Revenue managers spend considerable time observing and reviewing their competitive set. After all, they've had historical success looking at the hotels with similar pricing and amenities. It's been the stalwart approach to decoding the price forecasting puzzle. As an industry, we've commonly accepted this is the right way to do things. But be warned, this approach is like looking at a spectacular mountain. Every angle around the mountain looks different to the observer, with each view revealing bite sized pieces of the overall picture. The reader starts with a full-page image, but when seen from another angle, an entirely different picture is revealed. Revenue managers are so busy looking at their competition through a 'partial' image, they cannot see the full picture. READ MORE

Do you wish to be a Movie Star and record your own video outlining the highlights of your career and what you can offer a new employer? How would you like to be interviewed by a robot? If you think these are Star Wars interview, you are wrong. They are going on now. We all know that over the last few years, many companies have had filters on applications they receive and if certain words are present, they will review the resumes. If these buzz words are not, they will send the resumes on a one way ride to cyber space. READ MORE

Employment arbitration agreements commonly include mandatory class action waivers. Class action waivers can be a powerful tool for employers to prevent potentially devastating class action lawsuits. Until several months ago, employers didn't have to think twice about whether a class waiver was a lawful part of their arbitration agreement. That all changed when Federal Circuit Courts in Lewis v. Epic Systems (7th Circuit) and Morris v. Ernst & Young (9th Circuit) held that class action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act's guarantee of collective action and therefore could not be enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act. READ MORE

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is likely one of the most confusing pieces of legislation you have to comply with, and the hospitality industry, especially hotels, is more complex than most when it comes to ACA reporting. This year, the stakes are higher as the IRS removes all the safety nets that were in place in 2015. Whether you reported with complete accuracy and auditability for 2015, or the notion of ACA reporting still makes your head spin, there's a lot to learn from last year's mishaps and this year's expectations READ MORE

Hotels, like other U.S. companies, are struggling to find solutions to staffing shortages. Every month, more than a quarter-million Americans turn 65, which is a trend that has profound workforce and economic consequences in this country. In addition, unemployment rates continue to fall, dropping to 4.9% nationwide in September 2016. These changes, along with other factors like increases in occupancy rates and high labor costs, have resulted in many hotel companies having trouble finding and hiring qualified workers for open positions. Of course, it's not an option for the rooms not to be cleaned or for the meals not to be prepared and served when employees are hard to find. READ MORE