Whether it is Hyatt Centric, Canopy by Hilton, AC Hotels by Marriot, Vib by Best Western Hotel, Radisson Red, or OE Collection from Loews Hotels, established hotel chains are deploying a new strategy to address the ever growing buying power of Millennials. These chains are creating new brands that specifically cater to Millennials. In fact, besides the established Hotel companies, new chains are being, or have been, created to address the Millennial generation, or there corporate ownership is being disguised. The focus on Millennials by hotel companies is not just a U.S. trend; it's worldwide. READ MORE

From the advent of "Earth Day" in 1970 to today's opportunities for offsetting a carbon footprint, sustainability has evolved from an ideal and a concept to a way of life. And it's just as critical to the hospitality industry, because consumers are increasingly making their purchase decisions through the lens of environmental impact, today and in the future. As hospitality developers, this is something we can address at every single stage, from site planning to construction as well as daily operations. READ MORE

NATIONAL REPORT — According to the latest “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects, solar power provided 20.4 percent of new electrical generation brought into service in the United States during 2014. Solar now accounts for about 1 percent of total installed operating electricity generating capacity in the U.S. According to Sun First Solar, the amount of electricity generated by solar systems has tripled in the U.S. in the last three years. The amount of solar power produced today is enough to power 3.6 million homes. A primary driver of increasing interest in solar is cost. Costs for solar panels are down 50 percent from where they were five years ago. READ MORE

Sustainability is becoming embedded in performance measurement as standard key performance indicators (KPIs) and is transitioning from a best practice to a cost-of-doing business by customers and investors, and even being mandated by regulators. What are sustainability KPIs? Though sustainability KPIs cover a wide scope and may not be fully understood within the industry yet, the language is quickly changing. Just because some facet of performance is difficult to understand doesn't mean we don't still place significant value on it. Take “guest satisfaction” or “brand value” as two prime examples of difficult to measure, yet extremely significant KPIs. As such, a few key items for performance measurement clearly emerged under the sustainability umbrella for hotels—energy, water, waste and GHG emissions. KPIs around these four items can and are used to evaluate the performance of a hotel. Sustainability is becoming embedded in performance measurement as standard key performance indicators (KPIs) and is transitioning from a best practice to a cost-of-doing business by customers and investors, and even being mandated by regulators. READ MORE

As sustainable hospitality matures as a business discipline, hotel executives are increasingly called upon to evaluate, document and justify investments in sustainability and assess whether they add value to bottomline. This requires mastering the “3Ms” of sustainability: Measurement, Management and Monetization. This article explores some of the challenges hotel executives face in these three domains, and makes recommendations about the talents, tools and training needed to address them. READ MORE