HOSPITALITY TRENDS
businesswire | May 05, 2023
Life House has been selected to manage two more hotels in California - Hotel Royal in Long Beach and Hotel La Rose in Sonoma County. Life House now operates seven hotels throughout California. Both owners faced similar challenges prior to switching to Life House, including fatigue keeping up with the day-to-day operations and a heavy reliance on expensive OTAs, all while desiring to preserve their connection to the property.
Hotel La Rose, a landmark 48-key property in the heart of Santa Rosa, has been welcoming travelers for over 100 years. The owners were attracted to Life House's ability to enhance their hotel's profitability while allowing them to devote more time to their other businesses. For the hotel’s owners, Lukhbir Gill, Hardeep Gill and Jim McCalligan, preserving the historic charm and unique character that had been cultivated through a century of heartfelt operations was very important.
“We wanted to free up our time, but deeply care about Hotel La Rose and the special experience our guests have enjoyed for so many years. Therefore, we could never see it being flagged,” said Hardeep Gill. “Life House is the perfect solution to operate this historic asset in a very sophisticated manner to optimize profitability, whilst maintaining the specialness & extraordinary charm.”
Hotel Royal, a 1923 Art Deco boutique hotel in Long Beach’s trendy East Village Arts District, had just celebrated its 100 year anniversary when the owner Victor Beauchamp retained Life House to take over management. “I had spent 20 years renovating and building our unique brand,” Beauchamp shared. “I was exhausted and needed help but couldn’t allow our family legacy to become just another corporate hotel. Life House’s personalized approach really appealed to us as a chance to maximize performance and compete with bigger, better resourced hotel brands while retaining what we love most about our property.”
This is a familiar tale for independent hotel owners who pour their heart into their properties but have difficulty keeping up with technological advances and increasing operational complexity. From transition through ongoing management, Life House’s partners have a dedicated Asset Manager who liaises with 140+ corporate experts within all pillars of hospitality operations, ensuring that the hotels employ best-in-class systems & processes at all times.
The owners of both Hotel Royal and Hotel La Rose were encouraged by the 258% increase in NOI versus pre-Life House management that was experienced by a historic property in close proximity to Hotel La Rose. Life House boosted revenue and decreased operating expenses by automating back-of-house functions, increasing profitability without adversely affecting the guest experience.
The Management Agreements for both properties were executed early this year. With an efficient transition process, they have both already launched under Life House management.
We are excited to partner with the owners of these special hotels, as they seek to spend their time in more meaningful ways,” said Rami Zeidan, Founder & CEO of Life House. “We’re excited to continue growing in California as there is an abundance of quaint independent hotels with similar attributes to the many hotels we’ve helped on the East Coast.”
About Life House
Life House is a vertically integrated hotel management & technology company focused on serving small and medium independent hotels with institutional quality service. Life House uses advanced software & operating systems to increase profitability and reliability for independent hotels throughout North America. Life House was founded in 2017 by real estate, hospitality, and technology veterans and is backed by world renowned private equity and venture investors. The company is ambitiously investing in its operational systems to make hotels far more profitable, predictable, and seamless for owners.
Read More
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
prnewswire | April 04, 2023
Target Hospitality Corp. one of North America's largest providers of vertically integrated modular accommodations and value-added hospitality services, today announced two strategic hires focused on accelerating Target's growth and diversification strategy. Judson Greif and Hope Hunter, two distinguished government affairs professionals with extensive experience in Washington, D.C., have joined the Company as Vice President of Government Affairs and Strategic Growth and Vice President of Federal Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, respectively.
Mr. Greif joins the Company from Leidos where he was most recently Vice President, Business Development and Government Affairs. A veteran government relations, business development, and policy professional, Judson brings over 20 years of experience partnering with the United States Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.
Ms. Hunter brings nearly two decades of experience inside the United States federal government, most recently with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where she worked successfully with Republican and Democratic appointees and Congressional staff, advancing policy initiatives as a liaison representing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"Target Hospitality has become a trusted partner, providing comprehensive turnkey facilities and wrap around services to the United States government. We see continued growth opportunities across numerous government agencies especially in support of national security and defense," said Brad Archer, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Hope and Judson bring deep knowledge of government services that will enable us to capitalize on these opportunities, and drive growth across multiple government agencies," concluded Mr. Archer.
About Target Hospitality
Target Hospitality is one of North America's largest providers of vertically integrated modular accommodations and value-added hospitality services in the United States. Target builds, owns and operates a customized and growing network of communities for a range of end users through a full suite of value-added solutions including premium food service management, concierge, laundry, logistics, security and recreational facilities services.
Read More
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
prnewswire | April 26, 2023
The latest study by Upgraded Points sets gas cars against electric vehicles to see which vehicle is truly the most economical on five American road trips. Examining the time and fuel costs along iconic trails like Route 66 and California 1, the study offered a variety of insights while investigating the central question: Is saving money on gas really worth the tradeoff in travel time?
The study determined that for every 100 miles driven along these popular routes, an EV owner will save $11 but will add 25 minutes, on average. An EV trip increased travel time by over 13 hours on one route, but less than 2 hours on another.
Road Trip Study: Methodology
The study focused on five recognizable U.S. road trips of varying lengths. The routes were mapped out using Google Maps to provide exact mileage counts and travel times. To avoid traffic issues, road closures, and last-minute delays, the travel date was set for a specific weekend in April.
The costs of fuel for both gas and EVs were based on average gas/electric prices from states along each route. Estimates of fueling and charging times were sourced from the Department of Transportation and the American Petroleum Institute. Finally, the study evaluated the best states for EV charging access, using data sourced from the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data and Electrek.
Five U.S. Road Trip Routes Traveled In an EV vs Gas Car:
Pacific Coast Highway: Following the California coastline starting from Dana Point and ending in San Francisco, this 523-mile journey takes 11 hours and 37 minutes in a gas car. In an EV, you would save about $65.79 but the trip would take you 2 hours and 8 minutes longer.
The Longest American Road Trip: Beginning in Boston and ending in Newport, Oregon, Route 20 spans over 3,000 miles and multiple states. EV trips will save travelers over $350 in gas, but that is easily surpassed by the time lost—an EV trip would take a whopping 13 hours and 28 minutes longer. On this trip, fuel/charging times were also substantial, with EVs taking nearly 14 hours to charge, compared to less than 20 minutes filling up gas.
Route 66, The Mother Road: Following Highway 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, the Route 66 trip would take just over 51 hours by EV, but saves drivers over $250. Gas vehicles need 7 pitstops for this journey, while EVs are looking at more than 10. Driving an electric vehicle would save about $258, but the trip would take you 10 hours longer.
The Blue Ridge Parkway: From Cherokee, North Carolina to Afton, Virginia, this journey is 470 miles of scenic beauty. Driving an EV down this route would save you about $50, but would add nearly 2 additional hours to your journey.
The Florida Coast: Following the Florida coast from Jacksonville to Key West, Route 1 visits all the major beach towns including Daytona, West Palm Beach, Miami, and more. The EV trip saves drivers over $50 in gas but adds over 2 hours to the drive.
EV Usage and Charging Density, State by State
Access to charging stations is the key to a smooth and successful EV road trip. Located at grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, and other convenient locations, EVSE Ports provide power and charge with several ports per EV charging station. Access to these charging stations varies by state, with Washington D.C. coming out on top with 4 road miles per EV charging port. California offers 1 EVSE port per 10 road miles, followed by Hawaii and Massachusetts.
To view the findings in detail, including exact percentages, charging station densities, money saved on trips, along with rankings by each U.S. state and other specifics, please visit the full study HERE.
About Upgraded Points LLC
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Upgraded Points is a travel company that helps to demystify the complex world of travel and credit cards, and to unlock truly unforgettable experiences. Launched in 2016 by Alex Miller, Upgraded Points uses targeted research efforts and in-depth studies to give travelers, as well as those looking to travel, a real understanding of how to maximize their travel, points, and miles.
Read More