Hotel Business Review: Week of Jul 28, 2014

Max Starkov
  • Sales & Marketing
  • The Top Ten Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Partner
  • By Max Starkov, President & CEO, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies Inc

  • Any hotel that has a high revenue-generating website and a strong digital marketing strategy that drives direct online bookings needs a great hotel digital marketing agency behind it. It’s challenging to find a good digital marketing partner these days. As more and more companies join the market as ‘experts in hotel website design and digital marketing,’ hoteliers are faced with a difficult decision. With serious revenues at stake, here are some questions to consider when deciding on who to partner with, or whether or not to stay with your current agency. Read on...

Eric Rahe
  • Architecture & Design
  • Amenity Design – Evolution or Obsolescence
  • By Eric Rahe, Principal, BLT Architects

  • Guests are back even if rate is not. New construction in select markets has returned and significant renovations are occurring across all asset types. With each new cycle there is a need to refresh current amenities and at the same time incorporate changes to make amenities relevant and appealing to your guests. One challenge for operators and designers is how to understand how recent lifestyle and demand shifts are driving change. Read on...

Tom Conran
  • Guest Service / Customer Experience Mgmt
  • Engage Your Guest: The Best Practice in Guest Services
  • By Tom Conran, Principal, Greenwood Hospitality Group

  • The word “engage” has several definitions. However the one that best fits our objective as hotel owners is “”to get and keep someone’s attention or interest.” In order to do this we must create experiences that first gain our guests’ attention. We then must also implement them successfully. If we do these things effectively we draw our guests back time and again. At the same time, we can build a network of advocates. These supporters can become our fans and will attest to the fact that our hotel is much more than a merely a place to stay. Read on...

Albert Brannen
  • Human Resources, Recruitment & Training
  • Four Steps to Effective Performance Management for Hospitality Employers
  • By Albert Brannen, Managing Partner in the Atlanta office, Fisher & Phillips LLP

  • Getting the most out of employees has always challenged employers, and hospitality employers are no different in this regard. It is particularly difficult in today’s highly regulated business environment with changing employee attitudes. But, in the hospitality industry, squeezing out the very best performance from employees can dramatically impact guest satisfaction and ultimately profitability. Performance management is not just about dealing with poor performers. Instead, as explained in more detail in his article, it is a holistic process that begins with getting the right people, setting employee expectations, coaching employees to deliver efficient, high quality service and terminating the employment of the poor performers or employees who do not fit into the organization. Read on...

JULY: Hotel Spa: The Expanding Wellness Movement

Lynne McNees

According to the International SPA Association (ISPA) 2013 U.S. Spa Industry study conducted by PwC, 72 percent of American hotel and resort spas in 2012 offered 30-minute treatments. This figure shows how hotels are rapidly equipping themselves to cater to the spa needs of business guests. Business travelers are typified by little time and higher-than-average levels of stress – and spas need to adapt to their demands for short, simple, efficient and results-oriented treatments. Spa guests traveling on business are looking to find a balance they can squeeze into short breaks between meetings, presentations and travel time, and spas everywhere must learn to be flexible, customizable, succinct, connected, knowledgeable and memorable in order to attract and retain this increasingly important market. Read on...

Peggy Borgman

When you think of “wellness,” what comes to mind? A “healthy” hotel room? A holistic spa treatment? Vegan offerings on your restaurant menu? A morning yoga class? The word “wellness” is ubiquitous. Marketers are spreading “wellness” as thick as organic hummus on a vast array of consumer products, services and experiences. But has this word lost its impact, and heaven forbid—its cachet for the traveler? Is wellness…”over”? Read on...

Dale Hipsh

Is anyone else nervous leaving their mobile phone behind, in a locker, all by itself, TURNED OFF, when having a spa treatment? I know I should not be, but I am. Spa goers have traditionally visited with the intent to disconnect, to unplug if you will. At Hard Rock our goal for the Rock Spa experience is meant to plug you in, amp you up and maybe even turn you on. We began our re-tool from this perceptive. Times have changed and many spa operators have not evolved as technology and hospitality brands have. To this end we went about seeking to discover a new way forward to enliven the senses, instill wellbeing and infuse the spirit of rock and roll into our newly envisioned experience. Our objective was stated to energize and excite – we want guests to leave our bespoke treatments ready to hit the dance floor and show the rest of the band how it’s done. Rock Spa is where Zen meets Zeppelin. Read on...

Simon Hudson

An increasing number of hotels are responding to growing global demand for health and wellness and are catering to the physical and psychological needs of guests while promising enhanced wellbeing – benefits that visitors can take home when the holiday is over. A far cry from more traditional vacations spent lounging on a beach or poolside chair. Westin hotels, for example, recently launched a Well-Being Movement and even Las Vegas’s MGM Hotel has Stay-Well rooms. This article focuses on this trend and spotlights certain hotels around the world and the specific services they are providing for the growing number of health-conscious visitors. Read on...

Coming Up In The August Online Hotel Business Review


Feature Focus
Food and Beverage: Investing to Keep Pace
After five harrowing years of recession and uncertain recovery, revenues in the hotel industry (including food and beverage) have finally surpassed the previous peak year of 2007. Profits are once again on the rise and are expected to advance for the foreseeable future. The consequence of this situation means that hotel operators now have the funds to invest in their food and beverage operations in order to keep pace with rapidly changing industry trends and the evolving tastes of their hotel guests. One of the most prominent recent trends is the “Locavore Movement” which relies heavily on local sources to supply products to the hotel restaurant. In addition to fresh produce, meats and herbs, some operators are engaging local craft breweries, distilleries, bakers, coffee roasters and more to enhance their food and beverage options, and to give their operation a local identity. This effort is designed to increasingly attract local patrons, as well as traveling hotel guests. Some hotels are also introducing menus that cater to both the calorie and the ingredient conscious. Gluten-free, low-cal and low-carb menu items prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients are available to more fitness-minded guests. Another trend is placing greater emphasis on “comfort” and “street” foods which are being offered in more casual settings. The idea is to allow chefs to create their own versions of these classic recipes, with the understanding that the general public seems to be eschewing more formal dining options. Finally, because the hotel lobby is becoming the social epicenter of its operation – a space which both guests and locals can enjoy – more diverse and expanded food and beverage options are available there. The August issue of the Hotel Business Review will report on all the recent trends and challenges in the food and beverage sector, and document what some leading hotels are doing to augment this area of their business.