Recent Articles

• How Two New Florida Hotel Concepts Are Competing with Airbnb, Marriott

  July 2, 2018

  Florida remains one of the healthiest worldwide hospitality centers. Hotel occupancy in Miami-Dade rose to 87.9 percent in March from 85.7 percent in the same month last year, and the average daily room rate in was also up. At a panel discussion during ULI’s 2018 Florida Summit, two hotel developers shared how their decision to lean into the evolving trends within hospitality and tourism have bred overwhelming success.

• Converting Office Buildings to Communal Micro-Hotels in East Amsterdam

  June 11, 2018

  Nestled in a relatively quiet East Amsterdam neighborhood, a new kind of hotel has been racking up occupancy rates topping 90 percent for the past two years. Zoku is a modern take on the extended-stay hotel, where the visitors stay in fully outfitted micro-hotel rooms of 260 or 320 square feet (24 or 30 sq m) and relax and connect in the common areas on the top floor.

• Adapting to the Changing Expectations of Modern Hotel Users

  February 28, 2018

  To meet the evolving expectations of today’s travelers, new hotels are being infused with active, social spaces that encourage interaction between guests, offer unique experiences with local flavor, and provide healthy lifestyle amenities, said experts speaking at a ULI San Diego/Tijuana event.

• Mixing a Boutique Hotel and Rentals in Nashville’s Midtown

  February 2, 2018

  Imagine arriving home after a long day at the office and calling room service to have a chef-prepared meal delivered to your door. For residents of Nashville’s new, innovatively designed Aertson Midtown building, that is not wishful thinking. They simply place an order with the signature restaurant of the Kimpton hotel that shares their apartment building.

• Hilton Rolls Out Mobile-Centric “Connected Room” Technology

  January 18, 2018

  U.S.-based hotel chains continually aim to one-up the competition in order to attract customers—particularly younger ones—to their properties and loyalty programs. Now Hilton is surging ahead with its “Connected Room” concept, which allows guests to personalize and control every aspect of their experience using their smartphones.

• Flying Flagless in the Hospitality Industry

  October 26, 2017

  Most hotels in the United States operate under the umbrella of large hospitality chains such as Hilton or Marriott. But today’s hotel owners and investors are increasingly flying solo, eschewing big-brand affiliations to create their own independent identities.

• New Hospitality Concepts Merge Hotels with Apartment Living and Hostels

  October 25, 2017

  Since Airbnb began to disrupt the U.S. hospitality sector, industry leaders have been thinking about ways to attract previously underserved customers. A number of recently built hotels and resorts combine the space and amenities of a private home with high-end amenities, concierge service, and curated experiences. A 2017 ULI Fall Meeting session presented two recently introduced concepts with distinctly different target markets and price points.

• Bringing a Mixed-Use Mentality to Rehab of Philadelphia’s Century-Old Divine Lorraine

  June 12, 2017

  Eric Blumenfeld, a prominent homegrown Philadelphia developer, more than a decade ago began rehabbing buildings in the city’s North Broad Street corridor and inviting big-name restaurateurs to use the space. Now, with the reopening of the long-vacant Divine Lorraine as apartment/restaurant space, a beloved architectural icon, Blumenfeld, owner of EB Realty Management, believes his vision is finally coming together.

• 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.