Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

"Magic is ___________." Back in 2020, the Disneyland Parks closed due to the pandemic and now after almost a year of closure, they are preparing to reopen this coming April 30 th . Disneyland's commercials evoke customers’ joyful memories that they gain at the theme parks with a music loop, Disney characters, smiles, and rides. Disneyland's visitors did not hesitate to purchase tickets to the theme parks.   However, they must follow Health Department coronavirus guidelines. Disneyland's marketing strategy The moment when we see the face of the most famous mouse of the entire world, our ears immediately relate that to happy "Mickey Mouse” joyful music. In the commercial that Disneyland prepared to announce their opening, they used a music loop, images, smiles, and rides ( “Disneyland Resort Magic is Here",  2021 ). Instantly, you are transported to fond memories of collecting the joyful moments that someone may have had at the Disneyland theme parks. ...

The COVID-19 vaccination rate is climbing steadily in the U.S. At its current rate, three in four people, or  75%  of eligible residents, will be vaccinated by June. Businesses are reopening.  The U.S. economy  is now operating at 88% of its pre-pandemic level, with hope for continuous improvement. People  want to travel again . In mid-March, Disneyland announced it would  reopen  on April 30. Now, all reopening day reservations for both single-park and park-hopper tickets are  sold out  already. On April 2, the Friday before Easter, TSA screened over  1.58 million  people at airport checkpoints, the highest number since March 12, 2020. By comparison, TSA only screened 129,763 people (about 8.2% of 1.58 million) on April 2, 2020. The U.S. lodging industry reported the best weekly performance since March 2020 According to STR, a world-leading provider for data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for hotels, the U.S. lod...

Companies are selling their real estate at the fastest pace ever  (also check the video in this post).  Will things get back to normal eventually? Meaning people will work in the office? Or, will work-from-home become part of our life?  In the near future, can those empty offices be turned into retail space, ghost kitchens , or hotels? What is the best usage for empty offices? 

Home-sharing and extended stay hotels are doing well even during the pandemic. Even big hotel chains, such as Marriott , Hyatt, and Wyndham , also got into the home-sharing market.  As the travel and hospitality industry is ready for a long-waited recovery beginning in 2021 , Expedia, the parent company of Vrbo, is fighting with Airbnb for supply. Expedia's strategy is to deploy a team to poach Airbnb's superhosts .      Now that every key player in the home-sharing market is fighting for high-quality home-sharing facilities, what do you expect from the competition among hotels, OTAs, and Airbnb ? Also, will such a fight for supply affect the real estate market as more investors might purchase homes for short-term residential rentals?