Have you ever asked your guests why they are visiting your city? Beyond just casual conversation at check-in, are you actively documenting the specific activities that bring your guests to town? If you're not, you should be. Marketing your destination as an attraction is just as important as marketing your hotel. If you do document guest activities, is everyone trained on how to enter the information and how to utilize that information to market to that guest for a future visit? READ MORE

It is hogwash! It is baloney! It is a lot of hooey! Somewhere along the line, we have been sold a bill of goods that all it takes to generate great word-of-mouth (that is WOM, you know) advertising for your hotel is top service quality. We have all seen the figures: A happy guest will tell six - or seven - or even eight others about your hotel. While that may have been true back in the '80s and '90s, good service is not enough to produce WOM today because good service is just expected (though not always received). It is poor service that produces word-of-mouth advertising in this era of savvy guests and strong competition, but that is another story. And it is certainly not the kind of WOM that any hotel needs or wants. READ MORE

For some, it may mean Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. To others, it may mean blogs, chat rooms, YouTube, Twitter, and Wikipedia. However you think about it, in essence, social media is simply a cluster of online tools that people can use to share information - their profiles, opinions, perspectives, insights, and experiences. And they are changing the dynamics of a hotel's marketing and communication more quickly and forcefully than any other technology since the invention of the printing press. In this issue's column, explore some of the points every hotel brand should consider as social media becomes an integral part of your hotel's marketing lexicon. READ MORE

Are your younger generation employees driving you crazy? Whether they are Generation Xers or Millennials, these younger employees seem to think and act differently than their older peers. Fear not, help is on the way. We'll not only help you understand their motivations, but we'll also give you proven tactics and strategies that will help you move beyond their get-by attitudes and engage them in ways that will support engagement and retention. READ MORE

While social media isn't a replacement for more traditional recruitment methods, with the high level of engagement they command, social media has become more and more fundamental to overall recruitment strategy. As conditions improve and you look to hire new workers, you'll need to invest in promoting your employment brand. In addition, you'll need to ramp up your hiring so that you are stacked with the right talent. You can hit these two birds with one stone through the use of social media. This article provides details on how you can leverage social media in your hiring mix. READ MORE