Reliance on growing ADR to drive RevPAR when occupancy levels plateau isn't as easy as it sounds. Reactionary pricing moves, whether they be automated or human in origin will undoubtedly result in subpar performance. This article serves as an early warning that now is the time to take action to ensure that you don't fall victim to your dumbest competitor. Projections for 2017 and beyond by STR, CBRE and PKF all call for anemic occupancy growth at best, notwithstanding record occupancy levels for the U.S. hospitality industry. With Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth projections at inflationary levels (2.5 - 3.5 percent, or so), it is clear that expectations call for Average Daily Rate (ADR) growth to continue, but will it? READ MORE

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that placed restrictions on the ability of law enforcement officers to inspect hotel guest registers and other records. Many local laws, which had authorized unlimited police inspections, suddenly were rendered unconstitutional. This article reviews that decision and discusses the developments that have occurred in this area during the past year. Until recently, hotels in many jurisdictions routinely provided the police with access to their guest registers without much concern about the privacy issues that might be involved. After all, numerous cities and towns possessed ordinances that required hotels to collect specific guest information and allowed the police inspect the information upon request. READ MORE

Complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Department of Labor's (DOL) regulations for tipped employees continues to present challenges for hoteliers and others in the hospitality industry. While recent attention has been paid to proper tip pooling practices (employers requiring certain tipped employees to chip in a portion of their tips, which are then divided among a group of employees), equal attention must be given to the FLSA's mandatory notice provision to tipped employees. A continuing trend in wage and hour lawsuits stems from the employer's failure to give the tipped employee the required notice. READ MORE

It is no secret in the hospitality industry that a tremendous amount of energy, water and other resources is required to serve guests. However, the industry as a whole has taken steps to become more energy and resource efficient within the last ten years. We are all familiar with the placards found in most hotel rooms today, asking guests to indicate whether they want their sheets and towels changed on a daily basis or whether they will use them again. While hotels historically washed sheets and towels every night even when there was no turnover in the room. READ MORE

When it comes to guest privacy, the operational landscape has changed dramatically over the last two years. Historically, “service” has referred to attending to guests' needs in relation to such things as in-room amenities, quality of sleep, dining and entertainment options, cleanliness, etc. But, the book ends formed by the Supreme Court's pronouncement in its 2015 Patel decision and the high-profile Erin Andrews matter in 2016, have created an entirely new operational landscape where protecting guest privacy must be an integral element of every hotel's “service” model. READ MORE

Generally, any hotel that uses a nearby educational institution as the primary demand generator can be considered a campus hotel; however, the scope of this article focuses on hotels that are directly affiliated with an educational institution, often a college or university.For each campus hotel project, developers should fully understand the school's vision to create a property that not only meets the design requirements and educational purposes, but is also economically sustainable. On the other hand, operators should have appropriate revenue management practice, leverage school's internal resources, and manage student employees with extra emphasis on scheduling and training. The concept of campus hotels is not a new one. READ MORE

You have probably read the reasons why you should update your hotel's bathrooms. And you're now certain that your bathrooms should be upgraded to save space, please your customers, and give more aesthetic appeal to your hotel. However, choosing to upgrade your bathroom isn't as simple as calling your interior designer and telling them to overhaul everything in your bathroom and hoping for the best. After all, a complete upgrade for the sake of aesthetic might only waste your money when done improperly. You might also end up changing something and displeasing your customers, especially if you don't know what they want READ MORE

In a 2012 feature article for The Week magazine entitled “Confessions of a Hotel Insider,” Jacob Tomsky, who describes himself as having “worked in hotels for more than a decade,” wrote down some of the standard front desk lies. Like: “All rooms are basically the same size.” And: “My pleasure.” For any executive or staffer who has seen or handled his own share of guest interactions, Tomsky's list is worth a chuckle. Some may even nod in agreement and admit to being guilty as charge READ MORE

Business planning for next year is in the works to increase revenue and profitability in uncertain economic times. Hotels are forecasting occupancy by predicting tourism trends affected by extreme weather, airline troubles, tax increases, and terrorism. However, if businesses don't have a risk management strategy for compliance with ever-changing laws affecting employment, benefits, safety, social media use, accessibility, and privacy, they are already way behind. To assist in the prioritization of a hotel's compliance strategy, this article highlights some of the top legal issues occurring in employment, but which directly impact operations. READ MORE

More than 15 million Americans, nine million of them adults, have food allergies. While handling special dietary requests is not a new issue for hotels, the practical and legal issues surrounding accommodating dietary restrictions are changing. According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), food allergies are on the rise. Because nearly half of fatal food allergy reactions are caused by food consumed outside the home, it isn't a far stretch to imagine that a significant number each year may occur in hotels. Eight foods are responsible for 90% of all allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. READ MORE

An article published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management has declared that “the hospitality industry is facing a major personnel shortage.” The authors provide the following advice to hotel and hospitality managers: “demographic changes … suggest that the hospitality industry should reconsider tactics for recruitment and retention.” The authors' advice is nothing new - hotel and hospitality managers have long struggled to find and retain suitable staff. In fact, many hotel recruiters wouldn't be surprised to learn that the aforementioned article wasn't published this year, this decade, or even in this century - but in 1992. READ MORE

There is no denying the importance of a brand in the context of hotels. Branded hotels make up approximately 70% of the total rooms in the United States hotel system and are predicted to grow to 80% in the next 10 years. The somewhat recent explosion in new brands from existing hotel companies can be seen as significantly contributing to this growth. In the past 35 years, the number of brands has quadrupled. In fact, brand proliferation has become so ubiquitous that the top seven hotel companies now account for 90 different hotel brands. A discussion follows of some of the more salient legal issues that the recent explosion in hotel brands has produced. READ MORE

The Zika virus has created a potential myriad of legal issues that should be considered by hotel owners and operators in the United States and its territories, particularly in light of the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the Zika virus infection and its associated congenital and other neurological disorders continues to be a “public health emergency of international concern.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also advised that pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to locales that have been zoned areas of active transmission. READ MORE

In recent years, the hotel industry has seen a shift in revenue streams that it is eating up. While gaming revenue was once king in Las Vegas, it has now been overtaken by the food and beverage (F&B) segment. According to Moody's Financial Services, in Las Vegas specifically, non-gaming revenue has now easily surpassed gambling revenue, making up between 55 percent to 65 percent of total revenues with hotel, food and beverage spending representing the largest non-gaming income streams. Thanks to millennials, along with growing numbers of more discerning consumers, a shift in consumer desires has affected the way those in the hotel industry think, build and design. Consumers now demand and expect a fully immersive and experiential outing when they eat, drink and “make merry.” READ MORE

As a professional coach, I have been introduced to a new leadership model at the Coaches Training Institute and in this article, I will explain the Co-Active Dimensional Leadership Modeltm and how it applies so well to hospitality. CTI developed this leadership model in addition to their Co-Activetm coaching model. Both are incredibly effective platforms for building teams and leaders that see our world as one that is being built on the efforts and creativity of everyone, not the traditional leader - servant model we sometimes cling to in hospitality. READ MORE