Since its infancy in the late 90s and early 2000s, paid search has been a highly effective tactic for capturing would-be travelers that are actively exploring travel options. There's seemingly no better way to attain a new hotel guest than by delivering an ad promoting your hotel when someone is searching for "hotels" in your market area. For instance, if you are promoting hotel rooms in Las Vegas, you would likely deliver relevant ads to people searching for keywords such as "Las Vegas hotel," "Las Vegas hotels," and "Vegas hotel reviews. "According to Prognosis Digital, 79% of people that book hotels online search for that particular hotel on a search engine before buying. Thus, having a presence on search engines is essential for any hotel. READ MORE

In 2012, my business partner and I invented a line of self­cleaning surfaces for healthcare facilities which we named NanoSeptic because they were based on nanotechnology. We knew hospitals were having a challenge with hospital­acquired infections (HAI), some of which were being spread through contact with high traffic touch points. So our mission was to deliver an actual health benefit, creating healthier hospital environments by creating self­cleaning surfaces for places that had the greatest chance of cross contamination. We never dreamed that these surfaces would be adopted by other industries, and more surprisingly, why they would be adopted. We found that the visible nature of the products fundamentally change how people viewed the concept of “clean.” What we came to understand was just how scared people are about the cleanliness of public facilities and how much their perception of a facility changed when a visible indication of cleaning efforts was present. READ MORE

Emotional engagement is one of those hot subjects that most have heard of but very few can actually define. What is it exactly? As with any subject, a keen observation of life in action followed by a logical analysis can shine light on the dark corners of our knowledge to bring clarity to our understanding, and, in order to be useful, a workable procedure for action that brings about desirable results. In the case of emotional engagement, it would be guests who are thrilled at the renewal or reinforcement of life and energy they experience when interacting with hotel staff. Of course, that would presuppose and require that the staff be passionate and full-of-life themselves, rather than uninspired and going through the motions. READ MORE

It is no secret that the hotel world has changed dramatically in the last few years. If we consider just the last decade (2006-2016), we've witnessed significant brand expansions and evolutions; experienced the trauma of one of the world's worst recessions and subsequent halts in development pipelines around the globe; and now, acquisitions of some of the largest and most recognized hotel brands in the business. And that's just on the industry side. On the consumer side of the equation, I think one of the greatest macro-trends to affect the way we attract and retain our customers is that today our guests are looking for experiences that positively READ MORE

Those of us lucky enough to work in the spa and wellness industry experience the pleasure of helping people day in, day out. However, from an executive perspective, there is one very common complaint: the industry doesn't get the respect it deserves. There are times when it seems like the media and the investment industry only seem to care about the growth in the technology and biotechnology industries. What excites them is another gadget, an app, a new pill, or whatever other newfangled notion is “flavor of the month.” And yet the spa and wellness industry has also grown at a clip READ MORE