After beginning a process of integration more than a year ago, Aqua Hospitality and Aston Hotels & Resorts rebranded this year as Aqua-Aston Hospitality. In addition to the new name, the group - which manages more than 50 properties across Hawaii and the U.S. mainland - also unveiled a new look, and further distinguished what its five hotel brands offer travel partners and consumers. The result: one of Hawaii's leading hotel management groups is in a stronger position to achieve sustainable growth through strategic revenue management. READ MORE

Thanks to the Age of Technology, Revenue Management has risen to the top of the Agenda for virtually every hotel Executive Committee meeting. The question to be answered historically has been “How do we maximize our revenue stream?” But that question has been expanded to “How do we maximize our revenue stream and ensure that dollars coming in on the top line survive the journey to the bottom line?” The simple answer is focus on optimizing room rates. The numbers make the case. READ MORE

As the art and science of revenue management evolve, the focus sharpens on finding custom solutions rather than selling products to hotels, resorts and gaming establishments. As sophistication grows, the target broadens to maximization of total guest revenue. This article provides a roadmap - and cites best practices -- for optimizing revenue, regardless the type, size, or makeup of a property's business. READ MORE

Service orientation, aka personality traits and a predisposition to be helpful, thoughtful, considerate and cooperative, can impact your company's reputation for customer service - an important factor for success in the hospitality industry. Some people have it... and some people don't. Some people appear to have it (especially during job interviews), but, in reality, they're not suited for a service oriented position. Recent research has shown that being able to predict employee customer service behavior before an employee is hired would be extremely valuable to hospitality managers who must select and assess applicants for service orientated positions READ MORE

Would you meet up with a fellow passenger from your flight to New Orleans at Cafe du Monde? Or leave a couple of women from a cleaning service in your house alone if you only just met then a half an hour before? How do you feel about leaving your cellphone at an airport charging station unattended? Yes, I've done all these things plus many more that some may call naïve or downright boneheaded, but I have always had a high level of trust in the strangers I meet every day. It's served me well for four decades, but how is trust changing in the modern world? READ MORE