In today's hyper-competitive, hyper-connected global marketplace, customer experience has assumed a major role as a key business differentiator. Within the hospitality industry, there's a growing understanding that competition based on price alone is no longer a viable strategy due to the potential volatility as well as the negative impact on profitability. READ MORE

Born between 1984 and early 2000s, Millennial are the largest cohort in the United States today. They are becoming the most sought-out demographic among hotel brand portfolios. As they continue to mature, they will not only impact travel numbers, but also become an influential and highly profitable segment. They exude distinct online and offline behavior. This has altered their outlook towards guest services. The present challenge faced by many hotels is that they are inundated with decade-old guest service delivery principles that are baby boomer and generation X focused. Are hotels ready to reevaluate these traditional offerings and embrace the 21st century notion of guest services? READ MORE

Companies, including hotel companies, promote their focus on hiring veterans. These initiatives generate positive publicity. Yet hiring veterans is not only a goodwill gesture. It can make solid business sense - especially for the hotel industry. Veterans have the skills, training and character to meet the tough challenges of the hotel world. This article discusses how and why veterans are well-suited for the hotel industry. This article explores how hotel companies are or can support veteran hiring. Finally, I offer tips to expanding hiring of veterans — especially at an individual property. It concludes that veterans offer a wide variety of skills, values, and attributes making them well suited for the contemporary hotel environment. READ MORE

Business owners are obsessed with revenue generation and profit retention and hospitality stake holders are no exception. A sustained stream of profitability is what these investors like best. And so management has its work cut out. The problem is unless management is clued in on the direction their enterprise is taking, often, they are confronted with nasty surprises. One of the most critical pieces of information for management on their business performance is whether they are “losing money” as the often-ambiguous term goes. But knowing this is easier said than done. Enter the principle of break even. READ MORE

Online guest satisfaction scores, such as those found on travel sites and online booking sites contain more valuable information than we realize. They're not just a summary or description of guests' opinions of our hotel, or even of their experience in our hotel. They are an encapsulated expression of the market's valuation of our hotel compared to our competitors. As such they provide accurate insights into exactly what we can charge for our services - the market price for our product. By cross referencing our scores against our competitors and comparing them to ADR we can determine the ADR we can and should achieve. READ MORE