Recent Articles

• Investors React to Changing Tourist Patterns in Europe

  February 3, 2017

  Europe is a divided continent in many ways. While markets like Spain, Portugal, and Croatia are experiencing a surge in visitors, France, Belgium, and Turkey face a tourism crisis. Performance varies from country to country.

• Urban Resorts Targeting Today’s Travelers with Placemaking, Updated Design

  November 17, 2016

  Resort developers are coming up with new ways to create allure in urban locations—where they can’t rely on beaches, golf, or skiing to attract fickle travelers.

• U.S. Hotel Industry Bracing for a Slower Year

  June 29, 2016

  After years of steady growth, the hotel industry is bracing for a tough year. “Growth and revenue are slowing down,” Bruce Baltin, managing director of CBRE Hotels, told executives and experts gathered for ULI’s “Hotel and Resort Development: Next Wave of Innovation” conference in La Costa, California, held in June. “It’s hit a peak. We think we’re at a plateau.”

• What’s Working and What’s Not as Generational Shift Hits Hospitality Sector

  The long-predicted generational shift in the hotel industry is starting to happen, according to speakers at ULI’s recent “Hotel and Resort Development: Next Wave of Innovation” conference in La Costa, California. Baby boomers are growing older and millennials are developing as a buying group, forcing developers and operators to rethink developments. Everyone is racing to determine what works—and what doesn’t—as projects look to adjust to the latest trends, speakers said.

• Independent, “Soft” Hotel Brands Bank on Storytelling, Social Media–Ready Moments

  June 24, 2016

  As competition for the dollars of vacationers and business travelers ratchets up, hotel companies are on a never-ending search for ways to differentiate themselves. Guests are looking for uniqueness, local flavor and history, and bespoke experiences that they can capture and share instantly through social media networks, according to a panel of hotel industry experts at the recent ULI Florida Summit in Miami.

• Modeling Latin American Redevelopment after Miami’s Success Story

  November 23, 2015

  The focus of most panelists at ULI’s Latin America Conference, held in late October, was on the stronger markets, including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. There also was optimism about a turnaround in Brazil and Argentina’s most recent election.

• Confident Consumers Drive Record Vacation-Home Sales

  November 2, 2015

  Newly confident and deep-pocketed consumers are driving vacation-home sales to levels that have not been seen in a decade, said panelists at the ULI Fall Meeting. But prices have not yet reached previous peaks, and buyers are increasingly cautious and cost-conscious.

• Reimagining Luxury at Modern Resorts: Cycling Is the New Golf

  October 19, 2015

  In a competitive global market, resort designers are racing to define the “new luxury.” The modern concept of luxury is “really about elegance and simplicity,” said Richard Centolella, a principal in design firm EDSA, during a panel discussion at the ULI Fall Meeting.

• Ten Principles for Responsible Tourism

  August 10, 2015

  Tourism is a critical factor in the U.S. and world economies. “The impacts of tourism on a community can be beneficial if planned and managed, or extremely damaging if left without controls,” says Michael Kelly, former chairman of the APA’s tourism planning division.