The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4, 2024
Crafting a Unique Employer Brand for Today’s Talent Market
Veronika Mercier | August 14, 2024
Smart Strategies
Is the China Dream Possible for Rural Tourism Entrepreneurs?
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | November 25, 2020
25 November 2020 - Tourism is a core, but highly volatile, component of China’s grand national strategy for modernisation, according to Dr Eric Chan of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author in a recently published research paper. The researchers find that less developed areas in particular desperately need to retain people and resources to strengthen their tourism offering. Drawing on a rich dataset of personal narratives, the study sheds light on the emerging phenomenon of urban-rural migration and offers guidance for rural destinations on strategically planning tourism em...
Thanksgiving Week Special: A Recipe for Amazing Customer Service
Shep Hyken | November 25, 2020
As we approach Thanksgiving, I can’t stop thinking about turkey and stuffing—and all the different ways to prepare them. Always thinking about how everything in life ties to customer service, I wondered, “What is a good recipe for customer service?” So, I’ve listed some of the essential ingredients. I’m sure you’ll have a few more to add to this list. In the meantime, this is enough to get you started. As with any good recipe, feel free to spice it up a little! The Right Culture: This is where it starts. Leadership defines the customer service and CX vision for everyone to follow. Good People: The people on the in...
The Great American Winter Road Trip and Your Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | November 25, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Much has been written over the summer of COVID-19 about the resurgence of the Great American Road Trip, as millions were forced to rediscover the hidden gems of their own state or nation, instead of taking an international flight. Now with the virus continuing to plague our news cycle and our ability to open borders, it’s not unreasonable to assume that many travelers will perpetuate the drive-to hotel trend we’ve seen thus far. Many of you may initially scoff at this as the whole idea of the long cross-country drive is traditionally predicated on warm weather to make for a plea...
How Digitalizing the Workforce With Beekeeper Helped Jurys Inn Engage All Employees During the Pandemic and Better Prepare Us for the Next Normal
Edward Gallier | November 24, 2020
By Edward Gallier When you are a hotel group operating 49 corporate, leisure, and lifestyle hotels across the United Kingdom and Ireland, a pandemic can have a devastating impact on employee communication if digital safeguards are not in place. When the 2020 pandemic first hit, Jurys Inn & Leonardo Hotel Group had to close all but three of our properties that remained open to accommodate essential workers. Most of our 3,000 employees were furloughed. Thankfully, when we needed to bring our people back in July to begin reopening, we were able to reach 100 percent of them thanks to a new relationship with Beekeeper. Early this year Ju...
What Prop 15 Means to California Hotel Owners
JLL | October 30, 2020
By David S. Calverley What is Prop 15? On election day this year, voters in California will be choosing between maintaining the existing Prop 13 which has been in place for 42 years (since 1978) and Prop 15, the first meaningful adjustment to tax laws with regard to assessing real estate in California for property tax purposes. Proposition 15 is a constitutional amendment to require commercial and industrial properties to be taxed based on their market value, rather than their purchase price and will go no less than three years between assessments, where-as currently property is valued on the date of transfer and capped at a rate of 2%...
ALICE Launches a Hotel Technology Buyer’s Guide
ALICE | October 29, 2020
ALICE’s guide provides tips for evaluating and purchasing the best hotel technology solutions. NEW YORK, New York – ALICE, the hospitality industry’s leading operations technology company, has released “The Hotel Technology Buyer’s Guide: Top Tools to Support Lean Teams.” More than 2,500 hotels and thousands of hoteliers around the world have chosen ALICE to streamline operations and communication with a single platform. The benefits of hotel technology software are as varied as the providers that are constantly innovating in the industry. Navigating the vast market of hotel technology solutions requires an understanding of...
How to Audit (and Fix) Hotel Tax Rates to Save a Few Bucks
October 22, 2020
By Stephanie Smith With the amount of uncertainty in the world due to COVID19, now more than ever hotels must fight for every dollar! There is no easy reservation today. One of the most overlooked ways hotels can reduce their losses is by ensuring the correct tax rates are reflected on both your own website and all Online Travel Agency [OTAs] websites. Although seemingly intuitive, the review process is often ignored and forgotten. Once implemented, hotels are instantly guaranteed a few cents per reservations – which can really add up over time! Do a Tax Audit Against Your Own Hotel Website Check with your finance department on what...
COVID-19 Recovery: How Hotels Can Reestablish Brand Trust
Dr. Rick Garlick | October 21, 2020
By Dr. Rick Garlick Fall is in full swing and as businesses continue to face myriad challenges related to COVID-19 and economic downturn, brand trust continues to stagnate across the travel, hospitality and leisure sector. As such, several behavioral and attitudinal shifts will have long-term impacts across the industry and cause recovery challenges as consumers resume travel – but there are also some bright spots on the horizon. Where does trust stand? The Magid data shows that, despite significant investments to assure travelers that various venues are safe, the needle is not moving. In April, the first wave of the study showed tha...
Tourism Tidbits: Making Memories/Selling Memories in a Time of Too Few Good Memories
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | October 1, 2020
By Dr. Peter Tarlow Throughout the northern hemisphere, October begins to set the stage for the winter months. Its tourism leaders think about travel during the winter months and although they know that weather conditions might be harsh, there are many new opportunities for winter sports and holiday festivals. In the southern hemisphere October is a time to plan for summer and school vacations. Soon people will have more time for leisure and visitors from harsh northern climates consider warmer locations as a way to escape from the damp cold days of winter. Throughout much of the planet, autumn’s leaves turn the world into a sea ...
Update COVID-19 Hotel Attributes on 3rd Party Websites
Sonya Taylor | September 24, 2020
Every webinar, training, and travel-related article has heavily leaned on the notion that making travelers feel safe while staying in your hotel or visiting your city is how we will get our occupancy back up. By this point, you surely have a pop up or landing page dedicated to new protocols around COVID-19. If not, start there, then come back and read the rest of this article. Is your hotel utilizing all of the opportunities on local listings, OTAs and brands have done to help us get the word out? We have a feeling you may have missed a few and we are here to help you navigate those opportunities. Google My Business, TripAdvisor and OT...
COVID-19: The Great Hospitality Reset
| September 9, 2020
By Matthieu Mauguin Do you ever feel like time can go by at different speeds? While on vacation, an entire week may go by in a few hours, whereas at work, a bad day can sometimes feel interminable. This is often described as the elasticity of time which is strictly a matter of perception: your brain either produces stimulants which cause an overestimation of the flow of time, or depressants/anesthetics which have the opposite effect. However, in the last few months, it seems like this feeling took a literal turn. The COVID-19 outbreak warped the concept of time, both subconsciously and literally. Early 2020 already feels like a decade a...
6 Ways to Turn a Crisis Into an Opportunity
HotStats | September 8, 2020
When a crisis strikes an industry, most hunker down to reduce damage. Amid the chaos, it’s easy to overlook the opportunities a crisis turns up. As a hotelier, you don’t have to sit back and absorb financial hits. There are ways to go on the offense. Wondering how? We’ve picked out six ways to transform unexpected market turns into profit and exit a crisis in a stronger financial position than ever. Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity In the middle of a panic, there’s a simple fact most hoteliers overlook: If you can quickly adjust to the new conditions, you’ll be set up to outdo the competition. Here’s how: 1. Esta...
Accor and Amadeus Announce Strategic Partnership Around Business Intelligence
Amadeus Hospitality | September 8, 2020
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt travel around the globe, hoteliers face many challenges in running their business and planning for the future. The historical references and past data they once relied on to build their revenue strategies no longer aligns with current market trends, making it more critical than ever to have access to powerful business intelligence tools. To support Accor hoteliers in successfully navigating COVID-19 and to plan for the future, the hotel group has expanded its strategic partnership with Amadeus to include the use of Demand360®. The solution provides the most comprehensive, forward-looking market data in t...
It’s Becoming Survival of the Fittest
Robert Rauch | August 14, 2020
By Robert Rauch Prepare your operations to meet what guests are looking for, and prepare your teams for the realities of today’s environment. Mike Ditka, former NFL star player and coach once said, “Success is not permanent, and failure is not fatal.” Today it is paramount to test, experiment and kill the projects that don’t work. Business models and budgets became obsolete immediately. Culture and teamwork became even more critical as our world got turned upside down. As an owner or operator of a hotel, we are now a full-time coach if we were not before. This requires clarity and focus as some departments have...
Routier Forms Strategic Partnership With Knowcross® to Enhance Guest Contactless Service Quality and Efficiency in Wake of COVID-19
Routier | July 21, 2020
Routier’s AI-driven MessageHub™ integration with KNOW Service streamlines two-way guest communication and task management abilities for labor-strained hotels, while providing guests with safer access to hotel services. WASHINGTON D.C. & TEL AVIV, July 21, 2020 — Routier, Inc., a leading provider of AI-enabled hotel operations, marketing and guest engagement solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Knowcross®, the global leader in providing service quality and optimization solutions for hotels, to provide reopening hotels with advanced tools capable of overcoming a range of service challenges posed by COVID-19. Throu...
CLEANtracker Technology Gives Hotel Guests Confidence With Certainty of Cleanliness via Dynamic Visual Proof in the Palm of Their Hands
Creating Revolutions | June 24, 2020
Fear instinctually diminishes trust. For hotels striving to implement hygiene initiatives to protect guests, that fear, unfortunately, requires an additional step in proof of their promises. Miami Beach, FLORIDA (June 24, 2020) – A psychological point demonstrated in most horror films, is that fear exacerbates distrust in others. Although the hotel industry is striving to implement stringent hygiene initiatives to protect guests, it is the diminished trust caused by fear of an invisible virus that is the final challenge hotels face in cementing guest confidence. Guests want certainty that their room is being precisely cleaned and sanitiz...
JN+A and HVS Design Release 2020 Hotel Cost Estimating Guide
JN+A | June 1, 2020
Rockville, Md. (June 1, 2020) Jonathan Nehmer + Associates, Inc. (JN+A) and HVS Design, leading Architecture, Interior Design, and Project Management firms specializing in the hospitality industry, are proud to announce the release of the 2020 Hotel Cost Estimating Guide. The Guide is a comprehensive listing of capital expenditure construction and FF&E costs for hotel renovations. Now in its twelfth year, the 2020 Hotel Cost Estimating Guide evaluates costs in a variety of hotel tiers including Economy, Extended Stay, Midscale, Upscale, Upper Upscale, and Luxury. Within each tier, costs are separated into the categories of Guestroo...
Covid-19 Crisis Forces Hoteliers to Review Their Human Resources Strategies
Alex Sogno | May 13, 2020
By Alex Sogno Does the leisure and tourism workforce need to be rescued? Considering the industry contributes 10.4% of global GDP, supporting one in ten jobs on the planet [i], we can affirm that the tourism industry is one of the principal job providers. Furthermore, business recovery is expected to be slow: the UNWTO has estimated a 20%-30% global decline in international tourist arrivals [ii]. Major hotel chains are reducing their workforce. The business is performing 50% below normal levels in the European market and Asia Pacific, excluding China [iii] ; Marriott’s CEO Arne Sorenson said that the hotel business was running almos...
Six Actions Taken by Chinese Hoteliers as Immediate Remedies for the Coronavirus Crisis
Global Asset Solutions | April 22, 2020
“Cities in China are carefully easing strict prevention measures and access restrictions based on advancements in local public health conditions”. This is the message that citizens have recently shared on their social media profiles. The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest-hit industries in these times. Hoteliers in China have demonstrated resilience and creativity through their countering measures towards the Covid-19 crisis. Today, as hoteliers from all over the globe are facing a similar unprecedented situation, it has become ever-more crucial to pass on the experience to design new scenarios, post-COVID19. We have gat...
Hotel Investing in the Uncertain Pandemic Climate
Marcus & Millichap | April 8, 2020
As we commence a new quarter in 2020, facing heavy headwinds in the face of the new decade, it is more important than ever to develop a plan to work through this pandemic. There is still so much uncertainty, yet it is our responsibility as business professionals to develop a plan to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario. The good news is however, that our economy is taking action to assist our business. The U.S Small Business Administration 504 program is providing loans with the same type of long-term, fixed-rate financing enjoyed by larger firms, denoted by interest rates equivalent to favorable bond market rates. Businesses are el...
To Lead in Times of Crisis, One Must Be Equal Parts Realist, Pragmatist and Optimist
Keith Kefgen | April 1, 2020
By: Keith Kefgen As an evaluator of leadership capability, I have been asked what it takes to lead in a time of crisis, such as COVID-19. My answer has been simple, “you must be equal parts realist, pragmatist and optimist. This mixture of archetypes is essential in dealing with the fast moving and unknown outcomes of a crisis. Realist. a person who accepts a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly. To face a situation that is as complex as COVID, fact finding is critical. Like a complex puzzle, getting started in the known areas is a good start (start in the corners). Ask for help in areas that are unknown a...
Who Not to Be in Hotel Leadership
Larry Mogelonsky | March 18, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Can you change a hotel’s culture without a change at the top? Think about this long and hard as it is very rare that the answer is a ‘yes’. Instead, my hope is to present four potential pratfalls to avoid so as to offer some perspective on how these senior executive behaviors may trickle down to hinder your hotel’s culture from achieving maximum productivity. In many ways, it’s a process of elimination, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun in the process! The General Numbers Manager These individual bases everything that he or she does off of data and...
Learning From Past Crises
HSMAI | March 16, 2020
By Kaitlin Dunn The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, a pandemic on Wednesday, March 11. While the coronavirus has been a huge disrupter not only in the hospitality industry but in every sector around the world, it’s not unique. Hospitality professionals have weathered numerous other crises, from outbreaks to natural disasters — each one offering its own lessons. D.C. Becker, principal and co-owner at Titan Group of New York, has been through two recent crises. While he was with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, he was in Shanghai in 2011 after a deadly tsunami hit neighborin...
Strategic Coronavirus Operational Planning
Larry Mogelonsky | March 11, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) The news regarding this virus is omnipresent. It has impacted travel throughout the world, for which nearly every hotel will feel the effect. Stemming from numerous emergency planning sessions for the properties we manage through our consultancy, below is the rough preamble of what we have proscribed to help hoteliers get through this global ordeal. Preparation is essential, not only in terms of what we do hygienically, but also in how we build our business. Whatever the actual severity of this virus, the fact remains that it is not our call as hoteliers to make a decision either wa...
