STR reports Canadian hotel pipeline for September 2009

At the end of the third quarter of the calendar year, the Canadian hotel development pipeline includes 216 projects comprising 24,462 rooms, according to the September 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. ...more

STR reports U.S. hotel pipeline for September 2009

The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 4,218 projects with 450,899 rooms, according to the September 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. ...more

Sex With Your Boss? Affairs with Co-workers?

Why That's Unethical (But Not Everyone Agrees), According to Biennial ERC National Workplace Survey ...more

Board Directors Sitting on the Hot Seat - By Keith Kefgen

As the SEC, White House and Congress continue to define board and CEO performance standards, we find that some companies are doing an excellent job. Host Hotels & Resorts lead the 11th HVS Executive Search board performance study of U.S. hotels. ...more

This Month's EcoFeature Partner: Bleu Environment - Helping tomorrow's environmental leaders take action now

At EcoGreenHotel, we believe that to have a positive impact on our environment, we must all join forces and launch a concerted effort. 'In the very near future management companies and owners of multiple hotels will have no option than to know what their effect on the environment is' says Scott Parisi President of EcoGreenHotel. ...more

Cornell Study Finds that Normal International Hotel Operations Reduce the Need for Foreign Exchange Hedging

Standard Revenue-Management Rate Adjustments Show Same Effect as Hotel Foreign Exchange Hedging, according to New Report ...more

Family Dining Restaurants Are Well-Positioned for Renewed Growth

Family dining restaurants represent one of the largest segments of the foodservice industry and a unique American tradition. They are trust-worthy brands that serve up values for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacking. ...more

Americans Dish on Ethnic Fare

Mintel Research Shows Ethnic Food Sales to Reach Record High in 2009 ...more

Food & Beverage - Rudeness, Manners & Etiquette: what should staff know? - By Ken Burgin

Chances are they can take orders, serve, clear and be reasonably attentive...But if schools and parents forgot to teach the finer points of etiquette, you'll have to be coach, tutor and guide - you set the standard. Walk it through and practice the words, don't just write it a list: most learn best by doing and talking, not reading text books. ...more

Restaurant Trends - Growing And Emerging Concepts - Data reflects change and activity from May 28, 2009 to October 8, 2009

Update from Restaurantchains.net on growing and emerging restaurant concepts ...more

Consumers Online Purchases on the Rise

53% Of British Online Adults Say They Are Transacting More Online in 2009 Due To the Economic Climate, But Many Businesses Still Failing To Meet Expectations ...more

Revenue Management - Moving from Instinct to Data-Driven Decisions - By Kristi White

For years, making decisions in revenue management and, to some extent, hotel management has been ruled by gut instinct. Revenue managers and hotel operations executives frequently justify their rate setting decisions by saying, 'I have a feel for the market' or 'I know what the market will do.' Yet when asked for a concrete example of how they knew this, they usually have no answer. ...more

What is Your Hotel's Online Market Share? - By Neil Salerno

Online, your competition set amounts to those hotels which appear, with yours, on search results. At this point, your hotel's title and description tags are of critical importance, but more about this later. I'm sure you can name all the hotels in your local market, but do you know which hotels compete with your hotel online? ...more

Southwest Airlines is Riding the Blogosphere Like a Wild Horse!

'Southwest Airlines is riding the blogosphere like a wild horse,' read the program description of Paula Berg's talk at the 2009 Inbound Marketing Summit, which was held in Boston last week on October 7 - 8. Berg's presentation was titled 'Nuts About Online Communication' and she discussed how Southwest has learned to leverage social media tools with its award-winning blog, as well as tools including Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. ...more

Kayak makes travel search trend data available

Kayak Makes its Travel Search Data Available at kayak.com/trends and Launches Proprietary Travel Demand Benchmark, the Kayak Travel Index(TM) ...more

Guest Satisfaction - September 2009 Chatter Guard Benchmark Report Is Released

Lodging Interactive, a leading interactive marketing agency servicing the hospitality industry and the publisher of the free Chatter Guard Monthly Benchmark Monitor Report has released its September 2009 report. ...more

Australia - Fair Work Act 2009 - Important changes affecting the hotels and tourism industry

Hotel owners and operators engaging in business in Australia will be substantially affected by the changes implemented under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act). This Legal Alert provides an overview of the Fair Work Act and its impact on all employers who fall within the Australian Federal industrial relations system - that is, any domestic or foreign corporations who employ employees and engage in trade or commerce in Australia. ...more

Generate More Leads and Close More Deals: Small Business Success Kit

Learn how to attract and track more website visitors, ensure consistent follow-up, achieve increased sales productivity, keep valuable leads from slipping through the cracks and more. ...more

Will the Future of Advertising Be a Blend of Old and New Media?

It hasn't caught on yet in the U.S., but a global ad campaign for Unilever's army of laundry detergents - sold in Asia as Omo, in France as Skip, and by other names around the planet - hailing that 'Dirt is Good,' is considered by experts to be a perfect example of a new path for marketing in the 21st century. ...more

Outservicing Your Competition - By Don Farrell

Generally speaking, we all know how bad service in America, and in fact the entire world, has gotten. A simple question about your healthcare insurance takes how many computer generated transfers, greetings and menu driven options before you finally get to talk with someone and then...you hope they understand English and will be receptive to your needs? ...more

U.S. October Forecast Holds Steady

As the U.S. hotel industry traverses the precarious gulf between the summer months and the conference travel season, the year-end projections have not been adjusted, according to STR's monthly forecast. ...more

Rate Cutting: A Look at Canada - August 2009 Canadian Lodging Outlook

Published in conjunction with STR (Smith Travel Research) and endorsed by the Hotel Association of Canada. This publication summarizes occupancy and average room rates from major cities in Canada. ...more

Hotwire Reveals Hotel Rate Report for October 2009

Sun-Soaked Cities Lead the Pack with Biggest Drops in Hotel Rates ...more

Hotel Industry Pulse Stalls

Economic research firm e-forecasting.com in conjunction with Smith Travel Research announced the HIP hit a snag in its recovery. ...more

STR Global provides Hotel Market Forecast reports to new destinations

Four cities have been added to the Hotel Market Forecast reports programme of STR Global, the leading provider of performance data to the world's hotel industry. In Scandinavia, these are Stockholm, Oslo and Malmo. Dubai is the first market covered in the Middle East. ...more

Performance Potential of Mid-Scale Hotels: Less May Be More - By Daniel McCoy

Hotel stakeholders have to know the right place, time, and hotel category to maximize investments. In the present economic climate, mid-scale, limited-service hotels may be a good bet. ...more

STR reports US performance for week ending 3 October 2009

The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 27 September - 3 October 2009, according to data from STR. ...more

Canadian Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR - Week Ending October 3, 2009

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

Americans Split on Attitudes towards Ads Which Mention the Recession and Economic Troubles

Two in five, however, do not have an opinion on these types of ads ...more

Through the Eyes of a Hotel Butler: The Empathy in Customized Services - By Osvaldo Torres Cruz

The new differential trend in the present Hotel Services is to achieve the emotional guest involvement by means of the services offered; that is to say, that the services be a source of positive guests feelings and emotions, obtaining not only his rational but also his emotional satisfaction. ...more

Product, Marketing Strategies To Shift in 2010 According to First Half 2009 Adventure Travel Tour Operator Study

Results of an August-September 2009 Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) first-half of 2009 survey, which reveals the perspectives of 287 tour operators spanning 51 countries, reflects changes in traveler interests and behaviors which are influencing tour operators' product and marketing approaches planned in 2010. ...more

How will airlines survive? Results of a Sabre Airline Solutions survey of global carriers may be surprising

In past years, airlines' biggest concern was how to control skyrocketing fuel prices. Today, carriers worldwide are making dramatic business-model changes to survive not only fuel costs but a myriad of challenges. This perfect storm of challenges colliding simultaneously could result in changes that bring about the ultimate travel experience for consumers. ...more

Business travel survey shows budgets for 2010 remain tight

A survey of members by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives underscores the caution prevalent in the industry. Only a quarter of respondents said they will spend more on corporate travel next year, while about half will operate at 2009 levels. ...more

4 Quick Steps to Increase Electronic Sales and Optimize Online Bookings

The best way to increase sales in a downturns or recessions is not just to look 'outside the box', but to look 'outside the building'. When faced with diminishing sales, a shrinking booking window, and less corporate travelers on the road, hotels and resorts need to use short term actions and long term plans to expand sales. One thing for sure is that online sales will generate immediate results, so here are 4 quick steps to increase short term electronic sales and optimize online bookings now. ...more