Meetings are out. Experiences are in. That's the message that emerges from research Development Counsellors International (DCI) conducted earlier this year, in partnership with the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), to determine what will be required in the meeting rooms of the future. In a detailed survey of more than 150 meeting planners from five continents —including those specializing in corporate, association, and government meetings — 75 percent of respondents said their job is increasingly about “experience creation.” Before mobile phones and Wi-Fi, meeting participants had no choice but to sit down and engage with what was being presented. READ MORE

From content consumption to meeting and function room design, millennial mindset will continue to be the primary change agent at properties. Millennial: It's a buzzword that we see in just about every article today, but there's good reason for that. By 2025 millennials will make up over 75% of the workforce, which means they're an ever growing portion of hotel guests, attendees, and the event planners you're trying to reach. Asking how to reach millennials today, is really more like asking how to connect with the dominant mindset in hospitality (and every other industry for that matter). READ MORE

In July 2016, Starwood Hotels & Resorts opened a new hotel in Havana, Cuba. Once unimaginable for a U.S. hotel company, the Four Points Havana offers more than its 186 guest rooms and modern spa; it provides an authentic Cuban experience where guests can enjoy traditional Cuban cuisine in the Don Quixote restaurant, sip on the island's most popular beers, Cristal and Bucanero, in Starwood's signature bar “Best Brews,” and experience Cuba's most sought after cigars with the guidance of a cigar sommelier in the hotel's 5th Avenue Cigar Bar. As the first U.S. hotel in Cuba in nearly sixty years, the Four Points Havana signals the beginning of a new era, as previous forays into the hotel industry in Cuba did not end auspiciously for U.S. investors. READ MORE

Americans are increasingly concerned with their water quality. But you should be, too. You may not even know that your property could be liable for delivering lead-contaminated water to guests. But what causes high lead levels in water, anyway? What actions can you take to ensure your hotel's water is safe and healthy? How do insurance companies leave you liable? This article will help provide vital knowledge about the current lead problem and how you can make your property's water safe. READ MORE

This article is designed to help anyone in the hotel industry answer the challenge of hotel marketing in the 21st Century. It is built on my belief [1] that marketers have overly complicated the marketing process, [2] that marketing is dynamic, constantly evolving to meet the changing needs, wants, and expectations of people and organizations, and [3] that the reasoning behind the AMA's newly revised definition is right on target. In it, you'll read about the three legs that are necessary to support the marketing milk stool for hotels in this increasingly fragmented and competitive global environment. READ MORE