hotels

The Challenge

Imagine that you are the CEO of InterLodge. You face a big problem: your share price has been falling for some time. You need to do something to deal with the issues of high costs and low profitability. You find that the occupancy rate and the average price point per room are too low. And the surveys suggest that Interlodge’s customer satisfaction levels are well below where they should be.

On Wednesday night, I arrived at the Hilton Doubletree in Washington DC after an intense day of meetings ready to do a few more hours of work. When I got to the desk, the clerk told me that the hotel was oversold. I raised my eyebrows. The news worsened. Not only were all nearby hotels fully booked, but so too were all hotels in the District. He was going to have to send me out to Virginia to a hotel that would be 30 minutes away in zero traffic and, well, DC never has zero traffic. My response was simple: “You’ve got to be f*ing kidding me!?!?”

by: Jon Stokes

A recent report has ranked the digital performance of 52 global hotel brands. The latest L2 Hotels Digital IQ Index rated brands according to the performance of their sites and use of digital marketing, mobile and social media.

I recently completed a project for Philips Lighting on the ways hotels should reshape themselves to be successful in the future. As part of the research I came across this brilliant video by futurist Patrick Dixon on the way many business hotels seem to "get it wrong" when it comes to delivering a quality experience for their customers. If you think about it, most of the things he talks about are "rather obvious". Also, as any frequent traveler can testify, they have been around for ages. 

Via: Marriott News Center - My Marriott Hotel™ Opens its Doors on Facebook

Earlier this month, Marriott International launched My Marriott Hotel Serious Game to help generate interest in hospitality careers.

Boutique hotel is my thing, it is not about being cool or being seen, I’ve passed that stage and it is not about the brand. Do I care if it is W or X or Y? I am sick of staying at the Sheraton or Marriot of the world, it is not only depressing, it reminds me that I am another one of those global travelers without a life.

Have you ever filled in a survey card in a hotel room? I haven’t either. But more times than I could count I have wanted to let a hotel know about something I liked about my stay or wasn’t happy about.

by: Jennifer Rice

Dear reader: this is a white-paper draft, and I’d love your comments (especially if I’m missing anything major in the audit framework) before publishing.

by: Jonathan Salem Baskin

News that Showtime is following HBO's lead and planning to show its programming for free in Sheraton hotels got me thinking about how hotels are the perfect places for sampling.

by: Eliane Alhadeff

Hilton Garden Inn, the award-winning mid-priced hotel brand with locations throughout North America and Europe, this week unveiled Ultimate Team Play - the first interactive training game to be used in the hospitality industry that utilizes game-based technology.