What does biophilic design look like? What does it feel like? Where is biophilic design most prevalent, how is it deployed, and what are the potential benefits of a well-executed biophilic design scheme? Jasmine St. Clair, Vice President of Design and Construction for Prism Hotels and Resorts discusses the growing popularity and prevalence of biophilic design principles rooted deeply in our past, how we have lost the organic connection to design with a modernized approach and what the growing future of biophilic design looks like. She outlines how successful hotels are utilizing the age-old design style to incorporate beautiful multisensory, immersive and soothing spaces guests can enjoy. Read on...

Legislation is being passed worldwide that seeks to protect consumer privacy; most notably, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Hoteliers, these laws may well apply to you, even if you don't have any properties located in the Golden State or EU. Long story short, for those in the hospitality space, If your bookings include CA or EU resident, you must be mindful of how guests' personal information and data are collected, processed, shared and retained, and poised to implement comprehensive data privacy programs at an organization-wide level to ensure legal compliance. As for the latter, if you haven't done so already, the time is now. Read on...

User Generated Content (UGC) is a double-edged sword for every hotelier. It's invaluable as far as it delivering positive, authentic guest testaments to future hotel guests. However, it can also elevate a hotel's pain points into the public domain. As hoteliers focus on the balancing act of leveraging guest accolades and damage control, it's easy to lose sight of the impact that UGC ultimately has on room revenues, as well as the potential ways in which hoteliers could be maximizing UGC to further enrich the guest experience and better the property's exposure among potential new guests. Read on...

It's no secret that engaged employees work more efficiently, improving a hotel's bottom-line results. But they also bring a level of commitment and passion to their work that enhances the level of service, increasing guests' satisfaction and, in turn, their intent to return and recommend. This article explores the factors that impact employee engagement and the role that engagement plays in optimizing a hotel's workforce, ultimately driving top-line revenue. Read on...

A bold and perhaps perplexing question, but the unfortunate reality is that almost all third-party Quality Assurance audits are designed either to increase membership in a club that guests used to use as a barometer of whether or not a hotel or resort would be good (where mostly today they make these decisions based on social media/OTAs); or to be included in a magazine that some guests refer to for the same reason. The goal of those participating does not necessarily add up to improved service and guest experience-more to influencing guest perception and awareness of the property and so strengthening sales. Read on...