United States immigration laws provide ample opportunities for American businesspersons to thrive despite current economic conditions. Specifically, the Immigration and Nationality Act's (INA) EB-5 program allows foreign investors to funnel their resources into local business projects in exchange for visas. Notably, the hospitality industry has achieved unprecedented success from EB-5's attractive provisions, with its latest projects largely funded by millions in foreign capital. As a result, hotel and resort owners are strongly encouraged to visit their local regional centers and take advantage of the laundry list of opportunities still available to market to overseas investors. READ MORE

With the earn-and-burn rate of loyalty programs slipping, hotels are looking for innovate ways to engage guests in their loyalty programs and drive point redemption. From incorporating corporate social responsibility, games, and more experiential awards into their strategies, several hotels are blazing new trails in guest loyalty. READ MORE

In this article I will try to explain the recent efforts by local governments to develop green business programs in partnership with resident companies. These programs not only help the communities present a better image of themselves, but can also be a leveraging tool for property owners and managers interested in defining a new niche within local and national markets. I will also provide a few reasons why these programs can benefit the hospitality industry and actions that property managers and owners can take to make these partnerships improve their market position. READ MORE

How do your best customers feel when their reward reservation is mysteriously cancelled while on a weekend getaway…and your brand's reward office is closed until Monday? Chances are, not too good. One too many service disconnects like this will make your guests rethink just how "elite" they really are. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, how are you creating a world-class experience for your best guests? Heightening the service level at every stage - from corporate to property level - may help you keep your best guests' heads in your beds. READ MORE

Before the boom of social media, hotels could attract bookings based on brand, loyalty programs, location and price. Today, recommendations and reviews are driving more bookings that anything else. So how can savvy hoteliers drive sales and loyalty in this new era of user-generated content? This article will examine practical steps hotels can take to drive loyalty and describe how leading hoteliers are winning over guests on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. READ MORE

Many marketers mistakenly equate loyalty with rewards. Loyalty, however, denotes advocacy and commitment, not a points-based reward scheme. This belief is supported by the June 2010 Cornell Hospitality Report which contends that loyalty programs focusing on price-oriented rewards actually encourage more comparison shopping as customers seek out the most profitable loyalty program benefit. The points system, says the report, promotes loyalty to the best offer, not loyalty to the brand. READ MORE

Online guest feedback is one of the biggest opportunities hotel companies have today for improving product quality and maximizing revenue. Yet too many hotel executives do not have the adequate supporting technology to take advantage of this opportunity. This article will provide some criteria to help you select a tool that fits your needs. READ MORE

In the recent months Google has been trying out new projects and applications at an almost feverish pace. They seem to have made the transition from using names that made no sense in relation to the project (Google Hot Pot) to taking a page from Prince's playbook and going with a symbol that throws wrenches into grammatical structure and HTML code (Google+). You may be asking yourself these questions: what is Google+, what relationship does it have with the Google +1 Button, what are Circles, what is a Hangout, and most importantly, how do I get involved in this? READ MORE

It is important for the public relations and marketing industry to continue moving forward as the world of media and technology changes, updating yesterday's strategies and tactics to ensure that we, as marketing professionals, are most effective at spreading the word for our clients, our companies or our brands. So to help you to update your PR strategies, here are three ways to rethink your outdated hotel marketing and media strategies and become more effective at generating consumer interest and inspiring action (i.e. bookings). READ MORE

Are your employees masters of their crafts? How well do you think they are meeting your standards when you're not around? Developing your employees into true masters of their crafts requires holding them accountable to your hotel's standards. By offering up reinforcement that encourages the right behaviors and providing corrective coaching when your standards aren't being met, you can teach employees how to provide a guest experience that keeps people coming back, and even make your job a little easier. Jesse Boles of FreemanGroup tells you how to make the most of your ongoing training efforts. READ MORE

They're entering our hotels every day! They're not going away! They number in the millions! We're not talking about bedbugs! We're talking about Generation Y, and they're entering your hotels as employees, guests, suppliers, conference attendees, wedding guests, and vendors. And they're not going away. Your hotel's success will be dependent on knowing how to embrace them, communicate with them, hire them, engage them, and recognize and reward them. I use to tell my managers "treat people they way they you want to be treated! The new message is "treat people the way they want to be treated." READ MORE

Buying Groups, also known as Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) have been around for almost a century, and provide value to a number of industries, including Hospitality. The concept behind Buying Groups is laudable - small, independently run businesses can combine their purchasing power to negotiate better discounts traditionally only available to major enterprises. By participating in a Buying Group, businesses can theoretically save on purchasing costs by 'outsourcing' their purchasing capabilities to a Buying Group. READ MORE

How does the ADA community affect your bottom line? Is your property ADA compliant? Beyond compliant, is it actually ADA friendly? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this demographic (the ADA community) has more than $175 billion in discretionary spending power. The business owners and hospitality properties that recognize the ADA community and their potential revenue contributions, surely have the edge. Such companies are working hard to be not just ADA compliant but truly ADA friendly. They are making a difference, while capturing some of the revenue dollars that affect their bottom line. READ MORE

Hotel CRM, loyalty programs, reward points and status levels can significantly boost customer retention and long-term brand loyalty. Even better, these programs give hotel marketers and on-the-ground team members deep levels of personalized data on guests that can be used to significantly improve their experience from the time of booking to the time of checkout. Your digital assets are the perfect lynchpin for achieving an exceptional guest experience. But there are a few steps to aligning business objectives with customer needs. READ MORE

With brand presence on the internet being almost universal, the hospitality space has become increasingly competitive. This, coupled with the fact that price and location are major drivers in the booking decision, means that securing loyalty to any one brand is a challenge. The recent economic downturn saw many travel providers leveraging their loyalty programs in an effort to stimulate bookings and brand loyalty. And while 2010 saw a consistent increase in the share of loyalty program members, the end result is that travelers are members of multiple programs and loyalty is a fragmented commodity. This underscores the need for hospitality providers to stimulate loyalty in other ways and continuously differentiate themselves so that they remain front and center in the consumer's brand consideration set. READ MORE