Despite the growing attraction and convenience of purchasing goods and services by credit card, businesses of all kinds - including hospitality companies - are sitting ducks for credit card fraudsters. The problem is two-fold: While until recently, most credit card fraud involved "guests" using stolen or fraudulently obtained credit cards to pay for hotel charges, now the Internet has added a new dimension of credit card fraud threatening hospitality businesses. For example, cyber criminals can hack into a company's customer database and steal large batches of guest credit card information that they then sell on the black market. Or, they can use the stolen credit card information to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, which they then use to fraudulently purchase goods or services. Making matters worse, like companies in other industries that have been hacked by information thieves, hospitality companies could suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of lawsuits claiming damages for liability related to the theft of confidential guest information. To prevent incidents such as these, optimizing the company's information security defenses is the obvious first step. READ MORE

Statistics show that, instead of complaining to an organization directly, 96% of dis-satisfied customers will gripe to an average of nine other people. I'm sure our group fulfilled that statistic and then some! You never know whom you're serving. Appearances can be deceiving. When you're serving a party of 65 for the holidays, know who the host is, whether it is an individual or a company. Also remember that the rest of the people, nameless as they may appear, all have names, careers, influence on others, and many have reasons and means to pay for a party of their own someday. Bad hair or a cheap-looking suit should not be taken for a bad person who has no value or influence. Besides being extremely rude to someone who is a guest and doesn't deserve to be ignored, you may be quashing a future opportunity to make money and promote your business. READ MORE

While the Spa Inspired Guestroom concept is still very new, it is answering the needs that today's travelers are requesting - a true experience. This is a request that the hospitality industry cannot ignore. Many hoteliers do not want to hear that it is not about just the guestroom as travelers feel that most brands are equal when it comes to accommodations. Travelers today are time starved and as marketers we must begin to cater specifically to the traveler that fits within your hotels demographics. If you are marketing to a Baby Boomer, the services, amenities and training standards should be different than if marketing to a high power female executive who travels constantly and has children at home. No longer does one size fit all. READ MORE

Most hoteliers rely on third party feasibility analysis prior to building or expanding their rooms or related infrastructure, but they often turn a blind eye when developing or expanding their spa. Spas have gone from being the "red-haired step child of the resort world,"an amenity that we hope might break even, to the "must have amenity" if we want to be taken seriously. This proliferation of spas is both good and bad for the developer. Clearly, the market has embraced the need for spas--which is good. The dramatic building (and in many cases overbuilding) has made competition for the spa dollar fierce, and the spa user savvy--which can be bad if you don't do your homework. Now more than ever is why spa feasibility is a necessary part of the spa development process. READ MORE

With the U.S. Senate expected to consider the 'Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2005' and other bills this summer that address the global climate change issue, every hotel executive should be paying attention. The 'Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act', being offered by Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Lieberman (D-CT), would cap the nation's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at year 2000 levels by 2010. To do that, it would impose limits on how much CO2 the economy could produce in activities such as generating electricity, refining and importing transportation fuels, and manufacturing. Putting a mandatory cap on the country's CO2 emissions would lead to higher energy bills for you, and it would also most likely put a cap on the economy as a whole, which would slow down your guest traffic as well. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), here's what could happen if the McCain/Lieberman bill was passed... READ MORE