For most hotels, the goal of increasing hotel revenue is a never ending challenge. This has been proven especially tough for hotels that are no longer the newest kid on the block. What if there was a tool that can help? When faced with the recession and the struggle of an older hotel in a rapidly growing hotel market in Chicago, the COO of Kokua Hospitality, Phil Tufano, saw a need for a revenue management solution to help drive revenue for hotels. Accordingly, Kokua developed a custom design proprietary system called RM Advantage. Now results are available to support how the RM Advantage has helped maximize hotel performance for the DoubleTree Magnificent Mile. READ MORE

Many times the word of sourcing and purchasing food from local vendors has been romanticized in the imagination of restauranteurs and restaurant patrons of a long gone world with the farmer bringing his freshly harvested goods and crops to the back door of the kitchen to be inspected personally by the Chef where a handshake cements a partnership that represents all that is good to be served and savoured! This is a wonderful dream, now we must quickly return to the real world, where product sourcing, time and menu creation need to be quick, cost efficient, and most of all profitable. This article explains how to get the best of both worlds and most importantly your dining guests can expect and enjoy the best of local purchase on an affordable scale. READ MORE

Turks & Caicos is a destination synonymous with white sand beaches and beautiful turquoise blue waters, so the concept of “eating local” here evokes an array of ocean-to-table fare. Before farm-to-table had become trendy, or even discussed, local seafood available right off our shores had always been a staple of our Island diet. While common knowledge may dictate that Caribbean islands rely mostly on imported food, the truth in Turks & Caicos is that there are bountiful resources both in our seas and on land. At Grace Bay Resorts, and our Providenciales properties Grace Bay Club and West Bay Club, we have always enjoyed sharing the Islands' unique culinary traditions with visitors. READ MORE

If you walk into a full-service hotel today, one of the first things you may see is either a coffee bar, or a mini-mart in the lobby. What you may not see is a traditional three meal a day, all-purpose dining room. This change of scenery is emblematic of the evolution of food and beverage offerings at U.S. hotels. Consumer and financial factors have both contributed to this change. A rising number of new travelers are seeking communal experiences similar to what they partake in back home. Sitting in a coffee shop atmosphere with internet access is more appealing than sitting by yourself in a large dining room or your guest room. The ability to serve yourself and control your own time has given rise to the popularity of grab-and-go mini-markets in full-service hotel lobbies. READ MORE

In today's global marketplace, food and beverage operations are faced with a myriad of challenges to meet their guest's expectations while maintaining a profitable bottom line. Sourcing local food and beverage ingredients that meet the needs of the organization as well as the demands of the guest is increasingly important in this competitive landscape. Understanding the term local and how it is defined in your organization, identifying your guest's expectations and key drivers, and assessing various sourcing options and selecting the best method for the needs of your organization are critical components for creating a successful local food program. READ MORE

Total Revenue Performance is the intelligent calibration of demand across all hotel functions to meet overall business objectives. It is the ability to instantly and systematically decide which business to accept across multiple revenue streams at all times, based on greatest overall value to the asset. This kind of holistic approach to revenue management considers not only guest room rates or availability but also a myriad of other sources, including revenue streams across your business and other data, such as social media and sales data.. This article outlines those practical tips for forecasting, pricing, optimizing and managing total hotel revenues, allowing you to determine your readiness for a Total Revenue Performance approach to your business. READ MORE

Finding the right people to fill leadership roles in hotels, companies or facilities can provide a challenge. For hospitality companies that aren't using a recruiter to fill key roles, the following are four traits that can help hotel leaders identify the right people, along with suggested interview questions that might help to identify whether these traits are present in a candidate. After all, some people can ace an interview, but may not ultimately be a fit. Using the approach below should help you build a management team that functions efficiently, limits turnover, and most importantly, keeps guests coming back for more. READ MORE

Hotel executives offer guests many things, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, in an effort to showcase a property's locale or a resort's accommodations. They invest in technology and security, as well as convenience and privacy. But the one thing every hotelier can highlight - the one concept that does not require consultants, engineers, designers and approval from various boards of directors - is family-friendly fun. That commodity is a matter of will, not money, where a hotel appeals to parents and children alike. The rewards can be substantial because there is something for everyone. That is a hotel executive's ideal scenario. READ MORE

When approached to launch a farm to table concept at a leading hotel in Mexico City, Las Alcobas, recently named #1 hotel in Mexico by Conde Nast Traveler, I considered it an opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. After relocating to Mexico's vibrant city capital, I spent a year traveling and eating through the country, sourcing and becoming familiar with its most unique resources and ingredients. My familiarization and education of the city, clientele and regionally sourced products have all played an intricate part in the development of Anatol, Las Alcobas' restaurant. Each season, I introduce a completely unique menu based on the farm to table concept, through the use of local and well-sourced high quality ingredients combined with organic planting and flavors of comfort. READ MORE

For many years farm to table and sourcing local produce has been a hot topic in the food industry. More recently this trend is making its way into the hotel kitchen. Smart Chefs are trying to find ways to incorporate this trend for many reasons, quality control, fresher organic ingredients and happier customers. Most importantly however, it's the social economic benefits that the movement has, that are finding growing support and appeal from many of today's Chefs. READ MORE

Opening the Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place as executive chef was a dream-come-true for me. I've been working in this business for over 15 years, and my hard work and dedication paid off. I had the opportunity and challenge to set up a brand new property from square one. With so many things to do, I wanted to make sure that I was able to implement all of the things that are important to me as a chef - one of them being the use of local ingredients. Being in Jupiter presented me with an entirely new set of challenges as I was unfamiliar with the area before beginning this position, and I really had no starting point to work with. With no contacts in the area I started with what I knew. READ MORE

Solutions to food waste are showing up in the trendiest of eateries, generating interest, great PR, earned media and good will. Chefs are boasting tip to tail and root to stalk menus with a waste not want not philosophy. Creativity and innovation abound adding interest and new flavors to menus. Chefs are educating guests on the value of baking bread today and serving bread pudding tomorrow as the wisdom of their grandparents is being revisited, and compelling restaurant narratives emerge. READ MORE

Technology is no longer a mantra or a false idol for the hospitality industry. Hotel executives need not prostrate themselves before the almighty writers of code and the masters of programming, as if these men (and a minority of women) can bless or curse a company with nothing more than a mouse click or the “three-finger salute” of Control-Alt-Delete. Their power - their monopoly of information - is over. For, if you seek the future of this industry, look at the mobile device before you. Look at the smartphone in your pocket or the tablet on your lap because, on the other side of that screen, is the world. READ MORE

Monitoring and responding to travelers' comments on social media is now a must for hotels. Guests tell the world, in cyberspace, about the good and bad on their stays at properties. By promptly addressing complaints, along with providing relevant content in travel-related social networking communities, savvy brands can increase occupancy and revenue - and even build loyalty. We look at tools and tactics for effective “social listening.” READ MORE

For the first time ever retail sales at restaurants ($50.48 billion) were higher than retail sales at traditional grocery stores ($50.47 billion) in January 2015, according to the American Enterprise Institute. Hotel guests make up a large portion of those restaurant diners. Hotel guests are a somewhat captive audience since we know that they will eat our virtually every meal. They have two options: eat in at the hotel, or head to a restaurant off hotel property. While these diners may be filling the seats of on-property eateries and off-property local and national restaurants, it's likely that few truly recognize the hard work it takes to operate a successful restaurant day in and day out. READ MORE