If your hotel is 'behind the curve,' it might be time to start thinking about revitalizing your design. In addition to what you typically think about when you consider renovating, it's also important to reflect on the present condition of your wall coverings, especially in high-traffic areas such as your lobby. Creating an inviting lobby is crucial. It's an extension of your company's identity and, if it's a successful design, it can work to keep your employees and guests happy and loyal. People are usually willing to pay higher rates in exchange for a positive guest experience. READ MORE

At first blush one would think that a hotel marketing plan would equally benefit the owner of the specific hotel and the brand under which the Owner's Hotel is operated. Clearly, marketing the owner's hotel and marketing the brand benefit both the owner and the brand. However, upon closer investigation, the owner's interests and the brand's interests are quite different when it comes to “getting the word out” and marketing. Our article in this week's Hotel Business Review, " Getting the Word Out - It's all about Marketing - The Interplay between Owner's and Brand's Priorities" will delve into the commonalities and the tension between owner and brand in the marketing arena. READ MORE

In my last article we took a look at the trends evolving in the online review space in terms of review volume, management responses and the like. There were some interesting points drawn from the data and key takeaways for hoteliers on what they might expect moving forward (declining review volume if you sit back without a strategy to collect them, fewer five-star reviews, management responses are on the rise, etc.). This time around we have taken a deeper dive into what comments stand out in reviews; for better or for worse. These “Rants & Raves,” as we call them, can be a rich roadmap to informing your strategy, doing more of what resonates well and addressing the most common complaints. Seems like common sense, but as they say, common sense is not so common. READ MORE

The general mood among hotel marketers is that social media is past its prime. It had its heyday a few years ago, but has proven itself to not be a valuable marketing channel. It's understandable why some might feel that way, as it is hard to get social media to work well for your hotel. In fact, most hotels fail at social media, and get little traffic or bookings from social media. That said, there is plenty of opportunity in social media that fails to convert due to strategy and execution, rather than the nature of social media. READ MORE

While Facebook and Twitter are two of the top channels for social networking, new (and arguably, more innovative) social networking sites are launched every day that offer hotel marketers even more ways to connect with customers. This article will teach hoteliers about four additional channels that they should add into their social media marketing strategy today in order to achieve the highest ROI on their efforts. READ MORE

Excellent guest service is not about the big, bright smile, it is about the knowledge and the experience of the person providing the guest service. It is also about knowing how and where to draw help from, when in need of assistance from another colleague. This knowledge and experience is not written in any of the university books, but it is passed-on, and given to each of us by professional and experienced mentors, who in turn have been students previously. In order to preserve and/or to enhance the reputation and future growth of the industry it is also of utmost importance to preserve the knowledge and experience of service by heart, not by numbers. READ MORE

It has now been a decade since the first introduction of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and infamous data breaches of some of the nation's largest hotel chain operators have been highly publicized for years. Yet, some hoteliers across the country continue to put their businesses and their guests at risk by failing to adequately secure valuable payment and personal information. These data security do's and don'ts will help break down some of the questions and confusion in the industry, and can help lay the foundation to jumpstart your data security strategies in 2014 and beyond. READ MORE

In today's technologically advanced world, hoteliers are constantly striving to meet and stay in tune with the ever-evolving expectations of the new era of travelers. Nowadays guests are connected via smart phones and tablets non-stop, even while on vacation. They expect to have access to WIFI, social networks and all the information that they request and desire from the moment they check-into your property…and often times even before. READ MORE

In this article we will discuss some simple ways that you can enhance your already established training, to increase the opportunity of making more revenue by engaging the guest in a different way that the competition does, by using a great tool that many of us perhaps do not use as a way to analyze the bottom line in our establishments. Below you will find some great ideas that have been implemented with actual clients, having already proven to be positive and with increased revenue. READ MORE

McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2015, the Baby Boomer generation will command almost 60 percent of net U.S. wealth and 40 percent of spending. Over 40 percent of Baby Boomers will be retiring with some form of disability. A discussion of an aging customer base must focus on accommodating the changing physiological needs of these consumers. Hotel management companies, individual franchise owners, and brands must realize that the aging population and the retirement of the baby boomers will change product and service needs. Hotel owners and managers should examine the aging market and start determining what these consumers need and start tailoring products and information to suit. This article focuses on an approach to readying the workforce for the demographic shift. READ MORE

Is social media truly a distinct marketing channel OR is it simply an amplification opportunity encompassing a hotel's entire portfolio of marketing activities? How does social media integrate at every stage of the consumer travel lifecycle: from looking to beyond booking? How can hotels use social media to stay top of mind at all times, from awareness to consideration, and purchase through retention? And finally, how can hotels create a strategy that seamlessly integrates across all marketing functions to create repeatable, successful social media practices that span the entire consumer travel lifecycle? According to PhoCusWright, the number of consumers using social media networks during the travel booking process has grown from 9% to 12% from 2010 to 2012. Considering that social networking reaches nearly 1 in 4 people around the world, it's undeniable that social media plays an important role in our industry as more than just an awareness channel. READ MORE

Revenue management has evolved over the years to become more reliant on advanced technologies which promote a strategic, longer term approach to pricing and sales. However, even using revenue management to strategically price hotel rooms and ancillary services is no longer enough in today's dynamic operating environment where the way guests choose the hotel they want to stay in and what price they are willing to pay is constantly changing. It is time that hoteliers stop thinking about revenue management as it has been known, and start thinking about the next generation of revenue management strategies that are adapted for today's digital environment and take additional revenue streams into account. READ MORE

In the franchise world, there is a balance that needs to be struck between remaining true to both the brand and the business. It is understood that the franchisee is a business that must make a profit and that 'sales' are at times made at the expense of tailoring a brand to a franchisor's more immediate geographic and demographic markets. Properties that are owned, managed or franchised by subsidiaries or affiliates must maintain brand consistency and integrity. It's important to consumers. But it also needs to create some individuality. This article explains the importance of how to do both. READ MORE

2013 has been a year of debates and discussions, a year when hotel rates shot up, OTA consolidation continued, rate-parity was hotly debated and meta-search and mobile became mainstream. 2014 is expected to be brighter when it comes to demand, but what does it have in store when it comes to travel distribution? In the last few years, the hotel online distribution landscape has vastly expanded and now offer different platforms like social, mobile, last-minute, opaque and auctions apart from traditional online travel agencies. The emergence of meta-search and same-day booking sites along with the growth of mobile means hotels need to be introspect their distribution strategies for each platform. READ MORE

One of the major customer experience vendors in the hospitality space was recently conducting a study on the “NPS of NPS.” At the time of this writing the results were not known. The survey was brief and asked if you would recommend the use of Net Promoter Score (NPS) on its standard 0 to 10-point scale. Fred Reichheld, a partner at Bain & Company, introduced the concept of NPS in a 2003 Harvard Business Review article in which he proclaimed that the simple measure of consumers' likelihood to recommend the company's products or services was an accurate predictor of revenue growth. However, there's growing debate about the validity of the NPS as many believe it is too simple and too good to be true. A wealth of information and its evolution from Net Promoter Score to its current form of Net Promoter System can be found at http://www.netpromotersystem.com/about/. READ MORE