors of the tourism industry, and is manifestly here to stay.

Image on first page: Pexels.com

Étiquettes accomodation, customer experience, design, events, gastronomy, hotels @en, innovation, résidents, restauration @en, trends

Sustainable tourism Trends

Trends in Food Trucks: The use of local food

Auteur de l’article Par Rachel Dodds
Date de l’article 5 mai 2015
Aucun commentaire sur Trends in Food Trucks: The use of local food

Local food consumption as a consumer trend

In recent years, there has been a visible shift in the demand and consumption of local and organic food. Local foods can be defined as food consumed within 100 miles of where it was produced (Hodges, Stevens, & Wysocki 2014), while other foods travel an average of 1500 miles before it reaches the consumer (Schnell, 2013).

Some of the benefits of eating local include product freshness, enriched flavour, higher nutritional and vitamin values. Research suggests consumers are aware of the benefits of consuming local foods and are willing to pay for it. Results of a recent study done in Florida shows the average spending per consumer on local foods were $43 a month in restaurants (Hodges et al., 2014).

Do food trucks use local?

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has recently confirmed that street food is being consumed by almost 2.5 billion people daily (Culinary Schools, 2013). The popularity and increase in numbers of this type of mobile operation has gained exposure and interest from customers in recent years.

This is mainly due to the increasing need that diners have for inexpensive, fast, and high quality gourmet food. Although this trend is increasing in restaurants, has the trend been noticed in the newer market – food trucks?

A study of food trucks in Toronto, Canada (Corpuz et al, 2014) found that customers would rather consume something grown in Ontario or Canada as oppose to having something imported into the country. When examining in-depth interviews from food trucks, results showed that 52% of the trucks claimed that they have used local products into their menu, 31% said they incorporate artisanal products, 11% said they use organic. Food trucks also source their food locally (63% source supplies from farmers markets) and claim they used those products to emphasize on healthier and cleaner food (40%) and better quality and taste (46%). Although the use of local or organic food leads to increased cost (83%), food truck operators are committed. As one interviewee stated, “It’s a strong component of our company values. As a company we believe that supporting the environment and maintaining a green footprint of our business is incredibly important”.

The data collected through the interviews indicated that food trucks prefer local because of customer preference.

The future of food?

A key aspect in sustainability for any business model is its customer base. Given the nature of food trucks and this study’s evidence of their passion for sourcing locally, customers associate themselves with the values of these trucks and develop a relationship with the owners. Consumers who purchase from food trucks are looking for a unique dining experience and food truck operators provide a unique offering in the industry.

Perhaps this sector of the food industry will push the local food movement even further.

Image: Urban Diner

Étiquettes purchase behavior, restauration @en, urban

Products and activities

A new trend: Culinary team building

Auteur de l’article Par Maïthé Levasseur
Date de l’article 5 décembre 2007
Aucun commentaire sur A new trend: Culinary team building

Much in demand by companies, culinary team building activities were named one of the top ten meeting trends of the year by Benchmark Hospitality International. On the menu: challenges like creativity, communication, conflict resolution, time and resource management and cooperation. The result: new friendships, a more unified team and delicious meals!

This trend is closely associated with another, dubbed “Work hard, play hard.” In fact, Benchmark notes that a bigger slice of meeting and convention budgets is being allocated to leisure and team building events. Though companies are still demanding more from their employees, they are also recognizing the need to balance this with fun activities like a round of golf, a spa visit, or even a cooking class. Microsoft, Westin, KLM, eBay and many other corporations are sending their employees to the kitchen.

A simple recipe for cooperation

Team building sessions can take a variety of forms, but they are often associated with physical activities, sometimes extreme in nature, that are not necessarily suitable for all employees. Golf, rafting, treasure hunts and role-playing are just some of the ways in which employees can accomplish something together outside the workplace. Unlike golf, which is appeals primarily to golfers, and rafting, which is too extreme for some people, cooking lessons are a simple, relatively inexpensive and highly accessible way to get people together. Furthermore, culinary activities focus more on cooperation than other, more competitive, activities do.

Delicious benefits

Like any organization, a cooking class follows a system: to succeed, participants must set deadlines, use limited resources, make decisions and cooperate. In the kitchen, individuals assigned different roles are put into groups to create a product, in this case, a meal. Participants share responsibilities and learn to appreciate the individual skills of each team member as they work towards a common goal: grilled lamb, sautéed mushrooms or a rich chocolate sauce!

Events can be customized to meet the goals and budget of each specific group. Another very popular option is to have the experience include an opportunity to work with a renowned chef.

Cooking is an enjoyable activity that everyone is capable of doing. In fact, one’s prowess in the kitchen is in no way related to one’s tasks in the workplace; roles are sometimes reversed, stereotypes fall by the wayside and a new group dynamic can emerge. Since the kitchen is a familiar environment and food is a universal language, people who cook together can become closer in a way that endures beyond the team building exercise itself.

The secret to success: Planning and consistency

To be successful, a team building activity begins long before the session itself, which must be well planned. Ideally, a team of employees should be formed to organize the event.
For maximum effect, the activity should be consistent with the company’s overall organization. In other words, its corporate culture, values and internal practices should underscore the team concept on an ongoing basis.
Participation will be greater if the team building activity is organized around a business goal that all employees can contribute to.
To take full advantage of the potential of team building, organizers must set real work goals, determine how the learning will be integrated into the workplace and decide what type of follow-up will be done, all before the activity even takes place. Doing so will lead to better planning.

A poorly planned team building activity can lead to negative consequences. This can happen if the event does not complement the company’s usual work environment. For example, if the company normally rewards individual efforts, an activity to build team spirit will likely have no impact and even strike employees as a waste of time. Similarly, if an event lacks follow-up or is not related to concrete, consistent actions in the workplace, it could well damage employee confidence, motivation and productivity.

Some examples

CEO Chef is first and foremost a team building company. Following a short introduction and some safety tips, participants form teams and name a leader. Then the workshop leader presents the “culinary challenge.” Teams must prepare the food according to the instructions (which are often far from complete). The goal is team work, creativity and trusting others. After the cooking, the workshop leader leads a discussion about the lessons learned. CEO Chef comes to the convention or meeting site and brings all the equipment needed for the team building activity.
Along the same lines, Recipe for Success has a very diverse menu: sushi, chili, chocolate, ice cream, and even ice sculptures! Other outfits are Hands on Gourmet and Parties that Cook.Other companies like Gourmet Retreats in California and Tall Order in Vancouver specialize in a variety of culinary experiences, with team building being just one of their activities.

The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is currently building an enormous kitchen that will be used exclusively for classes and demonstrations as well as team building activities.
The Institut du tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) and the Académies Culinaire de Québec and de Montréal offer cooking classes to private groups and open their facilities to companies who wish to hold team building events.
The Québec Resorts and Country Inns network offers culinary team building as one of the indoor activities available at its establishments.
Montreal outfit La Cuisine de Lili Margot is a place where guests help make their own meal with the help of a chef. It is also available for team building activities.

Take the plunge!

With its positive outcomes, accessibility and user-friendliness, culinary team building seems to be making a name for itself. Participants gain a better understanding of their team’s strengths and challenges, as well as insight into how to manage its dynamic. And, of course, the highlight is the delicious group meal that follows.

The phenomenon has even reached Quebec. However, while there are some exciting initiatives, it is not clear that the supply is ready to meet the demand of meeting and convention organizers. There is definitely room for an organization to develop such activities for conventioneers and business travellers in Quebec. Of course, though hotel owners cannot simply become group leaders of team building activities overnight, they can certainly open the doors of their kitchens and develop such events in partnership with specialized companies, organizational psychologists or other professionals.

Perhaps the idea should simmer for a while…

Sources:
– Healthfield, Susan M., “Keys to Team Building Success,” About.com: Human Resources.
– HotelOnline. “Benchmark Hospitality’s Top Meeting Trends for 2007,” March 6, 2007.
– Vallerand, Nathalie. “Drôle de team building!” Affaires Plus, December 2007.

Websites:
– www.recipeforsuccess.com
– www.handsongourmet.com
– www.partiesthatcook.com
– www.tallorder.ca/retreat-programs
– www.desmondgv.com/conference/team_cook
– www.academieculinaire.com
– www.reunionschampetres.com
– www.lilimargot.com

Étiquettes gastronomy, hotels @en, learning, restauration @en

Accommodation Issues

Restaurant industry in change: be proactive!

Auteur de l’article Par Maïthé Levasseur
Date de l’article 29 janvier 2007
Aucun commentaire sur Restaurant industry in change: be proactive!

New regulations are being introduced in the restaurant industry. Now that consumers want to eat better and know more about the origins and composition of their food, some lawmakers are taking action. Not to be outdone, Canada will likely follow suit and pass its own new regulations in the near future. The hotel and food service industries can wait and then react to such legislation, or businesses can, as some chains have done, be proactive and take advantage of this trend to distinguish themselves from the competition.

New York City gets things started

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has unanimously voted to phase out the use of artificial trans fats* in the city’s 24,000 restaurants by July 2008. In another first, the same department has also adopted a measure requiring restaurants with standardized menus (in other words, approximately 10% of all restaurants) to post calorie information on menus or menu boards. Although New York is the first city to adopt such regulations, if the large number of states and municipalities currently considering such measures is any indication, this is indeed a growing restaurant industry trend.

Reactions to these measures have been varied, but the NYC health department maintains that 95% of the comments received during the public consultation process supported the proposal. Complying with these new regulations may be onerous and costly for many establishments. For major restaurant chains, changing a recipe is a major logistic challenge. In addition, posting the number of calories on menus not only involves research and printing costs, it can create a crowded display.

Three days after NYC’s announcement, the Loews hotel chain was the very first such chain to announce its intention to eliminate artificial trans fats from all restaurants, shops and mini-bars in its 18 US and Canadian properties by June 2007. Restaurant chains like Taco Bell and KFC are preparing similar strategies, while Wendy’s International has already phased out trans fats from its 6,300 restaurants. Marriott International will be the second hotel chain to follow suit by eliminating all trans fats from its 2,300 establishments in the US and Canada.

The sale and production of foie gras

In addition to trans fat bans and calorie labelling, there are other regulatory measures affecting food. For example, the production of foie gras is now prohibited in many countries (e.g., Germany, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland (the world’s 5th largest producer before the 1999 ban), the UK, Sweden and Switzerland) and Chicago has outlawed its sale. In this case, the goal is to discourage cruelty to animals. California will also outlaw the sale of foie gras as of 2012 and the city of York in Great Britain is considering adopting a similar measure. The restaurant industry is therefore being subjected to new standards that may, in some cases, be very restrictive.

Where does Canada stand on the issues?

When it comes to foie gras, Canada remains a country open to both its production and sale. However, the elimination of trans fat is another matter. Since November 2004, Health Canada has been working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada to develop recommendations and strategies for reducing trans fats in foods to the lowest level possible. Canada was also the first country in the world to make trans fat labelling mandatory (December 2005). A proposal to phase out trans fats was tabled, but in the fall of 2005, agro-food industry representatives successfully petitioned the federal government to postpone the measure to give them time to develop alternate solutions.

Nonetheless, Canadian lawmakers are very aware of the issue and will most likely move to outlaw or severely restrict the use of trans fats in the near future. Some establishments have already adapted their menus accordingly. As of December 2006, the Pacini restaurant chain was still the only Canadian chain to have completely eliminated all artificial trans fats from its menu. This change was made with the help of clinical nutrition and cardiology specialists from the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and is a concrete example of the feasibility of such adaptations. The A&W chain has significantly reduced the use of trans fats, while Starbucks has committed to eliminating them from its menu by the end of 2007, in both Canada and the US.

At the present time, there are no proposals in Canada to require calorie labelling for restaurants offering standardized menus. However, it will be interesting to follow the evolution of this awareness-building trend in other cities and states; we may be pulling out our calculators in restaurants sooner than we think!

A plus for tourism?

Although the regulations discussed here have been implemented for other reasons, their impact on tourism is also worthy of consideration. A key element in the tourist experience, food can even be the primary travel motivator. At the same time, consumers are increasingly health conscious, especially with the advent of more information about the dangers of trans fats, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), mad cow disease and the avian flu, in addition to being motivated by ethical or environmental considerations. As such, the number of regulations and incentives to reflect these consumer concerns are likely to increase.

The elimination of trans fats is part of this trend. Whether it is the subject of a municipal ordinance or simply a hotel or restaurant policy, it could be a differentiation strategy worth studying. Like the smoking ban enacted in bars and restaurants, it is attractive to many types of tourists. Although such changes can be costly, they will have to be made sooner or later. Be proactive and help your business take full advantage of its foresight!

Sources:
– The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Press releases of September 26 and December 5, 2006, [www.nyc.gov].
– Association des restaurateurs du Québec. Press releases of October 4, 2006, and September 8, 2005, [www.restaurateurs.ca].
– Boyd, Christopher. « Loews Hotels Set To Ban Trans Fat, » Orlando Sentinel, December 9, 2006.
– Rosolen, Deanna. « Marketing to Quebecers, » Food in Canada, June 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5.
– Quan, Shuai and Ning Wang. « Towards a Structural Model of the Tourist Experience: An Illustration from Food Experiences in Tourism, » Tourism Management, June 2004.
– Health Canada. [www.hc-sc.gc.ca].

Étiquettes Canada @en, gastronomy, hotels @en, legislation, restauration @en, urban

Trends

Global Megatrends Revolutionizing the Tourism Industry at the Dawn of the Third Millennium

Auteur de l’article Par Michael Nowlis
Date de l’article 12 août 2004

Tourism Trends

> The cruise industry will experience explosive growth.

> An older, better-educated population in Europe and North America will increasingly seek ecotourism and cultural travel products.

> « Slow cities » and « slow food » trends will expand from Italy to much of Europe.

> London, New York, Sydney and Dubai will be the leading tourism poles through the end of the decade.

> Non-residents will pay significantly higher entry fees to tourist attractions than those paid by locals (Venice, Petra, Bath, etc.).

> Tourism Satellite Accounting will be adopted by several developing countries but ignored by the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and most Western European countries.

> Prayer rooms and compasses will be installed on most passenger aircraft serving the Islamic world.

> Antarctica will become an ecotourism tourism destination complete with hotels, restaurants and full-service tours.

> Shopping, from mega-malls to folk craft centers, will increasingly become a critical feature for tourism destinations.

> Rides on private spacecraft will become a recreational outing for the wealthy.

> Mega-resorts (Las Vegas, Orlando, Sun City, etc.) will do what no one thought possible: get bigger.

> Cruise ships will sell condominiums, becoming ocean-going resorts.

> In spite of organized international efforts to fight them, sex and drug-focused tourism will flourish.

> Airlines, travel agents and tour operators will ally themselves with financial institutions to offer consumer travel loans.

> Western tourists will shun countries with immense tourism potential but « rogue » leaders (Zimbabwe, Libya, Iran, North Korea, etc.).

> MGM Mirage will beat out rivals Hilton, Harrah's and Bally's to become the undisputed leader of the casino industry.

> National economies in Cuba, Egypt, Spain and Thailand will become dangerously dependent on tourism.

> « Rave » tourists will travel further abroad in search of the perfect party (BringItOn! Travel, Like Hiptrips, Experienceibiza, etc.).

> Enormous infrastructure projects will significantly expand automobile-accessible tourism options (Channel Tunnel car lane, Bahrain-Qatar causeway, etc.).

> China will be the first country to receive 100 million international arrivals in a 12-month period, sometime around 2018 – France will follow within 2-3 years.

Product & Service Trends

> Hotel rooms, increasingly equipped as offices with full-size desks, computers and advanced communications technologies, will minimize the need for business centers.

> Expansion of Europe's high-speed train network will eliminate short haul flights.

> Hotel meeting and dining areas will be designed less formally in an attempt to attract the casual business traveler.

> Small super-luxury boutique inns will take market share from Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton and Fairmont.

> Hub airports will install capsule-cocoon hotels in terminal facilities.

> Hotel and restaurant facilities will be designed for an aging population with lower rise steps, more handrails and wider doors.

> Travel guidebooks will become highly specialized and more frequently consulted – primarily on the web.

> The distinction between business and leisure hotels will erode as business clients seek fitness and entertainment activities and vacation guests demand advanced telecommunications IT.

> « 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed » will replace « Let the Buyer Beware ».

> Growth in demand for home food delivery will outpace all other food service segments.

> An aging population and growing infatuation with healthful living will bring a wave of European holistic spas and 'health-tels' to North America and Asia.

> A new wave of budget conference & exhibition hotels will be built to meet the convention needs of cost conscious companies.

> European and Japanese new-build hotels will be obliged to design larger guest rooms closer to North American standards.

> Restaurant groups will operate F&B outlets wherever people gather (Laundromat bars, espresso counters at service stations, etc.).

> Center-city urban resorts will challenge sun, sand & sea vacation villages in the leisure market.

> Credit card check-in/check-out, F&B vending machines, self-cleaning bathrooms and self-serve laundries will eliminate most human contact in budget hotels.

> Luxury resorts that once shunned children will welcome them with an expanded array of activities and tailored dining options.

Investment & Finance

> Hotel real estate assets will be increasingly concentrated in the portfolios of fewer investors, particularly private equity funds.

> Intense competition for hotel operating contracts will push management fees as low as 1% of gross, 5% of IBFC and $4 per reservation.

> Airlines will continue to rack up significant losses as they struggle to deal with high fuel costs, new security requirements, an onslaught of no-frills carriers and brutal competition from 'open skies' agreements.

> Following the big American sell off of the 1980s and 1990s, hotel companies will be repatriated to the U.S. (Westin, Ramada, Renaissance, etc.).

> Airline alliances of the 20th century will evolve into acquisitions as weaker players struggle to survive (Air France-KLM, American-TWA, etc.).

> By the end of the decade, a score of management companies will control the world inventory of branded hotel rooms.

> Hotel feasibility studies will become an unprofitable commodity for hospitality consulting firms.

> Hotel operating companies will sell their remaining equity in real estate to free up capital for expansion of management contracts.

> Per room hotel acquisitions in Europe will reach stratospheric new records (i.e. Savoy Group).

> Franchising will experience explosive growth as hotel companies strategically reposition to get out of the hotel business and into the business of hotels (i.e. Radisson, Choice, Cendant, Holiday Inn, etc.).

> Fewer new-build hotels in Europe and North America, more existing property renovations.

Human Resources

> Critical shortages of skilled staff will encourage hospitality corporations to develop or outsource proprietary training centers.

> The introduction of new technologies in the upscale tourism industry will not replace the human element in service delivery – to the contrary, it will gain importance.

> Unionized hotel and restaurant workforces will trade scheduling and task flexibility for job security and quality-of-life benefits.

> Tourism and hotel management schools will move out of the classroom and out of the library, onto the web and into the field.

> Powerful unions, a shorter workweek and reluctance to taper social benefits will maintain Europe's standing as the world's most expensive tourism destination.

> Middle Eastern countries enforcing employment quotas for nationals will experience reduced productivity and higher labor costs.

> Airline employees will accept significant wage and benefit cuts to prevent their employers from going bankrupt.

Marketing

> The Internet will become the dominant distribution channel for all travel and tourism products eliminating most intermediaries.

> Understanding customers as people – their likes, dislikes, habits, interests and hobbies – will become critical to establishing competitive advantage in hospitality marketing.

> Customer retention will replace customer acquisition as travel agencies' strategic objective.

> Homogenization of airline services will render them commodities while lodging products will continue to focus on differentiation.

> Data warehousing and data mining will provide one-to-one and relationship-marketing opportunities never imagined.

> Print media advertising will move onto the Web.

> Increasingly value-conscious customers will demand more and better product information.

> Consumers will increasingly expect to negotiate hotel and airline rates.

> Cross-sector strategic alliances between food service, lodging, travel and entertainment companies will prove to be effective marketing formats.

> Better understanding of psychographic consumer behavior will lead to more precise identification of customer segments and sub-segments.

> As marketers increasingly distinguish between loyalty and satisfaction, frequent use programs will become more elaborate.

> Hotel revenue management systems will become more sophisticated and be relocated from the reservations department to sales & marketing.

> Revenue management tactics will be applied to pricing in restaurants, amusement parks, golf courses, tour buses, cinemas, convention centers and sports stadiums.

> Hotel companies' PMS standardization will result in the transfer of database and data warehousing responsibilities to CRS for greater operational and marketing efficiency.

> Market share and product profitability will be replaced by customer share and customer profitability as measures of marketing effectiveness in the hotel industry.

Safety & Security

> Consumers will systematically consult travel health sites before checking ticket or room availability.

> Security concerns in the Holy Land encourage religious tourists to make pilgrimages to sites in Ethiopia, Cuba, Greece, Italy and Morocco.

> Crime and terrorism will render some traditional tourist destinations unsellable.

> Customer credit cards will replace coded key cards in most hotels.

> Guest room safes will be enlarged to accommodate standard laptop computers.

> International hotel companies will refuse management contracts and franchises for hotels without in-room sprinkler systems.

> Terrorism fears will keep Israel, Indonesia, Iraq and India off the mainstream tourist circuit for the foreseeable future.

> Advanced encryption technology will make on-line payment genuinely secure.

Financial Management & Cost Control

> Zero-based budgeting will become the industry norm.

> GOPAR will replace RevPAR as the standard measure of hotel sales profitability.

> Speech recognition technology will lower staffing levels and operating costs in CRS call centers.

> To improve energy and water conservation, hotels will install usage meters and levy charges for consumption.

> Deregulation of the global telecommunications market will benefit the hospitality industry more than the deregulation of the airline markets.

> As hotel reservations made through global distribution systems diminish, GDS will exploit communications advances to reduce fees and costs.

> While hotel and café guests will increasingly expect wireless Internet access, other factors will encourage hospitality operators to invest in it – serving as a platform for mobile point-of-sales, reducing cable costs and more efficient restaurant table auditing.

Tourism Control Intelligence
E-mail: Nowlis@aol.com

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