In today's business world, much of our time is spent attending meetings and conferences. A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers study examining meeting attendance and type found that more than 1.8 million meetings occurred in the United States over a year's time, with 225 million participants. The majority of these meetings were business/corporate (50 percent), followed by conventions (27 percent) and trade shows (12 percent).In-person meetings are a critical part of any business strategy, providing networking opportunities, personal connections and focused time to solve important issues. However, meetings can also have an unnecessary negative impact on the environment and broader sustainability efforts. READ MORE

We've all been there. First, the finger tapping and darting eyes - will I make it in time? Next, heart palpitations and small beads of perspiration. Oh God, please don't let it happen. Amidst an intense feeling of dread and potential hyperventilation…the unthinkable. The black screen. Push any button you'd like and nothing, I mean nothing will happen. Immediately your mind races, how many important calls, vital e-mails and essential Facebook posts will go un-received, unread and un-liked?? In this unfathomable and unconnected state, one has to wonder…why didn't I plug in at my last stop? READ MORE

Wow! What a year 2015 has been for groups and conventions! For the first time since the down economy in 2009, I feel confident in saying that travel and group business is not only back, but it is better than ever! We have seen reports that some of the 2015 have had 20-25% growth in attendance over 2013 & 2014 attendance. Group business represents over 30% of all travel numbers now, which means it represents over 500 Billion Dollars (and small meetings - less than 50 group rooms per night - allocates over 2/3 of this number). With 2015 almost behind us and 2016 lurking around the corner, there have been some new trends in the group and convention market segments. These are not new concepts necessarily; however they are being creatively reintroduced into the group markets. READ MORE

An event manager who can successfully assist a meeting planner to create a smooth, trouble-free event is an extraordinary asset for any hotel. The relationship between the meeting planner and the event service manager creates loyalty that drives repeat business for a property or brand. READ MORE

Chicago is built on convention business, and it's never going away, but the practice of booking large room blocks three to five years out limits ADR growth as meeting planners with short memories seek to extend the benefits they have accrued during the down cycle and are reluctant to give up negotiated gains when the market rebounds. This is something intrinsic to the nature of the market and just has to be dealt with as part of the cost of being in the business. It presents a challenge in setting rates for future business in uncertain times. READ MORE

The 2014-2015 winter season impacted thousands of people nation-wide. While those in the Northeast were hit with snowstorm after snowstorm (or blizzard after blizzard if you lived in Boston) and below average temperatures, folks in the South (i.e. Atlanta) found themselves in a state of emergency. If The Old Farmer's Almanac 2015-2016 prediction mirrors last year's forecasts, hoteliers must be ready for anything that winter throws at them. Whether it's winterizing your hotel's irrigation systems, fertilizing your landscape for spring, creating a snow and ice management plan, or getting your hotel ready for the holidays, there's much work to be done before the end of the year. READ MORE

The definition of excellence is ”consistently meeting right standards.” The definition contains the inseparable union of quality and ethics. Aristotle suggests that there are three legs on the stool of excellence. They are ETHOS, LOGOS and PATHOS. Ethos refers to standards and logos refers we “right” standards. Pathos refers to the passion which we must have to ensure consistency. In the previous issue we discussed ethics. In this issue we will discuss the ways in which standards are created. As we begin however one point is absolutely crucial to our discussion. READ MORE

Corporate culture and its impact on an organisation's success is a highly debated topic - especially in the hospitality industry. Throughout the past decade, travellers' needs have shifted from a desire for standardized accommodations to an environment that reflects an experiential model. A hotel stay is no longer just about a bed and breakfast - it's about living unique experiences. In this article, we explain how knowing your emotional “why” and creating a culture around it will help you deliver unique guest experiences - and will demonstrate how meetings and events can support or even help establish a company's culture. READ MORE

Many years ago, the most popular cities for international programs were London, Paris, and Rome. While these three cities are still among the most in demand, today's planners are submitting more requests to Beijing, Berlin, and Istanbul than ever thanks to their strong infrastructures and for offering great financial value given the strength of the dollar and additional factors including incredible cosmopolitan centers of culture, politics, and media. Each culture has a particular way they run events, and it is common for planners from North America to experience resistance when requests are made to “Americanize” an aspect or require something to be done in a way that is truly never seen by the host destination. READ MORE

Increasingly, team building activities are being incorporated into meetings and events of all sizes. Hotels are rising to the challenge to deliver quality onsite and offsite activities that leverage hotel and local expertise, and provide meeting attendees something unique and challenging that helps them bond and build trust with one another. As trends in the meetings industry evolve, so, too, do trends in the team-building arena. Smart meeting planners work as early as possible with their hotel partners to ensure that their goals, objectives and budget for the perfect team-building activities are met. READ MORE

I am always perplexed when a hotel sales person that has just called and introduced themselves to me tells me that their boss requires them to call everyone that sends a lead to their hotel so they can ask questions and have a relationship. To me a relationship is something that is built over time and doesn't just occur because of one exchange, interaction or sale. Is this what hotel sales has really become? Make a phone call and say you have a relationship and the deal is done? READ MORE

Human and sex trafficking, otherwise known as modern day slavery, is still the fastest growing crime industry in the world. This type of exploitation in the workforce may not be at the forefront of every hotel executive's mind, but it needs to be considering hotels are the third most common venue for sex trafficking.While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) progresses into the proverbial “business as usual” category thanks to the adoption of such legislative mandates from a number of countries, these laws do not specifically target human trafficking. These national CSR mandates can be seen as precursors to what California, and now the UK, have implemented to combat the 150 billion dollar forced labor industry. READ MORE

Insurance is one of the most vital elements in any risk management program. Due to the many potential liability and property incidents your hotel can face on a daily basis, insurance can help protect your business from physical and financial loss. With such a high degree of importance placed on your policy, it only makes sense to take a close look at the broker presenting it. Are you trusting the protection of your business to the right professional? READ MORE

In today's hospitality industry we work with a broader age range of individuals—leadership, staff and guests—than perhaps ever before. It's not uncommon for a freshly trained 20-year-old employee at a hotel property to serve a guest in his or her late 80s or even 90s. At the reverse spectrum, staff members in their 60s or beyond may be called upon to “hold the door” for a 25-year-old entrepreneur walking in with only a shoulder pack.Nor surprisingly, each generation or demographic group comes to those encounters with differing levels of experiences, skill sets and expectations. In this article, we consider the impact of generational change on our hospitality organizations. Generalizations are just that and so require care in their making but we will be considering some issues or trends that are definitely influenced by age. READ MORE

Companies like Priceline and Expedia have become even more powerful as a result of strategic acquisitions of smaller regional players. A recent report by HVS Consulting found that Priceline now controls 62 percent of the European market. Expedia holds 70 percent of the US market. The result? While OTAs offer a number of advantages to hoteliers including a wide, multi-national reach and big marketing budgets, commission rates of 15 to 30 percent are a heavy burden on hotel profit margins. OTA commissions could also go higher as larger companies acquire smaller regional competitors. Less competition amongst OTAs means fewer choices for hoteliers looking for OTA partners. READ MORE