Hotel Industry Trends in 2010
By Daniel Edward Craig

In the midst of all the doom and gloom, I think we could all use some levity. Here’s my annual list of predictions for trends in the hotel industry in 2010.
1. Hotels to rival used-car salesmen in price integrity.
Attempts to curb rampant discounting in 2009 by offering value-ads like free breakfast and parking will prove futile in 2010 as hotels panic over weak demand and drop rates even further — without taking away the value-adds.
Meanwhile, a prized mathematician at Cornell proves once and for all that discounting does not increase demand, but is denounced by the hotel industry, who announces another fire sale — third night free!
2. Hotels shoulder burden of bargain-hunter economy.
Airlines, who stopped fussing over trifles like customer satisfaction years ago, will counter periods of weak demand by simply canceling flights and hiking fares. Car rental companies, who apparently missed the memo about the Great Recession, will continue to charge premium rates for substandard cars. Meanwhile, travelers will expect bargain rates from hotels while refusing to tolerate lapses in quality and service.
3. Bungled bundling.
In an attempt to offset losses, hotels will craft packages more complex than cell phone plans, hoping to confuse travelers into paying higher rates, but will end up only confusing themselves and giving away even more.
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4. Flagrant spending is back!  (just not for you).
Luxury went mass-market in 2008, then in 2009 became a symbol of shame and excess after people discovered credit has limits. Now it’s set to make a comeback — as a niche market. The glamorous world of private jets and champagne Jacuzzis will revert to its originally-intended audience: billionaires, royalty, celebrities, bankers and hotel doormen.
5. Lifestyle: the new luxury.
Filling the void created by conversions of luxury hotels into RV parks, lifestyle hotels will open at a rate of one every 3.7 seconds. Brought to you by the big-box chains, these boutique knock-offs will cater to the conscientious traveler’s demands for eco-friendly practices (as long as it doesn’t cost more), social responsibility (provided no extra tipping expected), and affordable style (quirky patterns and garish colors that will have guests screaming for the days of all-beige hotel rooms).
6. Hotels join the social media conversation.
No longer willing to remain silent while guests misbehave and then post nasty, biased reviews on TripAdvisor, the hotel industry will launch a website of its own called DickAdvisor(TM). Employees will post candid reviews of guests, rating them on manners, tipping, honesty, brainpower and tidiness, as well as providing details regarding alcohol and porn consumption, late-night visitors and missing and damaged hotel property.
7. Travel goes virtual.
Advances in mobile phone technology will allow travelers to check in to hotel rooms remotely, raid the mini-bar, sleep, attend a meeting, and check out, all without leaving their home.
8. Safety first, service second.
Faced with threats from the swine flu, terrorism and reverse peephole viewers, hotels will install full body scanners at check-in to weed out terrorists, virus carriers and pervs and redirect them to the nearest competitor. Employees will use hand sanitizer sprays like mace to keep sniffling and leering guests and other vermin at bay, with a special fire-extinguisher format for groups.
9. Heavenly Deathbeds.
As the economy recovers, nonessential amenities will creep back, and hotels will resume the quest to build the ultimate bed, adding ‘essentials’ like 3,000 thread-count sheets and seventeen varieties of pillows. This trend will take a tragic turn, however, when a hotel guest discovers a room attendant buried deep within the layers of his bed, having suffocated there while attempting to make it. Thereafter, hotels will strip beds down to a mattress and pillow, charging a fee for everything else.
10. Vegas is out, Iowa City is in.
The corporate meetings segment will rebound in late 2010 with a new era of cost-consciousness in the wake of the ‘AIG Effect’. Popular excursions like all-night tequila-and-stripper blowouts in Vegas will be replaced with authentic experiences like cabbage soup cook-offs and quilt-making in the Amish heartlands.

The Hotel Majestic has been awarded the Grand Luxe category, thereby placing it among the elite of the maximum luxury hotels of Barcelona.
Located at 68 Paseo de Gracia, this hotel has received this recognition as it meets all the standards laid down by the General Board of Tourism of the Generalitat de Catalunya in order to become a five stars GL hotel.
The ongoing training of its personnel, its comprehensive hospitality and the comfort offered, together with the spaciousness of its installations and the magnificent quality of its entire hotel services have been some of the factors taken into account.

Its modern installations, its advanced technology and the Michelin guide star awarded to its Drolma restaurant (located in the hotel) are other arguments which made the Majestic deserving of the Grand Luxe category. Jean-Louis Dulau, the general director of the Majestic Hotel Group, already achieved the fifth star for the Majestic three years ago and now he is proud of the efforts and work put in by all his team in order to earn the Grand Luxe status.
Coinciding with this change, work has begun on the MAJESTIC SPA, which will soon be opened on the ninth floor of the emblematic building. Recently, and this is something which reaffirms the top quality of this establishment, the Hotel Majestic, owned by the Soldevila family, was distinguished with the award for the Best Hotel and Best Suite in Spain at the prestigious World Travel Awards, as well as being conferred with the 5 Star Diamond Award, which it has been achieving year after year since 2003, and which is a prize that only the best luxury hotels in the world can aspire to.
Epoque Hotels congratulates Hotel Majestic for this great success.

Epoque Hotels is a collection of 300 avant-garde, trendy-chic and luxury-classic boutique hotels in over 100 destinations worldwide. Established in 2002 and headquartered in Miami, Florida the company also has sales offices in Italy, The United Kingdom, Spain and China. For reservations or more information visit www.EpoqueHotels.com Meditation For Beginners

Epoque Hotels is a collection of 300 avant-garde, trendy-chic and luxury-classic boutique hotels in over 100 destinations worldwide. Established in 2002 and headquartered in Miami, Florida the company also has sales offices in Italy, The United Kingdom, Spain and China. For reservations or more information visit www.EpoqueHotels.comGesundheit hat ein Zuhause – Praevention