Millennials, Zika, Brexit, elections, the economy, mega-mergers…every quarter brings a newsflash du jour. Hotel professionals need a genie to tell them what to ignore and what requires their action. This article summarizes the most relevant trends affecting group meetings - along with tips from corporate meeting planners on what hotels can do to help their group customers succeed, and help you improve a hotel's group meeting business. Read about the importance of authentic local experiences, unique venues, event apps, and negotiations with buyers. READ MORE

You show up at 8am for a training workshop, dreading it all week. Right as you are about to step inside, you stop and the question pops into your mind, “Why am I here? Will this be worth my ever-so-fleeting time? And if they make me play games, I think I may be forced to commit hara-kiri.” Does this sound even remotely familiar? Games do not have to be painful or embarrassing. Some games, such as bouncing a beach ball, everyone standing on a sheet and turning it over without anyone leaving the sheet, lining up according to shoe size and everything in between have their place. We've been through them all. READ MORE

As the Architects and the Interior Designers, ForrestPerkins transformed an iconic downtown office building into a vibrant mixed-use property featuring a 326-key Westin hotel in Downtown Dallas. The adaptive reuse of One Main Place to hotel use required paying strict attention to the historic elements of the building in order to satisfy the requirements of the National Park Service and the Texas Historic Commission for achieving federal and state Historic Tax Credits for the owners. Repurposing this important downtown building has given it new life and has contributed to the burgeoning renaissance of Downtown Dallas. READ MORE

As someone who has poured money into a restaurant as an investment vehicle, the owner is looking at a good return on that investment. Restaurant profits cannot match rooms accommodation profits and in most cases tend to be between one third to one half of rooms profits. It is thus critical that the restaurant product is well thought out and harnesses resident hotel guest patronage complemented by non-residents. A well balanced buffet and a la carte offerings in the hotel restaurant will go a long way in delivering that patronage factor as well as producing that return on investment the owner is seeking. A win win situation that owners and stake holders hold dear to their hearts. READ MORE

There are various project delivery systems commonly used in today's construction renovation projects, Design-Bid-Build, Construction Management and Design-Build. It's important that an owner examines the pros and cons of each in order to determine which system works best for certain considerations such as project goals, costs to perform, timeline and risk management. In the Design-Bid-Build method, the owner engages entities such as the architect/engineer, designer and construction company separately. Since there is little if any connection between the different entities, this process requires a savvy owner who will be responsible for controlling all aspects of the design and construction process. One of the downfalls of this process, however, occurs if there are design errors for which the owner becomes at risk to the contractor. READ MORE