In this blog, I’ll share the best or most compelling piece of information I get each day (sometimes augmented by a bit of insight or analysis). Whether it’s a list of trends, a set of facts and figures, or even insights into great marketing strategies, look no further for ideas you can borrow and build upon to grow your business. We’ll call it “news you can use.” Exactly what you do with it is up to you, but if nothing else, I hope to give you something to talk about. en-us http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567.html?nid=4275 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use July 5, 2009 http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1640046164.html?nid=4275 Back in February, Starwood named Eva Ziegler global brand leader for W Hotels. Prior to this appointment, Ziegler was global brand leader of Le Méridien, responsible for defining the vision and brand strategy across disciplines (Ziegler continues to oversee Le Méridien). So why is t… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/750046075.html?nid=4275 Last night, the W Chicago-City Center threw a party to show off its "re-wondered" guestrooms, meeting space and living room. It was said to be quite an affair with a runway fashion show, an LA-based DJ, body-painted models, a human vending machine and a special performance b… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1830045783.html?nid=4275 For all my fans out there asking where I've been, what I've been working on and why I've been neglecting my blog, there's a very simple, very good answer: HOTELS' 325: The World's Largest Hotel Companies This annual project is a signature feature of our HOTELS brand, and this year we've ta… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/510045251.html?nid=4275 On Friday (May 29) I had the chance to stop by theWit, a new Doubletree property at a key intersection in downtown Chicago, and I have to say I was blown away. The hotel made quite a first impression, from the ground-level STATE AND LAKE gastropub to the 7,000-sq. ft. rooftop lounge, and eve… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1370044737.html?nid=4275 In this month's F&B feature on menu trends, I quote Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, IHG's vice president of F&B — The Americas, who says hoteliers should be looking at consolidating their various menus to save on the cost side. "How do you consolidate and criss-cross items to make… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1690043969.html?nid=4275 I think it all started with 1998's "There's Something About Mary," but it's taken a good 10 years to fully proliferate. That said, these days Americans seem to be totally and completely obsessed with Ted. What is Ted? It's nothing more than a man's name, actually, but Ted's prominence i… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1530043353.html?nid=4275 Last fall I interviewed Chef Martial Noguier about his transition from Chicago’s one sixtyblue restaurant to the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, where he is executive chef. He had a lot to say about the new challenge and his plans for Café des Architectes, but … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/640041064.html?nid=4275 The Doubletree Chicago Magnificent Mile has a new restaurant, MARKETHOUSE, that specializes in using fresh, locally grown seasonal herbs, produce, meat and poultry. Compared to what was there previously, the Puccini Group-designed, chef-driven restaurant is definitely somet...Read More http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/70043007.html?nid=4275 About a month ago on my blog, I launched the HOTELS Mailbag, a compilation of reader mail that comes across, along with comments and/or responses from the writer/editor. Since then, we've had some interesting mail, so here we go with the second installment of the HOTELS Mailbag: Via regular e-… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/740042874.html?nid=4275 The cupcake craze has been in full effect for a while now here in the US, with New York's Magnolia Bakery leading the way. With more and more cupcake boutiques springing up across the country, I'd call cupcakes trendy, but their ongoing popularity after rising to the top of our collecti… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/510042451.html?nid=4275 Hoteliers often tout the importance of personalization for the guest stay, especially at the luxury level. But how often is a guest experience truly personalized? True personalization is not something as simple acting on a basic awareness of guest preferences gleaned from the checkboxes… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/550042055.html?nid=4275 A month ago, I blogged about a conversation I had with Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray (VP of F&B for IHG in the Americas) in which he said, "Everybody is worried about champagne, because they say this is no time for celebration. But people still fall in love, or celebrate a birth--there's alwa… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1460041946.html?nid=4275 So yesterday I went about helping make a reality one of my New Year's resolutions by spending some time on property at a luxury hotel. In talking with the property's F&B director, I learned something worth sharing with hotel managers around the world. You may have already thought about thi… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1720041772.html?nid=4275 Today I'm launching a new semi-regular feature on my Something To Talk About blog: the HOTELS Mailbag. U.S. sports fans may recognize this concept as I am borrowing it from a well-read sports journalist. For those less familiar, the mailbag is basically a compilation of reader mail that comes acr… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/750040875.html?nid=4275 Every few months I like to catch up with Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, vice president, food & beverage, the Americas, for IHG. Why? Like me, he's passionate about F&B, and like me, he's tried to prepare Southeast Asian food at home with his wife only to realize that it is much cheaper and … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/430040443.html?nid=4275 Hotel distribution technology provider Amadeus has commissioned a report on the effect of the economic downturn and corporate cutbacks on executives' choice of hotel. The results are in, and the report finds that executives will make fewer, shorter and cheaper business trips in 2009 and prefer ba… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/940040294.html?nid=4275 Last week I blogged about the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa's Paula DaSilva, chef de cuisine for the 3030 Ocean restaurant, appearing on Season 5 of the popular Gordon Ramsay reality TV show "Hell's Kitchen." Well, good news for DaSilva fans: Ramsay's first… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/30040203.html?nid=4275 A press release came across my desk early this morning explaining how Bangkok-based Six Senses Resorts & Spas has created an alternative to layoffs by having hosts take a 10% cut in pay. In return, they receive the same amount in company shares, which may be sold back to the company a year or… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1880039988.html?nid=4275 In the United States, baseball may be the "official" national pastime, but football rules. So much so that a friend of mine recently referred to the Super Bowl as a national holiday. When you've got such a high-profile event, you can bet that marketers across the land will put thei… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1390039939.html?nid=4275 The Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa's very own Paula DaSilva, chef de cuisine for the 3030 Ocean restaurant, will appear tonight on the Season 5 premiere of the popular Gordon Ramsay reality TV show "Hell's Kitchen." DaSilva is one of the chef/contestants on … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/660039866.html?nid=4275 Stop the presses! There seem to be differing opinions on the top movies for 2008... Just a few days after I blogged about LodgeNet's 10 top-selling movies in hotel guestrooms for last year, Quadriga, another in-room entertainment technology provider, released its own list of the top 20 most … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/610039661.html?nid=4275 For some light reading on a Friday, I bring you the list of the day (a long lost feature of this blog): Top On-Demand Movie Sales For 2008. The list comes from in-room entertainment technology provider LodgeNet, and covers top selling on-demand theatrical movie titles in hotel guestrooms for… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/960039496.html?nid=4275 We've all seen that hotels and hotel companies are doing anything and everything possible to drive business during these difficult times. The latest idea to catch my eye comes from Morgans Hotel Group, which is offering "Friends and Family" rates starting at US$125 for some of its … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/1580039158.html?nid=4275 This time of year, I have the privilege of receiving a number of press releases about various hotels' special Valentine's Day packages and offers. As you might expect, many involve chocolates, champagne, candles, breakfast in bed, bubble baths and/or massages. Some add in romantic music or mov… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/1670000567/post/260038826.html?nid=4275 Over the weekend my wife and I joined a small group for dinner at Mercat a la Planxa, a Catalan tapas restaurant in The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The restaurant is the creation of a partnership between native Chicagoan Jose Garces and Sage Restaurant Group. The first thing …