Technology has truly accelerated the way hotel real estate transactions are completed. Anthony Falor, managing director of Auction.com’s hospitality division, discusses this topic exclusively with GlobeSt.com and gives a glimpse into the upcoming panel “Technology’s Influence on Hotel Real Estate Transactions,” on which the firm’s vice chairman and founder Monte Koch will be speaking, at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix on Oct. 7.

GlobeSt.com: What can attendees expect to get out of the technology panel at the Lodging Conference next week?

Falor: Technology has really changed the way hotel transactions are done in the industry. Besides Monte on the panel, Patrick McInerney, the head of industry for the hotel sector at Google, is also on the panel. They will talk a lot about trends they see, the habits hotel buyers typically display and how they’ve been successful in identifying that process.

Also speaking will be Jeff Kolessar, SVP, development and acquisitions for GF Management, one of the top hotel-management companies in the country that also does third-party management, receiver work, runs a big trust for investment funds and is a seller as well as a buyer on the online platform. Jeff will share his views on how technology is used to create a more transparent process, and that’s a big part of it. Every interested buyer gets a last look before the sale is final, and that’s an absolutly democratic process, which is a big thing for potential buyers, particularly in this market.

Lastly, Dan Beider, senior managing director and chairman of Paramount Lodging Advisors out of Chicago, is moderating the panel. Paramount is hugely successful selling hotels across the country, both traditionally and online. The company has sold more hotels on the Auction.com platform than any other hotel brokerage company. Dan has a lot of experience in using technology to maximize results, and he will share that perspective with the audience as well. These are industry-changing things, and people need to recognize that technology is a game changer for future generations.

GlobeSt.com: How has technology shaped the hotel sector?

Falor: It started about 20 years ago with online travel websites like Priceline and Orbitz. These companies changed the way consumers book all travel—not just hotels. We’ve seen their influence and are taking it a step further. Hoteliers realize that technology is a very important tool to use in their own hotels and to access customers in their sales and marketing efforts as well. It’s a huge step, in my mind, to embrace technology to increase yields and market share. A lot of that was done in the early 2000s, and in 2010/2011, technology began to influence the capital and real estate markets.

GlobeSt.com: What did the old hotel-transaction model look like as compared to today?

Falor: In the traditional model, when a seller or institutional fund wanted to sell an asset, at certain pricing and with a certain timetable in mind, the broker would market directly to their top 10 or 20 prospects that would meet that criteria. As a result, they didn’t get a sense of the whole market, and traditional brokers maybe didn’t have extensive reach nationally – and certainly not internationally. Technology has brought accessibility to everybody.

All of a sudden, people from California were winning deals in Florida, and people from China were winning deals in California. All this accessibility, coupled with financial qualification, brings a broader market—that’s as a result of technology. It has improved efficiency, execution and the certainty among seller and broker that as broad a market as possible was made. Technology, overlaid with expert broker participation, has yielded a multitude of benefits for everyone.

GlobeSt.com: What should the industry do to be prepared for future changes from technology?

Falor: First, embrace it. Don’t fight it because it’s here to stay. Understanding how to use technology and embracing it is a huge takeaway. The second piece comes from a confidence that a market is made, and that’s another takeaway. When you use technology, you have confidence that access was given to everybody and no stone was left unturned. That’s a confidence level that the market seeks.

Source: http://www.globest.com/news/12_1211/national/auctiondotcom/How-Tech-Changes-the-Pace-of-Hotel-Deals-362289-1.html