Hotel operators might choose to brand their property with a nationally recognized hotel chain affiliation for a plethora of reasons. Brands offer a level of security, standardization, and consistency, helping travelers know what to expect from one property to another.
Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. There’s something to be said about staying in the moment — living for the present and not for the future. Like when a guest walks into your hotel, you’re not going to ask them when they’re coming back before they’ve even checked in. No, you’re going to focus on things like that guest’s afternoon spa treatment — undisturbed and complete with a coconut mask, because it’s the preferred facial from their guest profile.
In the hospitality industry, terms like "guest service" and "guest experience" are often used interchangeably. However, they're not the same thing.
Have you ever started a project or embarked on a journey brimming with enthusiasm and excitement, only to find yourself struggling midway through?
According to descriptions across the internet landscape, innovation is typically defined as the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value; challenging the status quo, thinking outside the box.
What makes a good hotel room? It’s a simple question but it doesn’t have a short answer. There are certain things we can take as a given: cleanliness, functionality, comfort. Without these basics, guests are never likely to be satisfied.
In our fast-paced, increasingly digital world, communication is vital to personal and professional success. Whether you’re negotiating business deals, sharing ideas in a meeting, or simply interacting with friends and family, how we convey messages can significantly impact the outcomes of these interactions. However, communication isn't just about speaking or writing words; it's about how effectively those words are understood, how clearly ideas are expressed, and how well we listen.
As we enter the final year of the first quarter of the 21st century, hospitality faces an inflection point. Once driven forward by trailblazers whose bold thinking reimagined guest experiences, many industry participants find themselves fighting the challenge of standing out in a sea of sameness.
In hospitality, mornings set the tone for the day. Your team can walk out of a morning lineup ready to tackle the day’s challenges—or dragging their feet, unmotivated before their shift even starts. It’s up to leadership to turn those quick 15 minutes into the highlight of the day. So how do you make your morning lineups not just another meeting but a moment your team looks forward to?
Sometime along the lifetime of any hospitality project development or property refurbishment the potential role and scope of some sort of health, wellness or spa component is discussed.
Something that many of us have felt and others have put into numbers is the megatrend of luxury hotel rates growing at an outsized pace relative to in-market comparisons from other budget, midscale and even upmarket hotels. The two of us have pointed to this difference on projects as a reason for owners and investors to consider either upleveling their existing property or in going through the extra effort to develop within luxury hospitality real estate versus other classes.
Stepping into the role of a first-time hospitality manager often feels like being tossed into a raging fire with little preparation or support. From resolving guest disputes to managing employee turnover, enforcing policies, and handling top-down decisions, new managers are expected to perform flawlessly. Unfortunately, many are left to figure it all out with minimal guidance. This trial-by-fire method of leadership development has been the norm in the hospitality industry for years, but in today’s demanding environment, it’s time for a change.
In hospitality projects, every detail impacts guest experience and operational efficiency, with FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) purchasing being a critical component.
In much of the world, the month of December is a time of beauty. For some, snow covers the ground with a soft blanket of beauty. For others, December, the darkest month in the northern hemisphere is a time of lights as Chanukah and Christmas lights bring warmth and pierce the darkness of dreariness. These moments of enchantment are especially important as many of us live in difficult times, and therefore we need the beauty of enchantment in our lives. Millions of people around the world suffer from illnesses and diseases, poverty and loneliness. There are many ways that we can all fight these social negatives. For those who have can afford to travel, travel and tourism can add, if only for a few days or weeks, enchantment back into our lives.
Luxury hotels are defined by service excellence, exclusive amenities and personalization. With so much buzz around ‘personalization’ these days (in quotes on purpose), what is often missed is the precision of service delivery necessary to execute this attention to detail at scale, for which there’s no truer form of expressing this precision than through customization of the guest journey in a seamless blend of meticulously curated experiences.
It is fascinating how changing just a single letter in a word can make a big difference in what that word means. Change Book to Cook and you go from a collection of written pages to someone who prepares food.
Should we trust the models that almost unanimously predict a continued upswing in hotel activity in the coming months or even years? Given the performances already achieved, the optimism expressed by experts does not seem unreasonable. Does this mean that trees could grow to the sky?
The hospitality industry is a dynamic field that thrives on innovation, customer experience, and adaptability. Leading companies in this sector have continuously evolved their strategies to remain competitive, setting benchmarks for others to follow. By examining some of the most successful case studies from top hospitality companies, we can gain valuable insights into the strategies that drive growth and customer satisfaction. Let’s take a closer look at a few standout examples.
For many decades, visitors to the Hawaiian island of Oahu had just one neighborhood to choose from when booking a hotel. Waikiki–that iconic mile-and-a-half strip of white-sand beach ringed by more than 26,000 hotel rooms–was the only place where hotels could be found.
The days of free HBO and touting an ironing board and coffee maker as room features that delight guests are long gone. The hotel and hospitality industry has seen many changes over the years in services offered, product specifications, and how teams interact with guests. Today, features like lightning-fast Wi-Fi, water bottle filling stations, and electric car chargers attract more attention than the once-expected standards of irons and coffee makers.