Marketing your spa the right way is vital to attracting more guests. For the most desirable results, find a public relations agency with years of spa PR experience. The best match will generate the most effective strategies for your hotel spa and execute them properly so you receive maximum exposure.One of the best outcomes is getting featured in A-list publications like The New York Times or the Huffington Post. They are invaluable when it comes to online ranking because Google and other search engines pay more attention to top-tier outlets by rewarding these stories with a higher SEO ranking. READ MORE

There are three options in alternative dispute resolution. Mediation, arbitration and expert determination. The third option - expert determination - whereby the parties who have been unable to resolve a dispute generally concerning a specific, technical matter, look to a specifically qualified individual to decide the matter for them. When we think about alternative dispute resolutions, our first thoughts are likely go to mediation and arbitration. This article, however, discusses the third option - expert determination. READ MORE

Tip-pooling is a common method for restaurants and similar service businesses to allow back of the house staff and others to share in tips received from customers. However, the US Department of Labor's regulations and recent rulings by the Ninth Circuit have effectively made tip pooling a thing of the past. This article will explore the current state of tip-pooling laws and the effect that Donald Trump's pick for Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, may have on tip-pooling and other regulations in the years to come. READ MORE

Unlike money, time isn't fungible; no matter how long or hard we try, we can't make any more of it. So while we might be able to reallocate our time, we can never increase our supply. That is why time is becoming such a luxury; why we value it so much. In fact, it may be the ultimate luxury. But while it may be a luxury for every one of your guests, different generations view it differently. It is a major differentiator. In this article, you'll see how the three major consuming generations - Baby Boomers, GenXers, and Millennials - view time in their own way. READ MORE

We hear all the time that travelers have changed. Now we're highly-connected, mobile-crazed folks who want the freedom to choose. We want experiences, and we want to share those experiences with family and friends at the touch of a button, all in search of the next like. This is often attributed to the growing number of Millennial travelers born-and-raised on tech somewhere between 1980 (or '85, or '90 depending on who you ask) and the early 2000s. The reality is, travelers aren't so different. We're still dreamers and adventure-seekers. We always enjoyed experiences and we always shared them with the people we love. READ MORE

Creating content is hard, especially with limited budgets, time, and resources. Not to mention, the content that your hotel is publishing is not only competing with content from other hotels but also with content from other brands, other industries - even users' family and friends. In the digital world, community managers are constantly trying to think of creative ways to attract and engage followers. As a social media manager, it is not always necessary to create content from scratch. Engaging content can be discovered and re-shared with your network. Often times, content curation can even be the key to increasing engagement. READ MORE

Social media marketers spend the majority of their time designing content at their computer. Instead, they should work with the organization's interior designers, chefs, and event staff. Setting the honeypot is laying a trap, or bait. The bait is an item, a cuisine, a swan-shaped towel or any service the consumer could consider "going the extra mile." The swan-shaped towel, an art-like meal, and unique lobby art all create the cognitive desire to share the experience, and the most convenient method of sharing this experience is via social media. It is imperative to understand the behaviors of your target audience. Furthermore, ask yourself, "who is my customer?", and "who does my customer want to be?" READ MORE

It is safe to say that social media and the marketing force that goes into it are here to stay. This is largely due to the space's ability to continuously evolve. Just 10 years ago Facebook morphed into a mainstream business tool, Twitter arrived, the iPhone exploded on the scene and Android phones followed closely behind. This series of events spurred social growth as platforms began to fulfill needs we didn't even know we had. Today, the number of major social platforms has reached a stable point but that doesn't mean that there will not be continued growth in 2017. READ MORE

Can you imagine your bank choosing not to provide a way to check account status and transactions outside of your monthly paper statement? Can you further imagine a popular franchise restaurant only having paper take-out menus? You would be forced to contemplate what other aspects internally within the organization would make doing business with them complicated and archaic. There you find your own personal underlying immediate expectation of baseline service and operational procedures, where a decision is often made instantly to move onto the next provider. A decision to choose another provider that seemingly knows how to service customers with the utmost up-to-date standards. READ MORE

In the hotel business, we have three pillars, the guests, the colleagues and the money. They're not equal. There not equal because we ignore the third pillar and we do so at our own peril and out of ignorance to what we can do to manage this cagey and slippery bugger. This article will show you what's possible and point to a fantastic model that has your owner happily paying for the whole deal. It's no longer acceptable to throw our hands up in the air and say the numbers are the accounting departments responsibility as if the rest of us are 5-year old's without a clue what to do. If your one of those it's time to move and get some financial leadership game on. READ MORE

To insure a sale at a good price, hospitality property owners should approach the market carefully and methodically. In this article, the authors review eight areas and recommend actions owners can take to improve the value of their property prior to sale. Selling your hotel or other hospitality property is a big step. You've invested time and resources in the property, so of course you hope for a good price when you go to market. To make a sale of you hotel happen at a good price you need to be sure you've optimized the property's value before putting it on the market. READ MORE

As hoteliers, how do we define “customer service” and how does it play into our daily hotel operations? The answer leads us to wonder if customer service can be considered as a competitive advantage for hotel operators. In this article, I share my thoughts on how hospitality customer service can be leveraged to drive new and repeat business into a hotel. When you think customer service in hospitality one brand comes to mind that epitomizes the meaning of great customer service, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. They have successfully used customer service as a marketing differentiator within the hospitality luxury market place. READ MORE

Many of today's hospitality consumers are not only looking for a place to rest their head, but also for a one-of-a-kind experience. If the ingredients for such an experience are stored on computers, in e-mails, in manuals, or even in the heads of employees, then they are susceptible to misappropriation. The risk of misappropriation is compounded by the ease by which employees today may misappropriate those trade secrets by using their smart devices to take photographs, send e-mails, and transfer files. Waiting until the unthinkable happens is unacceptable. READ MORE

As with so many industries, the smartphone has transformed how organizations interact with their customers. Look at the automotive industry, the airline industry, and of course, the hospitality industry. You start your car's engine and set the climate control to the desired temperature, buy airline tickets and check-in on your flight and do the same with your hotel room, all from your phone. There is a slew of services that traditionally are offered by hotels via the “book” on the desk. The book is still there, but some hotels allow you to order via the television while others offer integrated tablets. READ MORE

A growing number of properties are implementing mobile access guest room locking systems and the apps that support them. Many chain standards mandate mobile access and independents are joining the trend. What few operators understand is that mobile access implementation has changed not only every aspect of hotel door locks but also many other areas of hospitality operations. More people are actively involved in the decision making process for hotel locks than before. Mobile access has integrated the lock process with numerous property and chain departments from sales to guest loyalty and brand marketing. The original purpose of improving guest door locks was exclusively loss prevention and security. READ MORE