Millennials, categorized as those people born between 1981 and 1996, have been described as possessing a whole range of shared characteristics and behaviors. In this article we will look at how this generation is impacting the hospitality industry and how hotel design is evolving to attract this rapidly growing traveling customer segment. Hotel companies, developers, owners and operators are developing new brands and reimagining existing brands to cater to this explosive new market. To attract this expanding customer base, new hotels need to address Millennials' preferences for personalization, social media, cultural context, wellness, cutting-edge technology and communal public spaces. READ MORE

Video is an effective tool to enhance the power of social media marketing. Effective marketers use video as a tool to make meaningful emotional connections with target audiences and have measurable impacts on business success. Hotel marketers must experiment with video and stay abreast of how the channels connect with current guests and prospective travelers. Whether captured by a traveler or produced by the brand, the best-performing videos reel viewers in with a mix of compelling storytelling, relatable moments and emotional triggers that inspire action, from social sharing to buying. In this article, we lay out six tips hotel marketers should consider when creating video content. READ MORE

This article is set in place to inspire hotel executives to create fundamental changes to meet and exceed the challenges of not only today but also what we see as an onset of new technological advances in the future. Hotel executives are perplexed by the amount, both depth and breadth, of models and applications. A new model that can easily be applied that takes into consideration some of the major tasks that hotel managers must consider is needed. This article is about getting the information needed to be successful in the right hands of these managers worldwide. READ MORE

How are hotels responding to the daily challenges of the escalating evolution of tech services for their properties and more specific for in-room convenience that is becoming an expectation by their guests? In-Room Technology has become a critical issue for all hotels and there is no one answer for all hotels. The evolving changes in guest expectations and tech service selections confronting hoteliers today will continue to escalate and to continue the hotels will have to implement in-room technology services same as they did in the past with air conditioning, television, phones, digital keys and more. READ MORE

For hoteliers, meeting planners are a crucial audience. Planners have the power to direct hundreds of guests to a hotel, often for several events a year. To attract planners (and their business), it's important that hoteliers understand their needs and expectations - especially when it comes to technology. Here, MeetingPlay CEO Joe Schwinger shares some insight into event technology trends in 2020 so you can better prepare your hotel for meeting planners' evolving expectations. READ MORE

An evolving array of tools and services led by smartphones is fueling the modern travel experience. From pre-trip dreaming and planning, booking and the travel experience, to the post-trip journey home and sharing, mobile technology plays a pivotal role in modern tourism. Start to finish, all of these touch points represent opportunities where travel suppliers and service providers can build brand awareness, enhance engagement, and add value for users. By leveraging evolving mobile technologies, the travel and tourism industry can continue to place the focus on creating an enhanced guest experience, prioritizing specific needs and desires to ensure the traveler's experience exceeds their expectations. READ MORE

As we look forward to the next decade, I've been picking up the phone (I know, very retro) and meeting face to face (… yes, really) with some of the professionals who, like me, have forged a career against the backdrop of an asset heavy industry dominated by suits and on the back foot when it comes to innovation. This is the beginning of a series of interviews, paraphrasing proper conversations with people I respect. The "plat du jour" this week is role models, mentors and sponsors with an inevitable garnish of technology, product trends and climate change. READ MORE

The hospitality industry is grappling with challenges that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: A labor shortage, demanding customers and profit pressure. At the center of these issues, managers who oversee the complexities of hotel staffing must decide how to schedule employees based on the daily needs of the business and complying with rules and regulations that impact their decisions on a daily basis. For this reason, managers need a support system designed to ensure compliance and full utilization of their labor resource. This byline will examine how technology is the solution for an optimized workforce. READ MORE

There's a dirty secret in our industry that no one is talking about (at least not publicly). There are attribution thieves within our midst, and they're taking too much credit for your bookings. While I don't think that (in most cases) this is a nefarious plot, it is still causing dollars to be invested in the wrong initiatives due to the proliferation of misinformation and the use of flawed attribution models. In this article, we take a look at ways that hotel marketers can fight back by being armed with knowledge, a willingness to break out our critical-thinking hats, and calculators. READ MORE

Brand extensions have always been a common part of corporate growth strategies, but have more recently expanded into the hospitality business. From retail and entertainment brands like Restoration Hardware, Taco Bell and Disney, companies from all industries are now looking into brand extensions. This article examines the implications for hospitality brand extensions, provides examples os successful integrations, explains how hotel brands can expand into the retail space, and examines the questions they need to address before doing so. Following these tips will help brands avoid being the next Blockbuster and will ensure longevity in the space. READ MORE

Revenue management plays a vital role in the modern hotel technology stack, and demonstrating ROI in a hotel's revenue technology investment goes deeper than year-over-year RevPAR uplift. The additional revenue from the proper implementation of revenue technologies and strategies directly impacts a hotel's bottom line, making it a valuable tool for optimizing the net value of a property. Forecasted earnings and asset sales proceeds are critical factors in applying revenue science to hotel real estate assessment. It's only a matter of time before the majority of the industry catches up to what leading hotel owners and asset managers have already realized: a smart investment into revenue strategy and technology is the key to driving greater property profitability and value. READ MORE

For operators of hotel casinos, the amount of risk exposure can rise faster than a progressive jackpot on a slot machine. Because guests tend to stay on-site at hotel casinos far longer than guests at any other class of hotel, these venues have a radically different risk profile. Add in an events center, a bar or a live entertainment venue, and the risks multiply. This article takes an in-depth look at four risks on which hotel casinos can't gamble and offers practical tips operators can take to limit their hotel casino's exposure to a potentially devastating financial loss. READ MORE

Robust indoor wireless networks are enabling building owners and managers to employ technology and applications that allow their staff and systems to be more efficient. These applications include automated systems that monitor and control various environments within the building, including security systems, housekeeping and maintenance functions. Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum has recently made available by the Federal Communications Commission in a novel shared approach that could prove advantageous for hotels. CBRS spectrum can facilitate private back-of-house communications for staff using private LTE spectrum that has all the advantages of cellular with the ease of deployment that Wi-Fi offers. READ MORE

We are long past the days of one-on-one texting or emails within hospitality organizations; even videoconferencing. Communications have become more complex and more sophisticated. Today's hotel task optimization platforms allow organizations to stay connected in new ways, fully integrated with the onboarding and training process; ongoing operations to include scheduling and keeping track of task fulfillment; and staff evaluation, engagement and recognition. The key in this process is to understand how to customize and implement each function with specific goals and needs in mind. This makes careful comparison of competing technologies an extremely important aspect of staying connected. READ MORE

Is your hotel mobile-ready? Mobile-first? Mobile-native? Well, brace yourself, more changes are coming. Just when you thought that you were getting the hang of using mobile to drive interest and action among guests, your customers have started using mobile in wholly new ways. And these behavioral changes represent "the new, new thing" for mobile marketing and distribution. What is the change? An increasing use of voice among guests when they search and interact with information in mobile situations. Voice already plays a key role in travel sales and marketing. Here's how to make sure voice plays that role for you. READ MORE