Sustainability has become a deciding factor for individuals purchasing travel and accommodation and travel companies are adapting their offerings to meet their needs as reflected in the recently released 2019 Amadeus study: Making a Positive Impact on Travel. From reducing plastic in hotels, decarbonizing, and creating strategic partnerships that generate a positive community impact, Jessica Blotter, the founder of California-based KindTraveler explores 10 adoptable strategies today's hotelier can employ right away to not only advance sustainable travel in 2020, but also create marketing opportunities as well as reduce operating costs. READ MORE

Taking a page out of Gary Chapman's bestselling book, The 5 Love Languages, The Secret to Love that Lasts, Kristi White, VP Product Management at Knowland, takes a look at how the various hotel stakeholders – from Owners and Operations Teams to Group Sales Managers and Revenue Managers communicate and connect. And what better month to do this than in February - the month of love. In this edition, Kristi explores the "love language" of a revenue manager. Is it Words of Affirmation, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time or Physical Touch? Read this compelling take on how to better connect, work and align with your revenue manager for achieve a long, healthy and profitable relationship. READ MORE

Hospitality organizations may spend tremendous amounts on improving the guest experience, but they still have ways to go in improving their employee turnover and training. The hospitality industry has a culture of high turnover and lack of training due to different internal and external factors. Experiential learning and customized training programs may not only support employee retention and improve morale, but ultimately provide a positive guest experience, drive repeat visits and increase profitability. From an employee's perspective, there is the added benefit of creating a pipeline of promotable employees. From the guest perspective, better-trained employees are going to deliver better on the company mission statement as well as the brand standard. READ MORE

The hot concept in 2020 hotel and resort marketing is influencers - you know you want to do it. But you also must know that there are many ways to do influencer marketing wrong. There are plenty of reasons to want to do this right - notably the popularity of social media channels (think Instagram and Facebook) and their increasing importance as places where consumers search for travel information. Which can mean inspiring pictures, for instance. Also brief, punchy write-ups that make the reader want to pack and go. Resolution for 2020: learn to succeed with influencers. READ MORE

For many hoteliers, 'attending to social media' means dutifully responding to comments and guest reviews. In truth, it means far more than that. Hotels can no longer afford a languid approach to social media. A vivid presence on relevant channels – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, Google – is a basic requirement for survival in a hyper-competitive landscape. What do we stand to lose by adopting an unsuccessful strategy, or no strategy at all? By understanding the cost of mediocrity in the digital world, hotels can navigate toward better engagement and stronger balance sheets. READ MORE