Go Big, But Think Small
Balancing Mid-Sized Personal Attention with Economies of Scale is Formula for Success in Hotel Management
The current consolidation mania of third-party management companies is producing important monetary benefits to owners.
Labor Pains: Dealing With the Hotel Industry's Staffing Crisis
An Industrywide Labor Shortage Threatens To Compromise the Coming Recovery
For an industry that has borne the brunt of the economic impact from the COVID crisis, the hotel business should view recent pandemic developments as extremely favorable news. New ...
Hotel Industry Has Entered the New 'Roaring 20s'
How Hoteliers Evolve in the Coming Months, Years Will Shape Future
A century ago, America enjoyed a decade-long period of flourishing social and economic prosperity so significant that the era became forever immortalized as the “Roaring 20s.” In t...
Absence Makes the Heart go Yonder
Hotel professionals are missing the yearly grind of the constant conference schedule.
I promised myself after the Americas Lodging Investment Summit back in January that I would never attend another hotel conference.
The Power of People During a Crisis
The value of great hotel management has never been clearer—or more urgently needed.
In the hotel business, the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic has been profound—and almost universally devastating. Personnel, properties and profit margins have been altered...
Wild Resilience Can Ensure Survival
Some tips from wilderness survival experts might be useful to hotel companies during the global pandemic.
In 1971, LANSA Flight 508 was struck by lightning and broke up two miles above the Amazon rainforest in Peru. Tragically, 91 people were killed.
Selfie Sticks and Photo Walls Be Damned
Don’t let trends like focusing on Instagrammable walls take attention away from delivering on the basics of hospitality.
The hotel business isn’t the only industry where buzzwords can make it all too easy to focus on the latest and greatest trends at the expense of what really matters.
Entrepreneurs Need to Invest in People to Boost Profits
No one can predict the timing of the next downturn, but every hotel owner can act now to protect their NOI when the downturn inevitably occurs.
Hotel owners come in two distinct varieties: the lucky ones who inherited their hotels and entrepreneurs who worked a lifetime focused on making enough money to buy one. And from m...
Steve’s Peeves: Travel Edition
A light-hearted series highlighting the small details that hotels should get right—but all too often get wrong.
I’ve written in this space before about how much the details matter in the hospitality business.
Steve’s Peeves: F&B Edition
A lighthearted series highlighting the small details that hotels should get right—but all-too-often get wrong. First up, food and beverage.
Anyone who has been in the hotel business for more than five minutes understands that this industry is all about the guest experience. And that experience isn’t a monolith; instead...
The Key to Success? Stop Getting Lost in the Shuffle
When it comes to creating, maintaining and sustaining great company culture, size matters.
There’s an awful lot of discussion about the importance of corporate culture on profit these days—and not just in the hotel business. But if you ask me, those conversations are mis...
The Canary in the NOI Mine Is Getting Sick
Industry experts have been wondering when the industry bubble is going to burst. Well, the reality is, the long anticipated net operating income recession is nigh upon us.
Like the historic canary in the coal mine as an early warning of danger, hotel owners have been looking for an indicator of when the next recession will cut into their profitabilit...
Preparing for the Next Big Thing
Instead of planning for the unknown, it’s a lot more realistic to think about what’s next in hospitality and what you can do to capitalize on it.
If you’re in the hotel business, you’re probably feeling pretty good about things lately.
A Healthy Company Culture Boosts the Bottom Line
Company culture should be the most important aspect of running a business. In a people-centric industry, placing value in your employees helps you take better care of customers—and your bottom line.
Too many owners and operators in the hotel business tend to dismiss company culture as “warm and fuzzy” stuff. A lot of the men and women who believe this are incredibly smart, tal...
Talking About Insurance Now Can Save You Money Later
Insurance is the one topic nobody wants to talk about, but hoteliers should not avoid, as recent natural disasters have reminded us.
In the hotel business, there’s always plenty to worry about.
Hashtag Surprise: Millennials Make Great Sales Managers
Not sold on the value millennials can bring to your organization? Consider how their unique skill set makes them ideal sales managers.
Read on if you are over 37 … and are looking for great sales managers in your hotels: Consider millennials—that much maligned, misunderstood and misrepresented cohort. And, oh by t...
F&B Is an Opportunity, Not a Necessary Evil
Food-and-beverage service can drive revenue and guest satisfaction, but only if approached with creativity and commitment.
My current lifetime Million Miler balance on my AAdvantage account is 13,912,658. So I bet I have eaten in more hotel restaurants than almost anyone reading this column. What did I...
Today’s GMs Wear Many Hats
For hotel GMs to be successful in today’s world, they need to focus on relationship building and open communication.
To say that today’s hotel GM has had to evolve is an understatement. In part, the change in the GM can be attributed to technology, but it is also due to the growing needs and exp...
Hoteliers Should Embrace Customized Marketing
Hoteliers in the past encouraged brand consistency, but guests today want an individualized approach with customized preferences.
Are you thinking about how to attract more guests to your hotel? You can fill your hotel by stealing rooms from your competition with one word: individualization. Trying to identi...
5 Ways to Turn Around Distressed Hotels
Reviving distressed properties requires creative solutions that keep momentum going to ensure the turnaround is not only successful but also sustained.
The difference between a rapid hotel turnaround and business as usual is only one thing—money. A six-month turnaround versus a twelve-month cycle will save half a year's increased...