The hospitality industry was not immune to the challenges that many organizations faced in the past year. Benefit cuts, layoffs and restructuring are just a few of the hurdles that were encountered in 2009. As hospitality employers look ahead to the coming months, they will remain cautious with their hiring plans, but they do plan to add more headcount than they did last year. According to CareerBuilder's hospitality hiring forecast, 12 percent of hospitality companies plan to add full-time employees this year; compared to only 5 percent who said the same in 2009. Temporary hiring - often a positive indicator of future full-time recruitment - is also forecasted to increase with 22 percent of companies saying they will bring on part-time help. READ MORE

Today the hospitality industry is dominated by a handful of large international hotel chains. Like other industries, consumers continue to look to recognizable brands for comfort, value, dependability and quality. Learning to "go local" and break away from "corporate uniformity" does not mean abandoning the value of a national reservation and incentive program, but it does require an understanding that, in today's market, appearing to be part of a "larger enterprise" is not always the most effective way to increase market share in the industry. A combination of marketing that includes utilization of branding programs and corporate good will, with more personalized local services and unique experiences, is necessary. READ MORE

The relatively young hotel and resort segment of the spa industry continues to develop and mature as guests become more spa savvy and managers are held responsible for achieving higher performance. As owners/developers invest more heavily in spa facilities, and property managers become more aware of spa revenue opportunities, everyone is taking notice of this once quiet sector. While simply having a spa doesn't necessarily drive revenue, being smart about its development and operations can mean the difference between a profitable spa and an amenity spa. READ MORE

In today's world there are many reasons for including a spa in the hotel footprint. Spas are no longer built simply as a differentiator. Spa has become a revenue generator and a guest expectation, leaving many owners and investors asking the question. "How much space do I really need to secure a place in the spa market, add value to the asset and meet the needs of my guest?" Hypothetically the answer is a simple one. The minimum square footage required to build a spa complete with locker rooms is approximately 4,000 square feet. However, we all know the simple answer is not always the best solution, so the question becomes 'what is best for the project?' There are generalizations we can use to address this simplifying the process and find a starting point. READ MORE

Spas and spa- related services are generating mass-market appeal while at the same time developing a sophisticated consumer who frequents spas and seeks a particular experience. This experienced spa consumer, frequently found in the luxury segment, makes travel and wellness decisions based on larger lifestyle and individual needs. While this segment is growing more and more aware of lifestyle wellness spas, the broader population is being introduced to spa services through the resort industry, the cruise ship industry and the local day spa. Because guests' spa needs shift and develop as they begin to become more comfortable in a spa environment, it is evident that each segment of the spa industry feeds the others leading to the conclusion that hotel companies can be in all of the spa markets in the same way they operate in various hotel markets. READ MORE

According to the recently released report, "The Global Spa Economy 2007,"* the international spa economy is estimated to be worth a staggering $255 billion per year, $46.8 billion of which are directly related to spa services and operations. Suffice to say, the spa industry has grown tremendously in the past several years as demand throughout the world continues to increase. As developers, owners and hoteliers look beyond their own borders in which to invest and operate, it becomes increasingly important to understand the various markets and their implications on specific spa operations. Whether you are making a forray into new markets, or simply trying to market your existing location to a more international audience, the complexities, sensitivities and expectations for spa around the world will vary considerably, and proper attention should be paid to the nuances in order to ensure success. READ MORE

Typically, the spa business is relatively slow to embrace new ways of doing things. Perhaps this is due to its centuries-old roots of tradition and culture. Yet an increasing number of top-performing spas are embracing technology for reservations, booking, CRM and outbound marketing. The beauty is you don't have to be a tech-guru to take advantage of what's being offered, what it does and how it can help your spa. In this article we look at how technology can have a positive impact on guest marketing and brand loyalty initiatives. Attention is paid to a handful of specific suggestions that can have a positive impact on guest traffic in the spa. READ MORE

There is no end to surveys proving that people change jobs for a variety of subjective and objective reasons, most of which have nothing to do with pay. All that having been said, executive recruiters know one great truth: While candidates have been known to decline high-paying jobs, few will accept low-paying ones. Many employers, nonetheless, find it increasingly difficult to offer superior candidates superior salaries. That's because salary ranges have fallen victim to disappearing merit budgets, the flattening of corporate organization charts and the growing emphasis on pay-for-performance incentives in place of high base pay. Hiring managers and HR professionals can address this challenge by keeping three compensation principles in mind: (1) there is more to compensation than salary; (2) not all components of compensation serve the same purpose; and (3) different kinds of organizations need different kinds of compensation plans. READ MORE

Because good interviews help ensure successful hires, they should be conducted with the same foresight and finesse that one would bring to a major sales meeting, union negotiation, security analyst conference or board of directors presentation. To paraphrase a well-known saying, an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure. READ MORE

No candidate is likely to possess every characteristic you desire, nor may the best qualified (on paper) of three or four finalists prove to be the best fit for your organization. Ultimately, we hire those whom we like - and the more inclusive we can be at the beginning of the search, the more exclusive we can be at the end. READ MORE

It's the 'Main Event' - the face-to-face interview - at which new careers will be launched or left at the dock. The employer is deciding whether to extend a job offer, while the candidate is deciding whether to accept one if offered. This is clearly an interview that's going nowhere. Totally monotonous and stuck in an endless loop of resume verification and leading questions. Indeed, no effort is required to conduct it. By contrast, great interviews require a clear understanding of what information the interviewer hopes to obtain - and what kinds of questions will produce the intended results? Here are ten questions that do an especially good job of revealing what makes a candidate tick... READ MORE

Are your employees simply showing up most days? Half of all workers hate their jobs. Wait, scratch that: let's be more precise. According to a new survey by The Conference Board, a non-profit organization that studies business issues, just 51% of all American workers say they are satisfied with their jobs. That figure stood at 59% just seven years ago. Perhaps most alarming, workers aged 35-44 had the highest level of satisfaction in 1995 (at 61%) - but today have the lowest (at 47%). READ MORE

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL recently confirmed what many long have suspected - namely, that "Online job boards have lost their cachet." (July 12, 2005) Why? According to the Journal, they are yielding "landslides of r'esum'es" that mostly come from unqualified candidates. "The trick - something that executive-search firms and headhunters have known for decades - is that the perfect candidate is usually working happily at a desk somewhere." The Journal is exactly right. READ MORE

Although hotels, conference centers and meeting planners may not be taking the smoke-free phenomenon as far as some, they are finding that going smoke-free is quickly becoming the norm. Some companies in business and leisure industries are taking the lead and acting on the health concerns of its delegates. This year, the Westin hotel chain, for example, officially implemented the widest-spread complete smoking ban in the hotel industry, making 77 of its properties completely smoke-free. The conference center industry is also closing in on the trend. READ MORE

Spa is being embraced by a broadening spectrum of consumers, growing beyond traditional demographic profiles and target audiences. As a result, the industry has responded with more choice, offering an array of business models and branded spa concepts that address these niche consumer segments. This of course is a boon for hotel owners, developers and operators in terms of identifying the ideal spa solution for a property's amenity platform. It also makes choosing the ideal spa partner a very critical part of the equation READ MORE