By Patrick Landman: We have been always in favor of a more long term coherent strategy and have always encouraged our clients to do the same thing. But does this still hold up, if a strong worldwide brand like Starwood is stepping away from what many of us have seemed to agree of being the best long term strategy. What if the large chains all start slashing their rates? What if 5 star hotels price themselves at a level where they compete with 3 and 4 star hotels? Can we throw Rate Integrity out of the window?

By Eric Magnuson: In an increasingly connected world, social media has the power to make or break a brand in a relatively short time. Although companies recognize the opportunity, they are challenged in defining a clear and effective way for an organization-wide adoption of social media best practices. Typically, most companies only leverage a fraction of the possibilities; social media initiatives are often implemented in isolation without proper insight onhow making social media strategy a priority can effect an entire organization.

By Tiffany DeShazo: There are a few lessons I have noticed that translate into the real world after high school. High school literature class helps to build effective communication skills, critical thinking skills, and the ability to creatively solve real world problems. So while you may have thought high school literature classes were useless or pointless, I bet you learned more than you realize!

By Kate Lister: Wouldn’t it be great if you could wave your magic wand and abracadabra, up go sales and profits? If you flunked advanced wizardry, don’t worry. Believe it or not, this is a trick for mere mortals. All you have to do is make your employees happy.

Every day it becomes more clear that one of the year's largest hospitality trends continues strongly. More and more top hotel brands are leaving their servers behind and either switching their service to the cloud or beginning their own mobile initiatives.

Hotels in London get off to a very poor start to 2013.

By Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU:  There is a great deal of confusion around the plethora of revenue management-related technologies available on the market today. Its hard to remember which technology calculates rates, which one manages inventory or if they do both. Some systems update rates in real-time, some only update once daily. Talk about technology overload! Never fear, REVPAR GURU is here to help you determine which revenue management technology will be most useful for your property. Let’s compare two very important solutions: revenue management systems (RMS) versus channel management systems (also known as channel managers).

By Bruna Martinuzzi: Many business owners and enterprise leaders try to cope with the disengagement by sending employees to accountability training. Accountability training typically focuses on topics such as creating SMART goals, clarifying expectations, empowering employees, establishing regular progress reviews and giving appropriate feedback. But a year later, even though everyone is now well-trained on the accountability cycle, the needle of engagement hasn’t moved. Why is that?

By Pamela Whitby:  Typically hotel businesses are non-technology firms but increasingly technology is intricately woven into day-to-day operations. “Digital was in a silo and in a way very separate,” explains Jim Abrahamson, Senior Director Mobile and Digital Product Management, Marriott International, “but now the two are coming together. This is something we are trying to achieve but it is not always easy to do.”