Lately, it seems that all anyone in the hotel industry can talk about is the direct booking wars; who is winning and how are they doing it? As third-party marketing spend continues to increase, it is easy for hoteliers (especially independents) to feel like they are getting left in the dust with no way to compete. While a solid customer acquisition strategy is important for any hotel, maximizing profitability is not just about fighting with third parties for potential guests. It is about leveraging the data you already have to ensure you are prioritizing your most profitable guests. READ MORE

A haven for road warriors, a temporary home for traveling families, a site for trade shows and conferences-hotels are all of these things and so much more. For most people, waste is waste no matter the shape or size and, in the end, it all winds up in the dumpster. But for the smart hotel owner and operator, that's not always the case. Working with a proper waste broker, knowing where your hotel waste comes from and identifying key areas to focus on can greatly increase your operational cleaning efficiencies while simultaneously reducing time and stress, and helping you save costs. While there is a myriad of facets to hotel waste management, here are four key areas of waste management that are worthy of immediate attention. READ MORE

Biophilia, a love of life and the living world, continues to gain popularity in today’s modern built environment – especially as our population continues to urbanize. As a result, businesses, hotels and apartment communities across the world are incorporating biophilic design by infusing direct and indirect natural elements to create environments that promote health, wellness and productivity. While this design concept is already transforming the hotel industry, hoteliers can leverage design strategies from multifamily and residential communities to effectively create spaces that elevate the human-nature connection and guest experience to convert one-time guests into repeat visitors. READ MORE

More and more food and beverage operations in hotels are having an active online presence by making their websites more mobile friendly, thus more accessible to smartphone users. Adding to that, social media also has a huge part to play in the food and beverage industry’s revenue. Also, apps like Open Table and Yelp now make it possible for customers to make reservations in the palm of their hand. Food and beverage operations aren’t just using technology to bring customers to them, many are providing their servers with smartphones to take orders. Smartphones are creating more efficiency within the food and beverage operation, which all means boosts in revenues. READ MORE

Site integration is a crucial step in designing a hotel and, when applied appropriately, has the power to impact guest satisfaction as well as the owner's business objectives and can even translate into a real value and return on investment. In this article, Cristine Henderson, AIA, NCARB, Associate Vice President at Hoefer Wysocki, shares the most important considerations when applying site integration in a hotel's design. Considerations include designing to increase the building's overall visibility and accessibility, while incorporating local inspiration and environmental influences. A designer's skills, creativity and mindfulness produce opportunities to build hotel interiors and exteriors that reflect and make use of local surroundings and enhance the overall guest experience. READ MORE