EDITOR'S COMMENT
• It has been a defining seven days for the UK with the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister and the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, at a time when the country was already facing up to a turbulent future.
Energy and gas prices continue to soar amid a cost of living crisis that is already affecting much of Europe, which relied heavily on crude oil, natural gas and fossil fuel imports from Russia prior to the invasion of Ukraine. This week, we spoke to hospitality sector business leaders from across the continent to gauge their thoughts on how the crisis was affecting their daily operations and the future outlook over the next 12 months.
The hospitality sector is far from immune to rising utility costs in such a volatile market. Some leaders observed how subcontracting companies [e.g. laundry / cleaning service providers] raising their prices was leading to guests being charged higher rates and operators paying more to service stays. Property owners are also being urged to actively manage inside temperatures and energy consumption between stays by installing items such as smart thermostats, motion sensor lighting and energy-saving appliances.
Looking ahead, there is cautious optimism that the travel and hospitality sectors can navigate another crisis - as they did through the pandemic - although that is increasingly dependent on urgent government intervention. Leaders are calling for anything from stimulus packages to energy price caps and relaxed visa entry requirements for hospitality and leisure professionals and students to combat the labour shortage.
• Don't forget to join our first RockSTRz webinar of the new series tomorrow [13 September] at 4pm BST on "Upsell to scale up: Fresh revenue streams for STRs". In this session, we'll examine everything from the economic benefits of upselling for property managers, how the overall guest experience is being elevated, and potential future revenue streams.
Join Annie Munro Sloan [The Host Co.], Eric Broughton [OK2Charge], Matt Loney [Xplorie], Marc Hostovsky [Minoan] and I by signing up for the no-cost session at this link.
• Please click here if you have a story you want us to tell the industry, or would like to be considered for a feature, podcast or webinar.
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