Hotel owners and operators have grown more sophisticated in crafting standards with which to project and then gauge the performance of their properties. As a result, these parties are also negotiating increasingly complex performance test provisions in operating agreements. What is a performance test? Essentially, a performance test sets objective criteria for minimally acceptable financial performance of a hotel and, ultimately, provides the hotel owner with the right to terminate the management contract if the operator fails to achieve the goal. Beyond these basic concepts, performance tests come in all shapes and sizes. A savvy hotel owner will always demand that the hotel management agreement contain some type of performance test. Most hotel operators accept, albeit grudgingly, that such performance standards come with the territory of management contracts. Operators are usually concerned with limiting the scope of the test as much as possible and with negotiating cure rights that protect them from loss of the management agreement. READ MORE

Are the guests of your hotel greeted by name at check in, welcomed with their favorite bottle of wine in their room, and treated to their newspaper of choice each morning? If this scenario is familiar, you are undoubtedly leveraging a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. If not, should you? CRM programs can help build and reward customer loyalty, and capture the ultimate value from every customer relationship. Hotels who effectively leverage CRM programs can realize an improvement in their bottom lines, and an increase in shareholder value. In today's competitive environment, using a CRM system is no longer a matter of choice, but an imperative. READ MORE

September 12-13, 2005, franchisees from all over the nation will march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to celebrate "Franchise Appreciation Day" initiated by the International Franchise Association. This annual event, now in its 6th year, is held to heighten the visibility of franchising and to educate our U.S. Congress on the important role franchising plays in our nation's economy. This got me to thinking. Franchising represents about 60 percent of the hospitality industry, contributing billions of dollars in annual U.S. revenues. So why is it that we as an industry do not celebrate a national or global "Hotel Franchise Appreciation Day?" Could the answer be that hotel franchising simply isn't appreciated? With franchise fees what they are today, I have to believe that the franchisors appreciate it. Travelers certainly appreciate it - especially those reaping the rewards offered by growing brand/franchise-loyalty programs. Even national franchisee associations appreciate hotel franchising. READ MORE

Attention All Hotel Owners: Did you know that federal tax credits can be used as a financing source for a substantial rehabilitation of a hotel? If your building is a pre-1936 or historic structure, the renovation work could qualify for federal rehabilitation tax credits, representing up to 20% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures. More importantly, these rehabilitation tax credits can be transferred to an institutional investor in exchange for additional equity capital. Through the Internal Revenue Code Section 47, the federal government offers lucrative rehabilitation tax credits to encourage preservation and adaptive reuse of historic and pre-1936 buildings. Calculated as a percentage of the eligible rehabilitation expenses, federal tax law offers a 20% tax credit for substantial rehabilitations of historic buildings, and a 10% tax credit for substantial rehabilitations of non-historic, non-residential buildings built before 1936. READ MORE

Federal tax law allows a 10% investment tax credit for the rehabilitation of a non-historic building placed in service before 1936. To be "non-historic" a building cannot be individually listed on the National Register. A building located within a National Register historic district is presumed to be historic; to use the 10% tax credit, the Park Service must determine that the building in question is not historic. READ MORE

For ten years, MFHA has been promoting the concept of diversity and inclusion as a key management strategy in the hospitality and foodservice industry. During this time, we have seen significant progress made in the areas of minority worker recruitment, diverse and under-leveraged community marketing and minority franchising. According to NABHOOD (National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers) there are more than 200 African-American owned hotels. Consider that it was less than a dozen just ten years ago. Why has Black hotel ownership increased so dramatically? I believe that there are seven reasons for this success. READ MORE

Hotels are facing ever increasing competition and challenges, and must continually identify new ways to grow market share. For the past few months I've told you about the opportunities that lie with targeting the gay and lesbian travel market, and how to be successful in your efforts. I'm sure you've been thinking how interesting it all was, but wondering if it works. So this issue I've decided to let you see first hand the process, experiences, and results a small luxury, three property hotel company went through to reach the gay and lesbian travel market. READ MORE

Management of diversity initiatives in the hotel and lodging industry must be inclusive and proactive in order to be successful and sustainable. Taking an inclusive approach to diversity management involves looking at the entire company and its stakeholders. Being proactive suggests that an organization seizes opportunity as opposed to reacting to a problem. For example, the hotel industry was forced to react to the NAACP Hotel Survey when it was initiated in 1997. This widely publicized survey was viewed by many as a challenge to the industry's commitment to African-Americans and other minority groups. Despite the fact that the lodging industry has long been a good place for Blacks and other minorities to find employment, not enough has been done to help minorities advance to higher levels of leadership. By not having a clear industry wide strategy for leveraging diverse talent and perspectives, the lodging industry is open to scrutiny by minority special interest groups. READ MORE

I need to first acknowledge that this article was inspired from an email I received in response to one of my previous articles. The author of that email, let's call him Mr. Smith, was very upfront and critical of some of my suggestions on how hotels can attract the gay and lesbian market. He was blunt, but I appreciated his comments. Not only did it give me a title for this article, but it made me really take a step back and validate everything that I've been promoting. I decided, as I was responding to his letter, that I should actually share my comments with all of you. If Mr. Smith had these strong concerns, others must as well. I've incorporated bits of his email into this article, which by the end will hopefully give you a better sense of whether or not marketing to the gay and lesbian consumer has truly "gone too far". READ MORE

Mukesh Mowji, 2005 vice chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, authored a short editorial in the November issue of the AAHOA Lodging Business magazine titled "Illuminating the Way: DIWALI and the Community". In this article, he encouraged people of all nationalities to join in this "Festival of Lights" which begins on November 1st and to give thanks for the health, good fortune, knowledge and happiness that so many people have. In researching this article, I found that despite the facts that India has the 2nd largest population in the world and Indians have made major contributions in many industries, DIWALI is a holiday known to only a limited number of Westerners. With that in mind, I discovered the following... READ MORE

With legal recognition and a growing public acceptance of same-sex unions around the world, a new business opportunity for hotels to host formal celebrations and to create honeymoon packages has been created. In fact, gay tourism is a growing industry representing more than $50 billion spent annually in the United States. Considering that is estimated that there are around 15 million adult people who identify as GLBT in the United States, that is an incredible per trip spend. READ MORE

Safety, progressive politics (such as gay marriage) and even immigration (policies that don't discriminate against gay people) all play a factor in travel decisions. The latest research found that among gay travelers the top seven U.S. destinations are New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles-West Hollywood, Palm Springs, Ft. Lauderdale and Chicago. The top seven European cities are London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Florence and Venice ties with Berlin. READ MORE

In my previous articles, I've talked about the benefits of targeting the gay and lesbian travel market, and what this market looks for when travelling. However, when trying to reach a new market like this for your property, it can be somewhat overwhelming, requiring both time and financial commitments. Depending on the size of your property, you may not have a sufficient supply of resources to put behind your new entry into the gay and lesbian market. That's where partnerships can play an important supportive role. By forming partnerships within your city or region, you can overcome some of those challenges and thereby facilitate your move into the new market. READ MORE

You provide wireless internet for the business traveller. You provide swimming pools and water parks for families. You provide discounts for seniors. But what do you need to provide for the gay and lesbian traveller? Is it any different from the mainstream 'straight' traveller? Simply put, no, it's no different. The gay and lesbian traveller still demands and expects the same general products services as the mainstream traveller. They want the spa, the workout facilities, the business centres. But there are still services and products that your hotel can offer to go that extra mile, and provide a message of commitment to the market. After all, since you've already invested heavily in this market, it only makes sense to provide products within the hotel that are targeted as well. READ MORE

Considering the state of travel industry and changing travel patterns, is not a surprise to anyone that 2008 is optimistically predicted to be relatively flat. In some markets hotel general managers say they are being asked by corporate headquarters to lower their already budgeted occupancy levels. As the economy dips, hotels and others within the hospitality industry are again turning their attention to what may be this year's shining star, the gay and lesbian traveler. They are loyal, resilient and as a group, they have more discretionary income when compared to other groups, almost $800 billion. More, historically, they continue to travel even in tough economic times, even after 9/11. READ MORE