Who sets your company's Corporate Responsibility agenda? I ask because too often Corporate Responsibility teams make the mistake of allowing their agenda to be determined externally, their activities driven only by stakeholders. Naturally, the views of stakeholders are important to all elements of an organization's businesses. But while it's a rare company indeed that would permit stakeholders to govern what it should focus on, it's not unusual to see CR teams running this way today and that way tomorrow, reacting whenever a pressure group applies the heat over its latest singular concern. READ MORE

Alcohol beverage attorney Elizabeth DeConti outlines the basic legal issues any hotel or restaurant should watch for when planning an alcohol promotion on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media site. The article addresses intellectual property awareness, planning alcohol promotions across state lines, conversation with legal age consumers, and how to promote responsible service while advertising alcohol beverages. Hoteliers and restaurateurs will know the correct areas of legal focus after reading this article. READ MORE

What is the top thing that every hotelier wants? If you guessed “more bookings” you are correct. What if I told you that one of the best ways to get more bookings is to buy some banner ads? You might be thinking that banners are useless since nobody clicks on them anymore. But what you might not know is that banner ads actually produce tons of bookings. It turns out the people who do NOT click your banner still visit your hotel website directly a few days or a few weeks later to book! READ MORE

Hoteliers fear that the cost of distribution is soaring beyond what is realistic for their economy. They are trying to move towards direct sales diminishing the proportion of bookings coming from OTAs. While OTAs were the life-blood of the industry during the past decade is it realistic for hotels to turn their backs on third party online sales? Hotels need to realise that third parties have always been around and will be here to stay, but the way they sell needs to become more dynamic, they need the tools to asses how and where to sell to increase productivity from the channels that bring them the revenue they need without surrendering to quick easy sales. READ MORE

It's no surprise that Cadillac hired Ritz-Carlton to help them deliver a luxury experience that creates lifelong memories. In fact, many businesses, including retail and other high-end automotive brands, benchmark against hotels to aid them in bolstering customer loyalty. Customer service expert, Holly Stiel, explains the importance of the feelings that permeates the entire customer experience. Service, at its core, is about how people feel. READ MORE