Explore the evolution of wellness in hospitality from the early days of Greco-Roman Thermae to the thermal spas of Central Europe and US resort towns to ultra-modern spas in the heart of the Swiss Alps. As wellness takes on a renewed importance in hospitality, we see medical science-based technological innovation applied to the health and well-being of hotel guests through the Stay Well Rooms program created by health-centric real estate developer Delos. Learn how major hotel firms are incorporating robust wellness programs into their brands. Watch wellness evolve to satisfy growing market demands with technological advances and innovative programs. READ MORE

In 1994 & 1995 a British economist working on corporate social responsibility coined two phrases- Triple Bottom Line, and later People Planet & Profit. The simple three word phrase describes a sea change in hotel operations that would take place over the next 2 decades. John Elkington's minimal catch phrases for the complex theories of sustainability were easy to understand and provided a simple road map for business. Recognizing cost savings from reductions in water, waste, energy and chemicals as well as the value of preserving regional icons as travel destinations, the Planet piece of Elkington's phrase is now accepted as mainstream hotel operation. READ MORE

The hospitality industry is a unique sector when factoring in the total amount of guests that visit any given facility in a single year. Most commercial buildings do not see nearly the amount of people visiting their facilities in comparison to the lodging industry's visits. The Environmental Protection Agency has reported, “on average, America's 47,000 hotels spend $2,196 per available room each year on energy.” READ MORE

Responding to years of pressure from union advocates and their allies, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) has proposed a first-in-the-nation, industry-specific rule aimed at hotel housekeepers. If enacted, this proposal would greatly impact the industry in California (as well as operators who conduct business in multiple states including California). In addition, as California tends to lead the nation in employment and workplace safety standards, operators in other states should monitor this proposal closely - what happens in California may come to your state next! READ MORE

Flow Thru, this is my abbreviation, is a catch all phrase that measures how much made it through your business comparing one period to another. What made it through, from revenues to profit. Another term to describe this measurement is retention. A good analogy to grasp the concept of flow thru is to compare it to your paycheck. Imaging I give you a $1000 a week raise. The question then is how much will end up on your pay vs. how much got eaten up by higher taxes and other deductions. The same goes for additional revenues in your business. If revenues are $50,000 higher this month than the same month last year, how much of the $50,000 will make it through to the profit line. How much will flow? READ MORE

Taking measures to protect your hospitality organization's trade secrets before filing or defending against a lawsuit may significantly increase your organization's chances of obtaining a favorable result in any lawsuit related to the misappropriation of trade secrets. While there are many ways to protect information, hospitality organizations need to be educated on what the law applicable to them considers to be “reasonable” steps that provide the secrecy that is required under the circumstances. This article explores how some courts have interpreted what is reasonable or adequate protection of information such that the information may qualify as a trade secret. READ MORE

Together, big data and machine learning provide the most accurate information from which to base pricing on in the entire history of the hotel business. Setting rates is no longer a guessing game. Leveraging the newest tools on the market gives hoteliers the most accurate forecasting data ever seen. The invisible becomes visible and that porridge is suddenly cooked to perfection ever time. Today, pricing with confidence means making decisions based on reams of previously undetectable information. Valuable data we never realized existed because it was invisible to us. We've had the illusion we've attained perfect pricing, but that wasn't the case at all. The good news is, though seemingly more complex, finding confidence in pricing is not as difficult as it seems. READ MORE

The tourism industry leaves a significant impact when you consider the need to move people around, host them and feed them, with the intrinsic needs for water, energy and food. As the travel industry continues to grow apace in Asia Pacific it is becoming increasingly important for hospitality providers to reduce their environmental footprint as well as to give back to the local communities in which they operate. AccorHotels first committed to a comprehensive environmental policy back in 1974 and is firmly committed to creating positive hospitality wherever it operates. While many of its actions are on a global scale, it has found that what is just as important is for each hotel in the network to work regionally to impact positively on its local community. READ MORE

Resource conservation is becoming more of an economic necessity than a choice in hotel business practices as the cost of water, energy and other supplies rises. Laundry operations represent a fertile frontier for such improvement. Using mass-production technologies easily accessible via outsourcing decreases a property's carbon footprint thanks to water and energy conservation in linen processing. Ensuing labor savings from this greater mechanization add to this economic benefit. TRSA aids hotels in locating high-efficiency outsourced linen, uniform and facility services through its Clean Green certification program and provides a published guide to finding certified green suppliers of all kinds of products and services needed for hotel operations. READ MORE

This issue of Hotel Business Review is devoted to the concept of Sustainability, so how does energy efficiency fit into this topic? And why is it so important now? Well, because, as that famous philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “the future ain't what it used to be.” We're experiencing changing consumer attitudes with regard to the environment resulting in shifting market trends. We're seeing a vastly different and uncertain political landscape. Competition in many industries has begun to beat the sustainability drum. And all of these trends are linked back in one way or another to energy and how we use it - energy efficiency. READ MORE

This article discusses the overall benefits for hotel owners and managers of partnering with their local jurisdiction to promote sustainable tourism. Such a partnership goes beyond the typical relationship with the city's CVB in that it directly includes city departments and ideally the mayor's office. The partnership may take many forms; the type expounded on in this article is based on promoting environmental certification by a third-party to tout the hotels' and city's sustainability credentials. The city's support may come in the form of in-kind service and promotion or actual grants to subsidize program costs, such as for certification fees. READ MORE

There's arguably no other four-lettered word that has made quicker—and more impactful—moves in the hospitality industry than “data” has. With the ascension of the Internet igniting a brisk evolution of big data, the hospitality industry now orbits within an increasingly interconnected and technologically-savvy world. Keeping ahead of the curve in the midst of the Internet of Things (IoT) means hotels are not only evolving in how they meaningfully connect with their guests, but they also have to develop short- and long-term revenue strategies to capitalize on the new industry data and insights available to them. READ MORE

Do your hotel financial statements give you the information you need to effectively manage your hotel? Are you able to see if your profits are where they should be in an enhanced top line statement? Do your statements measure flow thru? Do you record your rooms business by proper segments and track the rooms occupied, rate and revenue in each segment? Do you record customers served in F&B and do you separate meal periods? Do you record liquor, beer, wine and mineral sales on your financials separately? Do you measure labor productivity in your financials? Do you record hours of work in your financials? Do you have payroll segmented by management and hourly classifications? Do you have a separate supplemental payroll and benefits statement? Do you track arrivals and departures? READ MORE

Water scarcity has been identified as among the top five global business risks in the next ten years. Tourism is recognized as a high water-use industry and hotels are some of the most water-intensive operations in the industry. Water scarcity disproportionately affects hotels since some of the most popular tourism destinations are in water-stressed areas, driving up utility costs and creating other challenges. For this reason and other reasons, reducing dependency on fresh water and making the best use of existing supplies makes good business sense. This article explains how hotels can respond to the looming water crisis by incorporating some low-cost best practices and strategies that have proven to save money and generate a return on investment. READ MORE

Steeped in myth and legend, the ancient springs at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, 60 miles north of Santa Fe in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, have been a gathering place and source of healing for thousands of years. The use of the waters can be traced back to the earliest human migrations in the region, when ancestors of today's Tewa tribes built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs. Now, ruins of these ancient cities are marked by the shadows of walls and a sprinkling of potsherds. READ MORE