The biggest source of hospitality customer feedback isn't being used much, at least not yet. Experts at Gartner, Forrester and IDC estimate that somewhere around 80% of the world's data is unstructured. And unstructured data is growing at 15 times the rate of structured data. Unstructured data is the kind of data that doesn't fit neatly into columns and rows, and isn't easily analyzed with traditional tools. Things like e-mails, Word documents, customer feedback, blogs, online reviews, instant messages, pictures, videos, etc. Clearly there is a significant competitive opportunity in doing a better job using unstructured data. READ MORE

When we go about analyzing a brand's logo, so much attention is given to the symbol used and the text. While it's crucial to calibrate both of these to perfection, the use of color is a vital third component. Different hues on the spectrum are perceived with dissimilar sentiments and, as it concerns hotels, they can establish certain expectations for a brand. As well, the correct use of color - in all its iterations onsite and online - can work as a passive marketing tool to increase brand awareness and retention versus your competitors. READ MORE

Twitter, with its 140 character limit and insider conventions such as hashtags, can be intimidating. But for hotels it also provides a fantastic marketing and sales opportunity. And it's crucial for customer service these days. Whether you want to post your own tweets or not, you have to keep an eye on Twitter to see what people are saying about you, and respond quickly if there's a problem. This article covers the basics of Twitter and ways your hotel can use Twitter to boost bookings and revenues. READ MORE

Guests are in the pursuit of a great experience. In today's age, we are in a circumstance where we are comfortable and we enjoy many conveniences. Without a doubt, the opportunities exist here to ensure that we take our hospitality establishments to the next level, by being more in tuned with the concept of physical and psychological customer service, communication within department (via the use of technology, for example) as this can liberate the administrative task and have it more automated, while focusing more on the personal service we should traditionally be executing. READ MORE

They're in their 20s, traveling for business and they're not choosing a hotel based on loyalty points. The hotel industry is banking on this new group of travelers to boost its economic growth well into the future. Hotels are repackaging the brand experience to appeal to this new customer and they're spending tremendous resources to get it right. This new demographic is not a uniform, homogenous group and they don't necessarily have loyalty to any brand. People years ago wanted to stay at a Marriott so they could build up their points, but that doesn't drive this generation. They don't fit into a box or stereotype. This is the young twenty-something coming into the business world and it's becoming increasingly important to tailor brands to appeal to this new segment. READ MORE