For the hospitality and travel industry, giving the customer the ability to personalize their experience, and thusly pay the right price for that experience, is all the rage. Airlines, restaurants, and even some resorts have pioneered new ways to give the people precisely what they want, but for the standard hotel operation, it's not proven to be so simple. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the hurdles hoteliers face when it comes to instituting customer-choice pricing into their sales processes, and we'll take the pulse of personalization in the industry and the evolving guest expectations driving this shift. READ MORE

Developing next generation destinations is a hot topic. We are travelling overseas more than ever before, looking for great places – new or old – to visit, stay, eat, enjoy, work and entertain. However, with issues of environmental degradation, overtourism and waste management in the spotlight, it is imperative to develop destinations in ways that regenerate, protect and nurture the very things that attract tourism. Today, a successful destination development framework secures buy-in from investors, masterplanners, governments and visitors. It should also be sustainable. So, who are the visionaries out there and what are they doing? READ MORE

Hotels are a 365 day a year, 24 hour a day enterprise. This business model provides a number of challenges, including how best to provide for guests needs while balancing costs when considering overnight shift capacities. This final instalment of the four part series unfolding disaster resilience in the hotel sector provides lessons learned by Wellington New Zealand hotels following a midnight earthquake in Kaikõura New Zealand. Hotel staff rose to the opportunity to provide guest service when faced with this significant disruption. Hotel leaders and staff learned a number of lessons and provide a few clear ideas that hotel everywhere can adopt to improve their resilience. READ MORE

Over the past decade, most assessments of guest satisfaction show guest experience scores generally increasing year after year. As the competition becomes more crowded in the hotel space, it doesn't take long for competitors to start emulating one another, leaving industry leaders to think about their next enhancement to make the guest experience even better. Making the right decisions regarding upgrades and investments becomes critical in the evolution of hotel brand standards – but what's the best approach? This article will cover how to develop a strategy to measure the ROI of service, product, and amenity upgrades while maintaining brand integrity. READ MORE

Hotel owners and operators, exploring newer and better ways to improve guest experiences and profitability, are turning to an exciting new design approach, Biophilic Design. Based on the idea that humans crave connections with nature, biophilic hospitality design seeks to create hotel ecosystems that mimic the positive effects that nature has on humans. In nature-rich locations, biophilia harnesses the natural elements. In urban locations, however, where tech-centric lifestyles are common, architects and designers must harness both the natural elements and technology to create integrated and functional biophilic habitats that support the human desire to connect with the earth. In this article, MKDA Executive Managing Director Amanda Hertzler examines how to strike the perfect balance with technology in biophilic hotel design. READ MORE

The wellness industry is projected to be worth nearly $919 billion by 2022, according to a 2018 report from the Global Wellness Institute. The travel and hospitality sectors are beginning to catch on to these trends consumers are craving. To keep up with competitors, it's critical for hoteliers to evolve their environments to accommodate well-being needs and wants. Being in tune with wellness trends and reflecting that in the environments where people sleep, eat, work, and lounge will keep guests coming back and create a special feeling of ultimate relaxation, reflection, and peacefulness. READ MORE

New technology is providing a path forward in the pursuit to contextualize the actions of your customers. Eventually, the result will lead to a more accurate representation of their emotions. Quantifying these emotions in a predictable and repeatable fashion paves the way not only to consistent business, but to continuous upselling as well. Fortunately, technology has ceased to be maligned as an unnecessary expense. Not only is advanced technology required now, but it's transforming from an uncomfortable cost to a shrewd investment with quantifiable returns. READ MORE

We live in a digital era fueled by connected devices and experiences. The Internet of Things (IoT) has completely transformed the way we live, work and play. This very concept funnels directly into the waste management industry. Enter the "internet of trash," where technology is designed to help you solve your waste and recycling challenges while making your program more efficient and sustainable for the long term. New innovations can help you keep your hotel waste program in tip-top shape and positively impact your bottom line. READ MORE

As the hospitality industry continues to grow and change, traditional strategies are being tested and it can be daunting for revenue managers to know how to adjust. This article features insights from industry experts on distribution, direct bookings and rate parity. Our experts share some of their challenges and approaches to revenue managing whilst aiming for a seamless customer experience. We also look at some key trends, including harnessing customer data, the upturn of direct booking, and new developments from hotels in order to keep up with market changes. READ MORE

As the experience-based economy continues to drive hospitality business, there is a parallel and growing trend toward biophilia, people's innate connection with nature. For over 35 years, American architect Patrick Burke, AIA has led Michael Graves Architecture & Design to create unique hospitality experiences for hotel operators and travelers around the globe, in Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Citing expert knowledge in the field of biophilia, he discusses the many ways that hospitality design can respond to the natural world, incorporate natural features at every scale, and enhance the guest experience. READ MORE

Human Resource Executives in the Lodging and Restaurant Sectors utilize systematic tracking mechanisms in order to "categorize" and monitor associates and key talent. Some tools work readily smoothly but depending upon the size and scale of the organization, these KPI tools may need modifications in order to result in the better information, useful for the continued training and success of employees. The "Four-Box Grid" offers the advantage of easy tailoring to the success metrics of a specific team, department, market, or organization. And, if anchored to specific metrics, it can facilitate discussions and decisions related to development and succession planning. READ MORE

How do hoteliers, real estate management companies, asset managers and the like attract the traveler and make their property unique, desirable and sought after? Hotels have been curating a guest experience for years and have discovered that a more personalized, interactive and authentic experience delights their guests. An important part of hotel design is creating a strong narrative for each hotel. What is the hotel's story? Designers should create a design story for each hotel touching on the history of the hotel, the surrounding neighborhood, the mission of the property, the dedication to its guests. This story leads to better understanding of the goals of each project and builds trust, comprehension, receptivity and more. READ MORE

The term Biophilic design comes from the word biophilia, meaning "the love of life." First used by an American biologist named Edward O. Wilson decades ago, the phrase has just recently emerged as a popular subject of discussion in the hospitality design world. In our modern society, especially amongst those living in urban environments, we have witnessed an increasing demand to reconnect with nature to maintain health and well-being. While companies quickly embraced the idea of employee wellness in response, hotels have fallen behind in adopting biophilic design to improve guest satisfaction and operational revenue. READ MORE

There's no doubt biophilic design is on the rise, and with good reason. With health and wellness top of mind for customers, and a proven link between biophilic design strategies and increased well-being, the implementation of such features can not only enhance guest experience but add tangible value to a hotel's bottom line. Yet popular design elements like green walls have a high initial cost and require continued maintenance, which can be a limitation. So how can hoteliers split the difference and get smarter about biophilic design? We'll share key considerations to successfully implement biophilia without busting the budget. READ MORE

I present hotel executives with a new idea in that when change becomes increasingly valuable, hotel executives can manifest themselves as catalysts to implement effective changes in hotel's internal resources. I suggest new insights to identify corporate culture and corporate structure as primary drivers, which influence financial performance that matters to hotel executives that care. The focus of this article is based upon the critical role of corporate culture and corporate structure which allows a rich basis to understanding the mechanisms by which financial performance is influenced. READ MORE