Sustainability is the least applied, most misunderstood and yet most powerful success factor for any company today. The secret? Education! But why, then, are almost all of us on this planet making thousands of unsustainable decisions each and every day? Are we mean or stupid? No, of course not. We just don't have the right knowledge. READ MORE

Clean the World is an Orlando, Florida-based not-for-profit organization. Yet, in the three years since it commenced operations, properties representing a total of more than 300,000 guest rooms have come onboard. Their program is simple: take the used bars of soap left by guests in their rooms and refurbish them for distribution to the less fortunate. Since its founding in Feb. 2009 Clean the World has collected, recycled, and distributed more than 10 million bars of soap to children and families in communities around the globe. READ MORE

Connecting with hotel guests online today is mandatory today, fueled by the explosion of consumer online engagement and guest empowerment from hotel review sites. Still, some brands continue to struggle with how to best derive true business value from social media. This article is a case study on the success of Mandarin Oriental's global social media strategy. You'll hear insights from the Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing and stories from a hotel Director of Communications. And, you'll get a view from the top as the V.P. of Consumer Marketing shares her team's methods for delivering a clear brand direction during the age of the social media revolution. READ MORE

Economic downturns frequently result in companies analyzing possible cost-cutting measures in all aspects of operations. Companies in the hotel industry, and particularly smaller franchisees, frequently avoid layoffs as a cost-cutting measure whenever possible; instead, they increasingly defer to classifying administrative employees as “salaried exempt” to save costs associated with overtime. An aggressive approach to using this designation has resulted in hotels becoming involved in wage-hour litigation where, in states like California, they end up with more exposure than the savings enjoyed by the re-classification. The following article reviews exemptions available to administrative employees in the hotel industry and the framework for an initial checklist that can be utilized to ensure cost savings, proper classification and risk prevention. READ MORE

What if someone told you that by spending an estimated $5,000 (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more), you could show exceptional appreciation to the men and women that became disabled while protecting our rights during a war? Or what if you had a child that was disabled but loved to swim. Would you want them to be able to enjoy all of the amenities that a place of public accommodation has to offer, or would you want them to have to sit on the side of the pool while all of the other children were playing in it? Perhaps it is time to take a different perspective on the ADA. READ MORE