Nearly 90,000 hospitality and leisure workers had a nonfatal occupational injury or illness in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 26,500 of those injuries involved workers who fell, slipped, or tripped while on the job and missed days of work as a result. Workplace injuries can be costly in terms of out-of-pocket expenses, lost productivity and potentially higher insurance premiums. A recent survey by EMPLOYERS® found that 35 percent of small businesses cite workplace safety as one of the top risks they worry about. By investing proactively in safety programs and training, hotels can not only reduce workplace accidents, but potentially increase employee retention and improve work productivity. READ MORE

We are currently in a digital age. The proliferation of new technologies and the uptake of them by guests is changing the booking landscape so quickly that even technological adept hospitality managers can find it difficult to keep up. The biggest change in recent years has been the rise and heightening reliance on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as the social media apps offered on these devices, which are available at any time in any location. The transformation in the use of technology is also turning traditional sales, marketing and revenue management on its head and demanding a more holistic approach to how hotels run their business and interact with consumers. READ MORE

Hospitality companies are faced with almost endless opportunities to pick up customer feedback. But collecting feedback isn't like it used to be. New technology has changed how we communicate and offers an expanding array of options. As a result, customers have embraced different technologies and ways to connect with each other. So how do you reach all of your customers? No single method of collecting guest feedback works with all guests. By using a combination of feedback methods - email and mobile surveys, contacts during the guest stay, facility usage data and even simple observation - your company can get a complete picture of your entire customer mix. READ MORE

A hotel is more than a building. It's a place. It should not be viewed as a commodity but rather a distinct buying proposition with meaningful benefits. By creating and delivering the right kinds of experiences it can accomplish that mission and be transformed from merely a physical space to a dynamic destination and, as a result, become the preferred spot for guests and travelers. The key to doing this is to develop an “experience framework” that details the proposed positioning of the hotel. Once established, the various contributors and property attributes should individually and collectively align and reinforce the experience proposed. READ MORE

Counterfactual thinking is an overlooked cognitive notion that can adversely or favorably sway a hotel guest's satisfaction and retention level. Research has shown that counterfactual thinking can magnify customer satisfaction or customer dissatisfaction levels. Counterfactual thinking is a conduit to a range of human emotions like feeling of regret, anger, and relief. These emotions in the context of hotels can be linked to a guest's post purchase service evaluation. Examples of counterfactual thinking, alongside with guest satisfaction, and retention levels is also laid out. The write up helps to bridge these conceptual gaps, and other related issues to establish pivotal connections among these otherwise unrelated concepts. READ MORE