After more than 20 years of initiatives designed to improve effectiveness, most HR functions have achieved neither the value promised by strategic HR, nor the operational efficiency expected of new technologies, Six Sigma, shared services, or outsourcing. The path to better human resources management practices begins with a focus on the operational enablers required for enhanced managerial decision-making. READ MORE

An area that is often overlooked in the operation of a spa is staff training. The importance of training frequently both as a team and individually is borne out through the operational and financial success for those facilities that do this. Each area of the spa should receive its own specialized training regimen. These areas include front desk, sales and marketing, retail, locker room and maintenance, service providers (therapists, estheticians and nail technicians) and all other key departments. The frequency and consistency of staff training is critical to the success of any spa whether it is in pre-opening mode or after the doors have opened. READ MORE

Keeping employees engaged in the current economic environment can be difficult. When times are good, many employers go to great lengths, and sometimes to great expense, to reward and recognize their employees to keep them motivated and satisfied. When occupancy rates decline and margins shrink, employee rewards and incentives can fall by the wayside. This may lead to increased employee turnover and disengaged employees. Find out what you can do to keep your employees engaged and your customer service levels high even when company funds are tight in my article, "Hotel Worker Recognition: How to Keep Your Employees Engaged." READ MORE

Some hoteliers have expanded the use of “tip pools” which, if done properly, can provide hotels with a federally sanctioned way to reduce payroll expenses and provide job security for more of their employees. However, federal law is very strict regarding the type of employees for which a “tip credit” may be taken and what's required for an employer to operate a qualified tip pool. While tip pools and tip credits can help reduce labor costs for hoteliers, they should not be adopted without careful consideration of the rules and without the assistance of qualified employment counsel. READ MORE

Is being green important? Absolutely. And, hotel guests expect hotels to be stewards of the environment. But increasingly, guests expect "doing well by doing good" to be a part of a hotel's business strategy. And, they're happy to reward companies that give back with both respect and patronage. READ MORE

When a guest registers a complaint through internal surveys or in person, do you as a hotel manager: a) look busy; b) skulk out the back door; or c)handle the matter personally? Regardless of how a hotel operator chooses to respond to a face to face confrontation with a disgruntle guest, it is vital to the success of a hotel that online reviews receive responses. The response should come from the hotel management staff in timely matter with clear and sincere verbiage. Online reviews deserve even more time than internal surveys, as the feedback is just as, if not more, valuable, and the impact is instant and vey public. READ MORE

With the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”) and the corresponding regulations recently promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the legal landscape under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) has changed dramatically and will continue to do so with court decisions interpreting and applying the amended law. As a result, employers face new compliance challenges and must re-examine how they address disability-related issues and accommodation requests in order to minimize the risk of enforcement actions and/or litigation. READ MORE

Cross-training certainly is a great opportunity for a hospitality establishment, as it positively affects employees and management. One way that cross-training can impact robustly in the workplace is from a service perspective. The article below explains several case scenarios and examples, in which you, as a hospitality manager or owner, may seize the opportunity to adopt this concept into your overall service plan. When implementing cross-training, management will have the advantage of using employees in several departments, thereby reducing hiring and training costs, while improving employee morale and skills at the same time. READ MORE

Most business executives don't feel they are getting much out of the federal stimulus initiatives. But hospitality employers are well-positioned to capitalize on one such initiative: the HIRE Act hiring-based tax incentive program. Hotel operators can claim tax benefits of roughly $750 per qualified hire, and at least half of new hires will qualify. The HIRE Act is not only good for the economy because it encourages companies to bring people back into the workforce, but it's also great for the bottom line. Here are some guidelines on how the HIRE Act works and how to implement a screening program. READ MORE

As a successful hotel executive, you keep your finger on the pulse of every aspect of your property. If you are like most hoteliers, one of your greatest challenges is engaging and retaining frontline staff --- housekeepers/room attendants, bell staff, kitchen help, and often the high-stress switchboard. Are you ready for some leading edge solutions? Then you will certainly want to read this article. Combining knowledge of our industry with effective non-hospitality employer practices, it provides eight great low- and no-cost ideas that you can implement tomorrow, without breaking the bank. READ MORE

Whether your hospitality niche is timeshare, shared ownership, vacation club or hotel, customer loyalty and retention is at the top of everyone's priorities these days. Since I came from the hotel world into timeshare operations it has become increasingly evident that the most effective way to drive loyalty with our customers, guests, and in our case, owner, is to keep them engaged and continually reignite the flame that motivated them to invest in owning a timeshare. Our strategy to keep our owners loyal and committed to their timeshare purchase is tied to a simple equation: Use + Satisfaction = Lower Delinquency. How do we do that? READ MORE

It is clear that revenue management practices can help hotels increase revenue, but successful revenue management counts on consumers being willing to pay different prices for essentially the same product, based on the hotel's expectation of demand. Hotel managers have good reason to be concerned about negative consumer reaction to demand-based pricing. Research has shown that consumers will punish firms that they perceive to be acting unfairly in their pricing strategies by refusing to patronize them in the future. So, how can hotels balance the risk of negative consumer reactions with the benefits of variable pricing? READ MORE

Over the last thirty-five years I have studied demographic and industry patterns. As a CEO, I understood that one of my key responsibilities was to look into the future, anticipate the markets and place my company clearly in the position to capitalize on the market trends. Demographic patterns have clearly been one of those tools I used to anticipate movement in the marketplace. The Hospitality industry has a repeatable pattern of recovery from economic downturns. Those CEOs who provide services to the Hospitality industry will do well to pay attention to these patterns and position their company's production capacity and marketing focus to provide products and services to the industry. READ MORE

Having spent over two decades immersed in hotel, travel and lifestyle brands, I've watched marketing trends come and go, and at times despaired at how much the hotel and travel industry has failed to embrace innovation and change. Fortunately, that's not been the case with the world of digital. Today a full 39% of U.S. travel brands engage in e-commerce. But taking reservations electronically doesn't mean that a brand has truly capitalized on the power of the digital marketplace, so I thought it would be interesting to see which brands are especially adept at engaging and serving their guests online, and to benchmark their performance by creating a Digital IQ READ MORE

Speed. Innovation. Change. These are the demands of the 21st Century organization. But the very fuel that feeds these critical mandates inevitably produces conflict. The challenge for organization leaders is to create an environment that stimulates ideas and interaction without provoking destructive battles that destroy self-esteem, fracture teamwork, and thwart productivity. A leader's ability to manage conflict effectively is essential to leveraging its value and creating dynamic results. READ MORE

It is better to give than to receive...right? What happens when hoteliers give a complimentary stay or experience, a "comp", to support a special program or fundraiser and the recipient, the lucky "comp" winner, shows up to experience their reward? When that guest begins to make their arrangements, are they treated the same as other guests, better or worse than other guests? And, what value does this guest have for the hotel and the employees if that guest appears to be there 'for free' and not directly contributing to the bottom line? How can hoteliers harness the power of gift certificates and communicate their potential to hotel employee teams? Based on my survey, I am amazed at how differently properties treat this issue. READ MORE

For some hotel professionals, the Millennials, also known as Generation-Y, are an anathema; for others, they are simply a challenge to be met. However, whichever way you look at them, this generation is certainly different from all others. If you know which buttons to push, they can be extraordinary assets to your teams. Ignore them and they will leave. This article first explores the values and attitudes of these young workers, scans recent research detailing what they're looking for, then offers some practical, low- and no-cost solutions to help you truly capitalize on these talented employees. READ MORE

Log on to just about any hotel company's website and you'll find that they recognize the importance of social responsibility to their organization. While the language may differ from brand to brand, their commitment to the communities where they operate does not. When you give it some thought, it makes perfect sense: Hospitality and community service are a natural and powerful partnership. READ MORE

The internet has changed the way people around the globe research and book their holidays. There are more channels, more offers and more opportunities than ever before. Amidst all of this, how do you know where and how to connect with shoppers and get them to book your hotel? Hotel marketers can no longer ignore the reality that consumers are conducting extensive hotel research on multiple sites. Asking guests the age old marketing question, "Where did you hear about us?" doesn't give us the depth we need to know exactly how they came to book. It has become far more complex than that. READ MORE

Value Engineering has become a catch-all moniker for ways to reduce a project's budget even after the project is underway. Because of that, it's unfortunate that the term is rarely questioned when offered as a solution. In turn, the design can crumble into an unknown subject matter that hardly resembles the original, ending with a budget that works and a design that doesn't. In this article, we examine how all the pieces, including the vision, design and budget, can work together to satisfy the entire team. We highlight our initial approach when starting a project in order to avoid Value Engineering. READ MORE

To reach a market of increasingly jaded consumers, Service becomes the new marketing. By delivering extraordinary experiences worth talking about, companies can stand out from their competitors, encourage positive word of mouth, and build memorable brands. READ MORE

More than two-thirds of employers have a formal employee referral program in their organization. When considering the cost of recruiting, many employers rate employee referrals as one of the leading sources for candidates and a cost-effective complement to an organization's recruitment strategy. A successful employee referral program will not only bring in qualified candidates, it can also build employee loyalty, help reduce employee turnover and enhance your overall employment brand. Read this article and see how the power of employee referrals can help build a better workforce. READ MORE

Used correctly, social media can allow hospitality operators to establish relationships with customers. One great potential advantage of social media is that guests are willing to share information about their likes and dislikes. By using appropriate analytic methods, hoteliers can get a sense of what guests want generally and how they react to a hotel brand specifically. Hotel chains are developing mobile apps, since travelers-business travelers especially-expect to use their mobile devices to book rooms or other travel services on the spot. In a comprehensive strategy of customer engagement, hospitality firms will become information providers on all social media, whether its Facebook or Flickr, YouTube or Twitter. READ MORE

The recruitment process can be costly, so any business that wants to try to and attract the perfect employee and get them up and running with a minimum of disruption. Management time to sift through all the applications, let alone advertising, interviewing, and induction, all take their toll. And that's without considering the potential lost opportunities for productivity, customer service and increased sales due to lack of key staff. So what exactly can you be doing to attract and hire the best employees to your hotel? READ MORE

Interested in creating an online media experience that attracts more guests to your hotel? Today, images and video help you share your hotel stories and value proposition with the world. Everyone's gone visual at the same time that customers are time starved and text weary. Forrester Research reports that a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. The bottom line is, most guests will skip reading marketing copy if they can instead learn about your hotel through photos, virtual tours and other video productions. This article offers proven techniques for building a strong online visual reputation that sells more rooms. READ MORE