"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." said English Quaker writer William Pollard. For over six years I have been passionate about creating solutions that eliminate friction for hotels and planners while delivering on the emerging expectations for online bookings for groups, meetings, and events. The entire industry is at such a pivotal point, and market forces are encouraging all of us to take a hard look at the Simple Meetings problem. At this stage, we have more questions than answers. However, we are about to embark on some exciting times. READ MORE

Today, with the advent of new meetings marketplaces, submitting multiple RFPs can happen in just a few clicks. Couple that with seemingly ever-growing group demand across markets, and it's easy to see why the hotel industry now finds itself drowning in a sea of RFPs. Luckily, while technology has created the RFP problem, it also offers some exciting new solutions hotels can use to capitalize on the influx. Here, we cover some of those technologies and the intelligent lead strategies that should be implemented alongside them. READ MORE

It’s engrained into our minds at a very early age: call 911 in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, for many of us, our emergency know-how ends there. For hotel staff, emergency preparedness skills can not only save the lives of guests or fellow employees, those skills can also help to prevent injuries, disable hazards, maintain operations and protect property. Though these events occur without warning, that doesn’t necessarily mean hotel owners and their staff have to face these situations unprepared. In this article, we discuss what hotel owners can do to prepare staff to better handle emergencies. READ MORE

Owners are keen that employee workforce is kept engaged and motivated always with a fair compensation package, good development opportunities and a regular acquisition of new skill sets through training and other methods. Nothing upsets the owners more than a high employee turnover ridden workforce which is struggling to meet the demands of customers. Owners will want that the top management beginning with the CEO or head of the unit drive the succession plan process. This is enough evidence of the power of an effective succession plan process in developing and grooming an employee complement with requisite skill sets to meet the business challenges in future. READ MORE

The lodging business is really about providing guest service. Keeping a loyal client hinges on providing exceptional experiences – ones that people will talk about, share, remember and entice them to return. Today’s consumer is much less forgiving and there are no second chances when it comes to providing a great experience. Fortunately, realizing the negative implications of a bad encounter with a customer, companies in all industries have upped their customer service game. Today, there is no excuse for a hotel not to provide excellent customer service. All it takes is a simple yet powerful technique of managing customer expectations by under-promising and over-delivering on your service commitments. READ MORE