Hotel Industry News - Features

What has happened to direct sales in the hospitality industry? Once a discipline of an enviable combination of great social skills, good business judgment, and powers of persuasion, direct sales was many times the starting point for learning the business of hotels.

Everyone is a player now. Looking at Gaming from my perch in Massachusetts, I am astounded with the activity in the Northeast.

Our Hospitality landscape has shifted, and we have tried to adapt. Our mantra - doing more with less.

Like most trainers, I frequently engage participants in interactive activities that hopefully shift their paradigms. With one such activity, I give participants a list of like-hotels in a location they’ve never been to, and then have them each place a group sales or reservations inquiry call. Afterwards, each participant reports back to the overall group on their experiences and observations.

Hotel lawyers will tell you that there are always disputes going on between hotel owners and operators, and that most of them are resolved at the bargaining table without any legal action.

According to both consumer news and the industry press, the global economy continues to falter in many locations, yet there are signs of growth and optimism in certain market segments. While preparing this article, I elected to go in a slightly different direction and focus several pieces on identifying the most pressing issues facing owners and managers in hospitality today.

As traveler reviews continue to grow in influence and pervasiveness, more hotels are debating, “Should we post reviews on our website? Do we dare?”

One of the key ingredients in the successful formula of the Experiential Hospitality is, without a doubt, the Guest Management Information, since knowledge of guests will enable us to design tailor-made experiences which will lead them to reach their hopes and aspirations.

Out of town visitors and local travelers in the Knoxville area now have more fueling options for their Electric Vehicles (EV).

IN-DEPTH: Budget planning should be built around supporting initiatives, campaigns and applications that provide users beneficial information, help achieve business goals and are interesting enough that people will want to engage, says Jennifer Stafford, Social Media Manager, HomeAway.com.