Call them what you'd like, but mystery shops, inspections, and surprise evaluations can help you keep your team on their toes and your property at the top. Clean sheets and appropriate coffee cups aside, how great hotels take those reports - and a few tricks - to forge a path to success in the eyes of both the brand and the guest. READ MORE

Some lodging companies have employees whose primary responsibility is to promote and incorporate sustainability into their business practices. At the same time, more and more hospitality educational programs are teaching about sustainability, because educators and executives alike believe that sustainability will someday become “a norm”. As it does become “the norm”, it will become increasingly important for lodging companies to employ those that are knowledgeable about the practice. And since potential new employees will be learning about it in school or elsewhere, why not take advantage of that knowledge? What are we waiting for? READ MORE

Who is winning at social media? Take a look at some best practices we have gathered to help your social media strategy garner some positive results. While social media can appear daunting because of the ever changing landscape, the properties who are experiencing some successes are following some of the same rules. Hitting a homerun in the social media arena may not be in your immediate future, but a series of base hits can help bring you home just the same. READ MORE

Keeping hotel staff educated on the latest food and beverage offerings for guests is no easy task. Add in the high turnover rate in the service industry, and keeping new staff educated on an ongoing basis seems nearly impossible. At the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, we work with staff collaboratively to ensure employees are not only educated, but also interested. By offering multiple opportunities to not just food and beverage staff, but to all staff across the hotel, we create a richer guest experience and the potential for employees to gain experience outside of their normal tasks. READ MORE

How Mehdi Eftekari, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and his team created a destination restaurant concept, with the addition of Culina, Modern Italian. This is the newest trend and Culina was a pioneer concept for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, which has proven successful and already won several awards. READ MORE