After three decades in the hospitality business, one of the biggest shifts I have seen has been in the role of the meeting planner. Long gone are the days of just booking a location, setting up the AV and rolling out the buffet. Today's meeting planners are big idea people, technical wizards, curators of culture and deliverers of WOW experiences. The realm of group meetings has become competitively charged, keeping planners on their toes, as they must address the rapid evolution of technology and continuous flow of new trends. Here are some trends, tips and best practices for planning your next group meeting to create pathways to inspiration, memorable experiences, and lasting connections. READ MORE

This article points out the vital importance of hotel leadership in effectively aggregating human capital into social capital to achieve higher degrees of competitiveness. This article draws upon the role of hotel executives as social architects that provide elaborative insight for followers by illuminating how hotel executives can effectively build and spend social capital within hotels. This article suggests that it is critical that hotel executives understand that hotel leadership supports social capital to effectively implement knowledge management projects and therefore, remain competitive. READ MORE

Increasing ADR, in conjunction with appropriate occupancy levels, is an ever-present goal. Not only does this increase RevPAR, but gaining more revenue through ADR provides assets with increased profitability. Consistent application of the following proven techniques leads to consistent rate dominance. In this article, co-authors Marcelo Trujillo and David Beaulieu rely on their experience of more than 35 combined years to thoroughly analyze and explain the pathway to sustainable ADR to maximize a hotel's success. READ MORE

A recent Econsultancy survey querying companies on the most exciting opportunity for 2019 found that customer experience (CX) topped the list, edging out content marketing and mobile marketing. This CX trend has been accelerating over the last several years – especially in the hotel industry. As hotels pursued customer experience strategies, however, they often neglected to invest in their most important competitive advantage: the employees tasked with delivering the customer experience. In the hotel industry, you can't outcompete rivals on CX without an employee experience program that produces satisfied, well-trained employees. READ MORE

Because high-quality hotel meeting and conference facilities are a reliable way to generate revenue and drive food & beverage profitability, experienced hotel owners and operators understand the value of great meeting and event spaces. The question is what does a "great" meeting space look like, and how has this changed in recent times. There is no one answer, of course, but with the growing trend of businesses and leaders looking for creative and non-traditional spaces for their professional events, more hoteliers are finding innovative ways to identify or create those unique environments and memorable experiences. READ MORE