The hotel industry recently experienced some good news with the announcement that overall guest service satisfaction was significantly up in 2015, according to a survey by J.D. Power & Associates. In addition, the number of guests reporting problems declined to its lowest level in almost a decade. Professionals in the hospitality business should be pleased with these indicators - but not too pleased. Hotel operators need to think bigger than mere customer satisfaction, fearlessly applying innovations beyond their niche' READ MORE

The American workforce is changing. By 2020, Millennials are predicted to represent 50 percent of the working population. In terms of attracting, retaining and motivating the best and the brightest in this group -- it's simply going to take more than a paycheck, good benefits and a ping pong table. This group (and the upcoming Baby Z's) has lofty goals...they want to impact the world and connect to a higher purpose. This means there are higher expectations for meaningful work coming to the mainstream employer. READ MORE

The rise of big data in an increasingly complex digital economy has economists and marketers constantly expanding what we want to know about individuals so that we can better analyze and target them with messages and offers. Yet, despite a rapid expansion in the types of customer data being offered by data vendors, the ability to know a customer's share-of-wallet remains just as desirable, and elusive, today as ever. Amidst the promises of big data, one company in the travel industry has found that traditional econometrics and store-level data is the most valuable for deriving share-of-wallet to inform customer strategy and investments. READ MORE

Almost every banquet operation in recent times in its key performance indicators carries out a measurement of revenue and profit per square foot of banquet space. Why is this? Given that highest and best use has become the primary motivation for managing an asset including banquet spaces, the metrics for measuring performance have also shifted dramatically. No more, is it just revenue dollars less cost dollars resulting in a profit. It is now a matter of leveraging every square foot of space and its worth to earn revenues and profits. You could say that the owners and stake holders are now looking at every foot of space for returns. READ MORE

Water was once considered an endless resource in the U.S. As a commodity, it appeared to be both plentiful and inexpensive. But due to the lasting effects of climate change, parts of the country are experiencing higher temperatures and less rainfall, preventing fresh water reservoirs and basins from keeping up with the demand of personal and agricultural use.The state of California is in its fifth year of a devastating drought, it won't be the only state to experience strained supply in the near future. It's everyone's responsibility, including hotel owners, to help combat the dwindling water supply before every state reaches critically low resources. READ MORE