First, what is public relations? Who can honestly explain public relations? Try it right now before reading further. Answer the question - what is public relations? The text book definition is: The identifying and nurturing of relationships with publics that are essential to the success of an organization. The PR industry definition is: The sum total of the opinions your audiences have of you, your product, or your organization. (And do you know what that opinion is?) How did you do? Is it now clear as mud? READ MORE

A recent report on the groups and meetings industry published by PhoCusWright, "Groups and Meetings: Market Opportunity Redefined," estimates the current size of the meetings industry in the U.S. at $164.1 billion and projects it to grow to $175 billion by 2008. PhoCusWright estimates that nearly one quarter of all online travel in the U.S. will be groups and meetings related by 2008. What the hotel community should recognize is that a key factor in this growth is the anticipated increase in small meetings. While the total market for corporate meetings will be relatively flat, PhoCusWright reports that corporate meetings with fewer than 25 attendees are projected to grow a 13% in 2007. Obviously, this shows that to grow your business in this market you have to focus on increasing your market share and attracting more small meetings. READ MORE

"Build it and they will come" may work in The Field of Dreams, but in the hotel industry, the more accurate sentiment may be "Build it RIGHT and they will come". To realize the highest room sales potential, it is important for owners and managers to make sure that each room is configured to its highest and best use. Many times, with very little expense, room revenues are significantly impacted through occupancy and/or average rate increases, by making minor adjustments. This is especially true in the case of small, boutique hotels, where each room sold has a significant financial impact. By understanding and implementing a few basic principals, owners and managers can potentially avoid costly miscalculations in revenues and expenses by building it correctly or by reconfiguring an existing property. READ MORE

Outsourcing over the past several years, has taken on a negative perception in the market place. It has recently been associated with the idea that big businesses outsource some of their support services and functions in foreign countries in order to reduce expenses, and that this is invariably at the expense of customer satisfaction as well as local jobs. An example of outsourcing gone bad is technical support services moved to foreign countries where the technicians who are not fluent in the customer's native language, try to communicate complicated technical information and provide solutions to problem. And, to make matters worse, the service is also priced at a high rate per minute; so inefficient problem solving is very, very costly to the customer. But, in the case of small independent hotels, outsourcing can provide major benefits which would allow these properties to provide specific services and expertise that they would not be able to offer because of the costs associated. As selling rooms is the primary goal, these enhancements only create an opportunity to increase demand for your property. READ MORE

"Build it and they will come" may work in The Field of Dreams, but in the hotel industry, the more accurate sentiment may be "Build it RIGHT and they will come". To realize the highest room sales potential, it is important for owners and managers to make sure that each room is configured to its highest and best use. Many times, with very little expense, room revenues are significantly impacted through occupancy and/or average rate increases, by making minor adjustments. This is especially true in the case of small, boutique hotels, where each room sold has a significant financial impact. READ MORE