Guest safety is a top concern in hotels but inadequate lighting or landscaping that can conceal perpetrators can reduce guest safety and increase hotel liability risks. This article points out some of the more common failings in lighting and landscaping designs and provides suggestions on improving security. It addresses lighting around the perimeter of hotel properties and especially parking lots and addresses the difficulties in providing attractive landscaping with good security. READ MORE

There is no doubt that electronic couponing, or e-couponing, has changed the face of how we buy and sell goods and services. As with social media before it, hoteliers are finding - often through trial and error - how to use this channel to meet occupancy goals, increase brand awareness and benefit the bottom line. On paper, the benefits seem to be endless - e-couponing can increase how many people come through your doors, gets your hotel's name out in the population, provides a boost in low demand periods and engages a new community of guests with this targeted channel. However, it's important to realize that the benefits being waved in the faces of hoteliers from e-coupon providers come with real risks and challenges. READ MORE

What will be changing the hospitality business? How can we create effective business strategies? We all agree that running a business today is more complicated and requires more resources (financial, human, technological, etc.) than in the past. Have we ever asked ourselves why and what exactly it is that has really changed? The feedback that we receive from senior managers of international hotel corporations during think tanks and interactive workshops is always the same: "Everything is changing!"But what are the elements representing this “change”? READ MORE

Savvy Lodging Managers are actively pursuing the ways and means of greater efficacy in “gaining and retaining” customers. This article presents a helpful overview of how the savviest among us are methodically gaining insight into customer needs and then directly employing targeted value-propositions to meet those needs. The name for these activities is, of course, Customer Relationship Management or CRM. It takes both focus and technology to consolidate, automate, and synchronize business processes that help acquire, develop and retain customers. This article is geared to lodging managers who want to be more competitive and successful in the battle for bookings from today's travel consumer. READ MORE

The lodging industry has had many challenges over the past few years, but as of October 1, it can breathe a collective sigh of relief as the new debit card "swipe fees" go into effect, lowering burdensome fees charged every time a customer uses their debit card to pay for a room or other hotel services. Although these new rules can bring significant cost savings for hoteliers, it will not happen automatically. Some payments processors are hoping that the Durbin Amendment, which changed the interchange fees, will put extra money in their pockets instead of their customers. Hoteliers must educate themselves to ensure they are getting the savings they are due. READ MORE