HOTELS Editor-in-Chief Jeff Weinstein offers his thoughts on hotel industry breaking news and issues of the day. en-us http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415.html?nid=4000 Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use July 8, 2008 http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/1410028941.html?nid=4000 If you are online much, I don’t know how you could not notice that our world has been invaded by social networks—places to go online to meet up with contemporaries, like-minded individuals, etc. There are the big boys such as Facebook and MySpace, and endless numbers of chatrooms and eve… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/120027812.html?nid=4000 The 30th annual NYU hotel investment conference wrapped up earlier this week in New York City with a lot of consternation on display among leading executives about the state of the hotel business, especially in the United States. On the day the conference opened, Marriott Internation… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/230026623.html?nid=4000 I have been back in the office from the Dubai hotel investment conference for more than a week and this is the first breath I have had to write this blog on the conference. Let’s see what I can remember. This was the fourth annual event (I have been to all four) and attendance has grown from … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/1880026388.html?nid=4000 Reporting for a global hotel magazine can be challenging with the time zone differences, getting to know and remembering all of the thoughtful hoteliers and industry-related professionals around the world, and simply dealing with constant deadline pressure. Since I am now a blogger, I thought I wou… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/1220025322.html?nid=4000 There are still a fair share of cynics out there calling the "green" movement a PR ploy by hotel companies. There may be some truth to this point of view and this industry has a long way to go to call itself truly "green," but I am here to tell you most of the hotel companies mak… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/970024697.html?nid=4000 While attending industry conferences over the past, say, five years, there is always an argument about how to define a true “boutique hotel.” It seemed that anything that did not fit into the chain “box” template was being called “boutique.” If it had any ed… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/1660022166.html?nid=4000 I love the way Marriott International is embracing video online. I just watched the first of three short films that together will shine a completely new light on the Ritz-Carlton brand. It is entertaining and provides an outstanding example to the industry about using Web 2.0 media to reach a new, y… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/1450021945.html?nid=4000 For me, the highlight of the 2008 Americas Lodging Industry Summit (ALIS) conference last week at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles was the evening cocktail party hosted by Marriott International—and unlikely bedfellows Bill Marriott and Ian Schrager—to introduce its new bou… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019839.html?nid=4000 IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) put on a very splashy and seemingly expensive show in Dallas last week to hype the re-launch of its Holiday Inn brands (Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express). I even got to watch Andy Cosslett play guitar in the opening act. He looked like he knew what he was doing… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019836.html?nid=4000 Okay. This is getting to be a bit much. When will the madness end? The scent story continues today with two announcements: One company that wants to de-scent; the other that wants to make guests “feel at home while they are far from their own homes” with a signature scent. Stop, please. … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019833.html?nid=4000 I just returned from the annual Lodging Conference in Phoenix, a favorite among the hotel investment circuit junkies due to its affable hosts, Morris Lasky and Harry Javer, the laid-back, resort environment of the Arizona Biltmore, the casual dress code and an over-abundance of conference food. This… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019831.html?nid=4000 Mark your calendar! On November 7 at 10 a.m. CST, HOTELS magazine will host a live webcast entitled “Practical Green Hotelkeeping.” You can register on our web site to attend and even post your own questions for the panel to answer. A roundtable discussion among four industry leaders a… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019829.html?nid=4000 I have a real hard time believing this news based on personal experience, but customer satisfaction in the United States lodging industry is up. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report says that although there was a small decrease reported in the first quarter of 2007, customer satisfaction lev… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019825.html?nid=4000 Okay, now I have seen it all. I am attaching part of a press release here from the Westin River North in Chicago, which has installed hi-tech toilets—and of course it has a remote control! Honestly, what could be more important in a hotel stay and what could possibly be next in the amenities w… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019822.html?nid=4000 A news item came across my desk a few days ago from UK-based Travelodge, which has decided to remove adult entertainment programming from its TV offering in hotels. Travelodge COO Guy Parsons says the company is getting rid of pay-per-view porn to "appeal to the ever-growing number of families&… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019820.html?nid=4000 I am overwhelmed by technology today, and my guess is that many of your customers are as well. Yet we continue to hoist more and more gadgets upon them, whether they need them or not, or whether they have actually asked for them or not. Today, two press releases came into my in-box that, I think, a… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019816.html?nid=4000 OMG! OMG! If you didn’t know, OMG is text messaging parlance for “Oh my God!” Bill Marriott in business with Ian Schrager. If you had asked me five years ago about the potential for this relationship to blossom, I would have told you something like, “When pigs fly.” Out… http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019815.html?nid=4000 I was at a conference recently for a global hotel company with a large franchise base. As per usual at these types of events, the corporate office was extolling the benefits of buying into more corporate programs and upgrades to help individual owners run their hotels more effectively and to better … http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/150000415/post/2000019813.html?nid=4000 Welcome to the editors blog. Who are we? HOTELS’ Associate Editor Adam Kirby, 26, brings a fresh set of eyes to the business and a youthful point of view; Senior Editor Derek Gale, 28, brings you the perspective of a seasoned reporter and former hotel employee; and I turn 50 in the fall and br…