2022 Summer Issue - 39

because of the Ukrainian/Russian events, which
may have an impact on leisure travel. It's still a big
question mark as to whether large corporations will
change their policies on business travel. We believe
there will be fewer corporate travelers, at least in
the next one or two years. With the economy not
growing so much, and with inflation high, corporate
travel budgets will be lower.
DAN VOELLM: People are eager to get together
face to face. All this Zooming is exhausting. The
United States and Europe, to some extent, are probably
ahead of the curve compared to Asia, where
things are still on a slow gradient to normalization,
certainly in China, with the latest outbreak of Omicron.
Business travel will be back, if maybe not at
the same scale as before COVID. For MICE [meetings,
incentives, conferences, and exhibitions], it
depends on the frequency and the scale of events. I
don't think you can replace a 500-person meeting or
even a 30-person meeting easily on Zoom. Business
trips may last longer, when they are really needed,
or they may be virtual. But to negotiate a $10 million
contract, or anything else that needs a personal
touch, is tough to do on Zoom. On the leisure side,
people still want to travel, even more so than before
COVID, because they realize what they've been
missing. In the long run, concerns about reducing
our carbon footprint may recalibrate the way we all
travel.
BECKY ZIMMERMANN: The pandemic was the
impetus for hotels to curate the outdoor guest
experience. Because of safety concerns and capacity
limitations, hotels and resorts were-in some
ways-forced to operate outdoors. And guests have
quickly become accustomed to it. Part of it is certainly
outdoor dining-that's the easy one. But we
have been seeing resorts and hotels rethink outdoor
spaces to accommodate more power outlets
because of remote working options. Guests want to
know, where do I charge my laptop? What's the wi-fi
capability outdoors? If I'm turning my webcam on
in this outdoor space, what's the cool thing that's
going to be behind me?
How are hospitality developers and
operators refocusing to meet the new
normal?
ABREU: Some leisure destinations might make
an effort to provide outside areas where people
can feel comfortable, but it's not easy to transform
buildings in the middle of the city and add exterior
areas. So the large hospitality brands and investors
might put more attention on exterior areas in new
hotels, but not much can be done to maximize outdoor
spaces in existing hotels. Some of the hotels
that were very focused on individual corporate travelers
or conferences are working to attract leisure
travelers by investing in spa areas, changing their
image and look to appeal more to leisure travelers,
providing play areas for families with small children,
or lowering prices on the weekends.
FAIR: There's going to be a repositioning of some
assets. Some hotels that primarily catered to business
travelers are going to reflag themselves with
more lifestyle-oriented brands that appeal to leisure
travelers. For example, we are working with GFI
Capital Resources Group and Elliott Management
Corporation on a hotel in New York City in Midtown.
It used to be the Parker New York Hotel, primarily
catering to corporate travelers. It has recently been
renovated and reflagged as the Thompson Central
Park, a much more lifestyle-oriented brand that
SUMMER 2022
URBAN LAND
39
A guest room in the
Thompson Central Park
New York. The hotel is
located on the southern
edge of Central Park on
Billionaires' Row and
within walking distance
to arts and entertainment
venues like Carnegie Hall,
MoMA, and fine dining
options.
THOMPSON CENTRAL PARK
2022 Summer Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 Summer Issue
