An ongoing issue facing an older generation of hotel owners/operators is how to best prepare and plan for the continuing growth and future of one's property after retirement. If you are intending to retire from a life managing hotels, how do you plan for it? How can an individual owner prepare all the statistics that will facilitate a sale? How can a hotel be marketed to potential buyers? What if the owner does want to sell at all, but his children do not want to manage? How can an owner retain possession and not have to run the business or rely on another individual to manage the operation on his behalf? READ MORE

Not only is payroll the largest single expense item on your profit and loss statement, but it's important to remember that spa clients generally only interface with line employees, such as their massage therapist or esthetician. If professionalism is not engrained into the fabric of your corporate culture and your employees are not truly enthusiastic about your operation, you may be setting yourself up for problems. READ MORE

Tourism executives are being put to the test to anticipate guests needs before their competitors. A hotel room is truly becoming a home away from home and a refuge for travelers regardless of the purpose of their hotel stay. Guest's expectations for a stress-free hassle-free visit are increasing. Which begs the question: What is being done to afford comfortable guest experiences? READ MORE

One thing we know for sure is that diet fads will come and go, but people will always have a desire to eat healthy. When the Atkins diet was introduced, everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Hilton Hotels Corporation did not. In addition, many manufacturers rushed to produce low-carb products. I've sampled some low-carb breads that were tasteless and so hard that I doubt a beaver could gnaw or digest it. I thought, "Who in the world would want to endure that kind of an assault on the taste buds and digestive system?" I'm sure that eating a loaf of this bread would cause anyone to develop jaw muscles that pit bulls would envy. READ MORE

How many of us hotel marketing directors dread the time of year when marketing plans are due? So much work! And for what purpose? When completed, most marketing plans only get placed in a tabbed binder, while the Owner, Management Company and General Manager may or may not even glance at it. Then it goes on a shelf and collects dust. First things first: everyone along the food chain needs to take responsibility for marketing plans that are not meaningful. Sometimes Management Company executives or General Managers just want a plan to look good...i.e. big and thick with lots of graphs. Marketing directors just want to get it done and move on to the next project - like actually selling rooms or putting out the first fire of the day. I can remember that when I was on property I dreaded marketing plan time because I had so many other things to do, and I was also a tad resentful because I knew the plan would really never be read carefully by anyone else. READ MORE