There appears to be little doubt that the social media networking tidal wave has hit the hotel industry. To varying degrees, many hotels and hotel companies are attempting to implement some active level of social media marketing. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, corporate blogs, LinkedIn, or a myriad of other platforms, social media is rapidly changing the networking landscape. In addition to SEO...

The global Search for Radical Innovation in Hospitality, co-sponsored by The John Hardy Group and Hospitality Design magazine, aims to discover, identify, and explore radically innovative concepts in hospitality. The competition challenges creative individuals, teams, brands, and students to create a unique vision of the future of hospitality design. Eligible projects include those open now, in d...

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has launched the CHTA Data Center to provide members with a valuable resource combining statistics from the organization's member destinations with surveys, reports and other useful information on the region and the hospitality industry.

J.W. Marriott Jr. honored the 100th anniversary of the historic Marriott Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires last evening at a birthday celebration hosted at the home of the Ambassador of Argentina, Hector Timerman. Also in attendance was the Secretary of Tourism for Argentina, Enrique Meyer. The Plaza hotel, a Buenos Aires landmark, joined the Marriott International hotel portfolio in 1994.

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) - the largest association of business travel professionals - praised the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for the passage of S.1451, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2009. The legislation will advance the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and stre...

Recently, I read an article discouraging hoteliers from posting a website link to TripAdvisor or posting TripAdvisor reviews via the TripAdvisor widget on their website. In my opinion, making broad statements like this, is absolutely absurd and demonstrates a lack of understanding how and why people choose a hotel online.

In the hospitality industry, we often privately and publicly talk about our most important asset as being our people. We hear that it is not the "polished marble or the lobby waterfalls or the shiny brass" that will make us successful, but the staff that we employ to carry our message, to represent us and to meet the needs of our customers. It seems that many of us miss the opportunity to recogn...

Recently released unemployment figures indicate a continued rise in that cheery metric to 8.5-percent, a 25-year high. Even in light of some modest signs of life, the credit and housing markets continue to limp along as well. And despite the OK from President Obama to pursue business travel and corporate meetings, the damage may have already been done and those markets remained strained. Human be...

The Rainmaker Group, the world leader in automated revenue management software and services to the multifamily housing industry for total property profitability, announced seven operators recently selected the LRO lease rent options system. The new implementations across a wide range of communities send a clear message that the industry is increasing its reliance on rent optimization technology...

Houston's Hotel Sorella, debuting in mid-August 2009, is the first hotel in the United States to install TeleAdapt's MediaHub HD, which was launched at HITEC last month. The panel leads the way for personalized in-room entertainment by incorporating stereo Bluetooth technology.

UniFocus, a global pioneer in the hospitality industry for performance, workforce management and closed-loop feedback solutions, has kicked off a partnership with Penn State Hospitality Services with the implementation of MEETINGScope for the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel and the Nittany Lion Inn; both owned by Penn State University and managed by its Hospitality Services Department.

The U.S. is something of an odd duck within the global leisure travel market. It has the largest travel market in the world, more or less on par with the entire European Union, and yet the U.S. packaged travel and tour market is, by comparison, remarkably small. To get a sense of just how tiny, take a look at Figure 1 below. The U.S. market is more than three times the size of Europe's largest ma...

The current economic environment is apparently influencing consumers’ interest in certain types of lodging accommodations as revealed in the just-released Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel MONITOR℠. Compared to last year, preference for independently operated hotels and resorts is up, while preference for chain-affiliated properties is declining. Leisure travelers are also more likely...

According to the latest city review by Christie + Co, using data provided by STR Global, RevPAR across London’s Upscale hotels remained flat during 2008 compared to the previous year, due to a 5% increase in ARR, which was offset by a 3.4 percentage points decline in occupancy. Whilst in 2008 the upscale sector maintained rates at the expense of occupancy, STR Global data for 2009 indicates that ...

Mr. Vachon has more than 20 years experience in the hospitality and service industry, having successfully launched seven hotels across Canada and the U.S. to date in his career. In addition to his responsibilities at Hôtel Le Germain Calgary, Christopher is involved with SKAL (the International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals), on the advisory board of SAIT Polytechnic's hospitali...

Casey has had 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry with sales and marketing positions with the Waldorf=Astoria, Hilton Hotels, and Carnival Hotels and Casinos. Most recently, Casey served as vice president of sales & marketing for a prominent hotel development and management company where he worked with brands including the Intercontinental Hotel Group, Choice Hotels and Hilton Hote...

A native of France, Mr. Cnockaert has spent the last three years in China, where he opened The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou. Mr. Cnockaert's Ritz-Carlton career began in 1993, when he was appointed the director of food and beverage at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, in Southern California. Subsequently, his efforts earned him the position of hotel manager at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, after whi...

By Paul Slattery
The Economic Ascent of the Hotel Business is about the hotel business and the economic contexts in which it has evolved. Slattery presents an understanding of the structural development of the economies in which hotels operate and which provide the potential for hotel demand and supply to grow. He draws on contemporary data and events to chart the historic development of economies and of the hotel business to illustrate patterns in this fundamental relationship. He also focuses on the economic conditions that produced hotel chains and provides a more comprehensive basis on which future developments in hotel demand, supply and performance can be understood.