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1. Mobile Presence
2. Local Presence
3. Social Presence
4. Content Marketing
5. User Experience
6. Paid Search Presence
7. ROI Analysis – Cross Channels
8. Understanding Your Customer Journey
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1Bnw44D
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Marketing Update: “Trends and Budgeting For 2015” (Infographic)
Filed under Finances, Hotel Industry, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology
To improve the overall guest experience, hotels should leverage their unique position as a supplier, said Bernard Ellis, vice president of industry strategy at Infor Hospitality,
a software provider. “You know more about your property than anybody else, so you can maximize that with things like early check-in and late checkout, room type, food and beverage—all based on looking at the guest’s past preferences,†Ellis said.
Hotels that establish meaningful relationships with guests can maximize revenue opportunities and increase customer satisfaction, travel industry experts said during the Digital Marketing Strategy Conference, which was hosted by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International in Manhattan last week. Here are some best practices panelists shared for using technology to engage with guests before, during, and after their stays.
Before They Arrive
Google’s industry head for travel, Tiffany Miller, said that during the pre-booking period, consumers visit 18 travel-related sites. “You have two and a half weeks to inspire the traveler to book your property,†she added. To make an impact, marketers should take creative approaches, like using celebrities or YouTube stars to boost engagement or allowing consumers to spread the message through self-generated videos.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1NACu5k
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Engaging Today’s Connected Travelers”
Filed under Employee Practices, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology
A supplement to frequent hand washing is to use hand sanitizer.
To encourage use of hand sanitizers by employees and guests, place labeled hand-sanitizer dispensers at the front desk, restaurant areas, back offices, public restrooms, and elevators. Check and refill the dispensers daily.
Winter months bring an increase of cold, influenza, and other communicable illnesses to the workplace. To reduce the spread of germs and cross contamination, housekeeping departments should focus on common contact points.
Sanitize Hard Services. Most hard surfaces, such as doors, drawers, telephone receivers, TV remote controls, light switches, toilet handles, and in-room directories, can be disinfected with a commercial disinfectant cleaner on a daily basis. Returned guestroom keycards should be placed in a separate bin for disinfecting. All guestroom glassware must be thoroughly washed with hot water and detergent—in a dishwasher or three-compartment metal sink—before being placed back into service. Improperly sanitized glassware and utensils can transmit mononucleosis, herpes, E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis A, influenza, and even staph infections. Hotel glassware should never be washed in a guestroom sink.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1E0wrBS
And for more on industry best practices, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/98741016Â w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Matt Karp, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Preventing Norovirus at Your Property’.Â
P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.
For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Reducing the Spread of Contagious Illnesses” (Video)
Filed under Employee Practices, Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Hotel Restaurant, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
White suffered a traumatic brain injury and spinal wounds while serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan
in 2012 when a 200-pound improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The Wyoming, Mich., resident said he has been on anxiety medication and has been helped greatly by Camo.
A bill making its way through the Legislature may prevent situations like the one Monday night in which a young veteran was arrested at a Bonita Springs hotel after he, his family and his service dog were denied lodging.
Jason White, 34, was arrested at the Best Western following a dispute with the hotel manager and staff over his service dog, Camo. He was charged with battery and destruction of property, the Lee County sheriff’s report said, after he kicked and cracked a television and shoved the hotel manager, Vinit “Vinnie” Patel.
For more:Â http://newspr.es/1Ej6AHZ
And for more on the do’s and don’ts of service animals, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/102936915Â w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘ADA Service Animals: Do’s and Don’ts’.Â
P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.
For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Veteran Says Hotel Dispute Over Service Dog Led to Arrest”
Filed under ADA, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/121258482Â w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘How to Help Protect Your Hotel’s Computer Network and Information Systems’.Â
P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.
For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Cyber Security”
Filed under Crime, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training
Biometrics (voice recognition, fingerprint or retina scanning) is quickly
becoming another method of user authentication…Actual credit card data is exchanged only within the bank and payment network, not directly tied to the customer’s interaction with the merchant, removing the merchant from handling that data.
By the end of this year, it’s estimated that 70 percent of all credit cards and 40 percent of all debit cards (about 1.1 billion in total) worldwide will be EMV capable. This payment system, also known as chip and pin, adds dynamic data to the transaction stream that renders replay of payment transactions impossible. And since every card contains its own microprocessor chip, EMV (which stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) cards are nearly impossible to counterfeit.
There’s no need for the card to leave the customer’s sight, and there’s no swiping. The credit card number isn’t exposed on a screen. Though not entirely fail-safe, the technology is a global standard and makes transactions hundreds of times more secure. In Europe, which has had EMV for years, reports indicate that card fraud has fallen as much as 60 percent over the last decade, whereas here in the United States, it’s increased about 50 percent over that same time period.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1B2Dzwd
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How to Prepare Your Hotel for Smart Payment Systems”
Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology
“There’s no reason anyone should book outside the block, and if you do, we cannot be responsible. When we see 30 rooms held with no name, immediately there’s a red flag.
Yes, sometimes organizations do that, as they need the rooms, but a red flag goes up nonetheless,†Dominguez added.
Meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition business is under attack by pirates.
To be more specific, event room blocks are increasingly feeling the effects of room block piracy, in which third parties—sometimes thieves out to steal credit card information and sometimes more legitimate sources—effectively funnel attendees away from official host hotels.
The practice results in host hotels having no record of these attendees’ reservations; attendees themselves thinking they made the booking through a legitimate source, and meeting and event planners often having to pay attrition fees for not fulfilling room-block agreements with host hotels.
Suffering are the attendee, who loses money to the pirate; the hotel, which might have replaced “non-bookings†with less-valuable business, and the event planner and event itself, which run the risk of ruined reputations.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/18uSCWq
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hotel Room Piracy Shows Dramatic Increase”
Filed under Conferences, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
While hoteliers can take strong steps to reduce employee theft, eliminating it entirely is likely an impossibility.
The best loss prevention involves good procedures for hiring, training and supervision of employees. And by following a few best practices, employers can limit the potential liability for claims related to employee theft situations and diminish the potential for the insult of an expensive lawsuit on top of the injury of employee theft.
The problem of employee theft in hotels is an age-old problem. Businesses lose billion of dollars each year in employee theft. And hotels, by nature, present numerous opportunities for employee theft from guests and the house. Theft in a hotel can take many forms – from identity theft to credit card fraud to theft of merchandise and guest property. No employer hires an employee thinking that the employee is someday going to steal. Hotels need to take steps to prevent theft and be cautious in taking action against an employee after a suspected theft. Both have practice and legal implications.
Prevention in All Forms
Take a thorough look at your hotel’s security measures and processes. Ensure that your guest room locking systems and room safes meet general industry standards. Review, implement or update employee policies related to 1) package passes to control removal of property from the hotel, 2) lost and found procedures, which should be strictly enforced and 3) guest room access by employees. Consider an audit by a security expert to review your security procedures and protocols – in action.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/17ySjZz
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Employee Theft – Protecting More Than Property”
Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
One of those is the fact that the measure as approved by the panel Monday has no enforcement mechanism and no penalties
for those hotels that ignore the law. Hobbs said she is counting on key changes when the measure goes to the full Senate. And Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said he wants something in the legislation to ensure there are regular checks made of employees, not just at the time they are hired.
Told of the rapes of two guests in separate incidents in Mesa, members of a Senate panel voted Monday to require hotels to see if those who have access to room keys are sex offenders.
SB 1432 spells out that owners or managers have to use one of two available Internet websites before hiring anyone who can get into a guest’s room. If the employee shows up on either one, the hotel is barred from providing keys, keycards or any other method of getting into a room.
The vote followed testimony of attorneys who represent two women who were attacked in two separate incidents at two separate hotels — both reportedly by the same man.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1EIOPyn
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Bill Requiring Sex-Offender Checks on Hotel Workers Advances”
Filed under Claims, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Also of concern to hotels is the Dark Horse Virus, Shortz said. This virus is meant to capture sensitive data business travelers might have on their devices.
She said it presents itself as a system update when a user logs onto a hotel’s Wi-Fi network and is prompted to type in their name and room number…Data hacks will continue to happen in the hotel industry, the presenters said. During an interview with Hotel News Now following the session, Garfinkel said it’s not a matter of if a hotel company is hacked, but when.
Lara Shortz surveyed the crowd Tuesday at the Hospitality Law Conference and asked attendees to raise their hands if they’ve been involved in a data breach.
“If you haven’t raised your hand, you should,†Shortz, an attorney at Michelman & Robinson, said during a session titled “Anatomy of a hospitality data breach.â€
The session was especially timely given reports that White Lodging was again targeted by data haxkers. In 2014, malware was found in the food-and-beverage outlets of 14 of  its hotels a year ago.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1G81ko8
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Tips to Keep Hotel Data Hackers at Bay”
Filed under Conferences, Crime, Employee Practices, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft
