By Saloni: The cold January weather may have been dominating the news over the past month, but there's plenty going on in London's boutique hotel scene to warm the cockles.  Here we take a look at some of the big stories in January and look ahead to what's happening in February.

By Rob Lovitt: Free Wi-Fi. You can get it while sipping a double tall latte at Starbucks, eating a Big Mac at McDonald’s or waiting for your flight at an increasing number of airports. While relaxing at your hotel once you arrive? Maybe not as hotels continue to buck the free Internet trend in pursuit of millions of dollars in daily fees. According to the latest survey from PKF Hospitality Research, U.S. hotels took in $269 in telecommunications revenue per available room in 2011, an increase of 51 percent from two years earlier.

By Bryan K. Williams: At the end of the day, service is really about making someone feel cared for. That’s it. We can talk about steps of service, touchpoints,and exceeding expectations until we are exhausted, but if your customers don’t feel like you genuinely care about them (or their issue), then true service really has not taken place. To make that point clearer, I propose that for service to be special, it must be three things – read on to find out what you need.

By Bob Taylor: Let’s step back for a moment and consider your “internal customers” and the services you provide them. If given the choice and options, would your internal customers continue to use your services? Or would they buy elsewhere? Consider a related question: All other things being equal, how is your team’s “brand” viewed in the eyes of your internal customers?

By Bruce Schoenfeld: As big a fan as I am of today's business hotels–and I've said repeatedly in this space that they're the best part of traveling for work–I'm reminded almost every week that there is room for improvement. Drawing on conversations with other road regulars and on my own experience, I've compiled a list of hotel gripes. All are easy enough to fix with minimal investment, training or policy changes.

By Max Starkov: A careful analysis of industry statistics and projections reveals a very interesting picture that not all hoteliers fully understand: The majority of “mobile” bookings, room nights and revenue are generated by tablet devices such as the iPad, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus, not by “pure” mobile devices like the iPhone and Android- and Windows Mobile-based smartphones.

By Amy D. Bair: Some quotes from TripAdvisor:“The english receptionist could do with going to charm school.”“Some staff very nice and friendly and some extremely rude.”“Not ONE "Hello" or "goodnight"….Have some class.”Do those comments make you cringe? Me too.

Who obtained the world’s highest customer satisfaction score for 2012, based on global results from the Market Metrix Hospitality Index? Read on to find out.

By John Hendrie: Yep, there we go again — restaurant ambiance going to Hell in a hand basket.  It has been quite a slide over the years – ties and coats, 'No shirt, no shoes — no service', smoking, cell phones and now camera wielding patrons.  It is hard to have a civilized repast.