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How Improving Fundamentals Make 2011 the Year of 'Great Expectations' for the Hotel Industry Mar 8, 2011: What's it all mean?

We continue to believe that 2011 will be a pivotal point in hotel investment with accelerating workouts, purchases and sales, and financings. The worst is behind us. Fundamentals are improving. Liquidity is returning to the marketplace and capital is poised for investment.

This will be a busy year with strong increases in hotel values and performance.

Sales Blitzes: A Look At the Benefits of Team Efforts Mar 8, 2011

The marketplace is showing signs of improvement in a number of locations. Business travel is beginning to notch up and many associations are experiencing some growth in attendance over the last two years. While some of the industry conferences in the past three months have been claiming the bottom has been reached and recovery in play, I still hear from many hotel managers and owners that the verdict is still out.

Part of that hesitation lies in the fact that there is still rate resistance in many market segments, as some property managers and/or sales representatives continue to practice rate cutting and discounting as their main strategy, despite proof from many studies that stress that discounting seldom does anything other than delay economic recovery, deliver more wear on the properties and slow property renovations from less cash flow.

I was speaking last week with my long time friend and co-author of Lessons from the Field, Howard Feiertag who is celebrating his 20^th anniversary as a faculty member of the hospitality program at Virginia Tech . Howard mentioned that he had great feedback on a recent column he had written on prospecting and his comments reminded me of another way to offset the tendency to automatically discount, while building team spirit,

This activity has been around for at least 50 years and is often used by major brands. It is neither difficult or easy and is is a way to overcome lethargy in the sales effort.

A Hotel Marketer’s Guide to Revenue Management Mar 6, 2011: Revenue management has become a somewhat controversial buzzword in our industry. As with many common terms, revenue management seems to have various definitions depending upon whom one asks. Since its inception in the early 80’s, thousands of hotels and just about every airline have used revenue management successfully. In straightforward terms, revenue management is a technique to optimize income r evenue from a fixed, but perishable inventory. The challenge is to sell the right rooms to the right customer at the right time for the right price.

Recommended Reading - Hotel Success Handbook - Practical Sales and Marketing. Mar 1, 2011: Hotel Success Handbook - Practical Sales and Marketing ideas, actions, and tips to get results for your small hotel, B&B, or guest accommodation.

Four Basic Hotel Electronic Marketing Tools to Use in 2011 Feb 27, 2011: Four Basic Hotel Electronic Marketing Tools to Use in 2011
Electronic channels have changed hotel sales and marketing forever. Internet website marketing, social media, the Global Distribution System, and third-party aggregators have all presented new marketing opportunities to hotels around the world. In effect, the Internet has created the first affordable global marketplace for large and small hotels everywhere.

HospitalityEducators.com: Real and Practical Action Sales Action Steps #13-28 Feb 20, 2011

Real and Practical Action Sales Action Steps #13-28

It is now the end of the first month of the New Year. Resolutions were made 30 or more days ago and we already realize that people been breaking them because of any given number of reasons. Those reasons may be strong or without merit, but reality checks remind us all of the need for planning, action, measurement, analysis, correction if need be and then repeating the cycle.

"The Professional is a Builder. S/he does not tear down either other salespeople or competitors because they understand that when you are throwing dirt, you are losing ground." Zig Ziglar,

It Takes Attitude, More Than An Economic Turnaround, For Hotels To Recover From The Recession - By Neil Salerno, CHME, CHA Feb 15, 2011: Seasoned hospitality marketing professional Neil Salerno shares some important insights on ways for hotel sales and operational managers to recover from economic downturns and some of them will surpise readers.

Ten Spa Trends for 2011 Feb 10, 2011: More hotels are recognizing the potential and importance of spas in their offerings.
Susie Ellis, president of SpaFinder, Inc. shared with Yearbook 2011 readers her insights on spa trends.

Understanding the AAA/CAA Diamond Rating System Feb 3, 2011: As one of the world's largest travel information publishers, AAA provides consumers with travel planning tools. AAA's full time, professional inspecotrs evaluate and rate more than 58,000 hospitality facilities annually, more than any other rating entity.

February Unique Holidays Jan 31, 2011: These lists include ideas that could be used for special promotions, celebrations or non-traditional events at your hospitality business. These calendars show monthly, weekly and daily events.
Creativity is important and you want to stand out and be remembered!

Meeting Trends for Hoteliers in 2011 | MPI’s Latest Research Reveals Industry Trends Jan 30, 2011: Meeting and event professionals recognize the top industry trends in FutureWatch 2011, an annual research study conducted by Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Many top trends affect the hotel industry, including relevance of personal relationships versus technology and increased collaboration between planners and suppliers.

Extended Stay Properties and Corporate Lodging and Apartment Accommodations Are Changing the Market Jan 28, 2011: Understanding the competition is critical to success and many mid market properties are missing an important player in their competitive set. While certain brands in the extended stay market have been around for a number of years, additional competitors are entering the field and making a major impact. With an established presence in major markets throughout North America, business travelers, relocating families and staff on temporary assignment are finding furnished corporate apartments and housing a real find in many new and smaller markets.
These residences are constantly providing services that meet the needs of their core market of corporate and human resource executives, and other end-users are now finding corporate apartments can be well suited to their needs