By feature writer Bryan K. Williams: It’s about your heart. With all I’ve written about touchpoints, anticipating needs and steps of service, none of them can compare with your heart. Your heart is what connects with people. Your heart is what allows you to listen empathetically. Your heart is what causes you to give a genuine smile to a complete stranger. To create consistent, world-class service on your team, there must be a regular discussion about the heart and its role in driving service excellence.

Global Staff Movements for April 2013 provided by Spectrum International.

By Babs Davidson: The influx of apps lead many, including those in the hospitality industry, to contemplate the need for a personalized app for their individual properties. At this point, I'd like to enlist the phrase my mother and many others have used throughout the centuries to discourage hopeful, yet misguided souls: "If so-and-so jumped off a bridge, would you do it?" The same applies to apps – not all industries should take the leap. In most instances, individual hotels simply do not and should not need to create a mobile app.

For the first time, Hurun Report reveals differences in travel preferences and behavior between luxury travelers in First and Second/Third Tier Cities.

A featured article by Clearfit: Interviews are one of the fundamental tools to evaluate job candidates. But they can be risky too. It’s easy to be charmed in an interview, to fall for a candidate that’s charismatic or appealing. Similar to how we feel about a potential romantic partner, persuasive candidates can make you feel that “they’re the one,” even if you haven’t really explored whether they have what it takes to succeed in your specific role.

By Alan Campbell: Ever since revenue management came in to the vocabulary of the hotel business it has dominated the price that hoteliers would like to get, and the price that the guest is willing to pay. I know how we determine the price that the guest will pay, yet so many managers can’t determine what their product is worth. I propose to you as the hotelier behind the reports, are your rooms really worth that price?

By Alan Young: Instagram and Pinterest are fundmentally about creating image. Or better put, helping people imagine. Where they’ve been, where they’re going, where they want to go, how they’ll feel when they get there. They are seemingly perfect spaces for hotels to communicate experiences, yet many hotels overlook creating a real strategy for the “image” sites and end up falling flat.

By Jayne Clark: If current travel patterns persist throughout 2013, Bangkok will overtake London as the world's most-visited international city.

By Alexandra Levit: A recent study directly links company culture to profits. Is your business's culture helping or hurting your bottom line?

Located two stories below headquarters, the lab — also dubbed "The Underground" — is dedicated to promoting innovation and collaboration. Like a blank canvas, the floor-to-ceiling white space offers a clean slate for anyone – whether architect, designer, employee or customer — to manipulate and make his or her mark. This space showcases the brand's commitment to the next generation of travelers, who seamlessly blend work and play, with a focus on changing style, technology and service.