In the era of Big Data, the importance of a strong relationship between a hotel's Director of Sales & Marketing and the Director of Revenue Management can lead to positive revenue results while also fostering a highly effective sales team with positive group morale - or it can fundamentally handcuff a property's ability to successfully navigate today's hyper-competitive environment. High-performing DOSMs and DORMs should absolutely challenge one another routinely, approaching every disagreement as an opportunity to learn from one another and leverage one another's viewpoints to generate the best solutions to complex problems. READ MORE

Coaching relationships offer a pathway for personal and professional development. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. This internal coaching serves as an important employee retention tool as employees see a pathway for their career within the hotel, brand or company. More senior hotel executives can benefit from external business coaching from a professional coach. These relationships support an executive working on goals, strategies, and real-world, real-time issues that arise. This article focuses on the value of external coaching. READ MORE

The discount vs. reward debate is finally finished. Wherever discounting strategies work, a strategy that includes rewards will always work better. James Gancos, long-time hotelier and CEO of The Guestbook and Gopher, discusses how easy it is to drive RevPAR and market share with guest rewards while at the same time improving the bottom line. Gain an understanding of the powerful concept of rewards breakage and how it drives superior results. Learn why it's easier than ever to implement a guest rewards component to your revenue strategy, especially in light of clearly established customer preference of what matters most. READ MORE

The discipline of revenue management in hospitality has evolved tremendously in the last 30 years. Rapidly changing consumer buying behavior has forced today's revenue managers to be extremely resourceful. The question though is whether your revenue manager is a first, second or third generation revenue management professional. And the answer is, if they are not third generation, your hotel is leaving money on the table. So how do you evaluate where your revenue manager fits in this evolution? There is one fundamental and pervasive element to examine, and that is the relationship between the revenue manager and the digital marketer. READ MORE

The landscape of the hotel revenue management is changing, requiring a shift in training and choosing the next generation of revenue leaders and how they operate. One of the critical elements of efficient revenue management is sufficient communication between revenue leaders and those that aren't as interested in translating data. Another is getting into the habit of applying the concepts of revenue management to all revenue streams for maximum profitability. To achieve total success there must also be a risk taken, and if done correctly, Hotel Revenue Management could elevate the entire hotel industry to new heights. READ MORE

For years and still today, RevPar index is the accepted, and practically the only, metric for measuring Revenue Management performance. There is latency in receiving Smith Travel® data, and there are limitations on how granular you can dissect the data. What if you could mine your own rich booking data to develop much deeper insights into how your hotel is performing? These insights go way beyond how you stack up to the competition. It can also identify missed revenue opportunities for each hotel including where you are performing well, but it can uncover how much better you could be doing. READ MORE

The quick pace of change in devices and systems powered by ever-advancing technology makes it a challenge when thinking about the design of a hotel. With today's hoteliers looking at innovative ways to incorporate rapidly changing advancements in technology in their properties to enhance customer experience and streamline energy consumption, David Ashen, founder and partner of interior design and brand consulting firm dash design, examines intelligent buildings and other forward-thinking hi-tech concepts leading the way in hotel design along with guest accommodation and amenities. The future is in smart or intelligent buildings and totally integrated systems that can do several things that enhance the guest experience and manage energy consumption, so costs are minimized. READ MORE

As kids, we are taught that honesty is the best policy, if you lie you won’t be trusted, don’t cry wolf and so on. In other words, we’re taught about transparency. In the recruiting world, transparency harkens back to the same lessons, and is just as important for the hiring manager’s reputation and the property’s reputation. “Transparency” means a number of different things to everyone, but when it comes to the HR field, it’s important to consider all of the potential implications. This article looks at five different places where hotel leadership has the opportunity to be transparent in order to attract and retain top talent. READ MORE

The collection and analysis of data through sophisticated information systems drives most every aspect of hospitality operations, management and strategy these days. What data should we collect and what are the potential powers of its use? Within this emerging context, this article examines some everyday aspects of choosing, accessing and using this data in practical ways, including the importance of data validation. The goal is for all hotel staff, from housekeeper or concierge to the executive suite, to be more data savvy and feel more in control of these powerful new forces in the hospitality space. READ MORE

As Halloween approaches, what parts of your property or organization are scary and even creepy? Where are you paying LESS attention even though your guests spend MORE attention in these often neglected areas? How do you ensure that the guest experience is truly a comprehensive guest experience throughout every spot in your environment? Seamless delivery of service is dependent upon attending to each touchpoint and not frightening guests and even employees with questionable impressions. Consider a closer look at your stairwells, your garages and your elevators. Get in the season for Halloween but don't make it Halloween all year long... READ MORE

Today's revenue managers have to deal with a lot more than just systems, rate management and reporting. More than analytical skills, revenue managers need to possess communication skills, leadership skills, and they also have to strive to be influential and motivational. This is where emotional intelligence plays a central role in the career of a revenue manager. If a person in such a position is incapable of being empathic about the challenges of others, and if they're unable to convey how valuable they are & the importance of their contribution, then they're at risk of failing to help others unleash their full potential, which directly affects their success and the performance of the hotel. READ MORE

WT is a term that encompasses all electronics that can be worn on the body. It can be an accessory, such as a smartwatch, or it can be a sensor embedded into clothing that can tract motion, time, and even location. The key benefit of wearable technology is that it connects to the Internet so that the information collected can be sent to a network, stored, exchanged, analyzed and acted upon. Businesses are finding that IoT is offering them new insights into how to increase efficiency, how to better engage employees and customers, and how to develop new revenue stream opportunities. Can the hotel industry be far behind? READ MORE

This article discusses the top five ways hotels get served with disability discrimination lawsuits. Disability discrimination lawsuits are on the rise and one of the best ways to protect your hotel from getting served with a lawsuit is to assure that hoteliers fully understand obligations under the various leave laws and that their managers are trained properly on those obligations. Maintaining written policies, memorializing any verbal communications with employees, documenting analyses of possible accommodations, and recording any accommodations or leaves of absences ultimately provided are essential steps for avoiding costly litigation. READ MORE

It's no secret that effective revenue management strategies are deeply reliant on increasingly powerful tools and technologies that yield big-data-driven insights. But even the most sophisticated technology only goes so far. The "secret sauce" of revenue optimization remains that human element. Understanding how and why people power is needed to get the most out of software and systems and take the critical next step to implementation includes appreciating the importance of things like data filtering, shifting schedules, unaccounted-for variables, market insights, group dynamics, relationships and other nuances-as well as the ability to recognize, hire and retain talented revenue optimizers. READ MORE

How do you define value? Can it be measured in a meaningful way? What are your hotel's products and services actually worth to customers? As customers increasingly turn to 3rd party channels as a way to save money and pressure hotels to lower prices. Understanding what customers value, and would value, gives marketers and revenue managers an opportunity to break the market pressure to continually sell only on price by demonstrating that a property's products and services have something different to offer – superior value. READ MORE