In today's world, online visibility and interaction is essential to drive and retain business. Social media outlets including facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have given the ability to connect with customers in an intimate yet public fashion. Online presence has become a key tool to promote, target and eventually impact the decision making process. For a successful hotel operator, it is critical to actively respond to the feedback, which is tied into these mediums. READ MORE

What people experience with your hotel in the digital world before they arrive sets the stage for what they will expect when they come stay with you. If there's a gap, it had better be in the direction of delivering a better customer experience, not a disappointing one. There are things you can do that prime the pump, getting guests ready for an experience so good they'll want to tell all their friends. This article discusses how you can leverage the power of email, social media, and a good customer relationship management system to deliver delightful unexpected extras that cost you little but have an outsized impact. READ MORE

Any given hotel property is subject to a broad range of challenges due to changing market conditions. These competitive factors can impact occupancy rates, the room rates a property can command in the market place, the property's overall revenue stream, and, ultimately, profitability. Often times, challenges that can make a property vulnerable are independent of the overall supply of rooms in a given market. Examples include changing demographics and public safety issues, which may make a property less appealing to a portion of its traditional guest base; the move of a major employer or other entity that was a key demand generator; nearby commercial real estate transactions; swings in consumer tastes; sometimes, just a change in area roadways can make it more difficult for potential guests to reach your property. READ MORE

One of the biggest myths surrounding leadership is that it's inherent: People are born with it or they're not. But, it's not that simple. People aren't necessarily born with great leadership skills. Rather, leaders need to be shaped and molded, and organizations need to be proactive and have a commitment to develop great leaders. In the hospitality sector, where customer service can make or break a business, effective leadership is an absolute must — at every level of the organization. Especially when it comes to managing today's multi-generational workforce. READ MORE

The landscape of the Hospitality business has changed drastically in especially the past 15 years. We have shifted from “gracious hospitality” as a means to increase profitability to “analytics and metrics.” It is simply not the same business that it was back in “the good old days.” Some of the change was needed to raise the bar of our industry to a level of sophistication that it lacked, but some of it has just gone too far, forgetting what the hallmarks of Hospitality are all about. READ MORE