Hotel owners vie for the Forbes distinction because it enables them to charge much higher rates. For example, the four-star Beverly Hilton recently posted average daily rates of $245 to $325, while the five-star rated Beverly Hills Hotel posted rates of $510 to $540.

With Forbes, the difference between a four- and five-star hotel is primarily the level of service offered by the staff.

“Graciousness, courtesy and thoughtfulness — it’s much harder to get that right,” said Mike Cascone, president of Forbes Travel Guide, formerly known as the Mobile Travel Guide.

Among other guidelines for Forbes five-star hotels:
– Arriving guests are greeted and assisted curbside within 60 seconds of arriving.
– Wake-up calls are delivered within two minutes of the requested time.
– Refills at restaurants are offered within 30 seconds of the guest’s beverage being empty.
– No telephone call is left on hold longer than 30 seconds without being offered a call back.

Maison Cheval Blanc with their excellence in service and discretion. They are the premiere hospitality experience that marries outstanding art and design with pure elegance and refinement.

Maison Cheval Blanc - Courchevel

Malmaison with their creative locations and amazing F&B (Food and Beverage) concepts. They bring an unrivaled richness to their properties and restaurants, using sumptuous design and elegance for unbelievable experiences.

Malmaison - Glasgow

W Hotels for their outstanding interior design. Starwood Hotel & Resorts, by way of W Hotels, provides blank canvases for rising visionaries who have a passion for design and functionality.

W Hotel - Istanbul

W Hotel South Beach has great design and an organic feel, and manages to surprise with unexpected details. It feels like a living room settled right besides the ocean.

W Hotel South Beach

Hotel Icon Hong Kong  is owned by School of Hotel & Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University to better serve tourism, benefit the community and showcase the best of our city. The hotel is run by students, and incorporates amazing design and cool details (living wall, free minibar, great décor & details)

Hotel Icon - Rooftop Pool

A: The hospitality industry can absolutely help all kinds of industries. The hospitality industry stimulates the job market as it is intrinsically tied with food service, commerce, tourism/recreation, and transportation. It is important all these areas work together to offer a competitive destination for leisure, business, travel, etc.

In 2012, hotels across the Unites States had an average 61.3% occupancy and generated more than $1.3 trillion dollars in 2010.  Although the hospitality & travel industry yields impressive numbers, the influence generated by hotels is hundreds of billions of dollars greater. Therefore, if the rates are attractive and accommodations pleasant, more tourism dollars are spent – creating a positive influence on the local and even national economy.

A good example is Dubai; initially considered very unimportant small city in the desert, city officials understood that something had to be done to generate income in the long term. How did they do that? They created tourist attractions where there were none, and created a strong and glamorous capacity to host visitors. In doing this, Dubai created hundreds of thousands of jobs for construction through completion.

The hospitality industry influences the perception of the visitor about the hospitality of the country and attracts new investments.Often times this is neglected because the effect is not immediate – money invested into tourism will take a while to create a return but it will surely come if the strategy is right. For the USA to continue to flourish as a worldwide destination, the hospitality industry must take care to ensure authenticity and service.

Happy New Year indeed! Despite fears of 2013 being an uneventful year for business, a number of leading hospitality and tourism bodies included Big Hospitality have given reasons for hotel, hospitality and travel operators to remain optimistic, insisting that the next 12 months could be even more successful than the last.

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Miami’s Real Estate Boom: Then and Now

As Miami has become an international magnet, [the industry] has made it a point to craft interiors new arrivals would find appealing. “Miami has become a magical place in the last 20 years,” says Russell Galbut, South Beach landlord & developer of Gale South Beach

Ocean Drive Magazine looks back on growth of Miami: From year 1900 with a population of just 1,000, to the transformative push of the last 2 decades, which turned warehouses into galleries, spiffed up shopping districts, and added a forest of high-rises along the water’s edge—and most significantly, unequivocally made Miami into a luxury market.

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 Youth Unemployment: Hospitality to the Rescue

“We have a tremendous opportunity to prevent a lost generation of young people by helping them acquire the life skills and job training they need to be successful in the workplace and beyond,” Hilton Worldwide president and chief executive Christopher J. Nassetta said.

The International Youth Foundation (IYF) will carry out the study for Hilton Worldwide, Creating Opportunities for Youth in Hospitality, highlighting solutions to challenge youth joblessness across the globe.

The IYF said the hospitality industry is well-placed, with ample resources, career development opportunities and a business platform that relies heavily upon a trained workforce across many regions.

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Business Travelers Booking More Online

66% of travelers are now book their business travel through an online booking tool.

Convenience is the top priority for business travelers. The report found that convenience is prioritized by business travellers above cost and comfort, with 62% of respondents stating that this was the most important factor when traveling for business. Just over a fifth (22%) stated cost as their top priority, and only 15% putting comfort first.

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Top Hotel  Execs Name Hot US Hotel Markets 

In lieu of painting U.S. hotel performance in too broad a stroke, executives from some of the country’s largest chains provided a more granular focus on several key markets during a breakout session at last week’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit.

West: Alaska; Hawaii; Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA

East: Boston, MA; NY, NY; Pennsylvania

Midwest: Bloomington, MN; North & South Dakota; Milwaukee, WI

South: Texas; New Orleans, LA; Miami, FL

Although it’s too early to declare LEED certification as a determining factor for success, being LEED certified does create additional visibility and caters to a new movement of guests that are more environmentally mindful. Commercial, residential, hospitality and whole neighborhoods have been successfully established as LEED buildings.

Other benefits include:

To put it simply, High Season = High Occupancy.

High and low season has an immense influence on pricing and availability which are closely tied to one another. For example, imagine high season for a ski resort which would be the winter months (Christmas/New Year/maybe Easter if in cold climate); during their high season the hotels would have 100% occupancy, but would be dead during low season. Not only is it crucial for the hotel industry itself to study revenue management have a grasp on high & low seasons, but also for the whole surrounding area (i.e. Ski schools, supermarkets, restaurants, transport, etc.).

Revenue management is the study of consumer behavior at the micro-market level that helps in optimizing product availability and price to maximize profits. Hotel rooms are perishable products like anything else so it is important for hotel management to raise/lower their prices to commensurate with the high/low demand for hotel rooms.

For personal travel, while looking at dates you might find that a certain booking engine still has availability while others show no availability; this again is determined based on the time of year and place you are traveling to. While hotel rates in high season can be up to 4x more expensive for same hotel room in low season, you’ll be able to get great deals during low season.

Q: In your opinion, what are the 3 fundamentals in running and operating a successful hotel:

Sebastian Lang:

1. Exceeding your customers expectations concerning service and friendliness
2. Consistency in quality and standards
3. Cost control

Marcus Schwander:

1. Unique product
2. Personalized service
3. Great design