The early days of the travel and leisure industry are more recent but nonetheless important. In days gone by the idea of traveling cross-country or across a continent was a life-and-death proposition. Through innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit, the travel and leisure industry has become the ambassadors of business across the globe. Yet, when your customers can be literally anyone in the world, how can anyone be expected to effectively understand what they are they are saying? We will take a more detailed look at how social engagement should differ for the various brands within a hotel chain. Specifically, we're going to examine how sentiment is not a universal measure, and that it's not only correct, but appropriate that sentiment for high end hotel chains will have a much larger variance (more really positive and really negative comments). READ MORE

There is a growing shortage of qualified and skilled hospitality employees. This shortage may lead hospitality brands to hire from competitors. While the idea of hiring a skilled employee with access to a competitor's information may be tempting, hiring from a competitor may have negative repercussions for the employee, the employer, and for the hospitality brand that is hiring them. To mitigate the risk of such a repercussion, a hospitality brand may wish to consider the below when hiring from a competitor. READ MORE

Technology and automation are making exponential headway touching nearly all sectors of hospitality, including spa and wellness. This article reviews the impact and importance of integrating these systematisations to help stimulate and streamline the functionality and profitability of hotel and resort spa operations. Retooling the focus from manually centered services and embracing advancements in new technologies to support sustainable profitability and continued growth. READ MORE

Over the past decade, hotels have consistently been cited as one of the most likely sources of data breaches - a dubious honor for an industry that relies on confidence. This is a particular challenge because hotels and hotel brands rely on loyalty and trust, and consistent publicity about the insecurity of hotel systems creates the opposite perception in the public. Much of the vulnerability of hotels can be traced to the structure and business needs of hospitality properties, as well as the implementation of new technologies and consumer demands. What can hotel owners and operators do to counteract the trend? READ MORE

Guests constantly hop across different communication channels. To keep pace with them, hotels must migrate through these various platforms to remain engaged. Most modern hotel executives recognize the importance of communicating with guests on the medium in which they are most comfortable. However, identifying and implementing approaches that makes these meetings possible can be more difficult than these executives consider. After all, anyone can send a text message. But meeting and tracking an SLA across an SMS creates an entirely new set of hurdles an owner must address to his advantage. READ MORE

Our industry is the most dynamic industry on the planet - one that is constantly changing, often at a frenetic pace. Our industry resides in every corner of the world, and attracts individuals (our guests) from across the world to spend time with us. One area that will see significant changes over the next five years relates to state minimum wage laws in the US. While the federal law remains at $7.25 per hour for most positions (less for employees in tipped positions if the states recognizes the tip credit wage), many states are implementing minimum wage laws that exceed the federal floor. READ MORE

Don't do it! At least not without some serious thought to be sure there is simply no other way to go. With some very high profile cases of a hotel owner removing the hotel manager founded on common law principles of agency that give a hotel owner the power to revoke the agency, hotel owners and hotel managers might be tempted to rely on agency law as a "Plan B" if the owner-manager relationship sours despite what is in the hotel management agreement. Consider that this might not be the best laid plan as between an owner and manager. READ MORE

Imagine you are a hotel executive for a large, regional hotel chain and on the brink of closing a significant transaction for the purchase of another hotel chain with locations throughout the United States. You receive a frantic telephone call from the general manager of your outside management company. “Is the seller prepared to make the requisite change of control notifications for the alcohol beverage licenses with the various state and local alcohol beverage agencies?” This is the type of question that is best planned for in advance of any merger or acquisition transaction involving an alcohol beverage-licensed hotel business. An analysis of this question will be covered in this article. READ MORE

You may have a sizeable stock of inventory. You may also have revenue managers who know how to leverage pricing strategies. Moreover, you may have access to a variety of channels to reach your target market. But, is that all you need to ensure high revenue? Despite having all these goodies, your hotel's revenue-making potential can suffer on account of revenue leakages, which often go unnoticed. Avoiding them will make an immense difference to your hotel's bottom line. But, before we get there, let us understand these glitches in detail. READ MORE

Hotels and especially luxury hotels are glamorous in their appeal, their style quotient and the wow feel they deliver to all their patrons. And every hotel and resort has its set of superstars who perform their acts to perfection. Very often these very stars are celebrated and written about. But, how about the secret armour that every hotel carries in its back offices and hidden troves? This essay attempts to bring forth the contribution of many such superstars who work day in and day out in quiet anonymity through their careers. It is time for all hotel managers to celebrate the contributions made by these teams who truly form the nervous system of the hotel world. READ MORE

Hoteliers may ask: “isn't cannabis illegal under the federal law?” The short answer is yes, but that is a qualified response at best. As the scale tips toward marijuana becoming legal throughout the country, pot continues to be against the law federally. The resulting dichotomy between the relaxed view of cannabis and its extracts at the state level and the current federal position on marijuana is an interesting one. According to the Controlled Substance Act, by which the federal government regulates drugs, there is no recognized difference between cannabis, cocaine, heroin or LSD. Likewise, the CSA does not distinguish between the medical and recreational use of marijuana. So technically, pot is illegal and users (even those with valid prescriptions for the substance) can be arrested, convicted and sentenced to jail under the federal law as it stands. READ MORE

This article introduces international investment treaties and explains their important role in cross-border Merger & Acquisition deals. Hotel companies engaging in cross-border Merger & Acquisition transactions should consider investment treaty protection as part of their due diligence to identify the rights they may have and to strategically decide how to most efficiently and effectively structure their international investments. By carefully structuring investments at an early stage in the M&A process, this article explains how hotel companies can often improve their negotiating position and secure important protections from harmful governmental interferences. READ MORE

A change in your management company means more to foreign national employees than it does to most others at your hotel. It could mean a potential loss of work authorization and a violation of status in the United States. Because most management companies "sponsor" foreign national visa holders, when the company changes, the petitioning entity changes. When the petitioning entity changes, an amendment of the current visa classification, or a petition for a new visa classification, must be filed in advance of the change. If not, the new company may be jeopardizing the ability to retain key executive and management employees who need to remain in valid status. READ MORE

The past few years have witnessed a number of high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the hotel industry - a trend that some commentators have referred to as a "merger frenzy." This trend may have broad repercussions across the industry, as large hotel companies seek to join forces with smaller operators to avoid being outpaced in the market. Aside from the general impacts on the hotel industry as a whole, mergers and acquisitions can raise significant labor and employment issues that operators need to keep in mind. A fundamental issue involves whether the transaction involves a sale of stock or a sale of assets. READ MORE

Short Term Rentals Companies ("STRs") are companies that have an internet booking platform which facilitates and participates in the short-term transient rental of private homes and apartments. Participants in the market are, for example, Airbnb, HomeAway, and onefinestay. The model is often described as part of the sharing economy, in the sense that it facilitates the "sharing" of residential space between transient guests and the primary occupant of that space. The companies are said to be "disruptors," because their business model differs from accepted models in an industry. It is difficult to determine what they are. READ MORE