Top performing hotels have leaders that spend just as much time in the front of the house as they do in their office. They make the time to get out and do what is most important – engaging team members and guests, motivating the staff, and being involved in the sales and marketing processes.

The popularity of franchising has made comfort letters more important than ever as lender’s desire to get certain protections that they feel comfort letters offer.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to open Hotel Indigo Madrid – Gran Via this month. Located in an area peppered with iconic buildings, fashion brands, film references and nightlife spots, the hotel will be the boutique brand’s second property in Spain, alongside Hotel Indigo Barcelona which opened in 2012.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Worldwide have announced the opening of Hilton Zhengzhou. The opening marks the first Hilton Hotels & Resorts property in Henan Province.

Didn't bring your work-out gear? No problem, borrow it from Westin. You can go for a run and help donate running shoes to charity at the same time.

Oberoi, Four Seasons and Orient Express (now Belmond) lead the ranking for large brands, while Constance, Capella and Montage are the best rated small brands according to ReviewPro's study measuring online guest satisfaction.

By Doug Kennedy: In the era of hyper-personalized service, your hotel staff needs to deliver "emotionally valuable moments" so guests do not feel like they have interacted with robots.

By Steve DiGioia: There are many reasons why staff communications might fail, but there are also simple measures to make sure that it doesn't.