In the age of digital RFP's, face time with prospective clients has significantly decreased. Planners want to do business with people they know and trust, yet have limited availability to foster these relationships with their suppliers. The importance of face-to-face exchanges cannot be underestimated. An amazing amount of communication, up to 93%, is done outside of spoken words. Body gestures and tones, which cannot be seen or heard over the phone and through email respectively, play a very important role in the overall conversation. Research for “The Future of Meetings” revealed that networks and relationships were easier to build and ultimately stronger when forged in person. READ MORE

Sustainability has come to mean more than just protecting the environment and our natural resources within it. It often now refers to what is called “people, profit, planet”, or the triple bottom line. Community involvement is part of that triple bottom line. It's the “people” in “people, profit, and planet” and may take on many forms. It may include raising money for local charities, organizing clean-up days for local parks or beaches, volunteering for a local Habitat for Humanity project, or simply educating locals and guests about sustainability in general. This article discusses how hoteliers can become involved in their communities, and why it is important for them to do so. READ MORE

Playing the part of a trusted housekeeper in a English countryside manor in the 1930s in the 2001 feature film, Gosford Park, Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren notably observed that she “had the gift of anticipation” when it came to knowing what her guests wanted, sometimes even before they, themselves, did. READ MORE

The technology trend today is mobile event apps. Planners want to pitch their notebooks, and attendees realize the paper meeting guide is already outdated. While most of us have used conference apps, few of us have probably ever glanced at the behind-the-scenes costs and requirements. This article summarizes the growth trends, what features attendees want, the content management challenge, and how hotels can assist meeting planners and their group business with event app content. READ MORE

Are you competent? We all like to believe we are. However, we know that not everyone is and that being competent comes with a set of responsibilities. Competence in the work force often is communicated through job descriptions, recruitment, training programs and our own and our colleague's knowledge, skills and abilities. Who hasn't thought "how did my boss get that job? he or she is incompetent". The question at hand is: are competent people unfairly expected to compensate for others that do not or cannot do their jobs correctly? This article examines competent people (management or staff) versus those in the workforce that are not carrying their fair share of the work load. What do we do to level the playing field? READ MORE