Why do people REALLY love hotels? It's NOT the scratchy towels and continental breakfasts. It's NOT the out-dated patterned carpeting in the meeting rooms. It's NOT the travel sized bar soap or the cold bathroom tile. It IS the opportunity to get away from daily routines. It IS the opportunity to live out expressions of aspiration. It IS the opportunity to become a "celebrity" for a day - to the extent that a guest FEELS the experiences of both extraordinary recognition and paramount service. A Habitat is the incarnation and delivery of the sentiments of relevant, experiential, and meaningful promises. This is also how a BRAND is actually defined. READ MORE

How do you get people to "stay" in your hotel when people are traveling less? How will you make your hotels money this year? What do you really have to offer locals? How are you different than hotels in your areas? The answer lies in the old casino adage: The longer they stay, the more likely they'll lose. In the absence of gaming itself, how is this strategy translated into practical, relevant and profitable outcomes? READ MORE

In my first article for the Hotel Business Review, I proposed that many hotels may benefit from a shift in branding and marketing toward a "habitat" model - providing an ongoing "hub" of activity and experiences for locals as well as out of town guests. In my second article, I discussed means of cross-marketing these activities once they were created. In this article - allow me to back up and clearly address the activities themselves - what I will call Event Marketing - and how they can make hotels money both now and in the future. READ MORE

Within the past decade, many of the nation's leading museums and concert halls have hired starchitects the likes of Gehry, Calatrava, Libeskind, and Taniguchi to create singularly stunning structures that, like massive titanium magnets, attract visitors to them. So, too, hoteliers are renovating landmark buildings in major cities into new use as signature hotels. Branded destinations are exporting their architectural concepts abroad. READ MORE

Tourism has become recognized as essential to sustaining historic preservation and California's tourism industry is responding to that reality. Responding to encouragement by President George W. Bush's historic preservation advisor, John Nau, III, Californians organized a California Cultural Heritage Tourism Council in 2004 which subsequently has sponsored symposia and efforts to connect tourism with cultural and heritage preservation. "We recognized that California's vast geography and diverse heritage and cultures kept tourism, cultural and heritage leaders from speaking to one another and thus cooperating. By coming together, we have been able to generate highly visible promotional efforts and stimulate cooperation, to the benefit of preservation," says Susan Wilcox, co-chair of the California Cultural Heritage Tourism Council and Deputy Director of the California Travel and Tourism Commission. READ MORE

With skyrocketing fuel prices eating into profits, hoteliers have few reservations about cutting energy expenses. They're adjusting thermostats, dimming lights in lobbies and hallways, consolidating trips for supplies, and even posting signs that ask guests to "please reuse towels." While these are all good ideas, they're really just a start. To maintain or even maximize profitability, hoteliers need to go beyond mere cost-cutting and step into the realm of energy budget management. It can be a very effective strategy for reducing operating expenses and is something that, surprisingly, many hoteliers are overlooking. READ MORE

In January, the United States inaugurated its forty-fourth commander in chief and ushered in what's largely considered to be a landmark administration. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their cabinet, have promised sweeping policy changes in several areas. Among the list of Obama's priority issues are the economy, healthcare, foreign policy, and of course energy and the environment as global climate change is one of the fastest growing points of anxiety for America. His plans to address global climate change caused by carbon emissions have been intensely analyzed by policy makers and the media. READ MORE

The first businesses to feel the immediate effects of pending federal legislations will be the energy producers, and in turn, every energy consuming business. Regulations on carbon emissions production and requirements to be greener can be safely associated with higher costs and higher prices for end consumers. Companies who purchase energy to operate multiple sites, like big box retailers, restaurant chains, and hotel chains should take a close look at changes happening at the state level to be prepared for the day when their own states' energy producers are expected to meet similar guidelines, and they in turn see prices jump. READ MORE

With oil prices recently hitting an all time high of $100 a barrel, business leaders have never been more motivated to optimize their energy use. Thanks to market forces, going green now makes good business sense. And there's no better industry to make the business case for going green than hospitality. The hotel industry spends nearly $5 billion annually on energy. Much of that is wasted on empty rooms, inefficient equipment, and poor energy management practices. That's the bad news.With that in mind, here are some basic, yet effective demand-side initiatives to lower hotel operating costs. Some of these ideas apply to existing buildings; some are for those still on the drawing board. All will have a measurable impact on the bottom line. READ MORE

In today's economy, it's difficult for any type of business to commit to a new expense. For hotel operators who remain dedicated to sustainability, it may seem that their green initiatives will have to suffer in these hard times. What many are unaware of are all of the opportunities for energy conservation that cost nothing, or very little. The article that follows details some of the simplest ways to reduce energy consumption and see fast payback in the form of lower energy bills. There's no reason not to take a few easy steps to green your business and add to your bottom line. READ MORE

For many years, hotel companies have wrestled with the challenge of operating a hotel management and franchising company ("Opco") and owning the hotel real estate underlying the business ("Propco"). As the stock market has typically valued a management company at a higher price/earnings multiple than a real estate company, there has long been a theory that the real estate element of an integrated hospitality company is dragging down the overall value. READ MORE

"Why can't a woman be more like a man?" Here in London, as elsewhere, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Professor Henry Higgins sang his famous lament, in My Fair Lady, on the differences between men and women. For starters, many of the 43% of business travelers who are now women - often holding high level professional positions, with good salaries and a keen eye for quality and efficiency - might object to being thought of as a "fair lady." The essential point, however, remains: there are differences between men and women, a fact most of us probably appreciate. From the hotelier's perspective the question is less about the differences in gender than about whether ladies and gents should be treated differently. Do women, in fact, want to be treated differently from their male colleagues and counterparts? READ MORE

With the demand for technology continuing to grow throughout the meetings industry, convention services managers (CSMs) throughout hotels, convention centers and convention & visitors bureaus have adapted to this demand by utilizing web-based applications and programs to help ensure a smoother event process for their clients. "The housing experience, many times, is the first experience the client will have with a city," said Madonna Carr, CMP, Vice President of Destination Services at Meet Minneapolis. "So if the process isn't smooth or flawless from the beginning, then it sets the tone for the rest of their experience with us." READ MORE

Those who make it through the current economic recession will be the owners, managers, and investors who take prudent steps to effectively assess their risks and protect their interests. This article offers a guide for those who want to survive the storm - and emerge as winners when the hospitality industry improves. READ MORE

Rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of our nation's historic and pre-1936 buildings continue to be a hot trend in the real estate development industry, particularly as many American cities promote and encourage urban renewal projects in their downtown and historic areas. In most cases, it takes more than deep pockets and the divine inspiration of the developer to bring a historic building back to life. developers involved in rehabilitating historic buildings should promote teamwork, include experienced professionals, and expect the unexpected. A critical success factor is the developer's willingness and ability to assemble a strong team of experienced professionals to carry out the project. With a strong development team, the project may not only run more smoothly but also be perceived more favorably by investors and lenders while obtaining better terms in the process. Here are some helpful hints when selecting development team members for a historic rehabilitation tax credit project: READ MORE