At the August meeting of the Dallas Mastermind Group, Lynn Dowdle, President of Dowdle Real Estate (which specializes in land site selection for hotels and hospitality groups) shared a new hospitality trend with the group. Instead of trying to avoid building a new hotel near another hotel, hotel developers are embracing the concept of “hotel pods” – grouping several hotels in one concentrated area. With the exception of new hotels that sometimes take favor over older hotels, the practice generally doesn’t create competition as each product has subtle nuances that appeal to different customers. Additionally, Lynn added, the pod trend diversifies the inquiries each property’s reservation line gets.