It is no secret that hoteliers are looking to increase direct bookings to mitigate against rising distribution costs. As cost inflation has pushed direct booking to the top of most hotels' priority lists, hotels are pursuing more business through the lower-cost direct channel, in an all-out effort to preserve the profitability of each booking. In this article, Gino Engels, CCO and co-founder at OTA Insight, discusses 10 essential tactics-such as enhancing your booking experience, segmenting your guest lists, properly forecasting demand, and more-that you can employ to produce more direct business and increase your hotel's revenue per available room. READ MORE

With the practice of green building having been around for several decades, the business and environmental benefits that green hotels can offer are becoming more widely understood within the hospitality industry. A lesser known advantage of green hotels is the host of benefits for employees and the people within the hotels. In fact, "people" are one of the three pillars in the triple bottom line of green building: people, planet and profit. Known as one of the most resource-intensive building types and conventionally believed to be one of the more reluctant to join the green movement, the hospitality industry is making strides in the green building world. READ MORE

With a focus on holistic wellness that extends from their clients to their company to the overall environmental, spas often keep sustainability at the center of their mission, and that intentional focus on how products, services and practices affect the world around us can serve as a great jumping-off point for hotels and resorts looking to implement eco-friendly practices on a larger scale. Learn how to tap into your spa's sustainable practices, and be inspired by amazing properties that are helping to shape the way we define our corporate responsibility to the planet. READ MORE

Thanks to entrepreneurs whose focus is on waste reduction and energy and water conservation, hoteliers are finding it much easier to cut costs while maintaining a five-star guest experience. Because of advancements in solar technology by a well-known maker of electric automobiles, the day of the net zero hotel is here. Yet another innovator has developed recyclable linens. Others have found ways to more easily recover "waste" heat. Still others have married guestroom energy management technology with voice command systems to make temperature change or lighting adjustments as easy as a "hello". READ MORE

Sustainable practices are something nearly every venue strives to implement as responsible community partners. They can also be a selling point for planners and guests who want their event to have a positive impact. A truly effective program takes planning, measurable results, and above all, employee buy-in. It generally falls on employees to implement a comprehensive sustainability program, and the question becomes, how do you motivate employees to take on additional work? At the Minneapolis Convention Center, we found the way to create a culture of sustainability was to put our employees first. READ MORE