HospitalityEducators.com The #1 Independent Website for Hotel Owners and Managers

Difficulties in the pub trade Feb 22, 2012: Guest Columnist Conor Kenny shares insights on business and financial challenges in this You Tube video on one of the world's most established segments of hospitality - the local pub. While you may not have a "pub" in the traditional sense of the word, there are many similarities to other services in hospitality. We felt our global readers would appreciate this unique perspective.

U.S. - Challenges of LEED certification Feb 22, 2012: Jones Lang LaSalle's Helee Hillman, LEED AP, discusses the growing popularity of LEED certification in buildings outside the U.S., and the resulting challenges, such as translating and interpreting guidelines into many languages and dealing with conflicting building codes.

The New World of Hotel Ecommerce Feb 21, 2012: What to make of Google

Make no mistake, the Google/ITA merger is a big deal for the travel industry. But it’s possible that hotels are asking the wrong question about the impact it will have. The question brings to mind an excellent point that was made during the presentation of the Hotel Distribution Study in Nashville this summer. To paraphrase the panelist’s view: “All of these distribution providers add some value to our business. But as they try to monetize their products, distribution costs are becoming prohibitive. Our challenge is to understand how much their services are worth”.

2012 - A Great Time to be a Borrower and a Seller = Video Feb 20, 2012: Jones Lang LaSalle surveyed 186 borrowers, and they noted that lenders need to provide certainty of execution as the number one factor they consider in the loan origination process.

50 Totally Random Social Networking Tips Feb 20, 2012: While the title indicates that there are 50, there are actually lots more once you visit the additional content contained in the links.

What's the Problem? Inadequate training Feb 15, 2012

Inadequate training can lead to dissatisfied guests, high staff turnover, lower profitability and lost market share. This video from a Starwood Director Service Culture for Starwood Hotels & Resorts EAME offers some fundamental insights.

US - Borrowers' and Lenders' Expectations in 2012 Feb 14, 2012: An industry survey indicated that borrowers and lender expect mortgage rates to rise .6 to 0.7 bps in 2012. Jones Lang LaSalle's Wes Boatwright doesn't expect rates to rise this year but he does see borrowers facing an environment where commercial banks will continue to use recourse loans. On the upside, he says there should be a stronger level of capital availability this year.

Consumers and Green Hotels - Part 2 Feb 13, 2012: The MBA students at Georgetown University taking Consumer Behavior in the fall of 2009 were asked to examine consumer skepticism, cynicism, and confusion regarding "green" behavior. Each team created a video to present the results of a particular focus within the realm of "green" behavior. This video is from the team that chose to focus on "green" hotels.