What is the way forward? The future is indeed bright for mixed use projects. Buoyed by a young, sophisticated, urban demand base (millennials and Gen Z) which is willing to fork out big bucks if unique, personalized experiences are delivered, stake holders have been falling over themselves to jump on to this bandwagon which has long term implications for their return on investment. On the one side constant innovation keeps the demand fertile and on the other, intelligent pricing keeps the bottom line thriving and happy. This is a heady cocktail that no self-respecting stakeholder will be willing to pass up. READ MORE

Impactful spa wellness is all about the approach, and that approach begins with self-evaluation. By answering three equally important questions - 1. How does our mission connect to our menu? 2. What do our guests really need? 3. How does my treatment menu advance our guests' wellness goals? - spa industry professionals can identify what's working, what's not working and how creative ways of integrating modalities can help guests along their wellness journeys. With the right modeling and encouragement of physical, mental and nutritional well-being, your clients will have all the tools they need to start new, healthy habits today. READ MORE

Wellness has been adopted by consumers with a passion that doesn't show any sign of slowing down. It has moved from niche to mainstream and millions are being invested up and down hotel value chains. Where spa is often eliminated from the urban hotel model due to space allocation and return, wellness has the potential to be a different value proposition. The days when location and cost were the only factors hotel guests considered when booking a hotel are fading rapidly. For an increasing number of guests another crucial factor in helping them decide where to stay; wellness! READ MORE

Trends in the wellness market are showing that the lines between Medical Spas, Resort Spas and Destination Spas are beginning to blur. Aside from spa amenities like tennis courts, lap pools, hydrotherapy circuits and lifestyle-shifting spa treatments, some Resort Spas are taking on the characteristics of a Destination Spa by offering a variety of exercise classes, wellness lectures and global therapies like acupuncture, cupping, sound baths or even full day wellness retreats. Likewise, some Medical Spas are taking on the natural wellness concept by blending natural therapies with their minimally invasive medical procedures and advanced skincare rejuvenation services in a relaxed atmosphere of a spa-like environment. READ MORE

According to the Global Wellness Institute, Wellness tourism is forecasted to grow at an average of 7.5% through 2022, considerably faster than the 6.4% growth estimated for overall tourism. The spend will hit $919B, with 1.2B trips taken annually, by 2022. Wellness travelers are high-spending, high-yield tourists. International wellness tourists spend 53% more than typical international tourists and domestic wellness tourists spend 178% more than average domestic tourists. Hotel spas must evolve to attract these travelers. Kristi Dickinson, leader in industry innovation, makes the case for educating guests on the wellness lifestyle and securing a lifelong relationship and revenue stream. READ MORE

As ever-increasing numbers of guests adopt a wellness lifestyle, resorts, tour operators and travel agents are incorporating various elements of wellness into their product and service offerings. Resort Wellness Encounters provides an expanded vision to elevate, influence and inspire guests to an immersive encounter of enlightened living. Guests no longer want to be passive and adhere to the resorts rigid programs of yesterday wellness, as guests become empowered they want to design their own experiences, learn about the local culture, flavors, and healing traditions, creating their personal authentic journey that redefines wellness through unique moments and memories. Today the where, when and how are the new variables of the new hospitality matrix. READ MORE

Jeff Hart, General Manager of the Los Angeles Airport Marriott shares tangible and practical insights and tips on how hotel executives can motivate and inspire the team during a hotel renovation. From facelifts to complete overhauls, properties must take the necessary steps to stay up-to-date with current trends, latest technologies, and the needs of today's travelers – which brings many hotels to renovation. Hart discusses the idea that during a renovation, emphasis must be placed on inspiring and uplifting staff, as it is their overall project knowledge, enthusiasm, and feelings towards the transformation that ultimately trickles down to the guest and the experience they have on property. Keeping the staff motivated, invested, and enthusiastic is a vital piece of the job when it comes to team leadership, and Hart shares nine tools in which managers can do so. READ MORE

Curiosity has been defined as the "disposition to inquire, investigate or seek after knowledge; a desire to gratify the mind with new information or objects of interest; inquisitiveness." It is our position that trait curiosity is critical to the new reality of continual innovation and has an increasingly important role in business success. While there are many environmental factors inside organizations that nurture or suppress an individual's curiosity, very little has been done to help hiring managers identify curious people. Moreover, we see little evidence organizations have done anything to improve curiosity levels across the business. That is until NOW…we've closed this gap and hotels that can effectively foster curiosity in their employees (and guests) will have the competitive advantage. READ MORE

The war over direct bookings has died down in recent months. Despite Hilton and Marriott's best efforts with their "Stop Clicking Around" and "IT Pays To Book Direct" campaigns, nothing much has changed. I still speak with properties on a daily basis who are 60%, 70%, or even 80% reliant on OTAs for their bookings. This not only eats into a property's profits but it also places them in a really risky position as we face a possible economic downturn,. Read more about the real danger of over-reliance on OTAs and how you can avoid falling into the same trap. READ MORE

Why do you travel? For the majority of people, a hotel is simply a place to sleep and keep their valuables while they explore new and exciting locations and activities. With the (possible) exception of a few ultraluxe all-inclusive resorts, nobody travels somewhere just for a hotel. They travel for the immersive experiences they'll have. A report by Google noted that 82% of leisure travelers don't consider choosing an accommodation provider when they first start thinking about a trip. This might strike many hoteliers as a harsh reality, but savvy industry pros will see it as an opportunity. Understanding a hotel's role in creating a guest's overall travel experience is the first step in delivering tangible value. READ MORE

Looking back over the history of hospitality and the evolution of hotel operations, it's fair to say revenue management is a relatively new discipline. After all, it wasn't so long ago that hotels changed their rates just for weekends and peak season. But times have changed, and today's revenue managers are no longer operating in a silo, stuck in the basement office. Today, it's more important than ever for hotel operators to install a holistic, coordinated strategy where revenue, marketing and sales teams are working together to build and sell a hotel's story. READ MORE

Much has been written and said about hotels becoming more focused on the customer experience. And in fact, this is not unique to the hotel sector. Creating unique customer experiences is one of a handful of topics that seem to be presented as a kind of panacea for fixing whatever we think might be wrong with whichever industry we might be thinking about at the moment. But is customer experience all it's cracked up to be? Is getting the experience right the right answer? David Allison from Valuegraphics reveals some truths behind the importance of customer experience, and some surprising facts. READ MORE

Spas were once seen as simply an amenity in a hotel. However, as the annual growth in RevPAR slows, it is more important than ever for other divisions, such as spa, to maximize their profit potential. According to the 2018 Spa Industry Study by the International Spa Association (ISPA), nearly one third of resort and hotel spas operated with a profit percentage of 25% or higher. The global wellness market is valued at $4.2 trillion (and growing), so the demand is evident. Benchmarking and a keen understanding of the spa's key performance indicators (KPIs) can dramatically improve these business results. READ MORE

Red Roof is catering to a new subset of travelers who are road-tripping across the country to attend, compete in, or experience their favorite passions first-hand, 'The Passionists'. These growing and diverse communities are the convention, conference and event travelers who are avid gaming geeks, compete in obstacle course races, follow cornhole contests, and dress up in cosplay, among many other hobbies and interests. It's all passion all the time. Marina MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, Red Roof explains why the brand has plugged into this growing segment of travelers, particularly courting comic book aficionados and Cornhole players but also opening their arms to Passionists everywhere. READ MORE

Is it time to start preparing for an upcoming recession? In January 2018, the NYC Restaurant Personnel index read 0.50%, with the Recession indices not evidencing much rising risk of recession. Since May 2018, the NYC Restaurant Personnel index, continuing its decline has remained in negative territory. In this article we review recent U.S. Treasury yield curve flattening and inversion compared to prior UST inversions as one harbinger of potential economic weakness, and compare that to a simpler metric of changes in full-service restaurant personnel in New York City and its own coincident indication of broader economic strength or weakness. READ MORE