The Department of Labor (DOL) Final Rule promulgated new regulations that will go effect on December 1, 2016. All employers need to know how these regulations will change the test for exemption to understand what they need to do in response. This article will review the basics for the most common exemptions from overtime under Federal law and will also provide an executive summary of the key changes made by the Final Rule. One of the biggest myths in the workplace is that a "manager" who is paid a salary is automatically an exempt employee. READ MORE

The saying goes that there are always two sides to every story. In the hotel business this couldn't be truer when examining the relationship between operator and owner, or in many cases between operator and asset manager. Both want to optimize performance, but often this requires a careful balancing act between guest satisfaction and profitability. If a hotel is exceeding expectations - i.e. beating budget, surpassing last year, stealing market share - one might ask “does that mean the revenue management effort is optimal”? If a hotel is falling short of expectations, does that mean that somehow the revenue management effort is lacking? READ MORE

The true art of Revenue Maximization (RevMax) at the elementary foundation is segment mixology including all points of revenue generation. I label this the perfect RevMax Cocktail with the ingredients engineered for total consumption of market share by segment from top rate to the lowest, while also considering each element of contribution to NOI margin. In terms of maximum RevPAR, it is simply maximum achievable occupancy at the highest deliverable ADR. However, before the hotel can celebrate success the team must also have a discipline to avoid the typical erosion of RevMax thru Rev-Leak! READ MORE

Revenue Management (RM) has taken a lead role in the generation of an optimized top line. As it is technologically based and technology has taken over the world, RM benefited from those tailwinds in its rise to supremacy. Such, that most literature, research and general writings have been almost exclusively focusing on it. That is not a problem per se. But RM is merely a fraction of the top line. Sales is the “big picture” and RM is a function of it, not the other way around. Sales must recover its leading role, as without it, RM is nothing but a one-legged body. READ MORE

Transforming historic buildings for hotel use, particularly luxury hotels and boutiques, presents certain challenges and rewards. Buildings that meet the requirements for historic tax credits can be attractive to developers. In addition, retaining an existing building and repurposing it for renewed use is more sustainable than demolishing and rebuilding and the case for adaptive use becomes even more compelling. Creating the identity for a new hotel in an older building repurposed as a hotel brings challenges, especially when the desire is to establish a sense of authenticity. One approach is to develop a curated art collection tied to the location. READ MORE