Guest service is at the core of what we provide; our "product" as an industry. In determining how each individual hotel defines service, we must know our unique independent brand. As hotel leaders, we must ensure that our building, our staff, collateral and marketing all reflect the level of service and message that we want to communicate to our guests. To start, we must ensure that all hotel staff members are treated with great worth, value, dignity and respect. To truly drive results and deliver fantastic service, we must find the right people, treat them well and hold them to high standards. READ MORE

Every hotel management team strives to create a service oriented culture. In today's fast pace world of technology, guest expectations and demands continue to go up every year. The best management teams realize that building a service oriented culture is much more than finding the right people and training them on the soft skills. Strong leaders realize hotels need to adopt technology and build a culture where preventing problems is as important as solving problems and staff are able to perform their job more effectively using the latest tools available. READ MORE

The methods we use have changed, but the cornerstone to great hospitality stays the same: great guest service and great guest experience. While service resolution has traditionally been in reaction to guest complaints after the fact, today we have can proactively catch issues or needs much earlier in the stay and deliver better results than ever. With the tools to gather guest feedback via a number of channels from various touchpoints and the processes to action operational and service improvements accordingly, we can leverage a combination of reactive and proactive methods to deliver exceptional guest experience. READ MORE

The explosive increase of hotel brands in recent years has reached an astounding level. Smith Travel Research recently listed 1,073 brands globally. Of the major hotel companies, Marriott, following its merger with Starwood, has accumulated 30 brands; Hilton has 14 brands, AccorHotels has 34 and InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) has 14. New independent brands continue to pop up at a rapid rate fueled in large part by the insatiable appetite of millennials for new and unique experiences in their lodging choices. In this article we explore the advantages and disadvantages of brand proliferation and look at some of the unique new brands in some detail to understand their appeal. READ MORE

A quarter of the population, millennials are increasingly a targeted hotel consumer. Boutique hotels historically presented an alternative to standardized chain. Their edge however has been eroded by the arrival of soft brands, such as the Marriott Autograph and Hilton Curio. Portland, Oregon-based Provenance Hotels, with 2,500 rooms under its control, attempts to expand on the boutique hotel by creating a truly unique place. As envisioned by its President, Bashar Wali, Provenance Hotels defines its audience as "forward thinking creatives" and sees its opportunity by smaller-scale properties that provide a more handcrafted or curated approach to design, operation and experience READ MORE