Are your company's training sessions designed to inspire maximum creativity, innovation and productivity? In a successful session, participants are actively engaged, groups are collaborating successfully and energy levels are high. A successful meeting or training can help improve overall quality and produce results that ultimately contribute to the bottom line of your organization. Don't expect this article to give you the usual dry academic concepts. My goal is to share with you ideas that have sprung from real-life situations where goals have been met in new and exciting-and sometimes unconventional-ways. READ MORE

Medical spas today are highly inclusive and are anchored in various health care modalities, best described as something that is "more significant than" the traditional fluff and buff spas (i.e., small pores, great hair and perfect nails), and "less serious than" medical procedures that manually redistribute ones fat cells. "Medical Spas" and "Wellness" are first cousins with some very interesting family ties. Simply put, the definition of "spa" and "medicine" are both developing into areas that have a huge amount of tangible overlap. A savvy resort operator and hotelier can use this trend to his or her advantage to extend demand during low and shoulder periods, increase rate premiums with minimal capital expenses, enhance revenue from other profit centers at the hotel or resort, and double or even triple the average length of stay. READ MORE

No matter how organized you are, or how much advance preparation you put into a show or how much attention to detail you apply, sometimes it is impossible to avoid the proverbial operations snafu. Or is it? As a fellow show organizer, I follow virtually the same routine as you do when planning a meeting and it's a safe bet that we use a similar checklist. However, whether you have five years of experience or 25, when it comes to show operations, everyone can use some help avoiding simple and possibly costly mistakes. In this article, members of the Association for Convention Operations Management (ACOM) share a few seemingly obvious but often overlooked tips which you can use when planning your next event. READ MORE

Is it a "Spa Experience" or is it a concert - a well-orchestrated event? The live performance delivered in both the concert experience and the spa experience are intended to be meaningful, soothing, inspiring, effective and individual. Including a spa in a hotel or resort has become a requirement. However, the spa's existence alone will not distinguish your property. A spa that orchestrates a delightful and harmonious program and service delivery will give your property a highly competitive edge that is also profitable. Effectively producing a well-orchestrated spa experience requires thoughtful consideration along each step in the planning process. Following are the elements that combine to deliver a highly acclaimed experience or event. READ MORE

The SNDA or Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreement is a common and familiar document in the financing arena. Even with some of the more interesting transaction structures in the REIT environment with operating leases and a careful segregation of the ownership of the real estate from the operation of the hotel, there will be an instrument intended to govern how the hotel owner, hotel manager and owner's lender will behave in the event of the hotel owner's default under its loan instruments with the lender. It is not just about Foreclosure. The form of the SNDA is often the first battleground. In the negotiation of the hotel management agreement, the owner and manager will often pre-negotiate the form of the SNDA and attach it as an exhibit to the hotel management agreement. READ MORE

In part one of this series, I discussed the importance of hotel industry awards and why I believe they are of the utmost importance. There was a time when the awards themselves were not too highly regarded because it seemed just about any hotel could get a four-star or four-diamond rating. That was then. It is very, very different now. Today's hotel awards are highly prized and are increasingly difficult to win. They represent an independent, public acknowledgment of our efforts to produce consistent, top-level service across the board, from check-in to check-out. This is how we nurture repeat business. READ MORE

At first, the notion might be intimidating: Being responsible for properly maintaining a building on the National Register of Historic Places. In this competitive world, isn't it challenging enough just keep the property well-managed to keep the guests and the owners happy? In fact, the maintenance of a historic hotel should not be any more worrisome than any other professionally managed property. It simply requires a bit more for thought. There are three fundamental areas of concern: The first is legal. As a National Register property, what are my legal obligations? The second relates to obligations created with the use of preservation incentives. Third and final is operational. Does being listed on the National Register create any operational issues? READ MORE

Good news is great, but handle a bad news story poorly and the negative publicity can be severe. A successful media relations campaign is valuable to any business, including hotels and resorts. Positive exposure of a property can generate reservations, increase profits, and give a business a competitive edge. However, the press isn't always going to be good. Bad news is a reality and negative publicity can erase any positive exposure. Hotels are extremely susceptible to negative news... READ MORE

The influx of new and interesting wines to accompany gastronomical innovations has produced a hunger for learning and experimenting with pairings of wine and food. Dessert wines provide an open window to delightfully sweet and powerful experiences. They are also so varied that you can present them in any number of ways. Dessert wines are produced in limited quantities throughout the world and tend to be more expensive than the average bottle of everyday drinking wine. Yet, a single glass of these wines, at any moment of the day, is capable of giving great satisfaction. READ MORE

You can't sell wine when the atmosphere in your restaurant puts all its emphasis on cocktails. Often we find owners, managers and professionals in the art of the table who think that wine is just one more option on the restaurant menu and that it is as simple to sell as a coke or an iced tea. We all know that selling wine in a restaurant is an important income producer if it is done in the correct way. We must also understand that wine is not just another liquid product: It is a moment. It is culture, history, sensuality and opulence that people share while they are drinking wine. We need to respect this moment, and we do so by paying attention to the details that honor it: with correct glassware, correct temperature, correct quantity and with skill and professional attention from the people who are serving it. You can't sell wine if you and the ambiance of your location do not offer your clients the small but significant details that they normally don't have at home. READ MORE

We know that knowledge of special cuisine and wines is not easily acquired, but comes from the investment of time, study and money. How often we see the people we have spent months training in our restaurants or wine boutiques leave for other jobs, taking with them all they have learned from us. Here we will discuss not only motivation and incentives, but also the importance of making the small changes in our business that will encourage staff stay with us. READ MORE

How often have you gone to a restaurant and though the setting was beautiful, the total experience was merely adequate? And how often have you thought how rare it is to find a restaurant where the entire experience was perfect? Proper ambiance, good service, good food and a good selection of wine among other beverages are all important for the success of a restaurant. But more is required to make your restaurants a standout. It takes perfect communication and interaction between the kitchen and the service, the chef and the sommelier, to create the perfect fusion in everything your guests will taste. READ MORE

Throughout time, food and beverages have been the most important pairing on earth. Our existence depended on them. Water has been and still is the most important liquid-vital to survival. Through evolution and experimentation, human beings have found ways to produce additional liquids by pressing fruits, cacti and various other plants. Adding a further element of sophistication, we have also learned to mix these liquids and infuse them with cereals, flowers, spices and herbs to obtain the wide variety of interesting beverages we now have available. Pairing food with wine is very pleasant, but sometimes we want to try something different and we discover that other beverages can offer great moments too. The more we learn about them, the more we try and the more we discover new sensations to share. READ MORE

As business becomes increasingly competitive and aggressive, and consumers become more sophisticated and informed, finding ways to extend your brand with unique and creative solutions becomes increasingly necessary. Partnership marketing, a valuable and often underutilized tool, offers a powerful solution, providing a means to gain significant exposure to potential new guests and new markets, as well as increase the benefit of what you provide your current guests. What is partnership marketing? Traditionally known as "cooperative advertising," partnership marketing is a grass-roots approach to making marketing dollars last, and extending your brand to people and market segments you didn't have direct access to before. Partnership marketing is aligning yourself with other like-minded organizations and businesses to reciprocally expose your brand to one another's customers and provide added value to your own existing customers. READ MORE

Like all industries, the hospitality industry has its share of crisis...and as anyone who has worked the hospitality front lines know, a crisis seldom happens from 9 to 5 when everyone from general manager to controller to sales manager are on-site. Indeed, most "situations", whether great or small, happen in the wee hours when the newest front desk clerk seems to be in charge. That's why it is so important to develop a sound crisis communication plan and keep it a vital part of operations and any new hire programs. Just as associates learn reservations systems, sign up for health care or learn about their 401k, this plan should be on the high on the agenda. While no crisis is ever the same, being prepared, in a general sense, will have a positive impact on any post-crisis quarterbacking. READ MORE