As if hoteliers didn't have enough to worry about, a new concern can be added to their list: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been ramping up its investigations of foreign-born workers and their employers. If your hotel employs immigrant and nonimmigrant workers or, worse yet, undocumented workers, you should be on high alert. In the 2008 fiscal year alone, ICE made over 5,100 administrative arrests based on immigration violations and over 1,000 additional criminal arrests for charges like harboring or knowingly employing illegal aliens. READ MORE

Travel 2.0 means business. It is not like Web 2.0, which is primarily defined by social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr. In Travel 2.0, additional sites such as TripAdvisor, Google Maps, Virtual Tourist, and TravelPost empower consumers with interactive tools to research hotels and plan their trips, comment on their recent stays, and interact with other like-minded consumers. Savvy hospitality operators are embracing all aspects of Travel 2.0 - and beyond - because of its ability to drive business, build community, and empower guests. What are the best ways to leverage it? Here are five strategies... READ MORE

To the misfortune of the designer many properties entering the market face considerable negative criticism due in part to many things like the shang-bang construction, ostentatious colorizing or architectural theme and even more caustic in today's market is the irresponsible landscaping surrounding the building. Creating unique, memorable and economically viable hotel environments is what hospitality designers do, however we are not the financiers of the dreams, we are merely the dream weavers that have the enviable task of creating the folly of others. As a designer my intent in this article is to pinpoint three very important considerations when working with an owner to build, renovate or re-flag a property. READ MORE

Having working in the Meeting and Incentive industry my comprehension of hotel design has been enriched. From the meeting planners perspective my consideration of the hotel facility was based on a properties flexability, and overall apperance. Pairing my meeting planner experience with my knowledge as a designer I am equally aware that the durability of the FF&E within a hotel property is paramount to the success of the hotel and I strive to place as much intelligently designed product within a property. In this article I bring to the forefront a few concepts designers should keep in mind when working with the operators of hotel properties. These considerations should assist in assuring that both the designer and the operator are working toward the same goal - to create spaces that achieve the greatest ROI. READ MORE

As a developer, real estate is, by its nature, an expensive non-liquid asset. It costs a lot of money to own it, and it can be difficult to sell. In development activity, there are also added costs of improvements and included are the fees of various consultants necessary to get the development work done, but with more than three trillion dollars annually feeding the global hospitality industry there remains considerable motivation for developers to continue to build. As a designer I am challenged daily with a multitude of new global projects, and though each project varies significantly in it's scope, - the five considerations highlighted in this article serve as guides in the design execution process. READ MORE