The expansion of the hospitality industry, from new-builds to renovations and rebrands, is dependent on investor capital, and those investors expect a return—which is where forecasting comes in.

A variety of opinions are out there when it comes to the current lending landscape with optimism and a good dose of concern about where the economy is in the current cycle both in the mix.

BDelegation has three dimensions that are powerful tools. Delegation is also quite often misunderstood. In this article I am going to explain my thoughts on how to use delegation to be more productive, to grow your own abilities and to help you see the way forward using delegation to develop others.

The city of Beloit, Wis., is receiving a $250,000 state grant to help finance the redevelopment of a vacant office building into a luxury boutique hotel: The Hotel Goodwin.

From the desks of the Hotel News Now editorial staff: Blackstone to sell all remaining Hilton shares Hotel social experts look to inspire, share guest photos Trinity Merger Corp. closes $345m IPO Big Island volcano spews ash but shouldn’t harm people A look at strange items stolen from hotels

Epelboim Development Group secured a $21.5-million loan to finance the development of a new Tru by Hilton hotel in Orlando.

This month will see the enforcement of a sweeping new set of regulations that could change the face of digital marketing: the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation - or GDPR. To protect consumers' privacy and give them greater control over how their data is collected and used, the GDPR requires marketers to secure explicit permission for data-use activities within the EU.

Blackstone's checking out of Hilton and into LaSalle.Just days after announcing plans to sell the last of its Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. shares, Blackstone Group LP has agreed to buy luxury hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The all-cash transaction values LaSalle at $33.50 a share, or $4.8 billion including debt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal is confidential. Representatives for Blackstone and LaSalle declined to comment.The agreement represents a premium of almost 35 percent above LaSalle's share price on March 27, the day before its smaller rival, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, announced a proposed all-stock deal for LaSalle, the owner of 41 luxury hotels. What Blackstone is offering is more than double the 14.7 percent median premium applied to U.S. real estate investment trust transactions over $1 billion in size over the past five years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. data.

All around the world, finance teams are now fully embracing the cloud to simplify their operations. The heady allure of reduced costs, increased functionality, and other benefits are driving the migration. Yet what's getting people really excited is the unexpected flush of new business agility they experience after they've made the change.

Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (“Park”) (NYSE:PK) today announced that it has closed on the sale of the 601-room Hilton Berlin (the “Hotel”) located in Berlin, Germany, for gross proceeds to the joint venture owners of the entities that own the Hotel of €297 million, before customary closing adjustments. The gross proceeds equate to approximately $350 million, or $583,000 per key. Park’s pro rata share of gross proceeds was approximately $140 million. The sale price represents an EBITDA multiple of approximately 20x the Hotel’s 2017 EBITDA.

Bloomberg columnist Joe Nocera adds up the victories by Steve Wynn's ex-wife Elaine as she attempts to clean up Wynn Resorts. He rightfully calls her a shareholder activist who breaks the mold because she doesn't have a cut-and-run mindset. Now there's a model for others to follow.

The Blackstone Group L.P. is selling its remaining shares of common stock in Hilton—15.8 million of them valued at about $1.3 billion—in privately negotiated transactions pursuant to Hilton’s effective shelf registration statement.

United Airlines CFO Andrew Levy has resigned after less than two years on the job, catching Wall Street by surprise...

Now we have to wonder: What will Blackstone buy next?

Marketing, operations and finance are three diverse yet comprehensive sectors of the hotel business, and should be primary focus areas for hoteliers this year. Why? Marketing has completely transformed the hotel industry. Today, we must thoroughly understand revenue management, distribution channel management, social media marketing, web marketing and myriad changes in guest preferences. Moving to operations, we have added a couple of twists like robotics, energy management and new laws particularly surrounding human resources. By and large, this is where the art of hospitality still shines, but a big addition is wellness of both guests and team members. Most owners view finance as the most important area. Finance is really a cyclical thing, notwithstanding accounting rules, new software and tight cost controls that have not changed. Hold, sell, build, buy—where, when and with what capital?

There is no shortage of investment flowing into travel startups. Consider the Phocuswright study, “The State of Travel Startups 2017,” which tracked 1,497 digital upstarts around the globe and collectively attracted nearly $62 billion in funding. Those capital resources are nearly double the $32.6 billion that was funneled into the 1,252 startups tracked during the previous year.

Epelboim Development Group secured a $21.5-million construction loan from BridgeInvest for the development of an eight-story, 259-suite Tru by Hilton hotel in Orlando, FL, designed as the largest Tru by Hilton in the U.S. to date.

The hospitality world all wondered when private equity powerhouse Blackstone would take its exit from Hilton. Now we know. So ends a storied chapter where Blackstone took Hilton private, and then public. All along the way, you know Blackstone was lining its pockets.

Hotel Business has been following financial news in the industry.

Ciske van Oosten, senior manager of the global intelligence division at Verizon’s security assurance consulting practice, and John Barchie, senior fellow at Arrakis Consulting, offer the following tips for hoteliers looking to ensure their properties are GDPR-compliant.

PMZ Realty Capital LLC, a national boutique real estate investment banking firm focused on creating advantageous capital structures for its clients, has arranged a $13,000,000 permanent loan for the Hilton Garden Inn Bettendorf/Quad Cities located in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Technology is an integral part of lodging organizations. Whether installing a PMS or exploringthe implementation of AI, tracking technology related expenses is key to running a successfuloperation.

There are compelling reasons to start thinking deeply about how to value a company’s data assets for accounting purposes.

There’s only days left until the May 25th deadline for GDPR compliance. Since our primer last month, we’ve continued to put a lot of thought into the regulation, its role in the marketing landscape, and traveler-focused approaches. That’s also meant making observations on how marketers the world around are handling it, too. Today, we got a fresh face on camera—Max, one of our front-end developers—to share some of our thoughts about one of the more rigorous aspects of GDPR compliance: opt-in and consents.

With 500 online hotel bookings happening every minute, technology is transforming the way people book travel -- but it's also creating real problems. Travel fraud is on the rise, with one in four consumers being scammed , according to recent research from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). The accused? Third-party travel resellers. And shady online marketing practices by these companies have led to 28.5 million fraudulent and misleading hotel bookings -- costing consumers a whopping $5.2 billion in 2107 alone.

U.S. retail sales increased for a second straight month in April, indicating consumer spending is accelerating after a sluggish first quarter. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales climbed 0.3% last month following an upwardly revised 0.8% surge in March. The April gain matched economists’ forecasts.