We came to our hospitality careers by a number of different paths. Some of us fell in love early, decided to go to a hospitality school and plotted a career up through a specific discipline. Others found ourselves in a service role that grew into a lifelong career that took us all over the world. Everyone has their story, but we all agree that the diversity of cultures, disciplines and scenery that make up our everyday work lives in hotels is one of the most exciting aspects of our daily work lives. READ MORE

In today's world, online visibility and interaction is essential to drive and retain business. Social media outlets including facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have given the ability to connect with customers in an intimate yet public fashion. Online presence has become a key tool to promote, target and eventually impact the decision making process. For a successful hotel operator, it is critical to actively respond to the feedback, which is tied into these mediums. READ MORE

What people experience with your hotel in the digital world before they arrive sets the stage for what they will expect when they come stay with you. If there's a gap, it had better be in the direction of delivering a better customer experience, not a disappointing one. There are things you can do that prime the pump, getting guests ready for an experience so good they'll want to tell all their friends. This article discusses how you can leverage the power of email, social media, and a good customer relationship management system to deliver delightful unexpected extras that cost you little but have an outsized impact. READ MORE

Any given hotel property is subject to a broad range of challenges due to changing market conditions. These competitive factors can impact occupancy rates, the room rates a property can command in the market place, the property's overall revenue stream, and, ultimately, profitability. Often times, challenges that can make a property vulnerable are independent of the overall supply of rooms in a given market. Examples include changing demographics and public safety issues, which may make a property less appealing to a portion of its traditional guest base; the move of a major employer or other entity that was a key demand generator; nearby commercial real estate transactions; swings in consumer tastes; sometimes, just a change in area roadways can make it more difficult for potential guests to reach your property. READ MORE

One of the biggest myths surrounding leadership is that it's inherent: People are born with it or they're not. But, it's not that simple. People aren't necessarily born with great leadership skills. Rather, leaders need to be shaped and molded, and organizations need to be proactive and have a commitment to develop great leaders. In the hospitality sector, where customer service can make or break a business, effective leadership is an absolute must — at every level of the organization. Especially when it comes to managing today's multi-generational workforce. READ MORE

The landscape of the Hospitality business has changed drastically in especially the past 15 years. We have shifted from “gracious hospitality” as a means to increase profitability to “analytics and metrics.” It is simply not the same business that it was back in “the good old days.” Some of the change was needed to raise the bar of our industry to a level of sophistication that it lacked, but some of it has just gone too far, forgetting what the hallmarks of Hospitality are all about. READ MORE

Nelson Mandela said it best…”it always seems impossible until it's done.” Mr. Mandela was a man who understood that only through aligning people to a higher purpose could the greatest accomplishment of his generation be achieved for South Africa. He was the kind of leader who understood that within each of us is a common need. As he said: ”for to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” This was a truly inspiring, compelling and engaging vision for his people. READ MORE

Quite the buzzword in today's literature, 'millennial' is often associated with words such as 'narcissism' and 'entitlement' - generalizations that may or may not be entirely accurate. A simple internet search of 'millennials in the workplace' will display nearly one million results advising you as to best practices in 'dealing with' this new generation of workers. Much of these publications focus heavily on the problems and challenges associated with this new labor pool. It stands to reason, however, that it is futile to spend one's time complaining about the millennial generation, when one should instead focus on how to successfully work with this generation. READ MORE

This article looks at how hotels in ski resorts are having to offer their guests more than just skiing and snowboarding these days in order to keep them satisfied. In fact, an analysis of market trends suggests that an increasing proportion of those who take winter sport holidays on a regular basis do not ski at all. Also, avid skiers are typically skiing less. As a result, winter resorts, and the hotels operating in them, have realized that they have to offer more activities - both on- and off-snow. The article provides examples of two hotels responding to these trends. READ MORE

I'm an experiential traveler, looking for different types of places to stay depending on the nature of the trip. I'm not brand-loyal. What matters to me is how the place I choose to stay in fits my needs, so service and distinctiveness matter to me more than familiarity. Community matters to me, too. I like to feel at home wherever I am. I also want to stay in a place that surprises me - pleasantly. I book trips different ways, too. READ MORE

Big data has become a big buzzword. Like any buzzword, all of the talk about big data has created big confusion in the marketplace, and it can be easier to tune it out than to take it on. The reality is, whether you want to call it big data or not, there are now new opportunities to take advantage of data to drive decision making and ultimately competitive advantage. Identifying these opportunities and understanding what to do about them is the challenge facing hotel managers today, particularly in revenue management. It is time for some plain speaking and practical advice about this complex phenomenon. READ MORE

If you haven't heard of the “Internet of Things” (IOT), remain calm - you are not alone. But, all hotel owners, managers as well as the hospitality industry ecosystem (architects, construction companies, furniture suppliers, technology providers, etc.) should be aware of the revolution in the years ahead being powered by IOT technology. IOT will become as ubiquitous as tablets and smartphones and will impact hotel operations and the guest experience. And with 26 billion connected IOT devices by 2020, you would be wise to become IOT-savvy. READ MORE

Far too many business leaders in the hospitality industry today are failing to invest in one of the most critical aspects of a successful business - their leaders of tomorrow. Most hotel executives recognize the importance of leadership in building the long term success of their business. Yet, many executives fail to develop their managers of today into great leaders that will successfully drive and guide the future of the business tomorrow. With guests raising the bar and demanding more every year, the ongoing success of your properties is ultimately determined by the recruiting, hiring, development, and retention of your future leaders. READ MORE

Employee engagement is the secret sauce that sets leading companies apart. Employee engagement, profit, growth, client satisfaction, and solid leadership by themselves are not sustainable. These outcomes are from something bigger: purpose. Having purpose is the magic dust for organizations. Employees tend to be happier, healthier and more productive when they feel a sense of purpose in their work. Employee engagement strengthens when employers explain how their employees are contributing to the success of the business. READ MORE

It's All About Leadership: A 2013 global C-suite study by the IBM Institute for Business Value suggests that, by a pretty wide margin, the top two concerns of Chief Human Resource Officers are 1) talent development and 2) employee engagement and commitment, outcomes that are influenced more (much more) by the quality of leadership at a person-to-person level, than organizational attraction. The operative precept here is that our employees don't always get to choose the manager they report to, but they choose daily which ones they're going to come back tomorrow and exert real effort for. READ MORE