In response to COVID-19, HEI Hotels & Resorts has implemented new standard operating procedures and hygienic practices at HEI's portfolio of more than 80 independent and branded hotels. In this article, Rachel Monez, Executive Vice President of Operations, talks about the changes implemented at various HEI hotel properties, giving readers an insight into what to expect as the 'new norm'. The article will provide tips about what hotels can do to adjust their cleaning protocols and educate employees to rise to the challenges presented in the new COVID-19 environment. READ MORE

Hospitality may well be the industry most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is also possibly the industry that has done the most to mitigate the effects and been the most innovative in developing programs and protocols to serve the needs of their customer, retain whatever revenue is possible and keep everybody safe while doing it. As an industry, we can all feel proud of how our colleagues have responded. But, it's not clear that in their haste to introduce mitigating programs, hotels thought through what will happen when this thing is over. READ MORE

Mark Heymann – an industry expert with over 40 years of experience in hospitality and restaurants, sheds light on the importance of labor management optimization amid the COVID-19 recovery period. The entire labor management process has changed, and hotels will need to develop an enhanced focus on internal staffing variables in order to recover. Guest expectations will drastically change so hotels will have to evolve in order to exceed these new expectations. In this piece, Mark details the various ways hotels should look to adjust their approach which includes fostering an engaged staff, balancing flexible scheduling, shifting to task-oriented labor and more. READ MORE

Forecasting is a skill our industry excels at in the best of times. From trends to revenue models, the quest to predict as accurately as possible what factors will have the greatest impact on our successes has proven to be a challenge since the COVID-19 health, social and economic crisis hit our industry in the spring of 2020. However, the 4.5 trillion dollars wellness industry may just be one of the crystal balls able to provide directions on how we adapt our wellness facilities and rethink our programming to welcome what we anticipate to be a health and well-being wave of unprecedented proportion that our industry for the most part may not be ready to handle. READ MORE

At this moment where there is heightened awareness and a global focus on health risks and disease prevention due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the need to strategize and re-imagine business operations in hotel and resort outlets has presented a unique opportunity for those offering spa and wellness programming. Hotel and resort spas have typically catered to the popular massage, facial, scrubs, wraps, fitness, and more recently, mindfulness offerings. What has been mostly absent from this sector is an integration of community partnering with science-based public health organizations, institutions, and experts. READ MORE