As reservists return from active duty and deployments overseas, many of them will be seeking reinstatement in their former jobs or new employment. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides reservists and other uniformed service members with important employment rights including reinstatement and protection against discrimination. USERRA applies whether the individual's service is voluntary or involuntary. Employers, including hotel establishments, are required to comply with USERRA and provide notice to employees of their rights and obligations, as well as, notice of their employer's obligations under USERRA. This article will provide a synopsis of employee rights under USERRA. READ MORE

After years of hype and hyperbole, there is no doubt: mass-market personalization is on the way. Organizations that have already leveraged predictive technologies and testing solutions have achieved, on average, a ouble-digit increase in conversions. With more organizations looking to get in on the act, especially in the US, speed is crucial. The good news is that with the SaaS model, organizations can be up and running immediately. Add in multi-channel data, from call center and store or branch, and your business can have consistent, cross channel personalization within a quarter. READ MORE

One of the best methods for ensuring a good night's sleep is through a hard day's work. For hotel operators, though, those 40 winks are promised to the guests. The hard work, meantime, never ends. Delivering a guest experience that is compelling in every way, from the website to checkout, is not an accident, and it never goes on autopilot. Hotel managers must continually upgrade their own standards based on consistent customer feedback gathered through every guest touch point. Fortunately, technology enables us to gather and analyze data from the moment a reservation is made to the morning a guest departs. READ MORE

Satisfying a traveler encapsulates all manner of operations on your property. However, the core of this will always be person-to-person interactions between visitors and members of your staff. Therefore, a prudent exercise to heighten guest satisfaction is to breakdown your guest services into individual interactions then ensure that each and every one culminates toward a positive experience. READ MORE

Staying calm and keeping guests as comfortable and reassured as possible is no easy feat when facing an impending natural disaster. The anxiety and fear felt by our distressed neighbors and guests were also felt by my staff and I. Only through proper crisis planning can one expect to get through an event like this. The treat was coming out of it as champions! What a reinforcing reminder this event was on how much empathy plays such a big role in our industry. To serve our guests and ensure we were taking care of their most basic of needs without power in the hotel and destruction all around. Gladly, we ended up with many new friends and fans. What's the best way to handle the needs of your guests, partners, and team members? Be ready because when the power driving the technology goes away - That is truly, back to basics. Throw the book away and learn how you too, can have one of the most rewarding experiences of your career as I did by staying calm and executing a plan to deliver more than just the basic needs of your guests and team members. READ MORE

Many people are familiar with the service-profit chain concept which stipulates that engaged employees lead to loyal guests. However, the most motivated employee can become frustrated and ineffective when he or she is placed in a system that inhibits service delivery. A national study showed that most hospitality employees are tepid, at best, when offering their opinions about the service climate under which they do their jobs. Problems especially lie in the fact that employees are typically not rewarded for good service, are not empowered to resolve problems without consulting a manager, training is focused more on operations than on guest service, and managers are often out of touch with guest needs. Perhaps most critical is the fact that many hospitality organizations adhere to policies that are not guest-friendly, thereby frustrating customers. The paper offers best practices for creating a positive service climate that will allow employees to do their best to satisfy their customers. READ MORE

'Globalization' has been a buzz word in the hotel sector since the days of Conrad Hilton and his peers. For years now the quest to operate in new markets has seen hotel groups such as Accor, Hilton, IHG, Marriott, and Starwood truly become multinational players. Each week it seems one of these chains pronounces an increase to its development pipeline in one of the world's emerging economies. Starwood for example will take its current portfolio of 34 hotels in India and South Asia to over 100 hotels either open or signed up by 2015. Fairmont Raffles Hotels and Resorts will double the number of hotels open in Middle East and Africa by 2016. IHG not only has a robust development pipeline in China but has also developed a China specific brand. READ MORE

The recent economic downturn has lulled many organizations into forgetting that the United States will face a talent shortage as baby boomers approach retirement. This large cohort of employees has started or will be exiting organizations over the next few years. The birth rates of the younger generations means that companies must manage both a loss of organizational memory and implicit knowledge and also find ways to attract new workers. The author creates action-oriented tips for hospitality organizations around a three-pronged approach including attracting, cultivating and configuring to entice the best and brightest of the Millennial workers into their ranks. Rethinking strategies to attract talent will be the difference between organizational success and failure. READ MORE

The recession has challenged companies to run a leaner operation. At the same time, customers' expectations for hospitality service are higher than before. Management shifts such burdens to employees, which cause employee resentment and a higher turnover rate. Proactive employers must act immediately to keep their top talent. This paper reviews several key human resource management (HRM) functions that affect retention management. Some innovative ideas of how companies manage employee retentions are also discussed. Conclusions are made to help hospitality companies develop effective strategies in retention management. READ MORE

Hundreds of thousands of young men and women were engaged in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those wars are now over; they served our country well and now they are back from the “Sand Box”. These talented young people are now ready, willing, and able to return to work. However many of these 20- and 30-somethings are finding it impossible to find work. READ MORE

Much ado has arisen in recent conversations regarding millennials in the workforce. Academics and lodging professionals agree that this new generation of workers will present both challenges and opportunities for the hospitality industry, if not for society as a whole. The savvy operation will take a proactive approach to understanding this labor pool, what challenges them, what inspires them, and how to advantageously harness their strengths. Those who postpone embracing these young workers will elevate the complexities faced when assimilating them into their organization. This article provides suggestions from academic research, trade publication reports, and industry leader testimonials as to how we will meet the needs of our next generation of staff. READ MORE

By 2020, it is expected the Millennials—a workforce of some 80 million strong--will comprise nearly 46 percent of all workers. This implosion is changing how business is being conducted. They are a study in contrasts. Tech savvy, smart and collaborative, they are also viewed as more self-centered, narcissistic and focused on their own careers than previous generations. What are Millennials looking for from their employers? This article takes a look at this question and offers some practical tips on how to attract, train and retain this new generation of workers. Understanding what makes them tick - and how to integrate them effectively in your multigenerational teams - can pave the way for a successful future workforce. READ MORE

It has become common place for organizations to use the words above to describe their workplace as a means to establish a competitive advantage. This is perhaps emphasized even more in the hospitality industry where service is a key differentiator from the guest perspective and the attitude and performance of employees is fundamental to the brand. However, how can a great employee experience be delivered considering the internal and external pressures and the continuously changing demographics and business climates? It has become increasingly difficult for Hotel Human Resources teams to navigate through this complexity when you consider technology, economic challenges and a multi-generational population. Perhaps, however there is an opportunity to keep it simple, to keep it human and to let that be the guiding competitive advantage. READ MORE

It can't be said enough, good marketing brings about superior results. In an ever increasing world of competition, the push to make a website perform in the Search is paramount to results, but without a good marketing strategy, results will be null or even detrimental. This article will review the history of Search, what makes for good Search Engine Optimization, the keys to success in the Search, and a few of the Google's Search changes over the last year. The objective is to review great marketing tactics that can translate not only from Search Engine Optimization, but also on to other marketing efforts. READ MORE

In today's global economy, most people in the hospitality industry are working with customers and colleagues from a wide range of cultures. On one hand, hotels receive an increasing number of international travelers from all over the world. On the other hand, the industry's workforce is becoming more and more diverse as a result of immigration. This article examines how cultural differences can derail the recruiting process and create challenges even when everyone involved wants to do the right thing; it also provides suggestions that HR professionals and managers in the hotel industry can implement to recruit and integrate culturally diverse employees. READ MORE