Hotels provide a variety and growing number of ancillary services from child care to swim lessons to spa treatments. With so many different services being offered in one hotel, it can become increasingly difficult for hotel owners and operators to make sure they have the right protections in place in case anything goes wrong. Unfortunately, when a hotel is providing day care services, youth related events or intimate spa services, among other things, risks abound. In this article, we talk about the insurance coverages hotel owners and operators should consider when they add additional service offerings to their suite of hotel guest services. READ MORE

Hotel companies are continually seeking to understand and define what the discerning traveler desires and how to deliver at a level of creativity and consistency that exceeds expectations. I like to define touchpoints as any product or moment experienced by the guest, specific to a hotel or resort landscape. Our goal, as leaders, is to understand what these touchpoints or opportunities for interaction are and then to architect the experiences at an elevated level at every one of these defined opportunities. The best international luxury hotel brands have done a tremendous job of understanding touchpoints that pertain to the individual leisure traveler. READ MORE

Hotel sales managers and meeting planners have been working together for decades. We have had our ups and downs with everything and anything that could go right and wrong. That said, at the day we are here for our clients and guests. With that common ground established; now how do we achieve our common goal? For me, I am 100% transparent with my meeting planners, groups, and guests. I teach my team to not be in it for the next best group that comes along. We want to create strong partnerships with our colleagues for the long haul. READ MORE

Out of the $250 billion of hospitality revenue from transient and leisure business, only 10% is spent on marketing. And although your hotel website provides the top source of marketing ROI for your organization, meetings and events are a close second. Build your marketing plans to support planner behaviors all year, and you'll quickly fill your group business need dates. With business intelligence and support from your destination, you'll be able to use seasonality to build brand awareness, develop stronger relationships with planners, and intercept the competition before they even see it coming. Here are some of Cvent's go-to tips for improving seasonality-supported strategies for hotel sales and marketing teams. READ MORE

As demand for hotel rooms drives increasing ADRs and climbing occupancy rates, hotel sales teams and revenue managers are honing sales strategies, evaluating deployment and group segment potential, and strategically choosing the right mix of room inventory allotted to their transient and group segments. Pursuing the best segments and selling smartly is the name of the game in an economic environment in which many hotels can afford to be particular about the business they book. Previously, it has been easier to analyze market performance for the transient segment than the group segment but now it's becoming just as clear for the group side due to recent advances in technology. READ MORE