The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) prohibits employers from discriminating against disabled individuals, which includes failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a disabled individual. Before Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”), when an employee requested an accommodation, employers generally could determine whether the employee was disabled. Further, even if an employer entirely failed to accommodate an employee, there still was a good chance the employer would win any resulting lawsuit because of the difficulty in proving a disability. If it has not already, the passage of the ADAAA, which made it much easier to prove disability, should have entirely changed an employer's approach to accommodation requests. READ MORE

The impetus for this article comes from the thousands of miles I have traveled and the many places I have stayed in my work as a leadership consultant. Depending upon the city and the client, the range goes from residential inns to five star resorts, from boutique hotels to bed-and-breakfast retreats, from international chains to franchise operations. From a leadership perspective, what becomes clear is that while creature comforts can vary (and are always critically important), my ultimate experience is determined by the interactions I experience and observe with staff. READ MORE

In the last 30 years, water and sewer rates have increased faster than even the cost of oil. The typical busy hotel manager and engineer has an overflowing plate and now they must add the management and reduction of water and waste water costs. In this article, we will look at the rising cost of water bills, water use benchmarks for hotels, getting started, and an introduction to new national codes, standards and rating systems that will impact hotel operations. READ MORE

Let's face it; in the hotel business if you don't deliver acceptable customer service, guests are more than likely to walk out your door and into one of a multitude of competitor properties, even after just one bad experience. And, in today's socially active world, there's no hiding your inefficiencies as irate customers are quick to take their experience to Twitter or other hotel review sites and spread their negative stories. The competition is so fierce that it's easy to understand why a hotel brand's customer reputation is one of its key drivers of business success. READ MORE

Technology-enabled travelers have shifted the playing field for hoteliers. Their unprecedented access to information is transforming the traditional hotel booking and pricing practices. If a hotelier fails to deliver a service or price promise, consumers will have several purchasing alternatives and a plethora of ways to share their negative experiences in social communities. In order to adapt their go-to-market strategies to this new reality, hotels need to look for answers in the emerging industry trends. READ MORE