Word: hiltons
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...leader, Steve Schmidt, has settled on a story line that could last through the election. It is, at root, an experience argument, adjusted to undercut the enormous enthusiasm that Obama generates. It can be seen in the recent McCain campaign ad that compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, or the recent Republican Party ad that compares Obama to David Hasselhoff. It can be seen in the recent self-deprecating distribution of "junior varsity" press passes for reporters on the McCain campaign and in the daily discussion of Obama as "The One" by McCain aides...
...South Carolina may in fact be "gayer" than many suspect. Andrew Roberts, CEO of Amro Worldwide, visited South Carolina after the state's tourism board expressed interest in the campaign, and says he toured several gay venues, including largely gay sections of mainstream beaches, in Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach. "A few people in South Carolina need to wake up to what's going on in their state," he says. "There are more gay bars along that coastal strip than there are in Vegas...
...owners, and expects that Aloft's owners will be earning about the same. According to Starwood, an Aloft hotel costs from $17 million to $25 million for a developer to build, not including land, which could be a little higher than the cost of a Marriott Courtyard or Hilton Garden Inn, Woronka estimates. The key difference for developers may be that being new, Aloft has more wow factor. "You can renovate the older brands all you want," says Woronka, "but Aloft has a different feel." And that's good news for Starwood, which until now has not had a hotel...
...business in which everyone is basically offering the same thing--a bed for the night for a price--who might win the new hotel consumer? Jan Freitag, an analyst at Smith Travel Research, says what customers still care about most is location. In that sense, Marriott and Hilton have the advantage. But don't count anyone out. "Starwood, with its W hotels, has shown there's a desire for a hotel that's edgy and hip," says Freitag. "Hilton and Marriott have shown that you can have a family of brands without diluting the name...
...asked not to be named, "and still offer a reward in travel--like traditional pampering. That's probably going to have to be added to a few of these concepts." Freitag says it will be interesting to see how well Aloft and others can penetrate a segment that Hilton and Marriott currently own. "Will they win a piece? Yes. But how big?" says Freitag. "That's the $12 billion--dollar question. The traveler is going to have to decide...