Businesses, consumers and the news media continue to throw around the terms "green building", "eco-friendly" and "green initiatives," but what do they mean and how do and/or will they affect the hospitality industry? Contrary to some naysayers, the green movement is not going away. Therefore, hospitality companies need to implement green initiatives now to keep pace with the competition. The hospitality industry has a unique opportunity to reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with guest rooms, event spaces and their general facilities through measures such as water and energy efficiency, waste management and reduction and local purchasing. As hospitality companies grow, build and expand they should also consider pursuing LEED certification. Green initiatives do not have to be costly and the hospitality industry is likely to realize a measureable return on their investment, whether in the form of energy savings or increased popularity with green conscious consumers. READ MORE

How are you monitoring your direct sales force efforts? Who do you count as a member of the sales team? How often are you validating their effectiveness and what are the measurement criteria you are using? Who is interacting with the sales team on a daily, weekly and/or monthly basis? How often does the sales team speak with the revenue management team? Who is on the REVENUE MANAGEMENT TEAM? The answers to each one of these questions can be the difference between success and failure, between REVPAR growth or lost business. READ MORE

The best way to build and maintain guest loyalty during times of commodity price wars is to use Customer Centric Strategies (CCS). The term "commodity" means that the consumer sees all products as the same and the only difference to the consumer is their price. In a commodity market, consumers will usually make their purchase decision based predominately on price. Do you want to keep from becoming a commodity, and settling for the prevailing price of the other products that the consumer sees as a substitute? To avoid being bought as a commodity you can either make your product better than the competition, in the eyes of the consumers, or differentiate yourself to the consumer in another way. READ MORE

Room rates should be not the first but the last thing to touch. Room rates are too important to play a continuous game of pull/push with. Hotel brands that held their rates and didn't dilute their rate integrity were the first to lead REVPAR recovery after market slumps. Coming down with room rates, can be done pretty fast. Previous recessions have taught us that rebuilding it, after heavy discounting may take years and it will be uphill all the way. Tactical discounts reflect a short-term approach. Strategic thinking is harder but it may lead to long-term success. READ MORE

Hospitality industry experts advise hoteliers to be careful not to drop their rates this year, and boost them when possible. The process of building the rack rate however, leads to price wars, within properties in a certain destination. The economy has caused hotels to price out one another, as travelers seek value and the lowest rate possible when booking a hotel. Often times, travelers don't mind at all to book last minute, taking advantage of lowest rates as they shop among area hotels. But, what does all this mean to hoteliers who are doing what they can to keep their hotels alive through the downturn of this global crisis? READ MORE