As hospitality providers, we are a singular community with divergent and intersecting interests.  We are members of an industry with shared values, common goals and unique services that provide people around the world with entertainment, comfort and memorable experiences.  We are also individual business operators, revenue-centric thinkers and strategic optimists who want to capture market share in a highly competitive environment.  It is no wonder that the dichotomy between community and self-determination creates a difficult and challenging platform in an economy like we find ourselves in now.  We are at once struggling to stay one step ahead of the competition and dependent upon one another to sustain economic viability.

Discounting is at unprecedented levels.  Launching off the heels of consumer demand, devaluation presents obstacles that reach beyond the boundaries of our own backyards.  Not only are we trying to entice patrons away from our neighbors, we are also trying to persuade travelers away from destinations other than our own.  Now we are faced with the internal and external influences that will force us into a new phase.  We will be required to master the fine art of marketing value in an electronic age while trying to climb the steep mountain of rate restoration.  The solution lies in the hands of collaborators; the key players who shape the landscape with their influence and ability to broker.  Those who lead must reach out to those who dance to their own drums; the silent players who are less prone to engage in the conversation of their peers.  Furthermore, organizations that we elect to represent us as a whole must provide guidance in the form of demographics, rate analytics and industry research so we can all orchestrate a strategy for the collective good.

When a four star property undercuts rates at a three star property, the cycle of disintegration launches a downward spiral that damages revenue optimization at the property level, within municipalities and for the industry at large.  Let us not forget the immense impact hospitality plays in the global economy and how the erosion of our ability to drive revenue impacts so many others.  It is easy to lose sight of those facts when faced with the daily challenges of the survival of our own jobs and properties; not realizing how rate structuring affects us on a global scale.  The loss of revenue to the local economy has a rebound effect that reduces the reinvestment of dollars in our communities, drives resources away from marketing districts and defers infrastructure improvements that are vital to attracting visitors.  Visitors are our life blood.  They are the impetus behind business that fuels growth; attracting people to cross our thresholds, eat at our restaurants, seek out our museums, attractions and shopping venues.  Like an inch worm, we will all need to focus on the long road ahead and make steady strides together to regain a stronghold on the future direction of travel and tourism.

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