Beige Book Casts Bright Light on Mass. Tourism
A recent survey of banking and business contacts around New England found tourism to be a bright spot in the regional economy, one with a “very bullish” outlook for the remainder of 2024.
Could Hotel Room Shortage Reshape South Boston Development Plans?
Boston’s limited number of hotel rooms makes the city one of the country’s most expensive convention destinations, state officials were told last week. That information could weigh on an in-limbo process to redevelop parking lots near the city’s biggest convention center.
Hot Property: Four Seasons Renovations
A hand-drawn mural, a toy closet for young guests and a new restaurant are among the updates to the older of Boston’s two Four Seasons Hotels, recently completed by Shawmut Design and Construction.
No Room for Discounts as Hotels Recover
Shuttered hotels and skeleton-crew staffs are fading into distant memory as the Boston lodging market approaches a full financial recovery from the depths of their pandemic plunge.
Bulfinch Triangle Hotel Proposal Is Back from the Dead
A 15-story hotel approved for site near Boston’s North Station in 2014 but never built is being resurrected by its developer.
New Owners Plan $20M Upgrade at Back Bay Hotel
The new owners of the former Loews Boston hotel will spend $20 million on updates and renovations of the 225-room property following a $117 million acquisition.
Hot Property: Cambria Boston Somerville
Online arts magazine Vanyaland will produce a series of live performances and has curated playlists from local musicians in the common areas and private function rooms at Somerville’s newest hotel.
Students, Councilors Miss Big Picture in Hotel-Dorm Battle
Northeastern’s attempt to rent hundreds of rooms in the Sheraton Boston can make a difference reducing pressure on working families’ rents by taking students out of the market. Then why aren’t NEU students supporting it?
Boston Hotels Raise Expectations and Palates
Rubbery chicken and a burger used to be de rigueur for menus at hotel restaurants. Now, those old concepts being replaced by chef-driven ventures that act as amenities for upscale properties.
Massachusetts Trails U.S. in Hotel Market Recovery
Boston was amongst the hardest hit regions during the pandemic. And the slow return of corporate, group and international travel has lengthened area hotels’ road to recovery.
Making the Case for Face-to-Face Business Meetings
Martha Sheridan, CEO of Greater Boston’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, has a new source of funding at her disposal to shore up the battered hospitality industry as 2022 opens with uncertainty.
Massport Optimistic Despite ‘Softening’ Air Travel
Buoyed by a passenger surge in July, Massachusetts Port Authority officials are optimistic that the return of air travel through Logan International Airport is outpacing their earlier projections even as the Delta variant portends a forthcoming slowdown.
Boston Hotels Wait for the Bounce-Back
As the downtown economy reopens, Boston is set to absorb nearly 2,200 additional hotel rooms this year. The additional 5.5 percent in room supply is the largest in 20 years, and it hits a market that suffered the nation’s second-worst financial performance after New York City in 2020.
A Steady Source of Advice for Hotel Owners
The pandemic upended hotels’ business models and forced owners to rethink their strategies for operations, branding and property upgrades. Beverly-headquartered CHMWarnick and its president Chad Crandell step in.
A Creative Way to Jump-Start the Meetings Market
There is growing demand among planners, meeting attendees and travelers for social bubbles where guests can “take over” blocks of rooms, dedicated hotel floors and even all of the hotel’s meeting space to ensure safe, socially distanced and dedicated hotel use.
A 180-Degree Turnaround in Hotel Investment Market
As we entered 2021, the promise of vaccines and additional government support resulted in a 180-degree shift in investor sentiment – pointing to what could be a phenomenal summer in 2021.
New Hotel Inventory Shows Off Boston
The timing of Massachusetts’ reopening could not be better: Not only is the reopening taking place during the unofficial first weekend of summer, but Boston will soon boast newly-erected and newly-renovated hotels that provide even more lodging options throughout various neighborhoods in the city
Webinar: With COVID Waning, What’s Next for Hotels?
Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Martha Sheridan, Ritz-Carlton General Manager Bill Bunce and Ryan Enright, a managing director at JLL discuss what this moment means for the hospitality sector in a conversation moderated by Banker & Tradesman’s commercial real estate editor, Steve Adams.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: A Vital Public Service
Proposals for downtown Boston hotels and office towers continue to land on the BPDA’s desk, despite the pandemic. Hey, the city still needs empty buildings, no matter the circumstances.
Hotel Operators Plan Cautious Reopening
COVID-19 has negatively impacted lodging demand for years to come and dramatically changed the local market’s room supply. Market fundamentals are likely to return to previous levels for three to five years.
