By Brian Moran: John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” His quote, along with tens of thousands of other great quotes on leadership, inspired me to find out more about what defines great leaders and to answer the age-old question of whether they are born or made. I have come to believe that the only innate elements of great leadership are passion and energy. Everything else can be taught.

By  Elaine Glusac: While sleek minimalism set the tone for urban boutique hotels in the 1990s, rustic elements are warming up the newest crop of small hotels. These trendsetters emphasize their sense of place through local themes, building materials, restaurant fare, entertainment or a combination of them all.

By feature writer Andrew Lisa: Although it is essential to have a knowledgeable, courteous human staff available to anyone who calls the desk, the realities of the Internet age demand that your hotel has a way to accept payments from customers without asking them to leave the comfort of their computer. Lack of an online payment system not only deprives guests of a convenient way to pay, but also detracts from your hotel’s credibility as a modern institution.

By feature writer Jennifer Nagy of jlnpr: Vine is one of the newer social media crazes in recent months. Vine takes the success of Instagram one step further by enabling users to create and share six-second looping videos.  For hotels, Vine can be used to share videos of your property and amenities (just like Pinterest or Instagram). Video can really bring the potential of your property to life and will help to create an even greater emotional reaction in viewers, which is very important in generating bookings.

By Russ Alan Prince: Without question, the future of ultra-luxury is extremely bright. And, it’s only going to become brighter.

By Bruna Martinuzzi: Your skills aren't holding you back from making big sales. Your low emotional IQ is. Here are the six mistakes you're making, and how you can fix them.

By Nancy Trejos: Hotels are bagging traditional room service. Don't expect your room service meal to arrive underneath stainless-steel plate covers on rolling tables at many hotels across the country. Your grub may show up on paper trays or brown paper bags, albeit sturdy ones embellished with hotel logos or designs. The fare is upscale even if the delivery method is not.

By Theodore Koumelis: Findings from a new Harris Poll show that among Americans who travel by commercial airline once or more per year, many are looking for personal space to stretch out in-flight, with 58% willing to pay for extra legroom on a longer flight (3+ hours) and over half (53%) willing to shell out to avoid the dreaded middle seat on such a flight.

International hotel investors have clearly set their eyes on Asia and the Middle East – 770 hotels currently arise between Dubai and Shanghai. For comparison: in Europe 204 new first class and luxury hotels are being developed, in the USA and Canada just 112 hotels.

By Tara Imperatore: Whether in town for business or pleasure, celebs are more than happy to take time out of their busy schedules to jet off to the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival; and could we really blame them? With 65 years of festivals already behind them, certain luxury hotels around town have established themselves as a place for the rich and famous to call home during the annual event. So if you want to "coincidentally" run into one of them, here's where to do it.