WEBVTT - Marriott International President & CEO Tony Capuano Talks Consumers

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news joining.

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<v Speaker 2>Us now he is with Marriott. He is Marriott.

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<v Speaker 3>His leadership there with a lot of stress, has been wonderful.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you beyond Tony Kupyon? Are you beyond covid?

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<v Speaker 3>Is your whole shop removed from twenty twenty?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, and with increasing frequency, we're not making those twenty

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<v Speaker 4>eighteen twenty nineteen comparisons.

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<v Speaker 5>Really looking forward.

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<v Speaker 2>We're talking to Barbell economy.

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<v Speaker 3>You guys, you're the epitome of the Explain how you're

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<v Speaker 3>moving seats and beds in venice at the gritty palace

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<v Speaker 3>versus a Marriotte.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really low and low budget in some state in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle of nowhere. What's that Barbell look like right now?

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<v Speaker 4>So certainly in the US, but in many markets around

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<v Speaker 4>the world, we see this bifurcation of the consumer, and

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<v Speaker 4>so we're trying to leverage.

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<v Speaker 5>Both ends of the chain scales.

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<v Speaker 4>We have the industry's largest law luxury portfolio, including your

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<v Speaker 4>favorite Grit, well aware of this, and we continue to

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<v Speaker 4>double down and accelerate our growth. And that consumer has

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<v Speaker 4>this ravenous appetite for travel.

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<v Speaker 5>In fact, in Q one, the luxury tier saw.

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<v Speaker 6>The strongest occupancy growth.

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<v Speaker 4>At the other end of the income spectrum, that lower

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<v Speaker 4>income household still has an appetite for travel, but at

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<v Speaker 4>a much lower price point. And that's why over the

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<v Speaker 4>last two years you've seen US push into mid scale.

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<v Speaker 1>I think on your last Darnings call you talked about

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of shock and awe that the travel industry

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<v Speaker 1>filter in the first few months of this this administration.

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<v Speaker 1>Situate your business in what we're all experiencing here, the

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<v Speaker 1>uncertainty about where this trade war is headed, what deals

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<v Speaker 1>might get done, where just the fact that that's having

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<v Speaker 1>on consumers as well when it comes to sentiment just

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<v Speaker 1>about the economy more broadly.

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<v Speaker 4>So, Actually, January February exceedingly strong. We had very high

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<v Speaker 4>hopes that shock and awe, if you will, was really march.

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<v Speaker 4>Our industry thrives in times of stability and high consumer confidence,

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<v Speaker 4>and so when you see the US hit a fifty

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<v Speaker 4>two year low in consumer confidence, it's to worrisome, to

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<v Speaker 4>be sure. I think what's offsetting that a bit for

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<v Speaker 4>our business is this shift we saw begin pre pandemic

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<v Speaker 4>but accelerate post pandemic, and that's a consumer preference to

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<v Speaker 4>spend disposable income on travel and experiences versus consumption of

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<v Speaker 4>hard goods.

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<v Speaker 5>Had you a year ago.

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<v Speaker 4>Said to me the US is going to hit a

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<v Speaker 4>fifty two year low and that we'd still see four

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<v Speaker 4>percent plus RevPAR growth, that would have been hard to reconcile.

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<v Speaker 4>But that's what we're seeing in the business.

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<v Speaker 1>What are you seeing in the confidence data yourself? So

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<v Speaker 1>I mentioned the uncertainty, are there indications here that consumers

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<v Speaker 1>are seeing through this madness surrounding tariffs that they're feeling

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<v Speaker 1>more confident, confident enough perhaps to book a few months out.

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<v Speaker 4>So you really need to look by demand segment. The

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<v Speaker 4>segment that has the longest lead time is the group segment,

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<v Speaker 4>and that's where we're seeing the deep strength in Q.

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<v Speaker 6>One RevPAR globally, and group was up eight percent.

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<v Speaker 4>In our two transient segments, leisure and business transient that

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<v Speaker 4>has a much much shorter booking window sub twenty one days,

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<v Speaker 4>we saw about two percent rev par growth in both

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<v Speaker 4>of those segments, so a little harder to look too

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<v Speaker 4>far into the future in those segments.

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<v Speaker 3>The chief executive officer Marriott is with us right down

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<v Speaker 3>Tony Capiano. It's a lovely visit once even twice a year.

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<v Speaker 3>The persistency of the stock performance over the last ten years,

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<v Speaker 3>Marriott has enjoyed, Ready for this, fourteen point seven percent

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<v Speaker 3>per year.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's that's a lot of bonvoid points. It's I'm

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<v Speaker 2>impressed to that you.

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<v Speaker 6>It might get you one.

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<v Speaker 5>Full night at gritty Palace.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, good morning, missus Kean's don't listen to young copy

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<v Speaker 3>on them.

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<v Speaker 2>Help help me here.

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<v Speaker 3>With one hundred and fifty five thousand employees, and I

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<v Speaker 3>assume you've got a lot more on releases. In all

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<v Speaker 3>that the late you're dynamic across America. Forget about venice.

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<v Speaker 3>How hard is it.

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<v Speaker 2>To retain, to employ and retain labor right now?

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<v Speaker 4>I actually think we're in a better place than we

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<v Speaker 4>were a couple of years ago.

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<v Speaker 5>I remember coming in to.

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<v Speaker 4>Speak to you as the recovery had just started coming

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<v Speaker 4>out of the pandemic. The pandemic had rattled the labor base,

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<v Speaker 4>who prior to the pandemic viewed the travel sector as

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<v Speaker 4>a bit of a safe harbor, that there'd always be jobs,

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<v Speaker 4>there would always be growth. You saw a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>folks leave that sector. Most of them have come back.

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<v Speaker 4>Now when you look across our us business.

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<v Speaker 5>The number.

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<v Speaker 4>We're never at full employment given the nature of our business,

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<v Speaker 4>but the number of vacancies we have is actually slightly

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<v Speaker 4>below where we were back in eighteen and nineteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Tom's joking about the bonvoy points, but let me ask

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<v Speaker 1>you about what the magic of those are, and so

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<v Speaker 1>being here and traveling for work, it's funny. I'll go

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<v Speaker 1>out with crews who are just such loyal adherents to

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<v Speaker 1>that I'll stay at one hotel estate at another because

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<v Speaker 1>they're so keena. What is the magic of BONVOI? How

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<v Speaker 1>is it bene six as well as it has been.

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<v Speaker 5>It's evolving.

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<v Speaker 4>I think for all the travel companies when they started

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<v Speaker 4>these loyalty programs, they were pretty rudimentary.

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<v Speaker 5>You earned points for a stay.

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<v Speaker 4>Ultimately you redeemed those points for a redemption stay. Certainly

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<v Speaker 4>at Marriott, we're evolving the platform in really meaningful ways.

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<v Speaker 4>We're offering different adjacent experiences, whether that's Marriott homes and villas,

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<v Speaker 4>the Ritz Carlton yacht election, and we're creating once in

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<v Speaker 4>a lifetime experiences. So we were a big sponsor of

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<v Speaker 4>the Taylor swift Eras tour. We are the official hotel

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<v Speaker 4>of the NFL.

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<v Speaker 5>The Yes we were.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm just thinking to Amy Woo Silverman over there and

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<v Speaker 3>we see capital markets. That explains why Taylor waved to her. Yes,

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<v Speaker 3>she was stated, there you go. So like the NFL,

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<v Speaker 3>it's like linking into corporate partners exactly working. It's working

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<v Speaker 3>really well. And so for our members.

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<v Speaker 4>Your question specifically was what drives that loyalty. In many ways,

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<v Speaker 4>it's access to these once in a lifetime experiences. To

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<v Speaker 4>be in the first couple of rows of Taylor Swift concert,

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<v Speaker 4>to be on the field at the super Bowl with

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<v Speaker 4>the NFL, to be in the Mercedes paddock at an

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<v Speaker 4>F one race. That ability, and they're also not all

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<v Speaker 4>lifetime ten pole moments. Partnerships with Uber and Starbucks give

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<v Speaker 4>some more immediacy to redemption opportunities.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, but the reality is for a lot of America

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<v Speaker 3>away from I got to go to the sphere to

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<v Speaker 3>see the Eagles whatever is, they're out of money, they

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<v Speaker 3>got to take the brat to college, and they need

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<v Speaker 3>to stay in a reasonably priced hotel.

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<v Speaker 2>Can you compete with all of those?

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<v Speaker 5>Absolutely?

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<v Speaker 3>Motel six is out there, just to use the iconic name.

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<v Speaker 3>How do you compete with most I think that's.

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<v Speaker 5>Why we moved into the mid scale tier.

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<v Speaker 4>When we've thought about building the Bonvoy membership, when we

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<v Speaker 4>thought about opening the aperture to bring new guests into

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<v Speaker 4>the bury It Marriott ecosystem, we said today we didn't

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<v Speaker 4>this is two years ago. We don't compete in the

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<v Speaker 4>mid scale tier, and we ought to develop some platforms.

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<v Speaker 4>So we bought City Express in Mexico, which we've brought

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<v Speaker 4>to the US. Organically developed an extended stay mid scale

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<v Speaker 4>product called Studio res. We opened the first one yesterday

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<v Speaker 4>down in South Florida, and so we'll continue to grow

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<v Speaker 4>that platform, almost as an entry portal for folks that

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<v Speaker 4>are just starting their travel journey, or to your point, Tom,

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<v Speaker 4>that have a much more modest budget.

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<v Speaker 2>I got a memo in the control room for one

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<v Speaker 2>of girls people. You got to bring it up.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, the Nolan School of Hotel Administration high above Cayugos Waters.

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<v Speaker 3>When you were in school there, I mean, is it

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<v Speaker 3>just sort of like they're just like hotel people and

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<v Speaker 3>they're really not in college?

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<v Speaker 1>Come on, well, I was Arts and Sciences but had

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of envy for the hotel is because they

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<v Speaker 1>had great internships. Every summer and they would go to

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<v Speaker 1>places like Hawaiian.

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<v Speaker 2>Switzerland, the gritty hotel.

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<v Speaker 1>Would you when you go to you stay at the statlerd?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you stay at Stute of Statland. He's a loyalist

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<v Speaker 1>still I am a loyalist.

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<v Speaker 5>You know.

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<v Speaker 4>We're a two generation hotel school family. My daughter graduates

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<v Speaker 4>around there two years.

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<v Speaker 2>Very cool.

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<v Speaker 4>And we are talking about the NC double national champion

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<v Speaker 4>lacross Cornell Vigor.

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<v Speaker 2>We brought that up the other day.

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<v Speaker 5>Is there a forty eight year wag.

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<v Speaker 2>Ahead and that as well?

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<v Speaker 3>What is the distinction of the Cornell academic process and

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<v Speaker 3>hotel I think of the people that run the Hassler

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<v Speaker 3>in Rome and that Swiss heritage of hoteling. What is

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<v Speaker 3>the distinction of Cornell versus the other hotel schools?

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<v Speaker 4>There are amazing hospitality schools all over the world. I

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<v Speaker 4>think what separates Cornell. It's much more of a business school.

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<v Speaker 4>To be sure, it uses travelatorism examples in the courses,

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<v Speaker 4>but the number of students that go on to investment banking,

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<v Speaker 4>private equity finance I think distinguishes the one.

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<v Speaker 2>Financier question, what's your biggest headache? Now? In capital deployment?

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<v Speaker 4>The availability of new construction debt. We've got hundreds of

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<v Speaker 4>shovel ready projects in the pipeline where the equity is

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<v Speaker 4>in place, the entitlements are in place, but the relative

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<v Speaker 4>constriction in the debt not for existing assets.

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<v Speaker 2>But for new private credit and private equity.

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<v Speaker 4>Play sure and and he would you like to make

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<v Speaker 4>an announcement here?

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<v Speaker 2>Not today?

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<v Speaker 4>I got something to do next time I come to

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<v Speaker 4>see you, Tony.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Tony, thanks for having in the

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<v Speaker 2>bonus round here. June is busting out all over. The

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<v Speaker 2>girl family gets night at that corner room at the Gritty.

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<v Speaker 2>Eight thousand and five hundred can.

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<v Speaker 3>Half a millennia of Can you imagine the Venice, Texas

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<v Speaker 3>on a eighty five.

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<v Speaker 2>No ticket? It is spectac it is it's one of

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<v Speaker 2>the best hotels. You guys are up the river by

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<v Speaker 2>the Metropolitan.

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<v Speaker 6>Was at the Danielle Daniellie.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you were there and then you moved into the Gritty.

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<v Speaker 4>We have the Gritty and we also if you go

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<v Speaker 4>the other direction on the Grand Canal, the Saint Regis,

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<v Speaker 4>which is a spectacular hotel.

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<v Speaker 2>Really, you just set up a budget, missus.

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<v Speaker 6>Kings and if you want to get in a Reva boat.

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<v Speaker 5>We'll take you over to the j W which is private.

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<v Speaker 2>Se is that working for you?

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<v Speaker 6>It's working great. It just traded.

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<v Speaker 2>What kind of tourists goes to the island away from the.

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<v Speaker 4>Relatives, Somebody that wants the ability to retreat, right, that wants.

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<v Speaker 3>To go and fight away from Potaga Venada.

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<v Speaker 4>Precise treat away from enjoy San Marco for a bit

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<v Speaker 4>and then go back to their quiet rage.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much.