HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
DECEMBER FOCUS: The Hotel Concierge

Cost of Distribution: Out of control or a real expense

By Michael McCartan Managing Director Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Duetto | December 2012

2013 could be a turbulent year for the hotel industry should the price-fixing fiasco take a further step forward. Proving yet again, following the collapse of the financial markets in 2008 and 9/11, that while hospitality maybe an old industry dating 1000’s years, the environment of online sales is still in its infancy and terribly immature. Online travel sales channels have taken as much as they can since the internet launch of 1995 subjecting properties to insane rates of commission during tough trading periods – that made these resellers big beasts and created a David and Goliath scenario. Big brands have at various times tried to contend by withdrawing from these sites which resulted in lost market share and reduced volume bookings. Yet it wasn’t only the hotels who suffered, these sales channels couldn’t live without their big brands either. Hotels have found their way to handle their Goliath, but is he someone they have to live with? On both sides of the Atlantic there’s be a tough price war- between the consumer and hotel to push rates lower, and between hotels and suppliers to get the Best Available Rate, resulting in this accusation of ‘price-fixing’ within the industry. Whatever the result of the current inquiries in Europe and America times are changing, as even Expedia appears to look to move from its traditional Merchant model to Agency model. These changes, with the constraints of rate parity removed, could be the start of hoteliers gaining back control of their prices and inventory as they focus on developing relevant products for the selected resale channels to make the best yield possible. But the challenge now is retaining occupancy while pushing that revenue up, without being caught in the crossfire of commission rates and volume booking websites. **The Distribution Challenge 2012** In a recent market research report by Ecole Hoteliere de Lasuanne, The Distribution Challenge 2012, it found that hotels in Europe and North America have had to deal with fickle demand while experiencing increasing costs to from sales distribution channels. Making the balance between rate, revenue and production incredibly fine. The survey identified a reasonably wide spectrum of challenges facing hoteliers - increased exposure to new markets, shifting demand from the group travel segment, developing new corporate contracts, pushing direct sales, managing faster availability and rates on distribution channels, and reinforcing rate parity and rate integrity. But if two conclusions may be drawn from this finding, it is that 1) having a reliable channel management tool is the norm; and 2) revenue management is more than ever about the right distribution channel in terms of exposure and costs. Those hotels that have been using a technology with direct connectivity to its third party sales channels were able to be more flexible and dynamic both with their pricing and inventory distribution, and were able to change and further substantiate different room and package types. Revenue managers were able to compile the data on a weekly or even daily basis to identify the volume of production breaking it down by length of stay (LoS), market segment, guest type and value for the hotel to further leverage opportunities of marketing with these channels or to assess what additional channels to add without the time pressures involved of more sales partners. Interestingly, when the study reviewed the evolution of the distribution mix and decisions for the last years all hotels had marked the significant prominence of online sales channels and an increasing volume of sales contracts to manage, while deciding to open up more options to the property. There is an increase in working with smaller independent websites for different types of guests, including introducing social media, and more traditional sales models like group and corporate contracts to secure advanced occupancy and more guaranteed rate structures – which has helped properties to slowly push the rate back up. The online travel industry has played its game on the last minute deal and pushed rates down, in the opposite way to how the airline industry works. Rather than there being limited availability on the short-booking window, the industry has let slip and made available choice to the consumer. Hotels who have avoided playing this dangerous rate game have already sold the revenue portion of their inventory and are in a more comfortable position to be able to play the final waiting game with stronger rates. Revenue managers want other hotels to panic, when looking at the rate mix for the next 7 days it is about being confident to pitch the room rate at the top end of the competitor set. This is achieved by securing those bookings early, even if that means ensuring that at least 30 – 50% of bookings are confirmed through advanced purchase and secured corporate deals. This way the property can supply OTAs with its choice of rates and inventory and make them work for hotel. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne found three key challenges revenue managers are facing: 1) the need to increase RevPAR, 2) the urgency to control costs of distribution/e-business, 3) and the requirement to increase exposure. The Billboard Effect has been well publicised and The Distribution Challenge 2012 paper itself found that the more sales channels the property used to gain reservations the more exposure and, ultimately, more direct bookings it received. This illustrates consumer behaviour, whether it was a result of transparent pricing with rate parity, the traveller researching finding the same price and therefore booking direct, or confidence for the consumer to book direct instead of through a third party, this answers the three challenges revenue managers face above; 1) better RevPAR gained through the direct sales channel without the need to pay double-figure commissions, 2) other than paying for channel management technology and cost per reservation for the booking engine all OTA fees were irrelevant and 3) exposure across more channels drove the direct booking. This argues both the necessity for third parties and the opportunity available. There are other ways, however, in which hoteliers can be confident of reducing the cost of e-distribution, instead of hoping that the direct sales will transpire as a result of OTA exposure. Firstly, it is important to build a personal relationship with the market manager of all third party channels. Don’t rely on email, but pick up a phone and take the opportunity to meet them in person at local events. These market managers know their product, like hoteliers know their properties, and can give insight to the promotions; marketing and positioning that can work for a particular property. They can provide data on similar types of hotels so the revenue managers can benchmark and see what that investment is worth, from Targeted Advertising, to tailoring the content and hotel description. Hotels need to take the time to explore alternative pricing models with existing OTA sales channels, to discover potential better commission rates, building a mix of inventory versus room type supply to give the sales channels the availability they need. It is about learning what is the demand by city and providing that supply, be it room type, service or promotions. **Gaining back control of sales** Many hotels have lost control of their inventory and its becoming essential to holdfast and be prepared to negotiate hard when it comes to renewing contracts with third party intermediaries to protect the property’s supply. It’s important not to commit too much inventory. Inventory provided to sales channels should also be made available to the hotel’s own direct booking engine, to prevent the property selling itself short. By making inventory as dynamic as pricing availability can continually be distributed to producing channels any time of the day or night. Secondly, develop the hotel website. Ensure there is an easy-to-use, stable and most importantly simple booking engine. Can guests book in two steps like the OTAs or will they need to keep clicking pages? Keep the website simple, clear and easy to understand. Increase those conversions on the hotel’s own website and then booking will be made easier for visitors. Third, make sure any pages of content on any third party channels shows the hotel in a way that represents that website brand, not just the property, to encourage the traveller to learn more on the property website. Leave an element of intrigue, as this will make them want to see what is actually available. Keep the best photos for the hotel’s own website, and ensure it elaborates on the location, and services of the property. **Approaching this change of distribution** When it comes to innovation with sales channels the bad news is that whatever channel chosen is not new, the hotel won’t be in the forefront (it would also be disappointing because of lack of traffic), but how revenue managers work with them and how become exposed in the market is entirely a decision made by property. Hotels need to be thinking creatively, outside the box, looking in at their local area, understand why the location is chosen, why the choice of hotel and how as a hotel they can add to that experience. Hotels have introduced Romantic Getaway packages that target the sports fan, Highway Promotions that encourage people to escape the city for quiet unbeknown suburbs. Some have totally remarketed themselves to a completely different market, selling themselves as a gay or even gay-friendly hotel, making them stand out in a crowded marketplace for specific type of guests. The Distribution Challenge 2012 study also clocked the significance of GDS today and the value it was driving for booking and ADR. Hotels who utilised the channel were making gains that pushed more inventory to the dated sales channel, while those properties that underutilised the GDS were seeing the end of this once lucrative channel. However like any piece of technology it is how you work with it that counts, what you understand about it and how to milk the most out of it, rather than expecting it to do your job for you. If the GDS fits with the hotel, for the type of guest that brings the ADR then put more emphasis here – identify what other partners can be brought on board to book stock through the original electronic sales channels. And making the rates and inventory as dynamic as other sales channels can help the revenue manager to continue to yield. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne found approximately 35% of all bookings derived from the OTA, with brand.com and other direct sales accounting for about 31% and the CRS and voice channels contributed to 16% of reservations. This was a general overview of the European and North American markets, delving deeper into the analysis we can see that the US fares pretty well with 23% of bookings coming through OTAs compared to France and UK hotels with more than 40% of bookings. The US properties did on the whole show a more balanced distribution mix than European counterparts. It was noted though, that in general, 4-star hotels and US properties targeting corporate travel are taking a higher share of reservations thanks to GDSs and travel agents. All markets appear to need to take heed from the 50%+ direct sales the Spanish were achieving, this market had focused so heavily on strong sales channels, partnerships and connections that it had naturally lead to a focus on direct sales with all the technology in place. Spanish hotels had the full pricing data to make sound room rate judgements, which was combined with intelligent revenue management systems to better RevPAR, a fully automated channel management system and sophisticated CRS and PMS, allowing the revenue manager to focus on strategy instead of updates. The combination of science and technology was giving this market an advantage and much needed during very tough trading times for a very difficult European economy. Direct sales come with their own expense of self-marketing, technical development and being at the eye of the consumer. Hotels need to realise that third parties have always been around and will be here to stay, but the way they sell needs to become more dynamic, fresh and creative, they need the tools to asses how and where to sell to increase productivity from the channels that bring them the revenue without surrendering to quick easy sales. The growth of online sales has just changed the way hotels work, it may not be realistic to expect to turn our back on third party sales, but revenue managers can alter how they work with them.

Terms & Conditions

The following are terms of a legal agreement ("Agreement") between you and HotelExecutive. By accessing, browsing and/or otherwise using this web site, HotelExecutive, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by these terms and conditions, and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. export and re-export control laws and regulations. If you do not agree to all of these terms and conditions, you may not access, browse and/or use HotelExecutive. The material provided on HotelExecutive is protected by law, including, but not limited to, United States copyright law and international treaties.

These terms of access apply to your access to and use of HotelExecutive and do not alter in any way the terms and conditions of any other agreement you may have with HotelExecutive for products, software, services or otherwise, unless otherwise directed by HotelExecutive. If you breach any of these terms and conditions, your authorization to use HotelExecutive automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed materials and discontinue use of any hyperlinks to HotelExecutive.

1. USE RESTRICTIONS

Copyright. All Site materials, including, without limitation, text, pictures, graphics and other files and the selection and arrangement thereof are copyrighted materials of HotelExecutive © 1996-2016, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, or by the original creator of the material. Permission is granted to display and use the materials on HotelExecutive for private individual, educational and noncommercial use only, provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the materials. You may not, however, distribute, copy, reproduce, display, republish, download, or transmit any material on HotelExecutive for commercial use without prior written approval from HotelExecutive. You may not "mirror" any material contained on HotelExecutive on any other server without prior written permission from HotelExecutive. Any unauthorized use of any material contained on HotelExecutive may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity and communications regulations and statutes.

Trademarks

The trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos (the "Trademarks") used and displayed on HotelExecutive are registered and unregistered Trademarks of HotelExecutive. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, icons and scripts are service marks, trademarks and/or trade dress of HotelExecutive, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of HotelExecutive. You acknowledge that the Trademarks used and displayed on HotelExecutive are and shall remain the sole property of HotelExecutive or the Trademark owner. Nothing in this Agreement shall confer any right of ownership of any of the Trademarks in you. Further, nothing in HotelExecutive shall be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right to use any Trademark used or displayed on HotelExecutive, without the express written permission of HotelExecutive or the Trademark owner. The misuse of the trademarks displayed on HotelExecutive, or any other Content on HotelExecutive, is strictly prohibited.

Hyperlinks

You are granted a limited, nonexclusive right to create a hypertext link to HotelExecutive provided that such link is to the entry page of HotelExecutive and does not portray HotelExecutive or any of its products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise defamatory manner. This limited right may be revoked at any time for any reason whatsoever. You may not use framing techniques to enclose any Company trademark, logo or trade name or other proprietary information including the images found at HotelExecutive, the Content of any text or the layout/design of any page or any form contained on a page without HotelExecutive's express written consent. Links to third party sites on HotelExecutive are provided solely as convenience to you. If you use these links, you will leave HotelExecutive. HotelExecutive has not reviewed all of these third party sites and does not control and is not responsible for any of these sites, their Content or their policies, including, without limitation, privacy policies or lack thereof. HotelExecutive does not endorse or make any representations about third party sites or any information, software or other products or materials found there, or any results that may be obtained from using them. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to HotelExecutive, you do so entirely at your own risk. You acknowledge and agree that HotelExecutive shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by, or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such third party sites.

Downloadable Materials

Any software, including codes or other materials that are made available to download from HotelExecutive, is the copyrighted work of HotelExecutive and/or its suppliers and affiliates. If you download software from HotelExecutive, use of the software is subject to the license terms in the software license agreement that accompanies or is provided with the software. You may not download or install the software until you have read and accepted the terms of the applicable software license agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, copying or reproduction of the software to any other server or location for further reproduction or redistribution is expressly prohibited unless otherwise provided for in the applicable software license agreement in the case of software, or the express written consent of HotelExecutive in the case of codes or other downloadable materials.

Limited Access

Except as otherwise expressly permitted by HotelExecutive, any access or attempt to access other areas of HotelExecutive computer system or other information contained on the system for any purposes is strictly prohibited. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to "screen scrape," monitor, "mine," or copy the Web pages on HotelExecutive or the Content contained therein without HotelExecutive's prior, express, and written permission. You will not spam or send unsolicited e-mail to any other user of HotelExecutive for any reason. You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of HotelExecutive. You agree that you will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on HotelExecutive's infrastructure.

Additional Use Restrictions

You shall not post, transmit, e-mail, re-transmit or store material on or through any of the services provided by HotelExecutive (the "Services") which, in the sole judgment of HotelExecutive: (i) is in violation of any local, state, federal or non-United States law or regulation, (ii) is threatening, obscene, indecent, defamatory or that otherwise could adversely affect any individual, group or entity (collectively, "Persons") or (iii) violates the rights of any person, including rights protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property or similar laws or regulations including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of "pirated" or other unauthorized photos or software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by you. You shall be responsible for determining what laws or regulations are applicable to its use of the Services. In addition, you may only use the Services in a manner that, in HotelExecutive's sole judgment, is consistent with the purposes of such Services. If you are unsure of whether any contemplated use or action is permitted, please contact HotelExecutive at editor@HotelExecutive By way of example, and not limitation, the following uses described below of the Services are expressly prohibited:

A. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials (collectively, "Content") that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, sexually intolerant or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

B. impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Company official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

C. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Services or develop restricted or password-only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to from another accessible page);

D. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements;

E. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;

F. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes" or any other form of solicitation;

G. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses, worms or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

H. interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers or networks connected to the Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Services;

I. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;

J. 'stalk' or otherwise harass another user of HotelExecutive or Company employee or official;

K. promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals. This may include, but is not limited to, providing instructions on how to assemble bombs, grenades and other weapons, and creating "Crush" sites; and

L. effecting security breaches or disruptions of Internet communication. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which you are not an intended recipient or logging into a server or account that you are not expressly authorized to access.

M. advertising to, or soliciting any user of HotelExecutive to buy or sell any products or services through the unauthorized or impermissible use of the Services. You may not transmit any junk email or chain letters to other users. If you breach this Agreement and send unsolicited bulk email, instant messages or other unauthorized commercial communications of any kind through the Services, you acknowledge that you will have caused substantial harm to HotelExecutive, but that the amount of such harm would be extremely difficult to ascertain. As a reasonable estimation of such harm, you agree to pay HotelExecutive $500 for each such unsolicited email or other unauthorized commercial communication you send to each user through the Services.

2. DISCLAIMER WARRANTY

HotelExecutive, including all software, functions, materials, and information is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. HotelExecutive disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of non-infringement and implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, title, merchantability of computer programs, data accuracy, system integration, and informational Content. HotelExecutive does not warrant or make any representations regarding the operation of HotelExecutive, the use, validity, accuracy or reliability of, or the results of the use of the materials on HotelExecutive or any other sites linked to HotelExecutive. The materials of HotelExecutive may be out of date, and HotelExecutive makes no commitment to update the materials at HotelExecutive. HotelExecutive does not and cannot guarantee or warrant that the files available for downloading from HotelExecutive, if any, will be free from infection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other code that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. HotelExecutive does not warrant that HotelExecutive, software, materials, products, or services will be uninterrupted or error-free or that any defects in HotelExecutive, software, materials, products, or services will be corrected.

3. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

In no event will HotelExecutive, its suppliers or other third parties mentioned at or in HotelExecutive be liable for any damages, including, without limitation direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, damages resulting from lost profits, lost data or business interruption arising out of relating to the use, inability to use, or resulting from the use of HotelExecutive, any web sites linked to HotelExecutive, the materials, software or other information contained in any or all such sites, whether based on warranty, contracts, statutes, regulations, tort (including but not limited to, negligence) or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. If your use of the materials or information from HotelExecutive results in the need for servicing, repair or correction of equipment or data, you assume all costs thereof.

4. REVISIONS TO THIS AGREEMENT

HotelExecutive may revise this Agreement at any time without notice by updating this posting. By using HotelExecutive you agree to be bound by any such revisions and should therefore periodically visit HotelExecutive and page to determine the then current Terms of Access and Use conditions of use to which you are bound.

5. TRANSMISSIONS

Any idea you transmit to or post on HotelExecutive by any means will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and may be disseminated or used by HotelExecutive or its affiliates for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing and marketing products. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from HotelExecutive any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, profane material or any other material, including but not limited to any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under both domestic and international law.

6. YOUR WARRANTIES

You warrant to HotelExecutive that:

You are the sole owner of all rights in the materials posted or uploaded by you (including all related copyrights) or that you have the absolute right to license their use as provided in this section. While you will retain ownership of the copyright in the materials posted or uploaded by you, you agree that all materials posted or uploaded by you shall become part of a database, and that HotelExecutive will own the compilation copyright in that database. In addition, you hereby grant HotelExecutive a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, publicly perform, publically display and distribute such materials, and portions of such materials and any derivative works created from such materials, in print, electronic and other media, by any means now known or developed in the future. We may sublicense all of our rights and licenses or assign them to third parties. Neither HotelExecutive nor any third party using the materials in accordance with this section will be obligated to pay you any royalties or other compensation for use of the materials.

You will comply with these Terms of Access and Use including, without limitation, the USE RESTRICTIONS set out in Section 3 above;

You agree to indemnify and hold HotelExecutive harmless from any claim or damages (including any legal fees in relation to same) made by a third party in respect of any matter in relation to or arising from your use and/or membership arising from any breach or suspected breach of these Terms of Access and Use by you or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

7. ACTIONS WE MAY TAKE AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION

HotelExecutive may take any or all of the following actions at our sole discretion:

Remove any member profile (including photographs) or other material that, in our sole discretion may be inappropriate or we suspect to be illegal, subject us to liability or which may violate these Terms of Access and Use or where required to do so by law;

Issue members with verbal or written warnings and may take such further action as we deem appropriate if such warnings are not heeded;

Suspend or terminate a member's access to the members's area of HotelExecutive or a member's account without notice at any time;

Inform the appropriate authorities and provide them with information regarding any suspected illegal activity; or bring legal action against a member or other user of HotelExecutive in relation to any breach of these Terms of Access and Use or any illegal or suspected illegal activity.

8. GOOD SAMARITAN CONTENT AND COMPLAINT PROCEDURES POLICY

A. Policy

We have provided opportunities for you to contribute Content to our Site. It is our policy, however, not to allow any Content which may constitute intellectual property infringement; violations of federal, state, or local law; obscene or defamatory material, or may otherwise be unacceptable or inappropriate. Upon learning of such Content, we will attempt, and you hereby give HotelExecutive the right, to delete, edit, remove, disable, change, or restrict access to or the availability of the Content, which in our sole discretion, is otherwise unacceptable or objectionable. We may or may not notify you about what action we take with respect to the disputed Content. The provisions of this section are intended to implement this policy but are not in any way intended to impose a contractual obligation upon us to undertake, or refrain from undertaking, any particular course of conduct.

B. Complaint Procedures

If you believe that another user or other third party has posted Content which violates this policy or specifically the USE RESTRICTIONS in Section 3 above, you may notify HotelExecutive via e-mail at editor@HotelExecutive . In order to allow HotelExecutive to respond effectively, please provide HotelExecutive with as much information as possible in your correspondence, including: (1) the nature of the right infringed or violated (including any applicable registration numbers of the federally-registered intellectual property allegedly infringed), if applicable, or the unacceptable or inappropriate Content; (2) all facts which lead you to believe that a right has been violated or infringed, if applicable; (3) the precise location where the offending Content is located; (4) any grounds to believe that the party or user which posted the Content was not authorized to do so or did not have a valid defense (including the defense of fair use), if applicable; (5) if known, the identity of the party or user who posted the infringing, offending, or inappropriate Content; and (6) in the case of alleged copyright infringement claims, information sufficient to identify the work and your claims to ownership.

C. Indemnification/Waiver of Certain Rights

By contacting HotelExecutive and complaining of an alleged violation, you agree that the substance of your complaint shall constitute a representation made under the pains and penalties of perjury pursuant to the laws of the State of California. In addition, you agree, at your own expense, to defend and indemnify HotelExecutive and hold HotelExecutive harmless against all claims which may be asserted against HotelExecutive, and all losses incurred, as a result of your complaint and/or our response to it.

D. Waiver of Claims and Remedies

We expect all users of our Site to take responsibility for their own actions and cannot and do not assume liability for any acts of third parties which take place at our Site. By utilizing the Good Samaritan procedures set forth herein, you waive any and all claims or remedies which you might otherwise be able to assert against hotelexecutive under any theory of law (including, but not limited to, intellectual property laws) that arise out of or relate in any way to the content at hotelexecutive or our response, or failure to respond, to a complaint.

E. Investigation/Liability Limitation

You agree that we have the right, but not the obligation, to investigate any complaint received. By reserving this right, we do not undertake any responsibility in fact to investigate complaints or to remove, edit, disable or restrict access to or the availability of Content. We will not act on complaints that we believe, in our sole discretion, to be deficient, incomplete, or otherwise questionable. If you believe that Content remains on HotelExecutive which violates your rights, Your sole and exclusive remedy shall be against the user or other party responsible for said content, not against HotelExecutive. your sole and exclusive remedy against HotelExecutive shall be to terminate your use of HotelExecutive and service.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Compliance. As set forth in Subsection (b), you must contact our agent if you believe that a work protected by a U.S. Copyright which you own has been posted on our Site without authorization or that our Site, in some material way, contributes to its infringement. It is our policy in appropriate circumstances, if possible, to terminate the access rights of repeat infringers and other users who use HotelExecutive in an inappropriate or objectionable manner.

9. COOPERATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

HotelExecutive reserves the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing HotelExecutive to disclose the identity or other information regarding any user or member alleged by any governmental entity to be using HotelExecutive or any Content or materials available in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive in violation of any law or regulation, or in violation of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the posting of e-mail messages, or publishing or otherwise making available any such materials. By accepting this agreement you waive and hold harmless HotelExecutive from any claims resulting from any action by HotelExecutive during, or as a result of, its investigations, and from any actions taken as a consequence of investigations by either HotelExecutive or law enforcement authorities

10. APPLICABLE LAWS, VENUE, JURISDICTION & MANDATORY ARBITRATION

If any provision(s) of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to law, then such provision(s) shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties with the other provisions remaining in full force and effect. HotelExecutive's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by HotelExecutive in writing. The section titles in this Agreement are solely used for the convenience of the parties and have no legal or contractual significance. This Agreement may be assigned in whole or in part by HotelExecutive. This Agreement may not be assigned in any manner by you without the express, prior written permission of HotelExecutive.

Any and all disputes or controversies of any kind, including but not limited to any performance, duty, obligation or liability arising under or related to this Agreement which are not first resolved informally, shall be determined by binding arbitration in San Francisco, California, in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The final award in any such arbitration proceeding shall be subject to entry as a judgment by any court or competent jurisdiction, provided that such judgment does not conflict with the terms and provisions hereof. The jurisdiction of the arbiter (or arbiters) with respect to legal matters shall be limited only by the statutory and common law of the State of California and the United States.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any and all disputes, which the parties cannot informally resolve, regarding the scope of issues or matter with the jurisdiction of the arbitrator, shall be resolved by a separate dispute resolution process whereby HotelExecutive, in its sole discretion shall elect the dispute to be resolved by either (1) a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of California or (2) a panel of three new arbitrators.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California notwithstanding any conflict of laws provisions. You and HotelExecutive agree that the venue for all legal disputes, controversies, actions of any kind arising under or related to this Agreement shall be San Francisco, California. You and HotelExecutive further agree that in case of any litigation regarding this Agreement, you irrevocably and unconditionally (i) consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the County of San Francisco, California for any litigation or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (ii) agree not to commence any litigation arising out of or relating to this Agreement except in the California Courts, (iii) agree not to plead or claim that such litigation brought therein has been brought in an inconvenient forum, and (iv) agree the California Courts represent the exclusive jurisdiction for all litigation relating to this Agreement.

11. MEMBERSHIP FEES

Hotel Business Review Subscriptions

If you choose to purchase a subscription, member subscription payments can be made in U.S. Dollars, as well as a variety of international currencies. Membership terms are Annual Recurring, and Monthly Recurring. The Annual Recurring subscription is an annual commitment and subscribers will be charged each consecutive billing cycle. Annual Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first billing cycle and within 30-days of the billing date for a full refund. Monthly Recurring subscriptions are ongoing and subscribers will be charged each consecutive monthly billing cycle. Monthly Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first month and within 7 days of the monthly billing cycle for a full refund.

12. PAYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Payment for the services provided to you in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive may be made by automatic credit card, debit card, direct debit, bankwire or Paypal and other approved payment means offered in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive, and you hereby authorize HotelExecutive and its agents to transact such payments on your behalf.

You hereby authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card to pay for your membership to HotelExecutive. You further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card for any and all purchases of products, services in association with HotelExecutive. You agree to be personally liable for all charges incurred by you in association with your access or other use of any content provided by HotelExecutive or any third party in association with HotelExecutive. You acknowledge and agree that your liability for all such charges shall continue after termination of your access or any type of membership arrangement with HotelExecutive.

In the event that you have chosen to have your membership automatically rebilled, unless and until you notify HotelExecutive that you wish to cancel or terminate your membership to HotelExecutive, you hereby agree and authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to automatically renew your membership to HotelExecutive on a continuing basis and to charge your credit card (or other payment means you have selected) to pay for the ongoing cost of your membership. You hereby further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card (or other approved payment means you have selected) for any and all purchases of products, services and entertainment provided to in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive.

13. PRIVACY POLICY

The following is the Privacy Policy for HotelExecutive

We can be reached via telephone, email, or online at our contact page. When you visit our site we do not log any information regarding your domain or email address. Information Sharing: We do not share user information with any third parties other than via press release distribution as described below.

Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

Receive our Newsletter

Spring Break Fever: Prepping Frontline Hospitality Workers for Travel Chaos

By Carol Leaman, Co-founder, Axonify

Time off from school, warmer weather and a flurry of travel discounts drive millions of Americans to book vacations during spring break. And this year, changing vacation habits could see even more people booking getaways during this ideal travel time. Experts predict springtime travel is growing more popular as Americans begin to favor vacations in the months outside the busy summer season while also trying to prolong their trips. This is good news for the hospitality and tourism industries. However, an even greater influx of guests during spring break will inevitably add to the stress and pressure that frontline...

How Does Sustainability and Innovation Work Hand-In-Hand in the Hospitality Industry?

By Andy De Silva, Co-Founder & CEO, Hotel Emporium

Sustainability: It is a word that has become a larger and larger component of business operations across all industries, first as a simple sprinkle within growth plans and now as a leading driver of conversation between executives as they work hard to achieve that competitive edge required to become true market leaders. However, the hospitality industry has lagged in its adoption of sustainable business practices, which has thrown a wrench in providing today's hotel guests with the best stay experience possible. After all, individuals are placing an increasing importance on sustainability in their lives, and their desire to be...

The High 5 of High Return Hospitality: Elevating Guest Experience, Employee Satisfaction, and Profit Margins

By Terrie O'Hanlon, Senior VP & Chief Marketing Officer, Agilysys

Technology plays an increasingly pivotal role in today's hotel and resort operations. From property management to mobile point-of-sale, the right systems can help properties streamline processes, improve staff communication, and enhance guest service. Moreover, as consumer expectations skyrocket, there's no margin for error. At the end of the day, hospitality is a zero-disappointment industry. There's no such thing as close enough. If you delight guests on nine experiences but fall short on the tenth, that's the one that will make it into comments on social media sites and into conversations with friends. Only a technology platform that covers all...

Unlocking the Potential of Secondary and Tertiary Hotel Markets

By Ketan Vora, Founding Partner, Edgewater Group

The hospitality industry has long centered on primary markets—major cities and resort hubs. But in my experience as the Founding Partner of Edgewater Group, secondary and tertiary markets are where some of the most exciting opportunities lie. These markets offer not only a more balanced approach to risk but also a chance to contribute meaningfully to local economies while meeting the evolving preferences of today’s travelers. This dual advantage of growth potential and community impact positions secondary and tertiary markets as valuable opportunities for the future of hospitality. Why Focus on Secondary and Tertiary Markets? When evaluating hotel markets, our...

The Department of Labor's 2024 Final Rule and its Impact on Exempt Staff

By John Mavros, Attorney at Law, Partner, Fisher & Phillips, LLP

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published its final rule which significantly increases the minimum salary threshold for executive, administrative, or professional employees to qualify as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2024 final rule is expected to affect millions of U.S. workers by potentially changing their exempt status and increasing overtime eligibility. The U.S. Department of Labor is rolling out the salary threshold increase in two stages. The first stage occurred on July 1, 2024, while the second will occur on January 1, 2025. Employers are required to either adjust salaries to maintain exemptions...

Leveraging Creativity and Grit to Reveal Existing Hotels' Hidden Potential

By Paul McElroy, Executive VP of Design & Construction, Highgate

If you walked into the Pearl Hotel in Waikīkī in 2019, you’d see a fairly typical mid-century hotel with questionable architecture, lacking amenities and in need of major upgrades throughout. But that’s not what my team and I saw. We saw an underutilized asset in an ideal location with the potential to become a truly special, high-design oasis. That vision became what is today Romer House Waikīkī-a completely reconfigured space complete with an elevated pool oasis and an expansive lobby restaurant. It takes a unique (and rare) combination of creative vision, technical know-how, appetite for risk and buckle-down grit...

Hotel Food and Beverage Thrives on People, Who are the Best Investment

By Stephen Wittman, Vice President of Food & Beverage, Remington Hospitality

As digital screens and contactless service exchanges continue to become mainstream, the heart of hospitality remains deeply human. While guests may appreciate the convenience of features like contactless check-in, keyless entry, and hotel delivery robots, recent shifts in traveler behaviors are keeping personalized service, authentic connection, and human interaction central to the hospitality experience. With remote work, a heightened wellness consciousness, and a thirst for experience-driven itineraries continuing to reshape travel patterns, full-service hotels are seeing longer stays and increased group demand, giving guests more time on the property and a greater appetite for deeper engagement and meaningful...

HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER FOCUS: The Hotel Concierge

Cost of Distribution: Out of control or a real expense

By Michael McCartan Managing Director Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Duetto | December 2012

Terms & Conditions

Receive our Newsletter

HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
DECEMBER FOCUS: The Hotel Concierge