From the moment your guests register at the front desk to the housekeeping team knocking at a guest's door, your employees are the face of your hotel. That's why so much training goes into how employees interact with customers when they check them in, clean their rooms and cook or serve their food. But it's difficult for your employees to maintain high service levels when they slip, fall or suffer strains and other injuries-all of which are a fact of life in hotels. That's one important reason to focus on employee safety and wellness. Another is the rising cost of workers' compensation insurance, medical care and claims. In this article, I'll address how hotels can combine loss control, safety and wellness programs with effective claims management to keep a smile on the face of their employees, while also driving down workers' compensation claims and costs. READ MORE

In this article, we will examine many recent observations being discussed in the world of SEO mid-way through 2013, and show how Google's algorithm has likely changed this year. Hoteliers and hotel marketers may need to adjust their SEO strategies in order to adapt to today's SEO. That said, just because we notice a trend in SEO, does not mean that the trend is an accurate or complete picture of Google's algorithm, as summed up with the famous phrase "correlation does not imply causation". Just because we see X being used on high ranking websites, for example, does not necessarily mean that Google uses X to rank websites highly. READ MORE

Revenue management is no longer just about gauging and setting the right price - it's about creating value and generating demand. Revenue management is as much about marketing to the customer and delivering ongoing quality service as it is about giving a good deal. So what is this new art of revenue management and how does it impact a hotel's product and its value? Here we talk about revenue management in relation to the various channels and their importance as well as the impact of online content, guest reviews, digital marketing and loyalty programs. READ MORE

This time of year, we are used to creepy, scary things - but your card processing costs shouldn't be one of them. However, card brand interchange fee increases in October are used by many processors to hide other charges that needlessly inflate costs and contribute to the gradual, dangerous rise of cost creep. If not monitored and managed properly, cost creep can cost hoteliers thousands of extra dollars each year, making it imperative that you understand what you are paying for - and why - and how you can control expenses. This guide offers practical tips on how you can manage various factors that exacerbate cost creep, and determine if you are being tricked or treated (well) by your payments processor. READ MORE

Revenue Management is critical to optimize an Organization's price (and value). What is its state-of-the-art and which should it be, by now? Is it just a function of Revenue Managers? Is it the sole function one needs to optimize for sustained price increases? Are Organizations really getting it as to price optimization, in a broad sense? What other bodies of knowledge are core to maximize enterprise and economic value through pricing? In a time of Big Data, a new holistic vision, brought under Revenue Management automation methods, should arise to elevate the industry to even more sophisticated levels of competitiveness through pricing. READ MORE

Rooms revenue management (RM) has been around for the past 25 years, has been widely adopted and has led to rooms revenue increases of 3 - 5%. Rooms RM systems and practices have increased in sophistication over the years as hotel operators and consulting companies have sought to fine tune the way in which they maximize revenue. READ MORE

In Part 1 of this 2-part article six defining characteristics of Gen Y and their Eastern equivalent 'Post-80's' are identified and explored with focus on how these key traits become visible within the day-to-day workings of the international hospitality industry, particularly with insight into the Greater China region. A perspective is given on how Gen Y employees may best be placed within a hospitality organization; how their skillsets may best be applied within the service industry; the kind of organizational structure and corporate cultures they may best operate under; and matters of Gen Y's values, perceptions, expectations, desires, and motivations. READ MORE

Hotspot 2.0 is a new Wi-Fi standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance that will have a significant impact on travelers. It is designed to make Wi-Fi as secure and easy to use as mobile networks. This will open up new business opportunities for hotels in the future when a critical mass of Hotspot 2.0-enabled Wi-Fi access points and devices have been rolled out. Roaming agreements will no longer exclusively be between operators but also between operator and hotel and any other organization that has a Wi-Fi network. More importantly, Wi-Fi usage will skyrocket, putting pressure on hotels to offer real carrier-class Wi-Fi services. READ MORE

Green building efforts in the hospitality industry have almost doubled since 2011 with 48% of new construction projects expected to benefit from sustainable building practices in 2013, according to a recent study, the Green Retail and Hospitality SmartMarket Report, conducted by McGraw Hill Construction. Compared to other building types, hotels have historically been major energy users. Hotels' large carbon footprints have been, in part, due to their extended hours of operation including the need to keep lights burning in public spaces and corridors day and night. Lawrence Adams explores the benefits of LEED certification with hoteliers from across the country. READ MORE

As revenue management has demonstrated success and gained visibility, the discipline has begun to evolve from a tactical, day-to-day inventory management function to a more strategic role. With revenue management systems bearing the burden of calculating pricing, revenue managers are now tasked with performing more ad hoc analyses. The temptation is to simply let the revenue management system do its job - deliver revenue maximizing, daily pricing decisions. However, by just following system recommendations, hoteliers might be missing out on some important opportunities to leverage price as a strategic tool to support longer-term business strategy. READ MORE

The question of employee motivation is a decades old one that seems to elude many companies. Fortunately or unfortunately, this can make or break a business. Science has given us new information on how to motivate and retain staff. This new data will be the method you can use to reduce your overhead and increase your profits. One company featured increased their net income by 94% because they were open to a new way of running business. Google's employees invented Gmail in their regularly scheduled free time. Seems counterintuitive doesn't it? It is not though. Companies just have to change their mindset. READ MORE

Many first generation revenue managers have been taught demand is a correlative function based on market place or external compression. At the same time, we've been taught rational pricing is the consumer's desire and willingness to pay for goods and/or services. What makes the Hospitality industry different from most other industries is variable pricing based upon demand factors. READ MORE

Total Revenue Management - thinking beyond the hotel room as a singular inventory towards optimizing all potential inventories and points of sale. Focus is now on the idea of 'Profitability per Acquired Consumer (PROFPAC). Not every consumer in a hotel is a staying guest, so how do you manage and capitalize. Have the airlines cracked this and what can the hospitality industry learn from their experiences. READ MORE

Compelling new research from Protean Hospitality Partners indicates that large percentages of business travelers do not know what hotel brands are associated with their parent chains and corresponding loyalty programs. This limited awareness has several detrimental effects on long-term loyalty, namely that brand apathy can make certain hotels more vulnerable to customer transference to direct competitors. Consumer education and subtle rebranding appear to be the most salient treatments for this issue. READ MORE

We are not talking about hurricanes, tornadoes or other natural disasters. We're talking about problems that occur a lot more frequently and can become even more costly. We're talking about guest problems. Guest problems, especially those that are not handled well, are among the most harmful things that can happen to the bottom line. Dealing with upset guests is one of the most disagreeable tasks for any hospitality professional, and potentially very harmful to the bottom line. But with the right systems in place, and the right staff training, the impact of guest problems can be minimized, and even become a source of loyalty when leveraged into opportunities. READ MORE