The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4th, 2024
Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino Partners With Travel Outlook to Elevate Guest Service Experience
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™ | October 2nd, 2024
Invasivorism as the Next Food Trend for Hotels
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | May 4, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The English language sure loves its neologisms. (Don’t look this one up in your dictionary. It’s not there…yet.) The one in the title adds an ‘ism’ onto ‘invasivore’ where this latter word is ascribed to species that have been accidentally or purposefully introduced into a foreign environment where there are no natural predators to keep their numbers in check, thus diminishing biodiversity. Foremost examples are the African cane toads that have ravaged the Australian continent and the zebra mussels that have similarly become endemic to the Great Lakes. Specific to you, it’s important for hote...
How High Labor Costs Are Taking a Toll on the Hospitality Industry
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | May 4, 2022
The real impact on guests when hotels reduce services By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook May 2022 Over the last decade, labor costs have risen sharply. After the pandemic, labor shortages are plaguing businesses across the world, and the hospitality industry is no exception. Demand for workers has never been higher, yet universal labor shortages persist, causing problems for hotels, despite a sharp rise in travel. Two years removed from the pandemic; travel is back in a big way. Hotels everywhere are preparing for what is sure to be a record-breaking summer of travel, but they’re doing so with one hand tied behind their ...
Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn in Estonia, Opens Following Extensive 25 Million Euro Renovation
Radisson Hotel Group | May 2, 2022
First Radisson Collection hotel in the Baltics opens in the heart of Tallinn Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the debut of its luxury lifestyle, Radisson Collection brand in the Baltics with the opening of Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn in Estonia, following an extensive 25 million Euro renovation. Located on Rävala boulevard in Estonia’s charming capital city, Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn is the newest Radisson Collection property to open in the Baltics and Estonia’s charming capital city. The hotel’s prime location in the medieval cobblestoned Old Town, home to cafés and shops as well as the Kiek in de Kök,...
Using Soft Metrics to Guide Hotel Operations
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | April 27, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky There are some classic metrics that hotels use to benchmark performance – namely, RevPAR and ADR. If you’ve been reading our column, you’ll know that we are in favor of developing thoroughly connected tech stacks that will allow hotels to measure TRevPAR – total revenue per guest – in order to guide business intelligence and make better decisions about which customers to target. But with more granular operational data tied in, hotels can perhaps measure even more. These might be called ‘soft data’ or ‘soft metrics’ in years past, but now our industry’s systems are becoming advanced enough...
Traveler Trends and Hotel Guest Behavior – What’s Changed, What’s New, What’s Next?
Preetham Shetty | April 26, 2022
By Preetam Shetty There is no denying it – the COVID-19 pandemic inspired a global shift that very few of us saw coming, ushering in a period that was affectionately (and later, tirelessly) referred to as the new normal. For the better part of two years, the public stayed home, donned masks, limited social contact, traded in-person meetings for Zoom meetings, postponed events and celebrations, and, en masse, canceled travel plans for the foreseeable future. While the global economy was under immense pressure with each passing lockdown and new restrictions, few industries were more gravely impacted than travel and tourism. Seemingly ...
HFTP Announces PROVision Partners as Exclusive Sponsor of Entrepreneur 20X Orlando
PROVision Partners | April 21, 2022
The hospitality technology start-up pitch competition will present innovative solutions to a panel of judges and audience at HITEC Orlando on June 29, supported by PROVision Partners as this year’s sponsor. Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), is pleased to announce PROVision Partners as the exclusive sponsor of Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) Orlando. The successful E20X pitch competition, featuring pitches from hospitality technology start-ups, will take place as a HITEC Headliner presentation at HITEC Orlando on Wednesday, June 29 b...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 264: Hotel History: Palmer House (1871), Chicago, Illinois
Stanley Turkel | April 20, 2022
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Palmer House, Chicago, IL (1,639 rooms) The original Palmer House was built in 1871 by Potter Palmer who began his career as a bank clerk in upstate New York. He later became a dry-goods store owner in Chicago where he revolutionized the retail trade. He was the first to make big window displays, to use big advertising spaces, to send goods on approval to homes and to hold bargain sales. He became a brilliant hotel man as he applied his successful department store methods to the operation of his hotel. He saw no reason why clerks, chefs and head waiters should not be subject to the same discipline...
Wedding Bells Are Ringing – Are Hotels and Venues Ready to Answer the Demand?
Ryan Hamilton | April 20, 2022
How to perfect your sales process to win more group business and become a sought-after wedding venue By Ryan Hamilton, Co-Founder, SalesAndCatering.com and Bluebuzzard Technology Group Lately, everywhere you turn, there seems to be a tangible shift in energy – an exciting buzz in the air as we await the change of season, with cool spring mornings soon to become warm summer nights. Of course, this isn’t just any seasonal transition; this marks the first ‘normal’ summer most of us will have had in two years due to the pandemic, and it’s easy to understand the anticipation we all feel. But there is, perhaps, no group of people mo...
The Don CeSar Provides “InnSpired” Luxury and Convenience With Guest Experience Mobile App and Integrated Technology Suite From InnSpire
InnSpire | April 19, 2022
Iconic Florida property teams up with leading hotel technology provider to empower guests with unrestricted access to luxury amenities through a comprehensive mobile-based Digital Guest Journey that provides convenience at every touchpoint St. Pete Beach, FL, USA – April 19, 2022 – InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, has partnered with The Don CeSar, a historic property located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, to provide a comprehensive suite of technology solutions designed to maximize and streaml...
What to Look for When Sourcing Out Your New Cloud PMS
Warren Dehan | April 19, 2022
Not all Web browser-based property management systems are alike, and not all need to reside in the cloud; Five things independent hotels will want to know about implementing this technology By Warren Dehan Today’s hotel operators are on the move more than ever and many are challenged with not enough time or staff to manage operations in this new landscape. Hoteliers are telling us they need more mobility for remote staff, on-the-go users, and guest self-serve environments, which is why more properties are taking command of their property using Web browser-based systems. These platforms give operators the freedom to control their prope...
Anticipating Hotel Guests’ Needs
Travel Outlook | April 14, 2022
How Bella the Virtual Agent Can Help Your Hotel Handle Guests Needs as They Arise A good hotel is always a few steps ahead of its guests. Any experienced concierges will tell you that it pays dividends to anticipate guests' needs before they may even be aware of them. If a guest is checking in for a one-night stay, make them feel welcomed by offering a later checkout time to better suit their schedule. If a family arrives around dinner time, hand them their room keys with a list of restaurant recommendations and offer to have the concierges call ahead and make reservations if needed. Simple anticipatory actions, like offering an umbrella...
Inntopia and AZDS Launch Multi-Product Version of Popular RevRaise Booking Engine
Inntopia | April 12, 2022
STOWE, VT & DENVER, CO- After years of concepting, UX/UI design, and development, Inntopia and AZDS are releasing a powerful update to AZDS’s RevRaise booking engine. By combining Inntopia’s industry-leading ability to aggregate and sell products across multiple systems with AZDS’ track record for delivering innovative, conversion-increasing booking engines, the new integration allows guests to easily and quickly book everything they need for a vacation from a single, intuitive interface without leaving the resort or hotel’s website domain. “We’ve built and continually optimized the luxury hospitality industry’s leading b...
Leading Through Change – Be the Spark!
Jeff Bzdawka | April 7, 2022
Inspiration for Global Meetings Industry Day By: Jeff Bzdawka, CEO Knowland To recognize Global Meetings Industry Day, it seemed appropriate to speak about our industry recovery and the importance of embracing a leadership style that offers encouragement, especially during periods of ongoing uncertainty. We kicked off 2022 with great hope of a return to a near-normal year. Unfortunately, as world events unfolded around us, we found ourselves once again wondering if things would ever return to normal. Or even what “normal” means today. As industry leaders, however, it is our job to avoid getting caught up in the onslaught of negat...
Amadeus Unveils Five Defining Trends for the US Group Travel and Events Industry in 2022
Amadeus | April 6, 2022
• Forward-looking on-the-books hotel group occupancy rates for 2022 in the US already match the total made in 2021, and outperform 2020 • Data points to significant uptick, particularly in unique markets, but bookings will be smaller in both size and value with shorter lead times As hoteliers evaluate their group business opportunities for 2022, a new report from Amadeus combines hotelier insights with Amadeus business intelligence data to reveal the key trends that will guide the group travel and events market in the year ahead. According to Amadeus’ Demand360® data, 2022 is showing a significant rise in group travel booking ...
Kimberly Berry Appointed as Director of Digital Business Development for Annette, The Virtual Hotel Agent, Travel Outlook’s New AI Powered Servi
Travel Outlook Premium Hotel Call Center | April 6, 2022
Santa Fe, New Mexico (April 2022): Travel Outlook Premium Hotel Call Center® today announced that Kimberly Berry has been promoted to Director of Digital Business Development at Travel Outlook, overseeing sales and implementation of Annette™, The Virtual Hotel Agent™. Kimberly Berry joined Travel Outlook in 2020 from Hilton Hotels, where she worked as General Manager for three years. Kimberly Berry brings her experience in sales and guest relations in the hospitality industry to Travel Outlook to further improve Annette™ and its practical customer service applications for the hospitality industry. In addition, while working in Hy...
Paramount Lodging Advisors Successfully Sells the Wyndham Garden Inn Oklahoma City Airport
Paramount Lodging Advisors | April 5, 2022
Oklahoma City, OK – Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA) successfully transacted on the Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City Airport. Austin, TX-based Sr. Managing Director Kami Burnette and Sr. Associate Mason McDavid as well as Managing Director Rob Willard represented the seller. The 244-room hotel is optimally located approximately four miles north of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The new buyer is looking forward to ramping property performance after renovating the 1984-built hotel and as airline and corporate business return to pre-pandemic levels in the MSA. “The Oklahoma City hotels were negatively impacted by COVID-19 and ...
Cendyn Announces the Launch of the Cendyn Hospitality Cloud for Hoteliers Looking to Drive Direct Bookings
Cendyn | April 5, 2022
The first applications available on the Cendyn Hospitality Cloud are Starling customer data platform (CDP) and Cendyn’s website content management system (CMS) Tuesday, April 5, 2022 – Boca Raton, FL – Cendyn, a catalyst for digital transformation in the hospitality industry, is excited to announce the launch of the new Cendyn Hospitality Cloud, including the release of the platform’s first applications, an industry-leading website content management system (CMS) powered by Cendyn’s customer data platform (CDP), Starling. At a time when hoteliers must do more with less, hotels are embracing rapid digitization and automation of...
Knowland Helps Kimpton Hotels to Maximize Group Revenue
KNOWLAND | March 30, 2022
Leading data provider delivers actionable insights and market analytics to bolster meetings and events revenue growth for top boutique hotel company ARLINGTON, VA — March 30, 2022 — Today Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, announced Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has renewed its long-standing relationship with Knowland. The boutique hospitality company’s executive team relies upon Knowland’s market analytics to gain insights into group business trends and help it better manage and grow its portfolio. The Knowland platform helps individual properties bet...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 263: Hotel History: Frederick Law Olmsted
Stanley Turkel | March 29, 2022
By Stanley Turkel Landscape Architect: Frederick Law Olmsted was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his partner Calvert Vaux. Olmsted and Vaux’s most famous achievement was Central Park in New York City which resulted in many other urban park designs, including Prospect Park in what is now the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City and Cadwalader Park in Trenton. Olmsted was called by Charles Eliot Norton “the greatest artist that America has yet produced”. ...
The Automation Generation
Annette™, The Virtual Hotel Agent | March 29, 2022
Why today’s travelers place efficiency ahead of personal connection The hospitality industry has always been a people-centric line of work. Face-to-face conversations with real humans have been the cornerstone of service industries since its inception. A smiling face behind the front desk of a hotel cannot be replaced. Technology, on the other hand, has continually shifted the way guest service representatives interact with travelers and hotel guests. Each generation brings a new disruptive technology that shakes up the way the world does business. With each change, there is resistance, but progress always wins out. In a recent story...
Annette The Virtual Hotel Agent Offers a 100% Accurate Understanding of Guest Needs Through Its New Feature, Precise Guest Insight
Travel Outlook Premium Hotel Call Center | March 24, 2022
Hotel managers constantly strive to anticipate their guest’s needs and concerns as they work to make their hotels more accommodating and inviting. This task was just made easier by the introduction of a new tool provided by Annette™, The Virtual Hotel Agent™. Annette is an advanced AI-powered voice bot that can answer up to 60% of the calls now being handled by front desk staff, simultaneously improving hotel profitability while providing enhanced guest service. Annette represents a creative and effective way for hotels to address post-pandemic staffing challenges, and to reduce fixed payroll expense. Annette’s new tool is c...
Stayntouch Expands Partnership With Real Hospitality Group to Deliver a Streamlined and Enhanced Guest Experience
Stayntouch | March 23, 2022
Artel Hotel and Park Place Benefit from PMS’ Ease-of-Use, Superior Functionality and Mobile Check-in Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and guest-centric technology, today announced an expansion of its partnership with Real Hospitality Group (RHG), one of the leading and fastest-growing hotel management companies in the United States. RHG will now deploy Stayntouch PMS to two additional properties, Artel Hotel in Brooklyn and Park Place Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland. RHG is one of the top 15 hotel management companies in the United States, managing a portfolio of 109 properties in gateway and re...
Plant-Based Is Here to Stay
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | March 16, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Climate change is something opaque and far-off. In our minds, thinking only about the environmental impact of eating meat is not what’s causing people to slowly shift to more plant-based diets or the most apt term of ‘flexitarians’ where people gradually shift to roughly an 80/20 split between plants and animal products respectively. Rather, people are shifting because the overwhelming scientific research is showing that it’s healthier to eat more unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Yes, in the near term we see headlines that say that Beyond Meat or other equivalents have flat quarter-over-quarter sal...
Keeping the Promise: Why 2022 Is the Year of Hotel Worker Safety
John Stachowiak | March 16, 2022
The pandemic has shifted the timetable for the adoption of worker safety technology, but now the clock is ticking; There are quick, easy, and effective ways to comply with AHLA’s 5-Star Promise and state legislation to protect hotel workers with confidence By John Stachowiak Hotel workers deserve to have the confidence that they are operating in a safe environment. Providing safety and security to hotel staff is getting even more difficult with fewer workers on property, making it even more important to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. Fortunately, technology is available to help protect hotel workers regardless of who is o...
