Ken, how do you keep up with so much information?
I've been asked this twice in the last 3 days. Magic powers? Well, it is my job...I don't cook or carry plates. But my most important tool for keepin...

What were they thinking when they chose this name?
I've just found the website for Brisbane's Hell Pizza. What were they thinking!!? I don't believe in it myself, but in that city there would be hundr...

Need For Speed When Disaster Strikes
With Katrina’s three year anniversary looming and Gustav gearing up for a Labor Day battering of the Gulf of Mexico next week, (the biggest since Wil...

Designing For Global Customer Of Tomorrow
After an amazing week in China, checking out the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China as well as plenty of Olympic events, I have returned home...

Let the Games Begin!
Having opened offices in Hong Kong in 2007, learning about the nuances of Chinese culture and customs has been a constant opportunity for growth. I l...

Combatting The Air Travel Blues
I am usually a pretty positive guy. But I can’t mince words here. Last week I experienced what turned out to be one of the worst airline travel exper...

I Haven’t Got Time For The Pain
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Introduction To Designs On Profitability
As my three founding partners -- Andrew J. Fay, Ariane Steinbeck, Julius van Heek -- and I first hung out our shingle in 1988, we built Gettys, a hos...

Tiger Woods & Your Personal Brand
Would you ever be able to have a hotel named after you? Have you been able to pass through all security check points to gain clearance required to be...

Most People Don't
Most people don't pick up the phone anymore to call a client back; they simply hit "reply". Most people don't send handwritten notes anymore; they si...

Spinning Signs & Site Inspections
Have you ever been driving down the street and noticed someone trying to catch your attention by wildly throwing around a sign above their head and a...

Fishing Where The Fish Are
"Good day for fishing, but the catching is horrible" is a quote that I don't wish to hear again on my precious days off. Do we fish where the fish ar...

Are You Smarter Than A 3rd Grader?
One day in 2010 in Washington, D.C., a young man named Joe was working as a dishwasher. "Joe!" his boss boomed. "I thought I told you to clean those ...

The Importance Of Taking Notes
How many of you have incredible memories? Can you remember the smallest of details? Tim Ferriss, author of "The Four Hour Work Week," writes: "I trus...

Are You In The Basement?
Literally, are you in the basement? Is the sales office located in any of the below-ground levels? Never mind sales, are any of your executive office...

Do The Right Thing
How many of us do things for the right reasons? Are we honest with a client when we truly don't feel that our hotel would be a good fit for their nee...

Sales Lessons From A Sushi Server
How many of you love sushi? Japanese food is something that our entire family can enjoy--it offers enough variety so that each person is pleased. It ...

Don't Be Afraid To Ask For The Business
When asked to participate in HOTELS magazine, I was thrilled with the opportunity. The reality of having to discuss topics that would be intriguing a...

Poll shows positive outlooks
Eighty percent of voters in a recent HotelTalk poll think the current hotel industry downturn won't have long-lasting effects.More specifically, 40 p...

Skyscanner tries one method of pushing search results into Facebook
Came across a quirky feature on the new Skyscanner site this morning when, inevitably, we were looking at Ryanair fares on other websites. Underneath...

Stolen Customer Data, Might as Well Have the Keys to the Hotel
Wired covers this story out of Europe where a hacker installed a trojan virus that steals customer data on a Best Western hotel PMS system. Best West...

The Hammock Podcast with iPhone
Todd’s swinging in a hammock with his iphone this week on the Tourism Keys Video Podcast. Todd explains how handheld devices like Apple’s iPhone, fea...

Come rest in this room
George Costanza would be proud. The five-star Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., took home the coveted Best Restroom in America award, given by Cin...

Predictive search on Google is here
Not ready for the UK just yet (our Google guy tells us), but the predictive search function which has been knocking about for a few years under the t...

User generated content in travel: how do we measure it?
How do we know whether our social media, user generated content or online marketing activity is working? Should we spend or save? Those are questions...

Tech heist
The Sunday Herald, a Scottish newspaper has a report on what could end up being the largest heist in hospitality, if not cyber-space, annals. Accordi...

My new career as a faucet designer
Okay, so as they say, I probably shouldn't quit my day job. But in all of the websites that I come across, occasionally one sticks out. What impresse...

British Airways London-New York social network
British Airways is talking up its first foray into user generated content on the E-Consultancy website site. The Metrotwin.com project sounds intrigu...

Ryanair screen scraping - a summary so far….
Yes it is getting a bit out of hand….. far too many posts about screen scraping - which is funny - as a month ago I was writing too much about cruise...

From Suzanne's Files to Spire : Women Entrepreneur Travel Spirit in action.
Les Blogs Entrées récentes eTourisme l'Interview du Pro Travel 2.0 Web 2.0 « UpTake blog and guest... | Accueil août 27, 2008 From Suzanne's Files ...