Troubling Trends

I happened upon a pretty interesting column on brand standards for construction in the hotel industry that also made me think about another trend that is troubling.  First the article on the hotel brand standards brought into play the fact that construction is not one size fits all.  A hotel in Phoenix vs. a hotel in Pittsburgh may have the same name and use the same interior looks, but it’s construction overall has to be different.  Unfortunately more and more the hotel industry is dictating everything on the project- from the things that can be duplicated at every site, to the ones that can’t.  It is scary because as we all know, the glass industry usually finds itself in the cross hairs of the blame game.  But even beyond that, it’s an illogical business model that needs to be changed.  Meanwhile it made me think of the other trend that is a worry.  It’s the one of selling glass/aluminum direct to the owner of a building.  Cutting the knees of the architect and cutting out basically the professionals down the pipeline that will be installing the glazing.  In the past it was a foreign entity doing this, but it’s now becoming a domestic play within the traditional industry.   The angle here is to get your products locked in by the owner and avoid any questions from anyone else in the chain.  I get it- cutting out levels makes the playing field a little easier to traverse but the value of the insight from those levels are crucial to the success and efficiency of the job.  There are other factors in the selling direct angle that I won’t get into here but those in the industry surely know.  Needless to say I’m not a fan.  The structure of the North American industry makes sense on many levels, seeing it circumvented is not something positive to me.  Whether or not it’s a short trend or long term one, that’s up for debate, but it will surely be interesting to see how this goes forward. 

Elsewhere…

--  While catching up on reading this week, also saw the study done by St. Gobain and Sage on workplace design and productivity.  No question that the growth of glass on the interior and upgrades to what products are used on the exterior are coming on the heels of occupant comfort needs.  Natural light does matter.  Workplace efficiency does grow when it’s a better atmosphere.  Bottom line for me is if a trend means more glass, sign me up.

--  I was out and about this week and saw PPG sample boxes at one office.  Not sure these are new or old but I loved the look and design.  As someone who from time to time has to lug sample about, this design really makes it nicer.  Props to the team at PPG on it.

--  Congrats to old friend Dan Plotnick on his new job at PGT Industries.  Dan is a very talented guy and after a couple of past stints on the other side of the world he returns to America in a Sales Director role for PGT.  Glad to have him back in the USA!

--  Last this week… thank you to the throngs of folks who signed up for the Glazing Executives Forum (GEF) already.  The event is going to be excellent and very important for educational and networking growth.  I am also jealous of all that can attend because of my functions working at GlassBuild America I can only pop my head in and out of the GEF sessions.  To learn more and sign up- please click HERE!

LINKS of the WEEK

--  I’ve seen a few stories on these guys- they have the dominating of Amazon down to a science.

--  19 homes in the Carolina’s end up in a different state than they think.  Love the border drawing game.

--  A little different discussion on hotels from what I started this blog with… a scary time in a pool… thankfully I believe everyone is OK

VIDEO of WEEK

Wild piece here from the French Open tennis.  One guy was grunting on every shot so his opponent decided to do the same and the official penalized the 2^nd guy! Crazy.  I played tennis and never grunted.  Then again I was lucky.  I played doubles with a very tall athletic guy and he basically carried me everywhere….