No Townies
A hospitality manager reflects on growing up beside a storied Canadian resort hotel, and how early encounters with its exclusive world sparked a four-decade career in the industry.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
Opinion Articles
How Hotels Source Linens and Amenities in Bulk: A Practical Guide for Operations and Procurement Managers
A practical guide for procurement and operations managers covering linen thread count specs by property tier, amenity kit decisions, par stock formulas, and supplier evaluation criteria for US hotels.
By Camilo Sosa, E-commerce Manager, Hotel Items (A & S Suppliers, Inc.)
Not Done Weekly - The Margin Crunch In Hotels Continues
STR and HotStats data show U.S. hotel GOP margins remain below 2019 levels despite RevPAR growth, with franchise fees, A&G, and SaaS costs rising faster than revenue while owners absorb all downside risk.
By Sloan Dean, CEO Emeritus, Not Done with Sloan Dean
Me and Stephen King
A hospitality professional reflects on how Stephen King's "On Writing" inspired a daily writing habit and ultimately led to publishing their first book.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
Hotel Catering and Conventions: A Decade of Change - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
A detailed industry review covers a decade of shifts in hotel catering and conventions, from menu personalization and tech gains to hidden fees, labor shortages, and F&B contract traps hitting smaller groups hardest.
By Nasir Zahir
What Should Hotel Leaders Know About Google’s New AI Booking Capability? Insights from Natalie Kimball
Shiji Horizon's Natalie Kimball breaks down Google's AI Mode booking launch and what it means for hotel distribution, direct booking strategy, and content accuracy.
By Natalie Kimball, Vice President of Strategic Account Management for Horizon Distribution and Iceportal Content, Shiji
What's on the Minds of the Business Travel Industry Now
GBTA's Suzanne reflects on key themes from the 2026 Convention: record $1.71T global business travel spend forecast, value-driven trip prioritization, and the continued primacy of human support alongside technology.
By Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA
The Hotel Website May Not Be Where AI Decides Which Hotels Matter
A study of 148 luxury hotels finds Forbes Travel Guide ratings and Michelin Keys explain 55% of AI recommendation frequency, while website schema and llms.txt files show near-zero correlation.
By Andrew Paul, Managing Director, Americas Great Resorts
Fixing the Greatest Irony in Travel with the Global Sleep Symposium by Equinox Hotels
Equinox Hotel New York's third annual Global Sleep Symposium featured sleep scientists and performance experts, with key takeaways for hoteliers on how better sleep directly drives guest satisfaction and financial performance.
By Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky
Sustainability as a Brand Differentiator
A Conrad New York Downtown executive outlines how sustainability drives competitive advantage through guest amenities, rooftop farming, community partnerships, and ESG data reporting via Hilton's LightStay platform.
Hospitality Leaders, Take Your Marks! Preparing Hotels for the LA28 Olympics
With LA28 approaching, hotel owners face tightening timelines for renovation projects as labor, procurement, and permitting pressures intensify ahead of the 2028 deadline.
By Charis Atwood, Hospitality Consultant, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
Business travel is being rewired. Are hotels ready?
Drawing on insights from GBTA 2025, a Minor Hotels executive argues that rising spend per trip, not trip volume, signals a shift toward intentional, high-value corporate travel that hotels must strategically address.
By Fernando Vives, Hospitality Labs Ambassador & Chief Commercial Officer, Hospitality Labs
Hotel Tech Companies Need to Spend More Time at Investment Conferences
The author argues hotel tech vendors should attend investment conferences like IHIF to understand what drives CEOs and institutional owners, shifting focus from incremental software upgrades to anticipating where entirely new travel demand is emerging.
By Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky
Goodbye FIFA, hello conventions: US hotels pivot from group play to group demand as fall nears
U.S. hotel performance surged in July driven by FIFA World Cup displacement effects, with non-host cities like Chicago and Detroit posting RevPAR gains of 16-17%, while ADR grew 8.2% above inflation.
By Isaac Collazo and Jan Freitag
The Chapter 8 — The Payroll the GM Never Read
A case study of a Florida hotel where an executive housekeeper paid two ghost employees nearly $470K over four years, exposed only when a new AGM audited I-9 records on her first day.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
What Is a Hotel’s Fair Market Share and Why Does It Define Your Competitive Position?
A primer on hotel fair market share and RevPAR index, explaining how to read STR reports to diagnose whether a property is winning or losing against its competitive set.
By Bob Rauch, President of RAR Hospitality, R.A. Rauch & Associates, Inc.
Your rate now competes with a points price inside Google's answer
Google's AI Mode now lets US travelers book hotels and compare cash rates against loyalty points in one conversation, removing the friction that previously delayed award redemption decisions.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
HVS U.S. Market Pulse: August 2026
HVS forecasts 4.5% U.S. RevPAR growth for 2026, driven by FIFA World Cup lift, domestic travel shifts, and AI-sector demand, with cap rates averaging 7.7% in Q2 and transaction volume rising 9.1%.
By Rodney Clough, President - HVS Americas, Denver, HVS
Meeting Evolving Guest Expectations: How Operational Excellence Shapes the Modern Guest Experience
The GM of Hilton Anaheim shares how a full-property renovation was used to align design, technology, and team performance, showing that operational efficiency, not aesthetics alone, drives lasting guest loyalty.
By Justin Underwood, Director of Hotel Operations, Hilton
How the Improved Forecast Should Shape Your 2027 Budget
STR raised its 2026 U.S. RevPAR forecast to 4.4% growth, and this piece explains how hoteliers should translate national trends into property-level 2027 budgets by aligning financial and demand forecasts.
By Rob Lawrence, CEO, Otelier