PR is a very effective way of increasing awareness and developing a brand image. While more properties are using PR in their day-to-day marketing outreach, a very important aspect of effective PR is often ignored: a comprehensive media list. Even with the best press release and the best pitch ideas, you will never be able to generate sufficient media coverage if you are contacting the incorrect media. Therefore, creating an effective media list is one of the best ways to ensure that your PR campaign will meet - or exceed - your objectives. READ MORE

Do you hear what I hear or have you entered the bypass zone with an assumption we will finish the conversation together? There is no better time than now to utilize our sense of adventure and be self disciplined in our pursuit of becoming better listeners. The early years of a child learning to speak or the first book ever read as a nighttime story has identical similarities as we age, but the satisfaction we enjoy while listening disappears in between. We will explore this route taken and reacquaint ourselves in sincere listening with desire that hospitality will be rewarded! READ MORE

Disability is one small fact about a person with different abilities, just like having red or black hair, green or blue eyes or wearing glasses. Looking beyond the disability, one will see an individual whose life is more similar to theirs than it is different. Discrimination - especially subtle discrimination - continues to thrive. It is everyday stereotypes and assumptions about our differences that are the basis for most discrimination. It is probable that many of these acts are not committed with malice but are the result of a lack of education about proper terminology and etiquette. READ MORE

The "worried well" boost demand for spa wellness and pampering. Manual massages and water therapies are the most popular wellness treatments but there are barriers to entering this market. Diagonal Reports research reveals that strong demand for spa wellness and pampering treatments will continue because spa users perceive associated health benefits. They regard pampering as a preventative health measure. Wellness benefits are valued and, therefore, not classified as expendable luxuries to be trimmed with the first spending cuts. Spa users consider that a massage counteracts the negative health outcomes of current lifestyles, whether lowering blood pressure or relieving work-related strain injuries. READ MORE

Many of the unique characteristics that make the hotel setting a nice place to be, also provide certain risks when it comes to inappropriate sexual harassment of employees in the workplace. In this article I provide examples of unlawful harassment, and identifies best practices for hotel employers to address the risks and minimize potential liability and negative exposure. READ MORE