Don't Swallow Your Pride - By Joseph M. Gravish
Summer's coming quickly - the busy season for many hotels. And the 'woe is me' crowd is once again awakening from their annual winter hibernation. This time of the year one finds more articles describing difficulties some hotels predict they'll have finding quality seasonal employees. ...more

Reducing the Pain of Staff Resignations - By Ken Burgin
Had someone quit unexpectedly? It's costly, especially if they hold a senior position. ...more

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Good Incentives For Green Hotels - By Diane Rietman
Eco-friendly construction and operations practices can mean green for hoteliers. ...more

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Study Reports That Americans are Ready to Dine on Authentic Dishes From Singapore
To determine if American palates were ready to sample traditional Singaporean dishes, such as Singapore Chili Crab, Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Singapore Laksa Noodle, a survey of 1,000 US consumers was conducted last month by International Communications Research. ...more

Case Studies Book from EI Focuses on Food Service Management Issues
Readers must take a business perspective in dealing with challenging management situations presented in the second edition of 'Case Studies in Food Service Management,' recently published by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI). ...more

Restaurant Trends - Growing And Emerging Concepts - Data reflects change and activity from November 11, 2007 to March 11, 2008
Update from Restaurantchains.net on growing and emerging restaurant concepts ...more

Food & Beverage - Restaurant Prime Cost Savings - By Joe Dunbar
With the government now announcing a recession (vs. slow growth scenario), we can officially start looking for more ways to cut costs. Will the consumer continue to spend 48% of their food dollar in restaurants? Maybe. But a slip to 40% would mean a 17% cut in volume for the industry. ...more

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What the Heck is Hotel Web Site Optimization, Anyway? A Hotel Marketer's Guide to WSO - By Neil Salerno
With all the talk about search engine optimization, web site optimization often gets left off the radar for many hoteliers. Yet, WSO is the necessary first-step to building and marketing a functional hotel web site. ...more

Hotel eMarketing and Internet 'e'volution - Creating an Online Culture at Hotels - Jitendra Jain
Are you a hotel eMarketer looking for ways to better communicate, educate and develop the role at your property/ies? This article explores some of the issues surrounding these efforts, complemented by a dose of perspective and a generous helping of best practices, all garnished, hopefully, by your own ideas and experiences. ...more

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Wings & Ribs - The Epitome of Customer Service at Beef O'Brady's - By Dr. Rick Johnson
Last year I mentioned in one of my newsletters a customer service incident that happened to me while entertaining friends from Hilton Head Island. What we experienced then at a very upscale country club in The Villages was in my opinion a perfect example of how not to treat your customers. At the time I thought this really takes the cake. ...more

Dim All The Lights - U.S. Hoteliers Control Utility Costs - By Robert Mandelbaum and Aaron Walls
PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) estimates that U.S. hotel revenues will increase an estimated 5.8 percent in 2007, and grow another 5.3 percent in 2008. Both projections exceed the long-term average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent. Further, revenue growth will be heavily weighted toward growth in room rates relative to occupancy. ...more

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Canadian Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR - Week Ending March 8, 2008
Published in conjunction with STR (Smith Travel Research) and endorsed by the Hotel Association of Canada. This publication summarizes weekly occupancy and average room rates from major cities in Canada. ...more

A Year Full Of Promise For China's Hotels - Domestic Travel On The Rise
With a strong economy, massive inward investment, a newly-mobile middle class and one of the biggest fixtures in world of sport just months away, China's influence on world tourism is going to become more and more significant. ...more

Weekly U.S. Lodging Performance for the week of Mar 09, 2008 - Mar 15, 2008
Weekly summary of Occupancy, ADR and REVPar for the United States. ...more

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New Food Cost Control Online Network
I created a private online community with a more advanced treatment of food and beverage cost control. This community started with the first posting Slow Day vs. Busy Day. This post describes (in detail) how to use two days of intensive cost analysis to estimate your operation's break even point. ...more

You are where you stay - By Daniel Edward Craig
While in Safeway the other day to purchase laundry detergent I was so overwhelmed by the array of choices I almost left without buying anything. How did the simple process of purchasing laundry soap become a highly emotional, self-defining exercise? Hotels are no exception! ...more

Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2008
Benchmark Hospitality annunces its annual 'Top 10 Meeting Trends for the Year' ...more

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U.S. Business Travelers Identify Security as Chief Concern
Expedia Corporate Travel survey finds business travelers are taking specific measures to ensure safety in a chaotic travel environment ...more

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Travel Agents At Clia's Cruise3Sixty Express Strong Optimism For 2008
With Lines Investing in New Ships, Destinations and Shipboard Innovations, Sellers Urged to be Proactive, Knowledgeable in Reaching Key Market Segments ...more

AAA Survey Measures Effect of High Gas Prices on Members
Gas mileage is most important criteria in determining next vehicle purchase ...more

Farecast Summer Forecast Reveals Fares to Europe Soar
Fly shoulder seasons in May and September to save $350 per ticket on average to Europe ...more

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