The war over direct bookings has died down in recent months. Despite Hilton and Marriott's best efforts with their "Stop Clicking Around" and "IT Pays To Book Direct" campaigns, nothing much has changed. I still speak with properties on a daily basis who are 60%, 70%, or even 80% reliant on OTAs for their bookings. This not only eats into a property's profits but it also places them in a really risky position as we face a possible economic downturn,. Read more about the real danger of over-reliance on OTAs and how you can avoid falling into the same trap. READ MORE

Why do you travel? For the majority of people, a hotel is simply a place to sleep and keep their valuables while they explore new and exciting locations and activities. With the (possible) exception of a few ultraluxe all-inclusive resorts, nobody travels somewhere just for a hotel. They travel for the immersive experiences they'll have. A report by Google noted that 82% of leisure travelers don't consider choosing an accommodation provider when they first start thinking about a trip. This might strike many hoteliers as a harsh reality, but savvy industry pros will see it as an opportunity. Understanding a hotel's role in creating a guest's overall travel experience is the first step in delivering tangible value. READ MORE

Looking back over the history of hospitality and the evolution of hotel operations, it's fair to say revenue management is a relatively new discipline. After all, it wasn't so long ago that hotels changed their rates just for weekends and peak season. But times have changed, and today's revenue managers are no longer operating in a silo, stuck in the basement office. Today, it's more important than ever for hotel operators to install a holistic, coordinated strategy where revenue, marketing and sales teams are working together to build and sell a hotel's story. READ MORE

Much has been written and said about hotels becoming more focused on the customer experience. And in fact, this is not unique to the hotel sector. Creating unique customer experiences is one of a handful of topics that seem to be presented as a kind of panacea for fixing whatever we think might be wrong with whichever industry we might be thinking about at the moment. But is customer experience all it's cracked up to be? Is getting the experience right the right answer? David Allison from Valuegraphics reveals some truths behind the importance of customer experience, and some surprising facts. READ MORE

Spas were once seen as simply an amenity in a hotel. However, as the annual growth in RevPAR slows, it is more important than ever for other divisions, such as spa, to maximize their profit potential. According to the 2018 Spa Industry Study by the International Spa Association (ISPA), nearly one third of resort and hotel spas operated with a profit percentage of 25% or higher. The global wellness market is valued at $4.2 trillion (and growing), so the demand is evident. Benchmarking and a keen understanding of the spa's key performance indicators (KPIs) can dramatically improve these business results. READ MORE