Improved supply chains and demand for convenience have made it too easy for us to overlook a wide variety of quality local food and drink providers. Not to mention that we're all busy and tend to forget what's right under our noses. These factors have actually backfired and had a tremendous negative impact on our local economies, which are now stagnating. Buying locally-made food and drink is a win-win-win. It's usually healthier for you, usually tastes better and it helps keep more cash invested locally, thereby helping to prevent economic stagnation. READ MORE

Customer value extends far beyond the table or the restaurant itself. Restaurateurs have the opportunity to create customer value from the first contact, whether that means a telephone reservation or an electronic order or reservation. The restaurant operator's decision of whether to permit electronic ordering or to accept reservations via the web depends on numerous factors, including balancing guest preferences against the cost of participating in third-party reservation sites. Studies of consumers who have made electronic reservations find that those who prefer the web tend to be younger customers who dine out more frequently than others. READ MORE

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf. This quote truly reflects the focus we take to the culinary programs at every Montage Hotel & Resort. Our focus on dining is one of our brand pillars, with a spotlight on delivering the best possible experience for our guests. Each restaurant has been carefully crafted to take inspiration from their environment -- whether beach, city or mountain -- incorporating a sense of spirit and place into the design and cuisine. In turn, our offerings have blossomed into attractions in and of themselves. We focus on execution and meticulousness and have created a recipe based on three-prongs defining our daily course. READ MORE

Expand your hotel's online reach and influence with a carefully crafted blog that allows you to generate fresh and exciting content on a regular basis. Through a blog, you can share information about your destination, your property, your hotel's history and story on a personal level, rather than within the standard confines of your branded site. Despite the endless topics to write about, one of the pitfalls that many hotels face is running out of content ideas or not knowing how to make each post exciting enough for readers to come back for more. Here, I'll share 10 writing tips to make sure you're producing a blog that will stand out amongst the rest, while keeping readers and followers excited about your content. READ MORE

Bringing in an operator, restaurateur or celebrity chef to provide food and beverage service in a hotel can provide immediate and significant benefits for a hotel and its guests. Hotel owners and operators use the experience, vision and creativity of third party food and beverage providers to generate attention, energy and business for hotel properties. Further, while hotels brand their properties and earn their reputations over decades, pockets of a hotel property can be made available to third party food and beverage providers to create a more immediate change in brand direction or environment. Despite the lure, however, chemistry and contract details are important. READ MORE

All the initiatives you have bottled up in pursuit of the dream combined with all of the finances set aside to provide the security become the tightrope of emotion. Never at anytime were there naysayers or negative comments, only the pride seen in their faces or the confidence to accomplish a plan. You see small business today is not what it was days, weeks and years ago, because the environment always changes. Self employed gets you recognition, but does not get you financing. Self employment is only you to direct your time. READ MORE

Throughout the online travel process-from browsing to booking-customers are telling you a lot with their online behaviors. The real question for you is: are you doing everything you can to put them at the core of your business? Because the companies that do listen will see revenues and loyalty skyrocket. READ MORE

It's the small things that matter. Big things come in small packages... it's the little things that count. This is especially true in the hospitality industry. The littlest efforts can make the biggest impressions. They show a degree of caring in the most simple and mundane of gestures and that everyday life moments matter... even when away from home or office. I call it "Pineapple Service" based on the pineapple serving as a symbol of a warm welcome and hospitality tracing all the way back to the days of Christopher Columbus and early days in the Americas. READ MORE

The Hyatt Regency Atlanta and its Executive Chef know how to satisfy Meeting Planners hungry for innovative breakout ideas. The hotel offers over 180,000 square feet of meeting space is embracing its Southern roots and allowing its experts to run the show with interactive and learning-based breakouts. According to information provided by Elizabeth Mann, Sales Manager for an Atlanta Destination Management and Corporate Event Planning Company, Juice Studios, there is an increase in demand for meeting breaks that not only incorporate refreshments for attendees but also an interactive learning experience. She also said planners are presenting the challenge to keep corporate groups entertained and enlightened between breaks in meetings while integrating the current and evolving food trends. READ MORE

A restaurant can be a great asset to a hotel - it presents an additional source of revenue, adds to the bottom line, and is an attractive feature for guests. Operating a restaurant from within a hotel ensures a certain amount of business will be coming your way. Over the years, however, hotel restaurants have gotten a bad reputation for putting out subpar food. With the right marketing, within the hotel and outside of it, restaurateurs can influence the amount of business coming in beyond hotel guests. READ MORE

From the guest's experience to the food delivery, in-room-dining can often be challenging for hotel chefs. Every step of the in-room-dining process should be considered because even if the menu is designed to perfection, poor execution often comes at the cost of an unsatisfied guest. Guest needs, seasonality of the ingredients and food quality at the time of delivery can individually or collectively jeopardize a happy returning guest. Using some of my own experiences, this article provides best practices that I have implemented to create a flawless execution for in-room-dining. READ MORE

How can it be possible for an existing hotel, like the Marriott West Loop, by the Galleria, in Houston, to operate Food and Business as a venture enterprise? It seems, at this point, a bit counter intuitive. The hotel has been around since the mid-70s and has had a kitchen, restaurant, catering, bar and room service all that time. How, then, could it still be considered a venture enterprise? First, let's consider the definition of a couple of the terms. An enterprise is a business that is providing some good or service. A venture is something that is speculative or uncertain. A venture enterprise is a business that is operating “with some risk in expectation of gain.” Food and Beverage operations for hoteliers are, in fact, risky propositions every single day. READ MORE

Trimming expenses is a critical concern to most businesses in a tough economy, but efforts to cut payroll costs can present legal pitfalls. The use of independent contractors is such an example. Some employers consider using independent contractors as a cost savings measure, but misclassification of workers is illegal under federal law and also under many state laws. Federal and state governments are cracking down on these and other cost saving practices, including improper use of tip credits and fluctuating workweek payment methods. It is important to know and avoid these pitfalls. READ MORE

“Please come again soon.” Whether written on traditional storefront signage, or in the unspoken mindset of hoteliers, front desk staff and everyone else on down to the bellhop and parking attendant, you can be sure that professionals in the hospitality industry want your repeat business and “please come again soon” is foremost in their thoughts. While mobile technology in the form of smartphones and tablets have in large ways come to define the pre-trip and in-trip experience across a host of industries, from airlines, to entertainment, to retail, post-trip has largely been ignored. Especially in our still-struggling economy, retaining loyal guests is in many ways far more critical than attracting new ones - and mobile devices are fast proving themselves the ultimate post-stay emissary. Read on to learn how mobile devices are helping cultivate the continuing customer experience -long after the bill has been paid and before the next trip is booked. READ MORE

Do online training activities help travel agents to sell more and earn more? Are travel agents worldwide aware that Ministries of Tourism do provide them with online training activities? With the fast growth and development of information and communication technologies (ICT), the world of tourism and hospitality management has been deeply reorganized. This article explores the perception travel agents have of the online training courses created ad-hoc for them by Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) with the aim of providing DMO representatives hints to improve the courses and the travel agents' eLearning experience. READ MORE