On March 8, we discussed Restoration Hardware, West Elm & Williams-Sonoma getting into the hotel biz. Now you can add another name- J.C. Penney.
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/jc-penney-checks-its-newest-business–hospitality
To be fair, they’re not actually opening actual hotels- just trying to supply them. I doubt that Penney’s wares will compete at places that would have bought decor from Restoration Hardware, West Elm or William-Sonoma. But it is a sign that hospitality – be it the part-time cowboy unregulated tax-dodging sector (airbnb) or the full-time, regulated brands – is a hot sector. Perhaps more competitive than ever – and more fragmented- but hot.
This older article from Skift remains imo a terrific little context-setter on that growth:
https://skift.com/2015/06/08/5-charts-that-show-why-the-travel-industry-is-the-worlds-fastest-growing-sector/
People now travel more. They’re savvy about value, location, decor. And that travel cements new trade relationships & friendships across borders & cultures. imo the more we travel, the more we learn about the world, and the more we lessen our multicultural ignorance as a species.
So let’s be hospitable. And grow together.
SL