Recently, at a charity fund raiser in South Florida, I chatted with a number of my concierge colleagues about the state of the economy and the impact it is having on the travel industry in general and hotels and resorts specifically. Occupancy numbers appear to be disturbingly lower than usual for this current off season. No doubt that this is due, at least in part, to rising prices across the board, the inevitable reaction to soaring fuel costs. This is affecting all of us. It is especially true in reference to where the public chooses to spend its dwindling discretionary income.

Many of our guests, both the individual travelers and the corporate meeting planners, are finding the need to do some serious belt-tightening. Even our wealthy travelers are reconsidering their vacation plans. What that means to the hotels and resorts is that we need to sell more to the people who are already in our properties. We must encourage everyone on staff to find all the opportunities to "cross sell" our facilities and motivate our guests to spend, spend, spend, beyond just paying the basic room rate.

Consider who on your staff is in the best position to do the most cross ...