Now that it’s 2018, it’s time to reflect on the top trends and events from the previous year that have had the most profound influence on our industry. While some of the items proposed for this listicle may have arguably occurred in the years prior to 2017, I have put them here as their effects were predominantly felt over the past 12 months. And to build the necessary level of anticipation, I’ve given these my own ordering of importance, starting from last and working up to the first position.
10. The first hotelier to become President.
Love him or hate him, Trump is the first POTUS to have his name emblazoned onto the sides of numerous luxury properties both domestically and around the world. For semantics sake, I am told that Thomas Jefferson also owned a small inn, but even if this is the case the scale is incomparable. I chose President Trump for several of his policies unrelated to his namesake hotel chain that have impacted North American hospitality in various ways. Amongst them are foreign visa requirements and the budgeted reduction in corporate taxes.