Hotel Management - Elliott Mest - Chicago hotel employees have voted to strike this month as negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement fell through. More than 90 percent of Unite Here Local 1’s membership voted in favor of the strike, which will commence Aug. 31 should hotels fail to secure a new deal with workers. More [...]

Facility Management Journal (IFMA) John Rimer – While much of our focus is on catastrophic events that grab headlines, such as active shooters and major storms, not much attention is given to the incidents that affect facilities on a routine basis.   READ MORE

Facility Executive: In the heart of the UCLA campus, a LEED Platinum conference center inspires collaboration and innovation. By Anne Cosgrove From the August 2018 Issue The resources of a world-class university, technical connectivity, and a commitment to sustainability distinguish the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, located in the heart of the UCLA [...]

Hotel News Resource Travelers are choosing to book short-term rental accommodations with services such as HomeAway, VRBO and AirBnB for two primary reasons, according to a recent survey by The GO Group LLC, an international ground transportation provider. The survey of 343 travelers found that 31% have used short-term rentals at least once…READ MORE

Significantly growing a hotel portfolio comes with its own set of challenges. Oldham Goodwin Group found that out first hand after growing its hotel management portfolio to nearly a dozen branded, select-service properties. That’s when the team sought out a way to streamline its increasingly complicated maintenance processes across multiple properties…READ MORE

Cleaning & Maintenance Management Concrete floors have evolved over the decades. They were originally restricted to the most functional facility areas, such as basements, warehouses, and industrial work areas. Now you see concrete floors just about anywhere…READ MORE

Marriott International today announced that it has adopted a plan to remove disposable plastic straws and plastic stirrers from its more than 6,500 properties across 30…READ MORE

Skift – It was only a matter of time before the big brands started rolling this smart-room technology. But what will be even more interesting is seeing which brand’s approach works better in a hospitality setting, and is more appealing not only to guests but to hotel owners, too. — Deanna Ting  READ MORE

Hilton News Room - Imagine being able to set your favorite TV channels, optimal room temperature and turn the lights off from the comfort of your hotel room bed, all on your own mobile device. It’s not a pipe dream: Welcome to Hilton’s Connected Room….READ MORE

USA Today The nightstand iPad was once the most advanced technological feature in a hotel guestroom. Now, Amazon is stepping in to change that. This week, Amazon announced that it has developed Alexa for Hospitality, a new version of its Amazon Echo smart speaker, for hotels, vacation rental companies and other players in the hospitality [...]

Facilitiesnet What’s the connection between maintenance and design in institutional and commercial facilities? In most organizations, that connection is unfortunately limited, according to a new report from the U.S. General Accounting Office. The report highlights the disconnect that exists between those who plan and design buildings and those who are responsible for the facilities’ maintenance [...]

Skift When guests check into the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills in California, they shouldn’t be surprised to find members of the hotel staff, from housekeeping and maintenance to the bellmen, all sporting the latest Samsung smartwatches on their wrists. That’s because the hotel is using those smartwatches as part of a strategy to improve the [...]

FacilitiesNet The benefits of LEDs are leading many facility managers to convert linear fluorescent fixtures (e.g., 2×4 troffers) to use LED lighting technologies or to consider doing so. The two options are tubular LEDs (TLEDs) and LED retrofit kits. (A third option is to replace the entire fixture.) Here’s a look at key points to [...]

Hotel Executive As sustainability becomes a larger focus in the hospitality industry, Westin wanted to find a way give back to the community in a way that further instilled our commitment to the environment and the well-being of our guests. We found a clear intersection between community health and the environment and began to brainstorm [...]

By Linchi Kwok Welcome to the era when machines begin replacing humans at work. In restaurants and hotels, machines or robots are already capable of performing many service jobs. Likewise, travelers can now make reservations for their hotel stays online, perform self-check-in on a mobile app or in a kiosk at a hotel, enter the [...]

Skift It’s still light years away before hotels offer voice-controlled guest rooms, but Hilton Worldwide has taken a step toward that happy future by adding a feature to its mobile app that lets your smartphone act like a remote control for key room functions. At select properties, users of the Hilton Honors app can control [...]

Scott E. Rupp The Environmental Protection Agency offers a guide to reducing waste for commercial building facility managers. For those in the profession, the guide might be old news, but for rookies and veterans alike it serves as a good educational tool for those who manage office buildings, schools, stores, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial [...]

Hotel Management Finnish security researcher company F-Secure has found design flaws that allow hackers to open hotel room doors without leaving any record on older model Vingcard’s Vision locks. By getting hold of a used hotel keycard, an attacker could create a master key to unlock any room in the building without leaving a trace, [...]

Condé Nast Traveler Many of us now use small doses of AI in everyday life (like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and everything smart home), but hotels are putting this once-sci-fi technology to more widespread use. From concierge robots to personalized rooms to lively chatbots, your next holiday may include help from some artificially intellectualized friends.  

Travel Weekly MagicBands have functioned as a room key at Disney World hotels for the past five years, and soon guests will get another digital key option — their smartphone. To use their digital key, guests must opt in and activate the feature on their check-in day through a brief set-up process in the My [...]