NATIONAL REPORT—While hotel industry revenues and profits are rising, guest satisfaction is declining. According to the J.D. Power 2022 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, the increase in industry fundamentals has not been met with a corresponding improvement in guests’ perceptions of amenities or services. One of the areas of greatest disappointment is the quality of the guestrooms and facilities. While guests appreciate the enhanced cleanliness prompted by COVID-19, scores for décor and furnishings, in-room amenities, and the quality of bathrooms declined from June 2021 to May 2022. Like all departments, managers needed to cut costs in the Property...

PARIS—Accor and SHe Travel Club, the only independent hotel label designed by women for women, announced a partnership which aims to reimagine the female travel and hospitality experience. SHe Travel Club is the first and only hotel label which leverages technology and women’s individual feedback to create a label specifically designed around meeting their expectations and requirements. Key Accor brands including Sofitel, MGallery, Novotel and Mercure will be part of a 50-hotel pilot in Europe and in the Middle East to encourage the deployment and growth of the She Label. Its ambition is to work hand in hand to raise...

HELSINKE, FINLAND—Scandic Helsinki Hub recently opened its doors in the Finnish capital. Located in downtown Helsinki, the hotel is housed in a 1920s printing house that has been transformed into a large 352-room hotel. Along with unique loft-style rooms, the hotel features inspiring event, meeting and coworking spaces along with a trattoria and bars. Scandic Helsinki Hub is strategically located at the crossroads of downtown Helsinki and the charming Helsinki south district. Vestiges of the former printing house have been elegantly preserved in the design throughout the building, and guests can choose accommodations that offer a variety of special features...

SINGAPORE—Hilton, the fastest-growing hospitality company in Asia Pacific, has been named the top hospitality company to work for in Great Place to Work’s “Best Workplaces in Asia” list for the sixth year running—and third in the top 100 companies across all industries in the multinational category. The win comes off the back of a number of individual country accolades awarded to Hilton this year, including rankings amongst the Best Workplaces in Australia, Greater China, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka as well as certifications as a Great Place To Work in six countries including Fiji, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Papua New...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF.—If you think you see a tree while walking along the outdoor deck of Maggie’s Restaurant at the Desolation Hotel in South Lake Tahoe, you are not imagining things. The outdoor deck of the restaurant is wrapped around a live pine tree. It is just one example of how Desolation Hotel founder and owner Chet Pipkin attempted to leave the site of his eco-luxury micro resort as unscathed as possible. Trees that had to be harvested from the site where a motel once stood were repurposed for the hotel’s construction. Additional lumber from offsite came from...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE and the International Code Council announced joint development of a standard to assess carbon emissions across the entire building life cycle. Proposed ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P—Evaluating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Carbon Emissions in Building Design, Construction and Operation, will provide a whole life carbon approach to support emissions reductions in buildings. The proposed standard establishes how to measure and verify the greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon emissions of a building, or group of buildings, over the entire life cycle. The goal is to provide consistent procedures and data to be referenced by policies, codes, and other standards that address new and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The JW Marriott Washington, DC announced, during Environmental Awareness Month, that the hotel has been awarded a Gold level LEED certification for Building Operations and Maintenance. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence in green building. The JW Marriott Washington, DC is also expected to receive the Energy Star award in late September. The LEED Certification achievement, along with JW Marriott Washington, DC’s energy conservation awards, achievements, and efforts, such as using solar energy,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Nearly all hotels are experiencing staffing shortages, according to a new member survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents indicated they are experiencing a staffing shortage, 36 percent severely so. The most critical staffing need is housekeeping, with 43 percent ranking it as their biggest challenge. Those numbers are slightly better than in May, when 97 percent of respondents to an AHLA member survey said they were short staffed, 49 percent severely so, with 58 percent ranking housekeeping as their biggest challenge. Hotels are offering potential hires a host of incentives to fill vacancies—81 percent...

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.—AutoCamp Hospitality Group is launching a new lodging brand, Field Station, an inspiring and inclusive modern lodging brand for the active outdoor community. Designed as the ultimate experience from affordable accommodations to easy exploration, Field Station offers several room types, onsite guides, turnkey outdoor equipment rentals and retail, educational programming, DIY or guided experiences, an espresso cafe, and biergarten. Both guests and the community at large can enjoy lodging amenities and programming. Field Station is upcycling and renovating existing lodges and motels in prime outdoor destinations to provide inclusive, supportive, and sustainable basecamps for exploring nearby natural areas. The first...

NATIONAL REPORT—Hotels are stepping up their efforts to give back to local communities in response to increasing pressure from travelers, looking beyond environmental commitments when it comes to doing good. From collaborations with local minority-owned and female-owned businesses in the U.S., to donating bedding to homeless shelters in the Nordics, social-value initiatives are moving up the agenda. “Silence is no longer an option. Employees and guests want to know where the leadership of these companies stand on social issues, while longer term institutional investors are demanding more socially conscious investments,” says JLL’s Global CEO of Hotels & Hospitality, Gilda Perez-Alvarado. A recent...