Excerpt from CoStar

While hotel demand came back in a big way, that doesn't mean the job of finding the right demand for the right hotel has gotten any easier.

Speaking during the online HEDNA@Home event's "Developing the Optimal Commercial Mix in 2022" session, NH Hotels Chief Commercial Officer Fernando Vives Soler said 2021 was the hardest year of his career for that reason.

"My main responsibility is to drive revenues through the organization through the right segments, the right channels, and of course, the right partnerships and accounts," he said. "It hasn't been easy."

When trying to drive the correct segmentation, Ben Thomas, chief of commerce for Penta Hotels, said the big strategic shift for his company was to "look more at the profitability of the segment, rather than just the top line."

"It became so important for us to really analyze the true profitability of each channel, what type of business each was bringing," he said.

Lennert De Jong, chief commercial officer for CitizenM Hotels, said the goals of hotel companies shifted significantly over the course of the pandemic.

"Over the last two years, the pressure has been off a little bit as an owner-operator because what can you do if there's no business to be brought in?" he said. "Then it's not about making your forecast plus or minus 1% anymore. It's about getting in what you can get in and not doing any damage to your long-term revenue capabilities."

2022 Expectations

De Jong said his company, like others, is still waiting for the return of business travel, and he's hopeful that his company will see 90% of overall demand from 2019 by the end of 2022.

Vives Soler said that leisure demand has determined which markets are seeing the quickest rebound, except in situations where they're heavily reliant on international travel.

"We're going to see those destinations that rely on the domestic traveler [recover] faster," he said.

Thomas agreed that domestic leisure travel will continue to be the dominant segment in 2022, similarly projecting 90% of 2019 overall levels by the end of the year.

He said projections for the future are getting harder and harder.

"I think forecasting accuracy kind of went out the window in 2020, and it's yet to return really," he said. "We strongly encourage within our companies to present a business plan, a two-year plan, as opposed to a budget or a forecast. We don't work in three-month increments only."

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