Meeting and conference rooms are an untapped source of revenue for hotels when it comes to wireless, and demand is on the rise. Meeting room wireless can help set you apart from competitors. It's also quickly becoming a must-have amenity, one that has to perform well - fast Internet speeds, easy to access, simple login (no multiple logins) no matter how many devices one user brings with them - to provide a great user experience. This is good news for the hospitality industry, as un-wiring your meeting rooms can create new revenue streams, boost your brand and give you a competitive edge. READ MORE

Each year, the spa industry is inundated with what's hot and what's not. Maintaining awareness of the growing spa and wellness concerns of your guests will help continue to shape and evolve your spa over time, but it's easy to get caught up in trends. As leaders in the spa industry, we need to examine which initiatives work with our particular needs, assets and, most importantly, our guests. This article looks to shed more light on how to make trends work for you and your spa. READ MORE

As the spa industry continues to grow, so do the spa trends and offerings which, given how spas have become an integral part of the hotel industry's customer experience, also translate into the hotel and hospitality scene. The challenge for the spa industry is to identify the shifts and opportunities available for business growth. For instance, spas are responding to the growing “mind, body and spirit connection” trend by incorporating more results-oriented treatments and experimenting with inspirational programming. As this shift toward healthy living is increasingly important to all types of guests and travelers, spas are beginning to shed their reputation as “pamper palaces.” READ MORE

Having you recently directed the Spa Department to increase the spa's bottom line revenue? Would you like to have the spa's experience and reminders of the experience continue when your guests leave the spa and your property? The bottom line for spa retail is that it will increase the overall business and the spa's bottom line with careful attention to development, planning and operations. Following are brief points on the art of successful spa retail. READ MORE

Think you know what the 'Lo' in SoLoMo stands for? Think again. Spelled out as Social, Local, Mobile, too often the 'Lo' in SoLoMo is thought of as strictly location-based initiatives. But what about the actual locals living in a hotel's proximity? For hotel brands looking to ultimately attract, engage and retain a much wider audience, locals are ideal "test guests" - proving that if you can't appeal to your "home team" then you're unlikely to win over out-of-town converts. In other words, "local" and location-based marketing aren't simply about performing a search for "hotels in Nashville" or researching "Vietnamese restaurants near New York's Plaza Hotel." The following article examines how hotels are beginning to better engage a traveling subset that recent data shows has largely been overlooked and how hoteliers who find themselves late to the localizing bandwagon can adapt their own tactics accordingly. READ MORE

With analysts suggesting that 50-70% of all hotel bookings start with search, your SEO strategy is on the front line of increasing your revenue, occupancy and ancillary bookings like spa, dining and tours. Follow these 14 detailed points to supercharge your hotel's visibility strategy and see bookings increase from 37-100%. READ MORE

You don't have to be a digital rocket scientist to pick up some extra online bookings. I have outlined 10 easy ways that you can get started at your own property. Things have become so competitive these days when it comes to search engine marketing and social media. In some ways it reminds me of the early days of The Olympics when some countries allowed professionals while Team USA continued to send our best younger players from college. READ MORE

Effectively streamlining the contract negotiating process will allow sales leaders the ability to efficiently maximize time, as well as a chance to earn respect and credibility with their clients. Open communication will foster an understanding for what motivates each party, thus creating a foundation from which both parties can build upon. In the end, the best deal will result when both parties are satisfied with the timely negotiation process and agreed upon contract terms. READ MORE

As The Spa Association (SPAA)fully kicks off its Green Certification Program for facilities and products as it seemed fitting to review the history of green and the objective determinants of green building, interior, operations and product design. While it seems a daunting task to take the leap from conventional to alternative, sustainable and efficient, the transition isn't as difficult as it may seem and the returns are immediate and significant. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between making a guest room more energy efficient as opposed to making a treatment room and spa facility efficient. It is a beautiful thing to go green throughout the facility including the spa READ MORE

In the world of the spa industry it goes without saying that how you execute your service is just as if not more important than the service itself. Being a 5 star property comes with its own rewards; however it also comes with an enormous amount of expectation. As my leaders always say, it's not the chandelier or the expensive furniture that our guests are going to remember, it's our people. The question always gets asked, what is the difference really between 5 stars, 4 stars or even 3 star properties. And the golden answer is not tangible. It is not something you can put your finger on. READ MORE

Want to improve your spa market share? Want to create more exposure for your spa with no or low expenditure? Want some new ideas for your spa team to action to build revenue? Inspire your spa team with creative ideas shared from an industry veteran, spa branding expert and spa consultant in the new economy. There are always ways to market your services, build your spa retail sales and motivate your team to sell themselves and we share many ideas with you to drive your revenue and profit. READ MORE

From “pampering” to “wellness-promoting” and a “necessity,” spas have had to update their message, purpose, consumer benefits and value in order to appeal to the growing and ever-evolving consumer markets. In an age of economic uncertainty and in a marketplace where increasingly savvy customers have access to immediate and abundant information, spa professionals have shifted their positioning message to remain relevant, accessible and engaging. READ MORE

People are loyal to great brands without thinking about them - their relationship with the brand is based on a deep, unconscious, sense that this brand can be trusted to fulfill their needs. People don't think about the beer brand they choose; they don't think about the washing powder they use and in a few cases they don't think about the hotel they prefer to stay in (Four Seasons, for example). This deep emotional engagement is not coincidental, and can be earned by any hotel or hotel chain, operating anywhere at any level. This article explains how unconscious branding works and offers six intriguing ways to start on the path to unconscious engagement. READ MORE

The perception of the role of a salesperson is often inaccurate. This article explores why people will avoid poor salespeople who seem out for their own personal gain at every opportunity. But true salespeople who actually add value to the client interaction are priceless. Do your spa employees have the right tools to help them increase your revenues? Read how a few key questions can add to your top line. READ MORE

Ecotourism is reported by the World Tourism Organization to be the fastest growing market in the tourism industry. At least 35 countries with at least one unique environmental rating system exist and each with nuances and assessment methodologies specific to that country's climate, economy, building technology and culture. It has become environmental Babel. International hotel developers need a common environmental benchmark to evaluate properties. The development of standardized international rating tools and metrics is a critical next step in the maturation of environmental assessment. READ MORE