If your hotel is 'behind the curve,' it might be time to start thinking about revitalizing your design. In addition to what you typically think about when you consider renovating, it's also important to reflect on the present condition of your wall coverings, especially in high-traffic areas such as your lobby. Creating an inviting lobby is crucial. It's an extension of your company's identity and, if it's a successful design, it can work to keep your employees and guests happy and loyal. People are usually willing to pay higher rates in exchange for a positive guest experience. READ MORE

At first blush one would think that a hotel marketing plan would equally benefit the owner of the specific hotel and the brand under which the Owner's Hotel is operated. Clearly, marketing the owner's hotel and marketing the brand benefit both the owner and the brand. However, upon closer investigation, the owner's interests and the brand's interests are quite different when it comes to “getting the word out” and marketing. Our article in this week's Hotel Business Review, " Getting the Word Out - It's all about Marketing - The Interplay between Owner's and Brand's Priorities" will delve into the commonalities and the tension between owner and brand in the marketing arena. READ MORE

Excellent guest service is not about the big, bright smile, it is about the knowledge and the experience of the person providing the guest service. It is also about knowing how and where to draw help from, when in need of assistance from another colleague. This knowledge and experience is not written in any of the university books, but it is passed-on, and given to each of us by professional and experienced mentors, who in turn have been students previously. In order to preserve and/or to enhance the reputation and future growth of the industry it is also of utmost importance to preserve the knowledge and experience of service by heart, not by numbers. READ MORE

It has now been a decade since the first introduction of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and infamous data breaches of some of the nation's largest hotel chain operators have been highly publicized for years. Yet, some hoteliers across the country continue to put their businesses and their guests at risk by failing to adequately secure valuable payment and personal information. These data security do's and don'ts will help break down some of the questions and confusion in the industry, and can help lay the foundation to jumpstart your data security strategies in 2014 and beyond. READ MORE

In this article we will discuss some simple ways that you can enhance your already established training, to increase the opportunity of making more revenue by engaging the guest in a different way that the competition does, by using a great tool that many of us perhaps do not use as a way to analyze the bottom line in our establishments. Below you will find some great ideas that have been implemented with actual clients, having already proven to be positive and with increased revenue. READ MORE

McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2015, the Baby Boomer generation will command almost 60 percent of net U.S. wealth and 40 percent of spending. Over 40 percent of Baby Boomers will be retiring with some form of disability. A discussion of an aging customer base must focus on accommodating the changing physiological needs of these consumers. Hotel management companies, individual franchise owners, and brands must realize that the aging population and the retirement of the baby boomers will change product and service needs. Hotel owners and managers should examine the aging market and start determining what these consumers need and start tailoring products and information to suit. This article focuses on an approach to readying the workforce for the demographic shift. READ MORE

Revenue management has evolved over the years to become more reliant on advanced technologies which promote a strategic, longer term approach to pricing and sales. However, even using revenue management to strategically price hotel rooms and ancillary services is no longer enough in today's dynamic operating environment where the way guests choose the hotel they want to stay in and what price they are willing to pay is constantly changing. It is time that hoteliers stop thinking about revenue management as it has been known, and start thinking about the next generation of revenue management strategies that are adapted for today's digital environment and take additional revenue streams into account. READ MORE

In the franchise world, there is a balance that needs to be struck between remaining true to both the brand and the business. It is understood that the franchisee is a business that must make a profit and that 'sales' are at times made at the expense of tailoring a brand to a franchisor's more immediate geographic and demographic markets. Properties that are owned, managed or franchised by subsidiaries or affiliates must maintain brand consistency and integrity. It's important to consumers. But it also needs to create some individuality. This article explains the importance of how to do both. READ MORE

2013 has been a year of debates and discussions, a year when hotel rates shot up, OTA consolidation continued, rate-parity was hotly debated and meta-search and mobile became mainstream. 2014 is expected to be brighter when it comes to demand, but what does it have in store when it comes to travel distribution? In the last few years, the hotel online distribution landscape has vastly expanded and now offer different platforms like social, mobile, last-minute, opaque and auctions apart from traditional online travel agencies. The emergence of meta-search and same-day booking sites along with the growth of mobile means hotels need to be introspect their distribution strategies for each platform. READ MORE

Organic! That word is everywhere in today's world. Consumers are seeking Organic food for healthier lifestyles. Restaurants are showcasing more Organic menu creations and even growing their own organic gardens. People are choosing more Organic lifestyles and exploring ways to simplify their lives and become healthier. Organic farming means no drugs, synthetic chemicals or hormones are used. Organic business growth means new business that comes from existing business or customers. Organic organizations are known to encourage and respect the teams within and encourage new ideas and teamwork; to encourage employees to perform at their best! So.. what about Organic Service? How would we apply today's big "O" to daily interactions and service delivery to guests? READ MORE

For the past decade, it seems like whenever there is a glaring need (or desire) in a particular city, some establishment “pops up” to temporarily meet that need. We've seen Pop-Up Restaurants, Pop-Up Hair Salons, Food Trucks, and Pop-Up Retail. The next stage in this evolution, which meets the need of hotel scarcity during big events like the Olympics or Summerfest, is the Pop-Up Hotel. Pop-Up Hotels are temporary lodging establishments, that can include virtually all the components of a hotel room, including beds, furniture, showers, toilets, electricity, and WiFi, that open and operate for a finite period of time which dovetails with a given event. In this article, we look at the growing trend of mobile lodging, and the civic and legal challenges to this evolving hospitality movement - one that very few municipal governments and competitors had ever anticipated. READ MORE

Paul Hudson has a wealth of experience solving problems for travelers. Having worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years, Hudson has held previous roles as Head of Overseas Operations at Neilson Active Holidays, Product Development Manager and Overseas Director at Cosmos Holidays, and Regional Manager for First Choice Holidays. Hudson is currently Operations Director at Luxury Family Hotels (LFH), where he is responsible for the operation of eight hotels in the UK. This article focuses on Hudson's service recovery philosophy. His adage is 'Fix it, plus one', and he encourages excellence in service recoveries through training and empowerment. READ MORE

Whether we are engaging others at the personal level or representing a hotel property or organization, each of us forms a wide array of relationships. Some are personal or family relationships - our spouse, other family members, our neighbors or the merchants we frequent. Other relationships are created by and impact our professional and business lives. These business relationships include those made with our key executives and other team members, as well as those established with investors, vendors and other strategic partners. READ MORE

The nature of seasonality of hotel business means lopsided sales graphs within a performance period. In a week itself, depending upon whether it is a city hotel or resort, weekdays could see demand high (city hotels) and weekends slow. When revenues behave in this up and down seasonality pattern, profits get impacted significantly. And Owners come into this equation showing razor sharp focus on profits and return on their investments. To balance that up and down movement and sustain revenues and profitability is the name of the game. And in this game, a big player is Sales Mix. Knowing the combination in which your products and services are offered is indeed your ticket to incremental revenues and profits. READ MORE

"Survey fatigue" has been a concern among researchers for a long time. If people stop taking surveys, it could really hamper the quality of the data many rely on to make important business decisions. Response rates have been falling fast for many forms of research. The hospitality industry is hungrier for feedback than most. It relies on guest surveys to understand what is going well and what can be improved. It also needs positive online reviews on websites like TripAdvisor to influence booking choices. Significant survey fatigue would be devastating if it hit hospitality. READ MORE

Global advertising spend in 2013 will see steady growth of 3.5 percent, reaching $503 billion by the end of the year, with the largest share in television advertising, according to ZenithOptimedia. The travel and hospitality industries are in the top five markets advertising on this medium, spending more than $152 million collectively. Although television still leads the way, consumer expectations have shifted, and your marketing dollars should too. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of online video advertising for hoteliers, specifically with YouTube's TrueView platform, in comparison to traditional television advertising. READ MORE

When a guest has any touch point with your hotel - staying overnight, having lunch in the dining room, using the fitness center, booking a room through the hotel's website, or reading an advertisement in a travel magazine, s/he experiences consequences of the act. Future behavior depends on those consequences. The more your guest feels rewarded, the more likely s/he will become loyal, spend more money, and become an advocate recommending your property to family and friends. The less s/he is rewards, the more likely the opposite happens. In this article, find out how a farmer and his three pigs bring this truism home for hotels. READ MORE