The movie “Up in the Air” cast the Hollywood spotlight on the perceived drudgery of business travel. For two hours, the audience watches George Clooney hustle through a faceless airport en route to an equally bland hotel. Happily, this kind of dull corporate travel is becoming much less of the norm, particularly in the meetings and conventions market. Over the past decade, meetings have evolved to incorporate a wide variety of experiences for the attendee. From new technologies that allow for deeper engagement and more meaningful learning, to unique and interesting venues, to room set-ups for enhanced connections and dialogue, today's meeting attendee expects the total experience will be a transformative one. READ MORE

LinkedIn, Tumblr, TripAdvisor, Foursquare… With so many sites to navigate, it is easy to see these new media as a replacement for personal relationships or even as a threat to our industry. But in fact, it is vital that group sales teams view social media as a valuable tool to leverage future opportunities and stay on top of their competition. This is an in-depth look at how the group sales landscape has changed with the arrival of social media and my top tips on what do to (and not to do) to ensure success for your group sales team. READ MORE

What began as a trend in lager cities, the growing popularity of the craft beverage movement is taking the food and beverage industry by storm, increasing by 18 percent from 2012 to 2013. As defined by the Brewers Association, an American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional; has an annual production of six million barrels or less, no more than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or operated by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not a craft brewer and must brew beers using traditional ingredients, such as malt barley. READ MORE

BLINK's philosophy revolves around the power of instinct and first impressions. So, as you might imagine, these are things we hold as sacred. But instinct isn't everything. The other ingredient to making the magic happen in hotel design (besides a great client and a very talented team) is deep, painstaking and exhaustive - not to say exhausting - research into every aspect of the project's location, culture, history and design vernacular, Research and an informed perspective — as well as being open to the flashes of inspiration and accepting that the best ideas can be those which jump into the mind first — are the backdrop against which our design process unfolds. READ MORE

Both the workplace and our roads have become safer in recent decades, but when employees of hotels or any business get behind the wheel in the course of their work, they are still at risk. In fact, transportation incidents are the leading cause of occupational deaths across all industries and a major source of costly insurance claims. To mitigate this risk, hotels should examine hiring practices and training for the valet attendants and shuttle drivers they employ, and implement best practices in both areas. READ MORE