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The State of Voice for 2019
Angie | February 4, 2019
Did you know that voice technology has been adopted faster than nearly any other technology in history? Over the last year, we've seen a tremendous increase in voice technology adoption in the home: 53% of U.S. Adults actively use a voice assistant each month, 57.8 million adults use smart speakers, and the number of households with smart speakers in the U.S. has increased 78% in the last year.4 It's no surprise that the most rapidly growing digital communication method is also the oldest. Voice is shaking up industries from retail to healthcare, and hospitality is no different. Hospitality Voice Technology Guests enjoy their ho...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 208: Hotel History: Grand Hotel (1887) Mackinac Island, Michigan
Stanley Turkel | January 29, 2019
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Grand Hotel The "Grand" as it is called on the island, is a historic coastal resort with a spectacular 660-foot long, three-story high porch. Below this covered veranda is a manicured lawn sloping down to a formal flower garden where 10,000 geraniums bloom in season among other flower beds with wild blossoms. The hotel is located on Mackinac Island which is in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It has thrived because of an important decision made in the 1920s. All private cars and trucks were outlawed on the island which gives visitors a chance to live in a village without...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Earned and Unearned Revenues – Understanding the Difference
David Lund | January 28, 2019
By David Lund Just like baseball has an unearned run as a scoring feature, in business we have unearned revenues. In this piece I will discuss the difference between earned and unearned revenue and how it applies to the hospitality business. First off though we need to review the American classic game of Baseball and how an unearned run works. This will be especially important for those of us who are not the sport's most avid fans. In baseball you score an unearned run when an official, the umpire, decides the player crossed home plate due to an error (mistake) by the defending team. A good example is: an outfielder drops the ball and t...
Tourism Tidbits: Confronting the World’s Changing Economic Times
Dr. Peter Tarlow | January 23, 2019
By Dr. Peter Tarlow January 2019 Perhaps Charles Dickens said it best when he stated that we live in the best and worst of times. There is little doubt that the tourism industry is facing some interesting and challenging times. Its transportation component has to deal with the irregular and hard to predict cost of fuel, both in the form of gasoline and jet plane fuel, but also the fact that antiquated air systems combined with a major decline in customer service have made millions of travelers understand why the we derive the word "travel" from the French word "travail" meaning (hard) work. To add to the industry's challenges in 2018 we...
When Does the Guest Experience Start?
Vertical Booking | January 23, 2019
By Mark Lewis-Brown, President & CEO of Vertical Booking USA Think back to your last trip and the happiness, excitement and anticipation that you felt about it… Now think about when those happy feelings started. Was it as you sat at the airport, waiting for your flight? Or was it the moment that you landed on the tarmac in your destination? Or was it when you arrived at your hotel, credit card in hand, ready to check-in to your room? Or, maybe, was it the minute that you decided to take a trip… even before you decided where you'd go… or when you'd go on the trip… or what you'd do while you were there? ...
Tackle Guest Experience Like a Pro, This Super Bowl
Divya Bhat | January 22, 2019
By Divya Bhat With Aerosmith, Ludacris, Cardi B, Maroon 5 and the likes setting the scene, the city of Atlanta is all set to host the Super Bowl 2019. This is the third time that Atlanta will be hosting the mega sporting event, after 1994 and 2000. This obviously comes as great news (with its own set of challenges) to all hoteliers in and around the city. In fact, most accommodation options almost always sell out months in advance when it comes to Super Bowls! But is that all there is for hoteliers to cash in on? We think not. Assuming that you've hit jackpot just because you are sold out for the Super Bowl season is a big mistake. Gett...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Bring Multi-Tasking to an End for Hotel Leaders
David Lund | January 21, 2019
By David Lund I am going to begin this piece with a quote because I know there is BIG TIME pushback on the idea of multi-tasking. Being so popular in our modern work society the idea of multi-tasking is more than a fad, more than say IMU (Individual Business Units) or MBWA (Management By Walking Around). These are two of my personal all-time favorite business practices. In the hotel business, we need to be able to differentiate between when it is appropriate to do more than one thing at a time and when it is not. Here is a great quote. "Studies show that the human mind can only truly multitask when it comes to highly automatic behaviors...
Australian Luxury Hotels Up Their Game for Chinese Tourists
JLL Real Views | January 18, 2019
With the Chinese now accounting for Australia's largest group of tourists, hotels are going the extra yard to make their visitors feel welcome. Congee at the breakfast buffet, Chinese signage, Chinese-speaking staff and bottled and hot water are common adaptations at some hotels as operators pursue the growing cohort of tourists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Expanding wealth in China has resulted in a booming number of tourists venturing out around the world. Australia pulls in more than 1 million visitors annually, a number that will continue to grow, based on projections of China's increasing prosperity. But as their spending capa...
Virgin Hotels Ramps Up Customer Experience Marketing and Personalization Through Partnership With Local Measure
Local Measure | January 17, 2019
New York and Sydney – 18 January, 2019 – Virgin Hotels, one of the most loved consumer brands, has implemented new Wi-Fi infrastructure at its first hotel in Chicago in partnership with Local Measure, the leading customer experience platform for the hotel industry. Virgin Hotels Chicago is famous not only for the Virgin brand but for its socially connected restaurants, bars and lounges, drawing on pop culture to create iconic experiences for its guests. Their food and beverage offerings play a key part in driving traffic to the hotel, and with new insights from customer Wi-Fi, the team can create personalized experiences and...
Major Trends to Watch for at HSMAI NY Conference
Raj Singh | January 17, 2019
By Raj Singh, CEO, Go Moment As I think about what to get excited about at HSMAI's Digital Marketing Strategy Conference 2019 taking place later this month in New York, the fast-evolving guest experience comes to mind. And, of course, hotel guest experience in 2019 will be enabled by more and better technologies. Here's what I see trending: The Impact of Voice-Enabled Intelligent Assistants Smartphones already come with voice-activated assistance built-in. Amazon recently revealed it had sold over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices. Google announced that 1 Billion devices support its Assistant product. This news validates that people are...
The Modern Guest Experience & How Hotels Can Achieve It in 2019
David Millili | January 17, 2019
By David Millili, CEO of Runtriz Remember when the first hotel websites came online? It was 1994 and Hyatt was among the first chains to launch one. There were many years after this spent convincing the rest of the hotel world that they needed one, just a simple site that would describe the property with a few images. We weren't even at the stage of online booking, yet. That wouldn't come for another year or two. (Truth be told, some chains haven't evolved their websites much from that first iteration. Many still have the stock "amenities" page with bullet points that leave the guest wondering about exactly what they'll find when they a...
St. Regis First Hotel in Washington, D.C. Metro to Feature Plum In-Room Wine By-the-Glass Amenity
St. Regis Washington, D.C. | January 16, 2019
Palo Alto, California (January 16, 2019) - Plum, the hospitality industry's revolutionary new wine by-the-glass appliance, today announced that the St. Regis Washington, D.C. is the first D.C. Metro-area hotel to offer guests a next-gen, on-demand experience. The Plum appliances, which dispenses a perfectly preserved and temperature-controlled glass with every pour, have been installed in St. Regis suite rooms, elevating and transforming the guest experience. Situated only two blocks from the White House and moments from the nation's capital's most significant attractions, The St. Regis Washington, D.C. has played host to dignitarie...
The Rise of Poshtels: How Hostels Went From Grit to Glam
JLL Real Views | January 15, 2019
Hostels have traditionally been for backpackers happy to share rooms with strangers, trek down hallways to shower and cook their own meals in basic kitchens in exchange for cut-rate accommodation. But now hostels are increasingly borrowing ideas from more highly-rated hotels: barista-served coffee drinks, late-night cocktails, plush bedding, big-screen TVs and free wi-fi. These hostel-iers seek to capture a slice of the youth market — specifically groups of friends traveling together, who want to keep an eye on their budget but aren't ready to sacrifice comfort or give up an opportunity to stay at an Instagram-worthy destination. ...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Understanding the Importance and Use of The Reserve for Capital Replacement
David Lund | January 14, 2019
By David Lund The concept for the use of the reserve account is important to understand. It is also essential that hotel operators ensure the reserve is properly funded per the terms of the Hotel Management Agreement "HMA." The use of the reserve is an important tool to utilize to protect the operator's rights and long-term viability. Many people mistakenly think the reserve account is the owner's responsibility and therefore it's up to the owner to determine and ultimately control the funding. But not so fast, the manager has a right and a duty to ensure the proper transactions are performed on a timely basis using the clauses that are...
You Can’t Get Anything for Twenty Bucks These Days
Georges Panayotis | January 10, 2019
By Georges Panayotis While we've been relatively spared the hardship of winter's cold weather, 2019 has nevertheless sprung up. So what should we wish for? What do you want? Let's get to work and act, find the strength and the means to join forces, move forward and progress together. Let us not look back because what is done is done, but let us try not to repeat the same mistakes and let us try to make the most of the assets we have. But who is looking after leisure tourists? "We shall not forget that the international symbols of Paris are the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysées - not La Défense and the ...
2019: The Year of Connectivity
Chamberlin Public Relations | January 10, 2019
If there's one buzzword for the hospitality industry this year, it's "connectivity." Hoteliers are helping travelers feel more connected than ever to their destination, from food and beverage programming to design to the brand itself. Here are three ways hoteliers can give their guests a truly special and authentic experience in the coming year, and beyond. Fresh & Beautiful F&B Hotel restaurant and bars have long since evolved from the bland watering holes of yore. Today, they are gathering spots for the whole community, where guests can meet one another and locals alike, forging new friendships and memories. Programming in t...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 207: Hotel History in Brooklyn, N.Y.: Hotel Bossert (1909) and St. George Hotel (1885)
Stanley Turkel | January 9, 2019
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History in Brooklyn, N.Y.: Hotel Bossert and St. George Hotel The Hotel Bossert was built in 1909 by Louis Bossert, a Brooklyn lumber magnate, as a residential hotel in Brooklyn Heights. The historic 14-story, 224-room hotel, once referred to as the "Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn," was owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses since 1984. The Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their first and last World Series championship when they beat the New York Yankees in 1955. In the lobby of the Hotel Bossert, delirious Dodger fans celebrated by singing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" for Walter Alston, the Dodger's manager. Jackie Ro...
OpenKey Projects Issuance of 100,000 Mobile Keys Monthly
OpenKey | January 8, 2019
Industry watches closely as mobile key usage skyrockets with popular platform DALLAS (January 8, 2019) - OpenKey, the industry standard for universal mobile key in hotels, expects to build on an impressive 2018 performance by reaching a key milestone in 2019. Following a 970 percent increase in keys issued among OpenKey client hotels last year, OpenKey is projecting performance to reach 100,000 mobile keys a month in 2019. An OpenKey survey, Guest Expectations for Hotel Tech in 2019, identified that technology will play a major role in the overall guest experience this year. Particularly, it found that 54 percent of hotel guests now ex...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: The Matching Principle
David Lund | January 7, 2019
By David Lund I tell my Introductory Hospitality Financial Leadership Workshop participants that the concept behind the matching principle is "the most important concept today." Why? When it comes to producing financial information, it's the cornerstone of understanding why we do almost everything the way we do it in the business world. The profit and loss statement cannot exist and be in any way accurate without using the matching principle every step of the way. Grasp this and you are well on your way to understanding the other principles and most importantly putting these principles to work in your day-to-day hotel leadership role. S...
2019 Top 10 Hospitality Trends
Philippe Masset | January 7, 2019
By Philippe Masset and Jean-Philippe Weisskopf The hospitality industry has been undergoing tremendous changes and disruptions over the last two decades.What key trends have been steadily reshaping the industry and where is hospitality heading in the near future? A study conducted among EHL faculty in the fall of 2018 provides insights on past and new challenges (as well as opportunities) hospitality players need to take into consideration. The TEN trends that have reshaped (and are still reshaping) the industry: #1 - Virtual communities Social networks and in particular TripAdvisor have had a profound impact on customers. This has led ...
Lodging Forecast 2019: Industry Threats Yet Growth
Robert A. Rauch, CHA | January 3, 2019
By Robert A. Rauch Reading forecast content from the plethora of prognosticators out there can drive one into craziness. Clearly, the current economy has strengths like consumer confidence, employment levels, low oil/gas prices, and purchasing managers sentiments as expressed by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing at a strong 3 percent +/- rate and most pundits expect a 2-3 percent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR), largely attributed to average daily rates (ADR). But there are warning signs—trade, interest rates, stock market turbulence, cost increases, new supply ...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: The Top 10 Interview Questions About The Hotel’s Finances for a General Manager and the Best Answers
David Lund | January 2, 2019
By David Lund Interviews are tricky, for both the candidate and the interviewer. A GM's job interview is a challenge for the incumbent because they need to be ready for just about anything. This is especially true as it relates to the financial picture of the business as seen through the interviewer's eyes. The opposite is also true as many times the person doing the grilling does not have a broad base of experience relating to the daily inner workings and nuances of the hotel world. Here is a list of common questions and good answers as well as a few bonus questions you can ask the person doing your audition. 1. What makes you qualifie...
Tourism Tidbits: Human Rights and Tourism
Dr. Peter Tarlow | November 9, 2018
November 2018 By Dr. Peter Tarlow In the United States, the month of November is connected to the holiday of Thanksgiving. It is a day of contemplative thought, mixed with travel, large feasts, and sports. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, T&M offers this contemplative essay about human rights and giving thanks. Tourism officials and professionals are carefully watching the debate as to the definition of national borders, questions of visas and issues of free or less free travel access. Although these issues also tend to be connected to the relationship between human rights, national rights and travel. The assumption behind all h...
How Involved Are Hotel Owners in Property-Level Decisions?
Demian Hodari, Ph.D | November 6, 2018
By Demian Hodari, Michael J. Turner, Michael C. Sturman Hotel owners increasingly contract hotel management companies to operate their properties. While extensive research has examined management agreements to determine the balance of power between owners and management companies, little research has investigated the actual role that hotel owners play in property-level decision making. This is perplexing because management companies generally insist that hotel management agreements (HMAs) specifically stipulate that the owner should not seek to influence the hotel's general manager (GM). In other words, in exchange for their services, m...
