OUR FAVORITE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY NEWS STORIES FROM 2015

2015 was a big year for the hospitality industry. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite news stories of the last 12 months!

Marriott Acquired Starwood

Some years it’s hard to look back and pick just one event that had the biggest impact on the hospitality world… not so for 2015. Marriott acquiring Starwood was definitely the biggest story of the year.

One of the most interesting parts of the merger will likely be how overlapping brands will be treated. For example, Marriott and Starwood both have luxury brands in St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton. Will they keep both of these brands or eliminate one? Marriott really doesn’t need multiple brands that serve the same market so maybe they’ll get rid of some. Who knows what the hotel brand landscape will look like at the end of 2016.

Hotel Chatter Ended

One of our favorite websites for industry news, HotelChatter.com ended its run in 2015. Luckily, Condé Naste Traveler, which absorbed HotelChatter, is a great substitute. Here’s the official sign off message from the site:

The Hotel Industry Boomed!

2015 saw a number of hospitality industry records broken. RevPAR hit an all time high, and the United States reached a record number of available hotel rooms at 5 million. Overall it was a great year, hopefully 2016 will continue the  upward trend!

Independent Hotels Got Their Own Awards

Independent hotels got some extra recognition this year when the the Independent Lodging Congress established the “Indie Awards.” The Indies highlights the most outstanding properties that are considered independent hotels.

The categories for the award’s inaugural year included “Best of the Best in Independent Lodging”, “Innovative Hospitality Design”,”Best Hotel Bar or Restaurant”, and “Best Digital Marketing Campaign.”

Airbnb Was Valued at 25.5 billion

Despite some early criticism, Airbnb has definitely established itself as a major player in the hospitality industry. This year the short term rental company made news when they were valued at 25.5 billion dollars. To put that in perspective, hotel giant Hilton is valued at around 25.3 billion.

McConnell Marketing Got New Owners

Okay, it’s not as big a deal as the Marriott-Starwood acquisition, but it was huge to us! Learn more about Katie and Megan here.

What was your favorite hospitality related news story of the past year? Let us know in our comments section!