HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW

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Alan Lindquist

Hotels are overlooking the revenue opportunity of Wi-Fi. Yesterday's Wi-Fi was about minimum bandwidth for limited data devices. But today's companies need to book employee groups into hotels with sufficient bandwidth as access to data is now mission-critical. Hotels have an opportunity to charge these guests for premium speed offerings for added revenue. Additionally, current technology allows hotels to scale their bandwidth up when needed. Fast data speeds provide hotels with a compelling reason for groups to book at their hotel, and these groups are willing to pay a premium for this premium speed. Wi-Fi - it's the new revenue stream. READ MORE

Gary Cardono

What are performance-based programs and what is right for your hotel? As we all know, utility costs - especially water - are rising faster than any other costs and most budgets already have built-in escalators of 5% - 10% to account for the predicted increase in utility rates. Following the method of performance contractors, hotel owners can now obtain loans based on the “value of future savings.” This strategy is gaining traction and is now being implemented with great regularity in the public sector. This article will look at the return for your hotel to implement a performance-based program. READ MORE

Michelle Millar

As hotels continue to add green services and practices to their operations, hotels guests are taking note. In fact, more than ever, travelers consider themselves environmentally conscious and are seeking hotel products that meet their personal values about protecting the environment. A hotel that provides green services to guests is in line with those same values. Green services may include linen re-use practices, eco-friendly activities, or extensive recycling policies, to name a few. Another growing part of that equation, however, is green amenities in the guest bathroom. Green amenities are now on the top of many hotels' green to-do list. READ MORE

Leslie Glover

To subcontract or to manage hotel spa operations in-house is a question that most hoteliers will ask themselves. Knowledgeable hoteliers realize that in order to be competitive their hotel must have a spa and offer spa services, but unfortunately many often look for the easy way out. For the most part, hoteliers do not fully understand spas or their management which in many cases leads to their choosing to subcontract. There are primarily two types of subcontracting for spas today. Both types will be identified and the positives and negatives outlined. READ MORE

Cindy Woudenberg

Establishing a powerful online presence is a must for every business today, especially in the hotel industry. Developing even the most incredible website is not enough to generate or increase your business. Using a well thought out link building strategy can provide the necessary visibility for your site by providing more places for searchers to find your hotel property across the web, and boosting your search engine rankings so your prospective customers find you. Relevancy is the key to establishing a good link building strategy and establishing positioning in the Internet. READ MORE

Hillary  Bressler

Since Google Earth launched, millions of Internet users have traveled the globe in search of everything from Mount Kilimanjaro to their childhood homes, all from the comfort of their own computers. But, this popular satellite-based application is far more than a way to pass the time at work. When integrated into a website, Google Earth is a powerful tool that can boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and support the overall marketing strategy. READ MORE

Judy Singer

It amazes me that spas have been "allowed" to be "lazy assets," but now, as a response to the challenging economy, there is a necessity and sense of urgency to focus on how spas can be profitable business ventures. Developers, investors, asset managers, hotel/resort operators and directors of finance are carefully examining every department within their lodging establishment with an eye on how to deliver the spa experience in an economically logical way so the spa is profitable. As a result of careful scrutiny and due diligence, we are seeing the creation and use of spa-specific business tools to help spas attain higher levels of financial performance and profitability. The following are the key components of my simplistic approach to spa revenue maximization... READ MORE

Kristi White

For years, making decisions in revenue management and, to some extent, hotel management has been ruled by gut instinct. Revenue managers and hotel operations executives frequently justify their rate setting decisions by saying, "I have a feel for the market" or "I know what the market will do." Yet when asked for a concrete example of how they knew this, they usually have no answer. Smooth economic times are behind us and while their return is inevitable, today we must navigate challenging waters. How can you make the move from instinct-driven to data-driven business decisions? Here is a proven a six-step process... READ MORE

Rob Kall

Online travel reviews are nothing new; they have existed in one way or another for over 10 years. Sites without user reviews may become less common over the next few years, as consumers rely more heavily on others' experiences before making a decision. So how can hoteliers take advantage of this growing trend to bring in more business to their property? Easy, include customer reviews directly on your site. This article explains and analyzes the pros and cons of posting consumers' reviews of your property on your own website. READ MORE

Jeremy Rock

Wireless Internet is changing the way business gets done in the hotel industry. There's a tremendous demand for wireless access - for overnight guests and even for conferences and trade shows where video streaming, audio streaming and voice-over-IP are all competing for the same Internet pipe. It's not just for email and web surfing anymore. Wireless has also created new ways for hotels to connect with their guests to generate loyalty. Wi-Fi has become a standard amenity. It's becoming a determining factor on where guests choose to stay. But few guests would say they're happy with the current sign-up and security concerns of hotel Wi-Fi. With mobile media hitting the mainstream, hotels are eager to find affordable and non-disruptive solutions to meet guest demand for reliable, consistent in-building cellular coverage. READ MORE

Ian  Millar

For many months now the internet has not been one of the nicest places to exist. From the actions of anonymous, to the implementation of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Acts) implemented by U.S representative Lamar S. Smith, the work of the movement Antisec, and even NASA admitted early this month that Hackers gained "full functional control" of key Nasa computers in 2011, which unsurprisingly came form Chinese IP addresses. Mr Martin of NASA outlined how the agency suffered "5,408 computer security incidents" between 2010 and 2011. READ MORE

Colby Goff

Over the last five years, the wireless data world experienced fundamental changes that shifted the focus of Wi-Fi network operators from a niche market of laptop users to a mainstream base of smartphone users. The proliferation of devices and the explosion of data intensive apps have placed increasing pressure on Wi-Fi networks to support the digital lifestyle of a larger audience. This market growth is accompanied by a rise in security exploits and an increase in requests for information from government agencies. The newest opportunity in this landscape - 3G/4G data offload - presents a revenue opportunity that offsets increased operating costs and capital improvements required. READ MORE

Craig Ziegler

Ten to fifteen years ago, the need for Wi-Fi connectivity in a hotel was based on the guests' needs for basic data and voice transfer. Today, multiple technologies are converging thus creating a major stress point on bandwidth allocation. Bandwidth that was once more than sufficient is no longer efficient. With the ever- increasing demand for bandwidth via guests' personal devices and desire for video transmission, hotels must analyze the metrics between costs and ROI. The debate now becomes… does the hotel offer it free of charge, thus "eating the cost for the increased demand", or do hotels create incremental revenue through various streams to help cover the cost increase in bandwidth to deliver this content? And, if the hotel wants to increase its revenue streams, in what unique ways can it be supplemented? READ MORE

Bill  Kotrba

Is pricing in “nines” merely a 20th century pricing technique that has lost its relevance in the 21st century? The answer is like most things… it depends. One thing is certain though: the nice smooth supply/demand curves our economics teachers drew on whiteboards are nothing like real life. I recently met with executives at a large retailer and learned about price elasticity studies they have done in merchandising. The results are very interesting. It turns out price elasticity is not a nice smooth curve… it's lumpy. So how can hotels benefit from this insight? READ MORE

Julia Watson

For hoteliers, there are many variables to consider when trying to decide which is better - acquisition and renovation of an existing hotel or development of a new one? With so much to consider, it can be challenging to decipher which makes more financial sense. Objectively the end goal is to determine which will lead to profitability faster, but how is that determined? With the right plan of action to navigate the decision making process, the difficulty in reaching an educated decision can be greatly reduced. Regardless of your proposed project, there are a series of steps that can simplify the process when deciding to renovate or build. READ MORE

Coming up in March 1970...