This report is part of the World Luxury Index™, an international ranking and analysis of the most sought-after brands within the luxury industry. This study covers 70 luxury hotel brands within 10 key luxury markets and provides insights on the interest coming from luxury consumers.

It's Friday and after a hard week of hospitality, ehotelier would like to invite you to stop for a bit and relax with a coffee and a feature we would like to call Der Schlusspunkt (meaning ‘full stop' in German). Der Schlusspunkt is a collection of hospitality snippets – some funny, some fascinating, some naughty, but all written by hospitality insiders who are in the know and have seen things you will have to read to believe. Der Schlusspunkt will feature every Friday on ehotelier and begins this week with ‘The Funny Side Up'.

By Hugo R. Mechelse: Turn down service is one of the creative perks in hospitality, but does it always work? Personally I always wonder what is and what is not appreciated by the guest. For this, we first and foremost have to answer the most vital question: what do we want to achieve?

By feature writer Doug Kennedy: A frequently discussed topic at industry conferences these days is call conversion ratios. With the increased emphasis on reservations sales development, companies are recognizing the importance of turning "inquiry-only" calls into bookings. One of the most important indicators of success in this area is the call conversion ratio, which refers to the total number of reservations inquiries received as compared with the number of reservations booked. So, what is a good call conversion ratio?

By Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU: Close your eyes and imagine what the hotel industry will be like in one year's time, in five years' time and in 20 years' time. What will hotels look like? Will hotel operations have changed drastically? Will value still be the primary factor for consumers when booking a stay? Will flagged or boutique properties be more popular? Will the technology that we use today still be used in the distant (or not-so-distant) future? When I dream, here¹s what I imagine the hotel industry will be like in the future.

By Danny King: Since 2008, airline revenue generated from ancillary services such as meals, onboard WiFi and preferred seating has almost quadrupled. Hotel companies haven't been nearly as fortunate.

By Rod Kurtz: More and more business owners are embracing the popular social platform. Problem is, most of them have no idea what they're doing.

By Dr. Peter Tarlow: With the onset of the summer travel season in much of the world, June is a good time to ask ourselves how well we are protecting our tourism sites.  Airlines and other forms of transportation have the advantage that they receive government security.  Most other forms of tourism, such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, and major attractions such as theme parks receive little or no government security or protection.  In most cases, the tourism industry can depend on no one but itself.

By Caroline Costello: Summer is one of the busiest travel times of the year in a lot of places—with a few exceptions. It's low season in many tropical locales, winter-sports meccas, and destinations on the other side of the hemisphere. And low season, of course, equates to a high chance of money-saving travel deals. We compared peak and off-peak pricing in a variety of destinations to bring you the most exciting and affordable low-season options for your 2013 summer vacation.