More People Have Flexibility to Travel in 2023

-"The mission of the California Lodging Industry Association is to promote, protect and advance the interests of lodging owners and their management teams statewide, and to provide a network of resources to support member efficiency, profitability and professionalism.”-

February 1, 2023

Franchise Tax Board 2023 Tax Season Begins

Sacramento — The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) kicked off the 2023 tax filing season this month. With the start of the new tax season, the FTB is offering Californians tips on avoiding scams, claiming valuable cash-back tax credits, filing a return for free, and calculating state tax deductions for losses incurred from natural disasters.

“To help alleviate some of the stress many Californians have endured due to recent storms, the FTB has extended the filing and payment deadlines for some affected individuals and businesses,” said State Controller and FTB Chair Malia M. Cohen “We encourage Californians to use FTB’s online services, including free e-filing, and to file as soon as possible for a faster refund.”

FTB began accepting state tax returns on January 17.

Tax Relief for Disasters

The IRS announced tax relief for Californians affected by recent winter storms. Taxpayers affected by these storms qualify for an extension to May 15, 2023, to file individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments.

U.S. Hotels Haven’t Yet Recovered 2019 Occupancy, Staffing, or Real Revenue

By Sean O'Neill, Skift

The U.S. hotel sector will this year finally surpass 2019 levels on a few performance metrics, according to research commissioned by the country’s largest hotel lobby.

U.S. hotels will see gains in occupancy, inflation-adjusted revenue figures, and staffing levels in 2023, according to a report published on Monday by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and based on forecasts by the consultancy Oxford Economics with data from CoStar’s STR.

Here are some key quotes:

2023 nominal room revenue is projected to be $197.48 billion, versus $170.35 billion in 2019. But these numbers are not adjusted for inflation, and real revenue recovery will likely take several more years.
Average hotel occupancy is expected to reach 63.8 percent in 2023 — just shy of 2019’s 65.9 percent.

Create a Selfie Experience

by Shep Hyken

Here’s an interesting concept. I’ll describe it in the form of a question: Do you create an experience that is so good your customers want to remember it with a photograph?

I started thinking about this as I walked through Times Square in New York City and couldn’t help but notice how many people were taking pictures of themselves with the bright lights, huge signs, and thousands of other people in the background. People wanted to remember the moment, and thanks to the cameras that virtually everyone has today, also known as mobile phones, they can save and cherish moments and share them with others forever.

So, here is the goal. Create an experience that customers want to remember and share. Make it so compelling that they want to take a picture of it. I call this creating the Selfie Experience.

Remote Work, Growing Retiree Population Drive Hotel Demand

More People Have the Means, Flexibility to Travel in 2023

by HotelNewsNow

Three trends give U.S. hoteliers confidence that demand for hotel rooms will continue to grow this year: remote work, rising wages and a larger population of retirees.

Speaking on a "Boardroom Outlook" panel at the 2023 Americas Lodging Investment summit, Pat Pacious, president and CEO of Choice Hotels International, said these are long-term fundamentals that bode well for leisure travel.

“If you look at remote work, it’s really sort of lifted that constraint of time where the workweek is now maybe three days a week and the other two days of the week people have the flexibility to work from anywhere,” he said. “In our business, we’re seeing more Thursday night check-in for weekends and Monday morning check-out.”