Hotel Business Review: Week of Jul 21, 2014

Bonnie Knutson
  • Executive Leadership
  • Have You Made Your New Year’s Resolutions Yet?
  • By Bonnie Knutson, Professor, The School of Hospitality Business/MSU

  • Why would anyone think about New Year’s Resolutions now when it is more than half way through the year? It’s simple. It’s never too late to start. But just as this is true for yourself, it is also true for your hotel. But do you even make resolutions for your hotel? If you don’t, you should. And it isn’t too late to start either. If you could turn the calendar back to January 1st, what resolutions would you make for your property? For your staff? For your marketing plans? In a hats- off-to-David Letterman, here are five to give your thinking a fresh mid-year start. Read on...

Matthew Simpson
  • Hospitality Law
  • Off-Duty Conduct: Enforcing Workplace Policies Outside the Workplace
  • By Matthew Simpson, Attorney, Atlanta Office of Fisher & Phillips LLP

  • Nearly every employer has enforced written policies regulating conduct at the workplace. However, few have taken the time to think about effective and lawful policies that regulate employee behavior after hours and outside the workplace. Today, in the age of social media and smartphones, employees have much greater visibility when they leave work, resulting in increased exposure and potential for harm to an employer’s reputation. So, can employers monitor or discipline employees for policy violations that occur when an employee is off-duty and off-premises? Read on...

Michael Koethner
  • Spas, Health & Fitness
  • The Ongoing Paradigm Shift within Companies
  • By Michael Koethner, Integrated Wellness Consultant, SpaTransition.com

  • Let's be honest and straightforward. Smart Leaders and Companies never compete with another, they support each other, share experiences and goals in order for others to learn from and evolve; because they understand that the benefits of sharing will benefit everyone and increase the abundance within their community. Each of these smart leaders and companies are very well aware of their uniqueness, personality traits, special talents and skills; and by sharing all of these features with others they will create a more wonderful world to live and work in, for everyone. Read on...

Susan Tinnish Ph.D.
  • Human Resources, Recruitment & Training
  • How Hotels Should Respond to Sustainability Standards for Meetings and Events
  • By Susan Tinnish Ph.D., Dean, School of Hospitality Management, Kendall College

  • Standards exist everywhere in the world around us. Development of three primary standards used by event planners for meetings and events creates a new bar for hotels which serve as a primary venue for meetings and events. This article aims to increase hotelier’s basic knowledge issues addressed in standards - environmental issues (waste, diversion rates, air quality, water conservation) and sociocultural issues (Fair Trade, sustainable wages, and legacy issues). The article identifies “hot buttons” where planners will be looking to hotels for sustainable practices. Finally, nine tips are offered to help hoteliers prioritize sustainable initiatives within the context of their own hotels, customer base, brand, and also their own opportunities. Read on...

JULY: Hotel Spa: The Expanding Wellness Movement

Leslie Wolski

As the wellness movement expands hotels are scrambling to offer a healthy environment to their health and fitness focused guests. Owners and general managers realized years ago that the spa is more than an amenity, but now the market is driving them to further develop their spa and fitness components. The challenge is to combine spa and fitness to create an authentic wellness experience that is true to their hotel brand. Read on...

David Stoup

We are in the Age of Wellness. The archaic cultures of waste and over-consumption, have given way to a healthier and more holistic mainstream ideology. Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, going-green, and locally grown are just a few phrases that define this era. Virtually every business sector has taken a stance on wellness including automotive, finance and energy. Finally tourism has joined this growing trend. Read on...

Deborah Evans Parker

If possible while reading this article, sit with your bare feet directly on the Earth’s surface – concrete, dirt, gravel or grass. You will experience what you are reading about, how contact with the Earth’s natural healing energy, electrical field, restores your body’s natural electrical field. The positive shift you feel is the beginning of process in which your body becomes recharged from the multitude of Earth’s electrons when direct contact is made. This is Earthing, a simple, safe and natural healing process that reduces inflammation, improves sleep and energizes the body. Read on...

Tracey Anne Latkovic

In today's fast-paced, overscheduled and hyper-stressed world, it's not easy to find the time to slow down. In the past, activities like a quiet visit to a coffee shop or well-deserved appointment at the spa allowed you to quiet the mind. Not so anymore. The traditional spa experience may not even allow the separation needed to slow down the pace. At day spas everywhere these days, guests are seen carrying their cell phones and iPads and even continuing to use them during their treatments. With this frenetic pace, people are not slowing down enough to ask important spiritual questions: Why am I here? How can I contribute to what is needed in this world? How can I find peace? And one thing is for certain, you aren’t going to find the answers to those questions at Starbucks or on your smart phone. 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.