The Messy Middle: Embracing the Challenges of Progress
Have you ever started a project or embarked on a journey brimming with enthusiasm and excitement, only to find yourself struggling midway through?
Opinion Articles
Innovation Lessons for Event and Hospitality Professionals – From the Beatles and Coca-Cola?
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.
By Gary Hernbroth, Founder, Training for Winners
12 Small Things That Make a Good Hotel Room Great
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.
The Art of Effective Communication
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.
By Prince Sanders, Hospitality Managing Director, Prince A. Sanders
How Bold Thinking Can Revitalize Hospitality in 2025
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.
By Josiah Mackenzie, Host and Producer, Hospitality Daily
Tips on Making Your Morning Lineups the Most Fun 15 Minutes of the Day
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?
By Mychal Milian, General Manager, Waterstone Resort & Marina, Boca Raton - Curio Collection by Hilton, Hilton
Aim for a Home Run and Do Not Settle for Empty Pearl Shells
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.
By Laszlo Puczko, CEO & Co-Founder, Health Tourism Worldwide
The Mille Club: Historical Rate Card Reveals Luxury Rate Explosion
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.
By Larry Mogelonsky and Adam Mogelonsky
Managing Blazing Fires: A First-Time Hospitality Manager’s Survival Guide
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.
By SJ Shaw, Master Student, University of Houston
How to Avoid Common FF&E Scheduling Pitfalls During a Hotel Renovation
In hospitality projects, every detail impacts guest experience and operational efficiency, with FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) purchasing being a critical component.
By Charis Atwood, Hospitality Consultant, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
Tourism Tidbits: Selling Enchanted Tourism
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.
By Peter Tarlow, President, Tourism and More
Learning From Las Vegas Luxury with Crockfords at Resorts World
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.
By Larry Mogelonsky and Adam Mogelonsky
What a Difference a Letter Can Make
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.
By Bonnie Knutson, Professor in The School of Hospitality Business in the Broad College of Business, Michigan State
When the wind rises, should we lower the sails?
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?
By Vanguélis Panayotis, CEO MKG Consulting & Hospitality ON / MRICS, Hospitality ON
Case Studies from Leading Hospitality Companies
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.
By Prince Sanders, Hospitality Managing Director, Prince A. Sanders
Downtown Honolulu Grows Up
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.
By Paul McElroy, Executive Vice President, Highgate, Highgate Hotels, L.P.
Adaptive Leadership in an Era of Experiences
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.
By John Hirt, Vice President of Operations, Newport Hospitality Group
Driving resilience in Swiss tourism: Data smart innovation for SMEs
Dr. Meng-Mei Maggie Chen (Assistant Professor of Marketing) and Amélie Keller (Flagship Resilient Tourism Coordinator), offer insights into their collaborative work with Nyon Région Tourisme and Blent Hospitality Business Intelligence.
Hospitality Thought Leadership: Thinking for Innovation and Advancement
The pandemic had the hospitality industry rethinking its operating models for safety, security and survival. This crisis event promoted innovation and new concepts and applications in all businesses, including hospitality and tourism.
By Robert O’Halloran, Professor Director, School of Hospitality Leadership, East Carolina University
Stools and Stereotypes: Why Accommodating Disabilities in Hotels is Non-Negotiable
An employee comes to you and says they need a stool to sit on while they do their job. You immediately think – We don’t have stools for employees to sit on. That is a standing position. But….is that the correct response? What should you do?
By Chuck Simikian, Human Resources Consultant, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants