By Adam Popescu: You think you know social? How about who uses it? Well, you might not know it as well as you would have guessed. A new study from the Pew Research Center and Docstoc shed some light on just who uses social and on what platforms. Some of the findings seem in line with what you would probably guess, but others were surprising.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been subject to increasing attention in the past few years, although not as extensively in relation to the hotel industry. According to the researchers, firms that emphasise CSR activities are concerned with maintaining profitability, operating their businesses within the framework of the law, following codes of conduct that are considered ethically correct, and improving society through philanthropic activities such as work-family programmes and donations. As there is usually a positive relationship between CSR activities and firm performance, many firms, including those in the hotel industry, increasingly recognise the importance of being socially responsible.

By Aoife Dowling: Baccarat, the renowned French crystal company, is moving into another luxury arena with ultra high-end residences, hotels and resorts with spas. The company plans to open six hotel/resorts/residences by 2016 – three of which will be located in Morocco.

By Tricia Carr: The CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts said at the American Express Publishing Luxury Summit 2013 that the world is experiencing an age of change, which is altering the definition of luxury.

By Anna Silman: Newsflash: living in an expensive fancy area next to an expensive fancy hotel is not all it’s cracked up to be. According to The New York Post, neighbors of Murray Hill’s swanky Gansevoort Hotel are so annoyed with the hotel’s high noise levels that they are are billing the hotel for hours of lost sleep.

By Clive Irving: It was once a naughty love nest in the grounds of a palatial English country estate and now it can be yours—temporarily—for a rather naughty price.

By Market Metrix: We’ve long known that value for price is routinely a top driver for guest loyalty, but the question always gets asked – how can hotels raise value without lowering prices? We decided to look into it using our MMHI global database, and what we found is rather, well…illuminating.

By Daniel Edward Craig: For hotels, the first priority in online marketing is to make sure travelers find you when planning trips. That’s become increasingly challenging in the realm of paid search, where online travel agencies, big brands and now Google Hotel Finder dominate results, driving costs up and organic results down. Why even try to compete? Instead, shift resources to where you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck: owned and earned media.

By Jeff Haden: It's for your own good. Cut these things out of your day and you'll see gains in productivity – not to mention happiness.

Most museum exhibits were designed long before social media became mainstream. But a new museum now taking shape in Stockholm has found a way to allow visitors to create media clips of their experiences and share them to their social media pages. Andrew Hennigan has been given an early preview.