“This is AXA insurance about the patient you saw last month, Mrs. Diaz. We are asking you to accept a lower payment. In exchange, we list you as a preferred provider.” The offer was for less than half what I billed. I declined. AXA would eventually pay my regular rate although a few months would pass. AXA sells travel insurance to Latin Americans. Its US agency and a dozen others phone me to make...

IN-DEPTH: Travel is one of those few and lucky verticals that is so broad and engaging that it actually works on various screens – but travel content and service providers need to be thoughtful about what to optimize for each screen and what to carry through to all to convey a consistent and integrated experience and message, says Katherine Bose, Director, Mobile Partnerships, Americas, TripAdvis...

A key principle for finding personal fulfillment in the never-ending journey to hospitality service excellence is realizing that when we bring out the best in others, we simultaneously bring out the best in ourselves every day, every shift, and with just about every guest we encounter.

Over the past few weeks Joe Buhler and I have been having numerous Google+ conversations concerning the effectiveness of social media. Joe is a principal of buhlerworks, an expert in development and execution of social web marketing strategies. Several conversations dealt with the many myths surrounding social media so I asked Joe to write a guest column on the subject for Hospitality Marketing B...

According to a recent Google whitepaper, the number of mobile users researching travel via their mobile devices is expected to grow 51% in 2012. The case is equally compelling for mobile booking in APAC, with more than 15% of travellers projected to book travel products and service by 2013.

2012 will be a challenging year for the hospitality industry. Facing continued global financial uncertainty and intense pricing pressure, hoteliers will need to exploit innovative marketing tools to gain the competitive edge. Here are 2012's five trends to watch. The smart money will prioritize accordingly.

Are there customers out there who are just impossible to satisfy? Those who consistently evaluate products and services unfavorably could simply represent a form of response style. Alternatively, those who consistently evaluate products and services low across categories could also represent a type of consumer. My Maritz Research colleagues and I call these customers "Customer Experience Assassin...

The question of how much demographics play a role in the way people evaluate personal experiences is one that customer satisfaction researchers have asked for years. Are men tougher to please than women? Who is easier to satisfy? Younger people or mature people with more life experience? Are those with a higher income more demanding customers? Or are those to whom money is a more precious commodi...

The past several decades have seen a growing awareness amongst hoteliers and investors regarding the environmental and social impacts of hotel development and operations – to the extent where sustainability issues have permeated nearly every aspect of the hospitality industry. This has been driven by multiple factors including owners' and operators' desires to reduce operational costs, changing i...

While no one has a crystal ball to accurately predict the future of the hospitality industry, Eric Stossel, Managing Editor of Lodging Hospitality has the next best thing: access to experts and insiders who have their fingers on the pulse of the industry. I was recently interviewed by Eric, along with other hospitality practitioners, for one of his articles that forecast the year ahead (see Capit...