ALL ABOARD! Interviews are complete. New employees are hired. Orientations are scheduled. Training is about to begin. How does your organization view and define the training experience before it takes place or before it leaves the station? Who are your lead engines and how will they fuel the service attitudes and disposition that will be a lasting foundation for new employees? What criteria and guidelines should be used for trainers and those who teach the examples that will be translated into real results for guests? To ensure training gets on and stays on the right track, keep the following guidelines in mind... READ MORE

In this economic environment, hotel owners and managers alike are doing all they can to ensure that their hotel is profitable. The structure of the Incentive Fee is a key element to aligning the interests of the hotel owner and the hotel manager. Does the Incentive Fee structure get what it is intended to incentivize? This article delves into the various ways that Incentive Fees can be calculated to incentivize the manger to be fiscally responsible and to reward the owner for taking the financial risk of developing and owning the hotel - and in turn increases the bottom line for both parties. READ MORE

Oh.. what a feeling! Whether this expression comes from Irene Cara in Flashdance, Bad Boys Blue, Van Morrison, Solomon Burke, The Everly Brothers or Crowbar, the concept of” Feelings” and how they move people in all facets of life is really something to sing about! Joy! Excitement! Anger! Anxiety! Confusion, Clarity? Feelings? What role do these and other feelings play in the world of hospitality? Better yet, what are the emotions of service that cause those feelings and what kinds of emotion does service, good, bad or indifferent, cause in guests? READ MORE

Chances are you're swimming in the reams and reams of customer feedback data you have amassed. Adding to the data set is the hospitality industry's newfound recognition of the importance of social media and online customer feedback. But, few companies have figured out how to systematically analyze information shared through social media channels, distill true guests insight, and determine the optimal actions based on this feedback. READ MORE

The traditional organized professional meeting has changed very little since its introduction more than three hundred years ago. But during the last twenty years, a new breed of meetings has begun to emerge; meeting designs that are participant-driven and participation-rich. These new meeting formats come with their own requirements, which many venues are currently poorly equipped to satisfy. Learn the key changes needed to position your venue to successfully handle these increasingly popular designs. READ MORE