If you don't measure it, you don't manage it. If you don't manage it, you can't change it. No one is more aware of the wisdom of these adages than hotel operators, who measure many expenses on a cost per occupied room night basis. Yet this is generally not the case for their hotel owned or on-premise (OPL) laundry costs. Shouldn't it be? Improved laundry practices can reduce a hotel's carbon footprint and boost the bottom line, important objectives amid intensifying sustainability mandates. READ MORE

Although some claims of sexual harassment made by hotel and restaurant employees may not prove to be true, an employer's failure to properly address sexual harassment complaints may render the employer liable for significant damages to a prevailing employee. Once an employee has complained of sexual harassment, an internal investigation is necessary to address and resolve the claim. This article describes best practices to take when conducting an internal investigation of a sexual harassment claim. This article also describes policies and procedures an employer can implement to help avoid sexual harassment claims READ MORE

For some time, the biggest buzz in business has been around the influx of Big Data and its application to hospitality - and specifically to revenue management systems. Historically, revenue management systems (RMS) were already the biggest data owners within the hospitality enterprise, with two or more years of detailed reservations data consumed by the system, across a variety of room types, customer segments, length of stays and more. With this data, RMS analytics generated billions of forecasts used for further optimization, subsequently producing billions of pricing, availability and overbooking decisions. That is to say, Big Data existed in revenue management systems before it was even known as “Big Data.” READ MORE

Given the increasing usage of smartphones for travel-related online research and purchases, the importance of having a seamless mobile website presentation cannot be understated. Unless a hotel's mobile website loads quickly, however, it runs the risk of dissuading consumers from direct bookings as well as utilizing the brand.com for subsequent inquiries. This is compounded by the fact that websites typically load slower on mobile platforms. While this is a constant issue for developers and programmers, there are many solutions that senior managers can initiate and undertake themselves. READ MORE

The intense competition to secure the best talent continues, with organizations engaging evermore creative recruitment strategies to ensure they get the best from international graduate pools. Fueled by new technologies, market globalization and frequent changes to business models, the demand for organizational talent grows. Talent supply, however, is another issue with the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group (2011) indicating shortage across 25 countries by 2030. A ready-supply of engaged talent is needed to enhance service quality and to achieve this, graduate talent skills sets must become culturally embedded investments across international hospitality industry organizations. READ MORE