As with so many industries, the smartphone has transformed how organizations interact with their customers. Look at the automotive industry, the airline industry, and of course, the hospitality industry. You start your car's engine and set the climate control to the desired temperature, buy airline tickets and check-in on your flight and do the same with your hotel room, all from your phone. There is a slew of services that traditionally are offered by hotels via the “book” on the desk. The book is still there, but some hotels allow you to order via the television while others offer integrated tablets. READ MORE

A growing number of properties are implementing mobile access guest room locking systems and the apps that support them. Many chain standards mandate mobile access and independents are joining the trend. What few operators understand is that mobile access implementation has changed not only every aspect of hotel door locks but also many other areas of hospitality operations. More people are actively involved in the decision making process for hotel locks than before. Mobile access has integrated the lock process with numerous property and chain departments from sales to guest loyalty and brand marketing. The original purpose of improving guest door locks was exclusively loss prevention and security. READ MORE

Meeting data and technology have evolved considerably since the days of the bulky ,expensive mail ordered meeting planner guides and hotel catalogues. The ways in which hotels find and book groups is far different than the antiquated methods of not so long ago. As better technology surrounding meetings and events becomes available , hotels appetites for group business seems to also increase at a parallel pace making the need to keep the related technology evolving even more paramount. The companies that provide hotels with this meeting intelligence are continually developing new and more advanced methods of gathering this sought after data to keep up pace with the demand. READ MORE

There is a new innovative way to pay for hospitality construction projects: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. PACE, adopted as enabling legislation in 32 states and with active programs in about half of them, is gaining momentum as a flexible, available and creative tool in which to finance almost any technology that saves energy and/ or water. PACE can take the place of expensive loans or additional owner equity to finance construction projects that can be repaid long term from those very same energy and water savings. This article will explain Property Assessed Clean Energy, who pays for PACE, some common building systems ripe for PACE financing, who is using PACE and why. READ MORE

What is it exactly that millennials want? For hotels, this question is more pertinent than ever as Generation Y becomes the largest share of the American workforce. As millennials take more positions as meeting planners, our focus should shift to how to incorporate millennial meeting trends and keep hotel meeting spaces on the cusp of innovation and competition. Mr. Beaubien made a great step towards answering that question in his article on "The Rise of Generation C and Small Meetings," featured on Hotel Executive. In his answer, he focused mainly on technological aspects like online bookability and payment options. From the experience I have with Spacebase, an online booking platform for unique meeting and workshop venues, I can confirm this 100%. Our customer base is mainly young and part of Generation Y. READ MORE