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
Deloitte: Travel Leaders Embrace Automation and Tech As Workforce Challenges Continue To Weigh on Industry
Deloitte | September 22, 2023
Amid ongoing labor concerns, airline and hospitality leaders leverage digital and technology solutions to enhance traveler experience NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2023 -- Key takeaways Travel providers are leveraging next-gen technology to alleviate workforce constraints: Nearly all airports and half of hotels surveyed are adopting new technology to bridge the labor gap. Despite increased reliance on automation, only one-third of those surveyed expect it to reduce the size of their staff in the next five years, and most expect technology to improve the work experience and create new opportunities for frontline workers. Technolo...
Building a Comprehensive Fraud Awareness Program: Five Essential Elements
Kevin Doyle | September 14, 2023
By Kevin Doyle In today’s rapidly evolving and positive COVID business landscape, the specter of fraud, corporate malfeasance, and unethical behavior looms large. In response to the pandemic, many organizations reduced head count resulting in potential control deficiencies. The impact of these issues extends beyond financial loss, encompassing reputational damage, loss of employee morale, and erosion of trust. To combat these challenges, organizations must establish robust fraud awareness programs that encompass collaboration, communication, training, tone at the top, and effective investigative protocols. This article explores ho...
Gender Data Gap: Understanding the Bias in Our Data
Ana McFee | September 14, 2023
By Ana McFee In today's interconnected world, data is hailed as the backbone of progress and innovation. It shapes decisions, policies, and designs across various fields. However, what if the data we rely on is inherently biased, favoring one gender over another? This is the crux of the issue explored in the groundbreaking book,"Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men" by Caroline Criado Perez. The book sheds light on the pervasive gender data gap that underpins many aspects of our society, from healthcare and technology to transportation and urban planning. In this article, we will delve into the concept of data...
Ready for the Future? Five Leadership Trends Reshaping Hospitality
EHL | September 13, 2023
New technologies, employee well-being, CSR, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives are all strong trends influencing the management of global hospitality businesses today. Adapting to the evolving landscape of the global hospitality industry To lead people and organizations successfully in the coming years, leaders need to have a clear understanding of these trends and how to implement them while considering the specific needs of their organizations and the context of their market. In this article, we’ll discuss the top five trends influencing global hospitality businesses, and their leadership, today. And we’ll offer some s...
The Oak and the Willow: The Urgency of Tech Architecture Overhaul in Hotels
Aaron Shepherd | September 13, 2023
By Aaron Shepherd There is an old parable about the oak and the willow. When a storm approaches, everyone assumes that the mighty oak will be the last one standing, yet its rigidity causes it to shatter under the storm's force. Meanwhile, the willow bends with the wind, leveraging its flexibility to survive the storm unharmed. In the travel and hospitality industry, being the willow means adaptability, speed, and efficiency. It’s clear hoteliers today face a stark new reality: technology is more vital to all aspects of hospitality and travel than ever before. Why? For one thing, it’s a competition game changer. The next decade will be ...
The Search for Hotel Housekeepers: How To Create a Competitive Advantage Amid a Shortage
John E. Dorer | September 12, 2023
By John E. Dorer More than three years after COVID-19 erupted around the globe, fortunately the disease is receding. But the problems the pandemic caused persist. More than half of Americans in a Gallup Poll in June said their lives are not yet back to “normal.” You can count many hotel operators among them. Despite the gradual recovery from the havoc wreaked by the pandemic, the hospitality industry overall continues to struggle with a diminished workforce. Although a pickup from recent months was reflected in Labor Department data released this month — leisure and hospitality added 40,000 jobs — the industry remains 290,...
Tourism Tidbits: How Effective Is Your Marketing?
Dr. Peter Tarlow | September 11, 2023
By Dr. Peter Tarlow September marks the end of the high summer tourism season in most of the Northern Hemisphere. This was also the year that many companies got involved in politics and found themselves with negative marketing results. The end of summer is also a good time to review your marketing efforts and ask yourself questions such as: How successful were your marketing efforts? What should you have done differently? What successes or challenges did you face that you were able to control and what was beyond your control? How did you handle problems that were beyond your control? Often tourism and travel profes...
Google Hotel Reviews: Everything You Need to Know
Eva Lacalle | September 11, 2023
By Eva Lacalle In today's digital age, online reviews have become an integral part of the decision-making process for travelers. As a hotelier, it’s crucial to understand the impact of guest feedback on your business. This is where Google hotel reviews come into play. In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Google hotel reviews and provide valuable insights on leveraging them to enhance your hotel's reputation and attract more guests. Why Google hotel reviews matter Travelers rely on Google in their research, planning and booking process. Reviews are one of the first things potential guests see when they sear...
Luxury Hospitality: Trends, Challenges, and Best Practices
EHL Insights | September 8, 2023
By Dr. Sowon Kim, Dr. Florent Girardin, Dr. Matthias Fuchs Luxury is the new black. Post the pandemic, the global luxury industry recorded sales of €1.15 trillion in 2021, and continued its growth in 2022 by 19%-21% (Bain & Company, 2023). Luxury hospitality, luxury cars, and personal luxury goods represent over 80% of the total market. In this article, we zoom into the world of luxury hospitality to examine the trends that shape this industry, the challenges that are associated with the trends, and the best practices that illustrate how firms are managing such challenges. The trend of personalized meaningful experiences The luxu...
The Skills Gap in the Hospitality Industry
Daniel Ciapponi | September 5, 2023
By Daniel Ciapponi Labor is the biggest single cost for hospitality institutions, yet many hotel and tourism industry employers are facing an industry-wide shortage of qualified employees. Travel and tourism may be up as global levels of wealth increase, but there are fewer qualified hospitality workers across the entire industry - from casinos and cruise ships to restaurants and hotels. So what skills are current employees missing and how can hospitality students gain the right set of skills to plug the skills gap and save the industry in the future? What caused the hospitality industry labor shortage? Several different factors conve...
AAHOA Endorses the Ethical and Beneficial Use of AI in the Hotel Experience
AAHOA | September 1, 2023
ATLANTA, Ga. – AAHOA, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, a leading innovator in the hospitality industry that represents 20,000 hoteliers, proudly endorses the findings of a recent study conducted by the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. The study examined hotel guests' acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems and how they are reshaping the industry. Additionally, Morgan Stanley Research on Aug. 18 issued a report, “AI for Hotels: Will the Hotel of the Future Fit in the Palm of Your Hand?,” which documented the upsides of early adoption of AI technologies ...
Why Hospitality Is Important as a Skill and Not Only as an Industry
EHL Insights | August 31, 2023
Well on the way to recovery post-pandemic, the global hospitality industry continues to grow, change, and diversify every year. In fact, hospitality remains one of the world's fastest-growing employment sectors, and factors such as increasing disposable income, rising demand for more diverse travel and tourism activities, and the affordability of air travel contribute to this ongoing growth. According to the Hospitality Global Market Report, the travel and tourism industry saw a growth of 15.1% in 2022. One of the sectors with the best economic performance was the hotels. In 2022, hotels generated 595,500 million more in profits than in 2...
The Psychological Shift When Increasing Nightly Rates
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | August 30, 2023
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky However much we think of dynamic pricing and yield management as a science, there’s still an art to it because underpinning every hotel reservation is human emotion. To help explain concepts like this, a little numerical exploration can really shine a light on things. Let’s start with smaller numbers to give this an opening perspective. We’re both big fans of wine, so consider a bottle of table wine. Imagine that the marketing gurus at whichever the chosen wine brand is have a chat and decide that the optimal price for this bottle is a clean $10.00. But that’s a full four digits, and you well know fr...
11 In-Demand Hospitality Resume Skills
Frank Giannotti | August 30, 2023
By Frank Giannotti To increase your chances of getting hired in hospitality, it's important to make sure your CV showcases the skills that are valued by both human recruiters and AI-screening bots. Make sure you highlight these 11 hospitality resume skills to stand out from other applicants. AI recruitment software has many advantages for hiring managers and applicants, for example, it removes any biases or prejudices making the process much fairer. On the other hand, fancy formatting and conveying personality won't go as far. If an AI Bot is screening your CV, here's a handy list of terms they want to see and why it matters. ...
Cultivating a Happy Workplace With Wellbeing-Focused Leadership
Insa Thalau | August 28, 2023
By: Insa Thalau As employment trends and workplace technology continue to evolve quickly, it’s hard to predict what future jobs and careers will look like. One thing remains clear: the most valuable asset of every organization will always be its human capital. Recent studies prove that happy workplace and positive human interactions remain the key to success for any organization that employs people, or provides services and/or products for people, no matter what digitalization and AI technology brings. As a leader, you can try anticipating the evolving nature of work, and keep an eye on emerging trends, but those things won’t have ...
6 Great Ways to Reduce Absenteeism and Turnover Rates in the Workplace
Dr. Bertrand Audrin | August 21, 2023
By Dr. Bertrand Audrin Absenteeism and high turnover rates are two of the most common difficulties that leaders are facing in today’s tricky employment market where employees are leaving their jobs more frequently and feeling less committed than ever before. While these phenomena are affecting all industries, the services industry is particularly hard hit. Challenges in the hospitality industry The hospitality industry experiences significant employee turnover and absenteeism, having historically had one of the highest turnover rates among private sectors, even prior to the pandemic. These factors pose a substantial financial burden ...
Q2 Industry Perspectives: Looking Ahead for the Travel Industry
Jamie Mageau | August 18, 2023
By Jamie Mageau Over the last several weeks, many travel businesses released their Q2 earnings and shared their latest expectations. These insights and perspectives help us understand how some of the largest corporate travel players are viewing the state of the economy and its impact on the travel industry as well as opportunities or barriers on the horizon that may impact their continued growth. Here is a deeper dive into their perspectives. Leisure demand normalizing and returning to pre-pandemic trends Hilton CEO, Chris Nassetta: Leisure demand in the U.S. remained strong but grew more modestly year-over-year due to tougher compariso...
Corporate Buzzwords: Good, Bad, or Scaring Off New Hires?
EHL Insights | August 8, 2023
Corporate buzzwords, also known as jargon, are an everyday part of the office world. And people use them for many different reasons. These phrases sound trendy, create a sense of belonging, provide an easy way to shift gears in a meeting, or even allow us to make light of a challenging situation. But sometimes corporate buzzwords can also have a negative impact. According to a recent study by preply, some of these words are creating a rift in the workplace. Apparently, many employees view today’s most popular corporate buzzwords as annoying, and some jargon worsens the generational gaps. The negativity created by these words may be impa...
Having a Nash Bash: How Your Hotel Can Capitalize on Events To Increase Direct Bookings
Stephen Fitzgerald | August 8, 2023
By: Stephen Fitzgerald, Vice President, Hotels, at Sojern From bachelorette parties to concerts, Nashville is an increasingly-popular destination for events–and these events are selling out hotel rooms well in advance. Recently, the Music City hosted concerts from artists like Taylor Swift to George Strait, both of which drove a sharp spike in hotel bookings. In fact, room rates at mid-range hotels during the Taylor Swift concert weekend ran upwards of $1150 per night. And it’s not just concerts driving bookings: Nashville is becoming a bachelor and bachelorette party mecca, and many of these parties take place during weekends without ...
How Three—or Four—Factors Have Combined to Increase Travel’s Affordability
Aaron Szyf | August 4, 2023
A combination of increased wages, cooling overall inflation and declining travel prices have recently made travel more affordable. By Aaron Szyf Below, we take a deep dive into the data and what it means for travel. By the numbers: • Wages: Average private sector wages were up 4.4% in June year-over-year (YOY). This exceeds the rate of inflation (3.0% YOY), meaning that purchasing power has increased. • Overall inflation: Overall inflation moderated in June. While prices were still up 3.0% YOY, this is the lowest YOY increase since March 2021. • Travel inflation: While overall prices moderated, travel prices d...
The Current State of Business Travel: Business Traveler and Travel Manager Priorities
GBTA | August 4, 2023
GBTA and Uber for Business Examine the Complex Perspectives Between Business Travelers and Travel Managers in New Report The new age of business travel is intentional, with employees increasingly emphasizing work-life integration and changing dynamics This is according to a new report – “The Current State of Business Travel: Business Traveler and Travel Manager Priorities” – published today by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association, and sponsored by Uber for Business, Uber’s global enterprise platform for managing business rides, meals and deliveries. The report explo...
Holacracy or Wholly Crazy? Is a Flattened Hierarchy Suitable to Hospitality?
EHL Staff | August 2, 2023
By Dr. Steffen Raub, Dr. Bertrand Audrin, Dr. Stefano Borzillo One concept in the hospitality sector, known for its traditionally very vertical hierarchical structure, is sparking discussion about the future of specific hospitality industry organizations. It's called “holacracy,” a flattened organizational structure that seeks to distribute authority and empower employees at all levels. But is this innovative approach compatible with the hospitality industry's complex, highly hierarchical dynamics? In this article, we examine the question: Is a flattened organizational structure suitable for organizations in the hospitality industry? ...
Keeping the Start-Up Mindset Alive: Maintaining Innovation in a Scaling Organization
Aldair Borges | August 1, 2023
By Aldair Borges Often as organizations scale, they lose their edge. Things start to move slower, and innovation can feel few and far between. This post will outline seven key points I’ve learned for maintaining an innovative edge within a cross-functional product team, enabling growth and promoting creativity. 1. Empower your teams Workplace culture isn’t the main thing people look for when joining a company, but it’s certainly one of the reasons people stay, or in some cases, leave. As an organization scales, we often hear leadership teams emphasizing the importance of maintaining that “start-up” feeling of innovation and ...
Hotel Data Security Update: Time Is Short – Reporting Your Data Breach
Jim Butler | July 31, 2023
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® This month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules requiring companies who experience a cybersecurity attack to publicly disclose the impact of the attack within four days. Hotel companies whose securities are registered with the SEC should take note of these regulations and develop a robust incident response plan. Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, outlines the new regulations below. Time is Short – Reporting your Data Breach by Bob Braun, Hotel Lawyer Over the pa...
