No, for those of you who appreciated Alvin Lee and Ten Years After as a kid, this is not about music. This is about the 10 year anniversary of the technology explosion caused by Facebook, Twitter, iPhone and Android. Technology has finally been applied to hotels – it’s about time! Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Text, Chat and much more are here to stay.
The big news in 2016 was Marriott’s merger with Starwood and provides the new company with over 1,000,000 hotel rooms in 5,700 hotels, 30 brands and huge bargaining power with online travel agencies. The second was the Republican sweep—President Donald Trump will have an opportunity to change the economic landscape. President Trump has a majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives and if he focuses on tax reform, wages, regulations and the strength of our nation, he could keep this long but slow recovery going and dramatically enhance it.