Social media has become the new norm for hotels when it comes to free marketing. It's easily accessible, there is no acquisition cost, and almost everyone uses some form of social media on a daily basis. Yet now, with the added competition of influencers, ads, and the high standards that have been set, this once "free" marketing tool has become anything but that. It can be difficult to quantify how much money you should budget for your social media platforms to market your hotel, but there are some methods that make it possible to get a reasonable estimate of your social media ROI. READ MORE

With 59% of marketers increasing their budget to work with social media influencers, Influencer Marketing is going to continue to grow. We will see hotels getting feature stories on top blogs and/or highlights on influential social profiles. There are a variety of reasons influencer marketing is taking over, including more compelling and entertaining stories told to a targeted audience as well as the increased ability to measure the impact and affect behavior and drive conversions. Whether or not you can increase your budget, here are a number ways you can increase the value of your influencer marketing strategy. READ MORE

The decision to appeal a hotel's property assessment for tax purposes is only the first of a series of judgments before the case is resolved. Who will defend the appeal? Based on what facts? How far is an appellant willing to go to gain a remedy for the assessment? In order to be successful in this effort, particularly if the appeal involves a large amount of money or is extremely complicated, the hotelier would be wise to seek out expert guidance. With this decision, new questions arise of where to find that guidance and how much it will ultimately cost. READ MORE

“Who are you wearing?” will again be asked up and down the red carpet this year during Hollywood's annual awards season. Big names in the fashion and jewelry world like Gucci, Carolina Herrera, Christian Louboutin, and Cartier are likely to be the answers. This may leave one to wonder - how are these high-value items protected when the celebrities are off the red carpet and back in their hotel rooms? And then, how do non-celebrity hotel guests ensure their higher value items are protected during their vacations and hotel stays? In this article, we discuss insurance coverages hotels provide or should consider providing to protect guest property - whether high value or standard, tips on how to mitigate risk exposure, as well as additional options for hotel guests to expand their personal coverage when they are on the road. READ MORE

What makes them even more attractive to the hotel industry is that they are nearly twice as likely to travel for business as Baby Boomers. In fact 46% of Millennial are willing to do so versus 26% of their older counterparts. This interesting statistic came of light from a study by the Global Business Travel Association. So even though there are technologies like Skype and Gotomeeting, Millennials want to meet face to face and their companies have the funds to send them on that business travel. Predictions are that by 2025, this group will make three-quarters of the workforce. Understanding and growing with this generation will make or break you in the hotel world of the future READ MORE