Dr Alice Hon: Having creative employees might be critical in today's business environment, but in China, it should be approached in just the right way.

By Kelly Spors: US restaurants both famous and small are raising their menu prices and asking customers not to tip their waiters.

Nearly 3,000 guests at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans had a frightening evening Sunday as Hurricane Katrina blew out more than 175 windows in the high-rise hotel.

The infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” where Senator John McCain spent five and a half years during the Vietnam War, has been largely demolished. Only a small museum remains of the Hoa Lo prison, involuntary housing for 300 American pilots captured in the conflict. The Hilton Hanoi Opera, open since 1999, takes pains to not celebrate a connection to Hoa Lo, even if the hotel’s Web site is  hanoi.hilton.com.  Tourists still drop in to ask if the prison was located there, or at least nearby — but none of the guests, the concierge assured during a recent stay, confuse the hotel with a prison.

By Brett Patten: You must create a more instinctual and intuitive business nature not only to be more in tune with your customers, but to enhance the financial position of your business.

Former Pierre Manager Returns to Lead Historic Hotel into its 75th Year. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has named Heiko Kuenstle general manager of The Pierre New York, a Taj Hotel. The Pierre is delighted to welcome back an old friend, as Kuenstle spent four years earlier in his hospitality career at the landmark hotel on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

Chosen from over 600 hotels across Europe, Middle East & Africa, InterContinental Dubai has been awarded as an outstanding performer, winning an award for best “Market Performance Achievement”, reflecting the excellent market leading results for the year 2004. The hotel had an increase in occupancy level of 5% in 2004 compared to the previous year, over 45% increase in average rate and 52% raise in RevPar.  

By Jim Hartigan: We cannot control everything that happens during our customer's service delivery experience, but we can control how we respond to any failures or shortcomings that happen. Here are 4 simple steps to successful service recovery.

This week’s PATA news and update….

The Hilton chain is pulling out of Bahrain after 30 years, it was revealed yesterday. As of next month, the Hilton in Manama will be managed by another international chain called Golden Tulip Hospitality.