Today's business is sophisticated, complicated, and dependent on the legal system. Gentlemen's agreements have given way to written contracts devised by law firms, and the hotel industry is a prime example. Business transactions are generally arm's-length affairs where each side bargains in their own self-interest. Agency relationships, however, are entirely different. Many hotel managers drive hard bargains to include a provision in their management contract that expressly disclaims the existence of an agency relationship. READ MORE

Is your property's spa capture rate growing? Of course, higher capture rates deliver higher revenues and more happy and loyal guests. During your hotel/resort's budget process each year it becomes more apparent that in order to increase the spa's revenues, the property and spa need to seek opportunities to capture more business. READ MORE

Picture this: you are an established hotel owner, management company or general manager facing a threat to your business reputation that necessitates your putting everything aside. All that time and money you spent on establishing a justifiably terrific image...all the great goodwill and positivity you created... where did it go? A reputation "hit" to an abundant image bucket stands the chance of puncturing a hole so gashing that you have no idea how you're going to keep all that positive reputation from draining completely away. Business could plunge. Your company's or your hotel's reputation could be dangerously on the line. READ MORE

"Ethics" means doing the right thing every day - even when no one is watching. So you think you're ethical? If you own the company, do you run personal expenses through the company? If you're an executive, do you turn in padded expense reports? If you do, these thefts will inevitably become common knowledge among all of your employees. And employees take their cues about what's acceptable behavior, and what's not, from those above them. READ MORE

Today's savvy consumers not only compare your brand and your online offerings with your competitors; they compare you against every other site on the Internet. New capabilities are emerging every day on the big consumer sites that the hospitality industry will soon have to emulate. Hotel brands must produce and maintain an integrated offering that neatly presents all properties and services, while providing a best-in-class user experience. Customers expect that offering to include advanced features: online reservations, loyalty program redemption, local restaurant recommendations, tickets to attractions, smart profiles and much more. The demands on IT organizations are rising dramatically yet few hoteliers maintain the internal resources to stay competitive on a rapidly changing e-commerce playing field. In fact, many IT budgets remain flat or are in decline, forcing companies to turn to lower cost delivery models like offshore development as a cost-effective way to augment staff. But is this model really viable? READ MORE