Linchi Kwok

Linchi Kwok publishes viewpoints and refereed articles in hospitality management and service marketing. His research work won several best paper awards at academic conferences. Linchi is now an associate professor at The Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona and a visiting professor at Sun Yat-Sen University. Before moving to Southern California, Linchi worked at Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Texas Tech University, and Marriott.

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Articles by Linchi Kwok

• What if labor shortage is a long-term threat to the hospitality and tourism industry?

  Thursday, September 23, 2021

  The U.S. economy finally shows signs of a strong recovery from the pandemic. Nevertheless, the surging delta variant cases, inflation, and the global supply chain disruption, among other concerns, add considerable uncertainty to the economic outlook. However, the hospitality and tourism industry is unlikely to recover any time soon.

• Want your employees to voice suggestions when customers treat them poorly? The double-edged effects

  Tuesday, August 24, 2021

  When consumers know they are always right, they may breed a sense of superiority or entitlement, expecting the frontline employees to comply with any customer behaviors. Current literature has identified customer mistreatment's negative effects on employees' psychological states and work-related intentions/behaviors. Companies need to promote employees' customer-focused voice behavior, through which they can gain first-hand knowledge about their customers and identify potential issues for service improvement.

• Research reveals effective social media crisis communication strategies during COVID-19 pandemic

  Monday, July 12, 2021

  When people work remotely and classes are taught online, social media plays an even more critical role in crisis communication than before. Research identifying the types of social media messages that get people's attention during the COVID-19 pandemic is timely and helpful in supporting business decisions regarding crisis communication.

• Research shows that you should let consumers’ photos speak for your business

  Tuesday, June 15, 2021

  The advance of technology and the widespread adoption of smartphones and handheld devices in recent years have enabled us to publish our experience about a product or service through online photo or video sharing and provide a review. Online review websites have also updated their features, making it easier for consumers to attach pictures or videos to their reviews. As both consumers and businesses adapt to the new photo-sharing trend, it becomes crucial to expand our knowledge regarding user-generated photos’ (UGPs’) effect on online reviews.

• Besides higher wages, what else can businesses do to address labor shortages?

  Monday, May 17, 2021

  When everyone in hospitality is hiring to meet growing demand and prepare for the summer, many are struggling to fill job openings. How bad is the current labor shortage situation? A restaurant owner in New York City, for instance, posted a job listing for a host/hostess position at $30 an hour but received no response for two weeks. A year ago, the same restaurant would have received "hundreds and hundreds of resumes" already for the same position paying $20 an hour. When every company is offering a higher wage and even sign-on bonuses to new hires, businesses must do more to respond to the labor shortage challenge.

• Will the lodging industry’s supply growth outpace demand?

  Monday, April 19, 2021

  The COVID-19 vaccination rate is climbing steadily in the U.S. At its current rate, three in four people, or 75% of eligible residents, will be vaccinated by June. Businesses are reopening. The U.S. economy is now operating at 88% of its pre-pandemic level, with hope for continuous improvement. According to STR, a world-leading provider for data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for hotels, the U.S. lodging industry reported the highest demand and occupancy levels since the pandemic began for the week ending April 10. Furthermore, the U.S. opened 220 properties, or 26,057 rooms, in the first quarter of 2021.

• Change to adapt: How businesses will respond to post-pandemic travels

  Monday, March 15, 2021

  Hospitality and tourism companies are ready for the long-awaited travel recovery in 2021. Many have begun hiring. The hospitality sector alone added 355,000 new jobs in February, making up most of the nonfarm payroll gains in the market. Airlines, too, are preparing for recovery; they have resumed hiring and training and plan to buy new airplanes. Post-pandemic travel, however, will very likely look different from what we knew about travel. COVID-19's devastating impact on the hospitality and tourism industry may have changed how these businesses operate forever.

• Will hospitality and travel recover in 2021?

  Tuesday, February 16, 2021

  2020 was a very challenging year for most. Besides lockdowns, many companies let employees work from home permanently. When many business activities were put on a break and supply chains were interrupted, the global economy crashed. COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality and tourism industry has been devastating and unprecedented. This article looks at the damage done to aviation, hotels and restaurants in 2020 because of the pandemic and what can be expected for those sectors in 2021.

• Study: How job seekers’ social media profiles affect employability

  Monday, January 18, 2021

  Social media plays an increasingly important role in recruitment and employee selection. Recruiters are tempted to check on job candidates’ social media profiles (SMPs) because SMPs could reveal more dynamic information about the candidates than resumes alone. By checking the candidates’ SMPs, recruiters can discover their real personalities, which cannot be easily achieved even through job interviews. Meanwhile, hiring managers can also assess job candidates’ social capital based on the size and the composition of their social networks.

• How concerning is it when contactless self-service pushes people out of work?

  Tuesday, December 15, 2020

  COVID-19 has accelerated a few foreseeable changes that the service industry expected for the future. For example, more consumers have wanted delivery service since the pandemic hit in March. Restaurants, hotels, airlines, retailers, and shopping malls have extended their current contactless self-service offerings through mobile apps, kiosks, facial recognition, and palm recognition technologies. To embrace the growing demand for delivery and contactless self-service, many fast-food chains also introduced new restaurant designs, featuring double- or triple-drive-thru lanes, conveyor belt delivery, and food lockers for pickup orders.

• The 2020 hospitality and tourism trends that will likely stay for 2021 and beyond

  Tuesday, December 01, 2020

  At the end of 2019, I predicted a few 2020 trends in hospitality, retail, and tourism businesses. For example, I recommended that we should pay special attention to areas like food delivery, sustainable food, and facial recognition. Certainly, the global pandemic was not anything I could predict back in 2019, but COVID-19 might have just accelerated many of the foreseeable changes we expected for the future. Moreover, many of the changes we observed in 2020 will very likely stay in 2021 and beyond, including the following.

• Do the restaurants of the future still need a dining room?

  Tuesday, November 17, 2020

  It does not seem the coronavirus will be leaving us soon, although we have seen great progress recently for developing a vaccine. In recent weeks, many places have reported a surge of new COVID-19 cases. Some even resumed lockdowns and mask mandates, forcing restaurants to shut down indoor dining services again. As a short-term remedy, restaurants immediately shifted their offerings to curbside pickup and delivery services. Meanwhile, restaurants are testing new concepts to embrace the contactless self-service trend for the future. Here are some examples.

• Can leisure and work-from-home demand stimulate extended-stay hotel growth beyond COVID-19?

  Tuesday, November 03, 2020

  The lodging industry is still struggling to fill empty rooms. For months, U.S. hotels have been running at an occupancy of 50% or lower. Not every segment in the industry suffers the same impact from the pandemic, however. Demand for home-sharing facilities already bounced back over the summer. Airbnb reported a higher booking rate than last year. Marriott’s home-sharing arm is also doing well, seeing a sevenfold increase in booking over last summer. Similar to what a residential rental or home-sharing facility offers, guestrooms in extended-stay hotels also feature a full-size kitchen or a kitchenette.

• As more companies let employees work from home permanently, what is the outlook of business travel?

  Monday, October 19, 2020

  When the pandemic hit the global economy in March, business travel was estimated to lose $820 billion in revenue. Under the best-case scenario, businesses were expected to reopen in late spring or early summer. As we entered into the summer, indicators showed travel and hospitality businesses were picking up, but we all knew travel recovery would not truly occur until people took business trips again. Now, in October, we still have not contained the coronavirus. To make it worse, new COVID-19 cases are now surging again across the U.S. and Europe.

• Will Amazon’s new palm recognition technology become a popular biometric tool?

  Tuesday, October 06, 2020

  Amazon recently introduced a new biometric payment device, Amazon One, in two of its Go stores in Seattle. Shoppers can now enter and pay at these select cashier-free Amazon Go stores by scanning their palms. The company sees broader implications for Amazon One devices. Places with high foot traffic, such as stadiums, restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, and any gated or secured facilities, could benefit from the technology.

• Will more hotels get into the home-sharing business?

  Tuesday, September 22, 2020

  There is no doubt that COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the travel and tourism industry. With massive layoffs and closures, many hospitality professionals have noted that they had never seen such a detrimental event to the industry in their careers. Nobody knows when the recovery will take place. Yet, there is at least one exception. The home-sharing sector has already rebounded.

• Will COVID-19 be a catalyst for more hotel mergers and acquisitions?

  Tuesday, September 08, 2020

  COVID-19 has put many restaurants and hotels out of business. A recent example is the permanent closure of the iconic Hilton Times Square Hotel. Several restaurant chains recently rolled out new store designs to embrace contactless self-service and delivery capabilities demanded by customers. With more schools and businesses reopening, the restaurant industry has shown signs of recovery. The outlook for hotels, however, is not as optimistic.

• Contactless self-services will remain after COVID-19

  Tuesday, August 25, 2020

  New COVID-19 cases are finally showing signs of decline across the U.S., but we should still take cautionary measures to avoid another wave of infections. Because the virus is primarily transmitted through direct or indirect close contact with infected people via mouth or nose secretions, social distancing and frequent sanitation are highly recommended. It is not surprising to see consumers demand services with minimal human contact, leading to more contactless self-services.

• Baby boomers deserve a lot of attention from businesses, too

  Tuesday, August 11, 2020

  Jill Filipovic argues in her new book that millennials have been going through tougher economic circumstances than any generation since the Great Depression. I am neither a millennial nor a boomer, but the media coverage about Filipovic's arguments got my attention. The fact is, no matter if we are in the position of supporting or challenging Filipovic's propositions, we cannot deny that we need boomers to boost post-pandemic consumption.

• The 7 P’s marketing mix of home-sharing services: Insights from over 1 million Airbnb reviews

  Tuesday, July 28, 2020

  The 7 P’s marketing mix framework is a widely used managerial tool that helps businesses identify the principal components of a service product. Building upon the 7 P's marketing mix framework, I led a research team in an analysis of over 1.14 million English-language reviews of 37,092 Airbnb listings in San Francisco and New York City. We aimed to discover meaningful new business intelligence through the analysis of online review information created by consumers in the cyber marketplace.

• Travel recovery will occur when Gen Zers, millennials embark on business trips

  Tuesday, July 14, 2020

  "Gen Z and millennials are key to travel industry’s recovery" was the headline of a recent Travel Pulse report, which quoted a GlobalData survey. The survey suggests that younger and wealthier travelers would be the first to resume international leisure travel when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Both generations belong to the younger group of travelers, with the oldest millennials just turning 39 this year.

• ‘Travel, as we knew it, is over,’ but hopes remain for a different future

  Tuesday, June 30, 2020

  Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky talked about the future of travel in a recent CNBC interview. He stated: "Travel, as we knew it, is over. It doesn’t mean travel is over, just the travel we knew is over, and it’s never coming back. It’s just not." His statement made headlines, but he also suggested in the same interview: "… travel is going to come back. It’s just going to take a lot longer than, you know, we would have thought, and it’s going to be different."

• Indicators show travel, hospitality businesses are picking up

  Monday, June 15, 2020

  Coronavirus restrictions have been eased across the country. Travel companies are reopening their businesses with enhanced sanitizing measures. People are ready to travel again. Do you see early signs of recovery? Here are some positive updates, although it is still too early to claim that it is business as usual.

• Will home-sharing and luxury hotels recover before other lodging products?

  Tuesday, June 02, 2020

  As more places ease coronavirus restrictions, travel companies are getting ready to reopen their businesses. But do people want to travel again soon? If so, who are the travelers? Smith Travel Research (STR), a leading data analytics provider for the lodging industry, conducted an opinion survey about travelers’ attitudes towards different types of accommodation facilities based on their preferences from past experiences. One assumption for such an analysis is that travelers tend to stick to the same kind of accommodation facility for their trips.

• Coronavirus restrictions are easing, but cautionary measures should not

  Tuesday, May 19, 2020

  People are eager to get back to their normal routines. Businesses are preparing for post-pandemic travel. Governments have begun easing coronavirus restrictions. Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel already? Possibly, but the pandemic is not over yet. So, please remain cautious even as stay-at-home restrictions are lifted.

• Travel and hospitality companies prepare for consumers with enhanced cleaning standards

  Tuesday, May 05, 2020

  Are you ready to travel once stay-at-home orders are lifted in your region? A recent survey of over 30,000 Americans suggests that 46% of Americans will travel immediately after orders are lifted; 19% will wait two to six months; 18% have no plans to travel; 52% of those planning to travel prefer domestic trips (possibly road trips); and 53% trust the travel and hospitality industry will follow safety protocols. Even though it is still far too early to claim that the coronavirus pandemic is over, a number of states have already loosened lockdown rules, allowing certain businesses to reopen. Travel and hospitality companies are getting ready to welcome guests.

• When can we start traveling again?

  Tuesday, April 21, 2020

  When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? When will we be able to travel again? Since California issued its stay-at-home order in mid-March, over 316 million people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico have been urged to stay at home. The U.S. State Department also issued a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory for all international travel. Today, many people are getting tired of staying at home. So, when can we go out and begin traveling again?

• Will Airbnb guests want to stay in chain hotels instead after COVID-19?

  Tuesday, April 07, 2020

  COVID-19 has hit the economy so hard that it could take three years for the U.S. to recover. Right now, nobody goes out, and nobody travels. The travel and hospitality industry has been hit the hardest, with mass layoffs and record-low key performance indicators (KPIs). According to STR's lodging report for the week ending on March 28, the industry's KPIs hit "unprecedented lows." For example, revenue per available room (RevPAR) was $18.05, an 80.3% drop from the same week in 2019.

• Delivery services in multiple sectors are getting a boost during the COVID-19 recession

  Tuesday, March 24, 2020

  The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating and will continue indefinitely. It is no longer a question of whether the coronavirus pandemic will cause a global economic downturn. It is now about how much the economy will shrink. The coronavirus will probably change how people shop, travel, and work for years. People will likely rely more on delivery services. Such demand will help boost delivery businesses even when everybody is having a tough time fighting the pandemic.

• Research: Helping those having career decision-making difficulties in college

  Wednesday, March 11, 2020

  Did you ever find it challenging to decide the right career for yourself? I did when I was a student and even later in my career. The reality is that many of us, especially when we were college students, had trouble making decisions regarding our major(s) and our potential career paths. Some of us may still experience such a struggle even after we have completed a degree program. I worked with Drs. Ning-Kuang Chuang at Kent State University and Patrick Lee at Cal Poly Pomona on a project entitled: "Assisting students with career decision-making difficulties: Can career decision-making self-efficacy and career decision-making profile help?" The full paper was published in the Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, & Tourism Education.

• Will the coronavirus outbreak cause a global economic downturn?

  Tuesday, February 25, 2020

  The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is at a turning point from an epidemic to a pandemic. According to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Feb. 22, a total of 32 countries have reported confirmed cases. In South Korea, for example, confirmed infected cases went up to 763 on Feb. 24. Six days earlier, the country only had 31 cases. On Feb. 23, Italy reported that three people had died, and 152 others had been infected with coronavirus; Iran also reported 43 confirmed infected cases. Airlines are canceling months of flights to and from China amid coronavirus fears.

• Where are your prospects going after deleting Facebook?

  Tuesday, February 11, 2020

  Not long ago, Facebook was the most visited website in the world and the most popular social media platform for business-to-consumer communications among various types of organizations. In recent years, however, Facebook has faced backlash regarding the platform's data privacy practices and its CEO. Many even participated in the #DeleteFacebook movement. I also noticed a shift in my teenage students' interest in Facebook, even before the #DeleteFacebook backlash. So, if Facebook is no longer the place where everyone is, which social media platforms can we use to communicate with our prospective consumers?

• Research: An analysis of travelers’ choices to share or access home-sharing facilities

  Tuesday, January 28, 2020

  One selling point of a home-sharing service is that it gives travelers unique social interactions with the host. Early literature about home-sharing services also confirms that travelers appreciate the interactions with the local hosts. An argument, however, arises that the "sharing" economy is actually an "access" economy. Some travelers only pay for permission to use someone else's facility with no interest in social interactions. If travelers merely want to "access" a home-sharing facility, the differences between a home-sharing stay and a regular hotel stay become nebulous.

• Are neighbors friends or foes? Assessing the agglomeration effect for Airbnb listings

  Tuesday, January 14, 2020

  Recent research suggests that Airbnb listings are usually found in popular locations such as tourist attractions and points of interest. When more Airbnb listings are located in the same neighborhood, the competition will become more intense. Intense competition can be harmful to businesses, especially when they enter a price war. If that’s the case, why would Airbnb hosts choose to operate their short-term residential rental businesses in a neighborhood with already existing listings?

• What to expect for 2020 in hospitality and tourism

  Monday, December 16, 2019

  Are you ready for the holiday season? Are you excited about 2020 and a new decade, too? In just two weeks, we are going to welcome a new year and, more importantly, a new decade. I hope everybody is celebrating the fruitful year of 2019. Looking ahead, I believe many of the events we discussed in 2019 will significantly affect the hospitality and tourism industries in the future. Through a review of what happened in 2019, we can get a good idea of what we can expect in 2020 in hospitality and tourism.

• Is Paris still safe to visit? Recommendations from a recent theft victim

  Tuesday, December 03, 2019

  I was in Paris on a leisure trip last week. It would have been a perfect getaway if I was not the victim of theft. Such an incident significantly affected my travel plans and my well-being even though I tried my best not to let it bother me. Leaving the incident behind, I am sharing the lessons I learned from my own experience. I am hoping my recommendations will help prevent people from being other victims of theft.

• Promoting student success at the STR Student Market Study Competition

  Tuesday, November 19, 2019

  STR is the leading data analytics provider for the lodging industry. Since its debut in 2015, the STR Student Market Study Competition has received significant attention from hospitality programs around the world. This year, over 20 students from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona traveled to New York City for the HX 2019 trade show, which includes the STR Student Market Study Competition. Moreover, six of them also participated in the STR competition for the first time.

• Will convenience outweigh privacy when it comes to using facial recognition in public?

  Tuesday, November 05, 2019

  Facial recognition technology is convenient. Many of us use it numerous times a day to unlock our smartphones. Although people often access their phones with Face ID or fingerprints, many still worry about their privacy when their biometric data are used in the public space. There is a fine line between consensual identity verification and non-consensual surveillance. Here are some examples.

• United pushes economy-class travelers away with new frequent flyer program

  Tuesday, October 22, 2019

  United Airlines recently revealed massive changes to its MileagePlus Program. How much a traveler spends on tickets is the only thing that matters in the airline’s new frequent flyer program. Not long ago, United quietly switched from a distance-based rewards program to a fare-based frequent flyer program. Now, the airline wants to take a big step further to (only) reward those top-spending travelers as their elite customers. The new MileagePlus Program makes it much more challenging for most economy-class frequent travelers to achieve any elite status.

• Getting a job at McDonald’s is now as easy as talking to Alexa

  Tuesday, October 08, 2019

  McDonald’s recently introduced the world’s first voice-initiated job application process, called McDonald’s Apply Thru. Now, job seekers can initiate the job application process through McDonald’s Apply Thru by talking to either Alexa or Google Assistant. McDonald’s Apply Thru is now available in nine countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. It will be made available to other countries in the coming months.

• Drone delivery is coming, but don’t get too excited yet

  Tuesday, September 24, 2019

  Walgreens is now working with Google parent company Alphabet's Wing service to test drone deliveries. Beginning in October, Walgreens' pilot program will use drones to deliver on-demand food, beverages, and over-the-counter non-prescription medications to customers within minutes. Currently, Wing's drones can deliver packages of about three pounds and within a six-mile radius. Walgreens is not the only retailer who wants to use drones in delivery.

• Want oven-fresh delivery food? A new startup makes it possible

  Tuesday, September 10, 2019

  Many consumers love ordering food online to have it delivered to their home. Food delivery has become a big business for restaurants and grocery stores. Others, like me, are still feeling skeptical about delivery food despite its convenience. First, there is no guarantee that the delivery drivers won’t touch the food. Also, I do not think my food would taste fresh or as good after it was sitting inside a container for a good amount of time. It was not until I heard of Zume Pizza, a startup in the Bay Area, that I saw myself ordering food online in the future.

• How to find low prices during travel’s dynamic pricing era

  Thursday, August 29, 2019

  Marriott is set to introduce dynamic pricing to its Bonvoy rewards program in the coming weeks. Effective in September, travelers will need to spend 14 to 33% more reward points in exchange for an award night when a hotel is busy. Meanwhile, travelers may also receive a discount on an award night when a hotel has low occupancy. Dynamic pricing is a common tactic in revenue management, and allows service firms to respond to consumers’ fluctuating demand for the perishable inventory with a fixed capacity. The airline industry has been using dynamic pricing for decades.

• A look at NEC’s enterprise solutions for hospitality businesses

  Tuesday, August 13, 2019

  I recently met with the hospitality team of NEC Global Enterprise Solutions at NEC Corporation's headquarters in Tokyo. The team gave me a brief introduction of what services NEC provides and a tour of the NEC Future Creation Hub, an interactive showroom for the company’s latest tech products. The trip to NEC's headquarters was, in fact, a follow-up visit after I met with the company’s hospitality team at HITEC 2019 in Minneapolis in June. After getting a sneak peek of what NEC offers, I wonder whether tech firms or hospitality companies are the force that drives the transformation of the industry.

• McDonald’s eliminates CMO, forms new partnership with DoorDash: Is this the future of marketing?

  Tuesday, July 30, 2019

  McDonald’s recently announced a new organizational structure in its marketing division and formed a new partnership with DoorDash. According to CNBC, other companies such as Uber and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) also took a similar approach to restructure their marketing division. Additionally, besides restaurants and food-delivery startups, major retailers are also getting into the delivery competitions. Walmart and Nordstrom, for example, are building physical stores that surprisingly do not sell anything.

• Is the current market too tough for upscale restaurants?

  Thursday, July 18, 2019

  Operating a restaurant is never easy, but is it particularly challenging for upscale restaurants? Restaurants Unlimited Inc., for instance, which operates 35 fine-dining and "polished casual" eateries, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last week. In June, the Four Seasons Restaurant, an iconic spot for power lunch in Manhattan, also closed for business less a year after its reopening. Are these two examples isolated cases or the tip of the iceberg? If upscale restaurants are struggling to survive in today’s market, what challenges are they facing?

• Observing the latest hospitality tech from HITEC 2019 in Minneapolis

  Wednesday, June 26, 2019

  I was in Minneapolis recently for HITEC 2019 (Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference), marking the third time I attended the conference's exposition. This time, I paid special attention to the new technologies and products on the exhibition floor, such as those using facial recognition or AI in providing robotic services. I was unable to recognize any revolutionary innovations at the exposition, but I believe two of my observations may warrant some discussion.

• Is Amazon’s departure from restaurant delivery permanent?

  Tuesday, June 18, 2019

  Amazon Restaurants, a food delivery app like UberEats, will officially close on June 24. Amazon entered the restaurant delivery business in Seattle in 2015, but it has been struggling to compete with UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, and DoorDash — the four dominant players in the market that control 93% of market share. While it may seem like a smart decision for Amazon to end its restaurant delivery service at this point, I do not believe the company wants to give up this business just yet. When the timing is "right" again, Amazon will very likely get back to the restaurant delivery service, possibly through integration with its fresh-food grocery delivery service.

• Does sex still sell in today’s business world?

  Wednesday, June 05, 2019

  Clique Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian luxury hotel chain with properties in Calgary and Canmore, Alberta. According to CityNews, a media firm in Canada, the hotel’s website featured some "suggestive" and "sexist" photos, bringing in some backlash from social media. To some extent, those featured photos match the hotel chain’s slogan: "Sleep with the Best!" In this case, sex does indeed gets people’s attention, but it is uncertain such attention will help the hotel chain bring in more sales.

• The total travel experience is the way to win loyalty

  Wednesday, May 22, 2019

  Since bigger isn’t better, tourism companies are finding ways to offer travelers the "total travel experience" to win more loyal customers. Almost every operator in the tourism industry is trying to win more loyal customers with a bigger loyalty program. Yet, when it comes to development projects in retail and lodging business, investors favor boutique stores and hotels. What can tourism companies do, then, to win "big" without tying up their investments in big assets? A good number of companies have found solutions through service integration and new partnerships.

• Are consumers loyal to home-sharing services? Implications for hosts, room-sharing sites, and hotels

  Tuesday, May 07, 2019

  "Competition promotes innovation." That’s what I believe in the business world. That statement is probably a true reflection of what is going on among hotels, Airbnb, and online travel agents (OTAs). Last week, for example, almost every hotelier was talking about Marriott getting into the short-term residential business. In fact, Marriott had expressed its interest in the home-sharing business back in May 2018. But now, the world’s largest hotel chain is finally ready to compete head-to-head with home-sharing giant Airbnb.

• Are restaurant owners, managers, and consumers on the same page when it comes to going green?

  Tuesday, April 23, 2019

  Some big restaurant chains, such as Starbucks and McDonald's, have already taken action in responding to sustainable trends in the industry, even though a study from 2016 suggests that consumers might not want to make a concerted effort themselves to eat at a green restaurant. Do owners, managers, and consumers think alike when it comes to the green attributes that matter the most to the restaurant business? With several questions in mind, I helped conduct a study where we asked 386 consumers, 115 restaurant managers, and 80 owners in the United States to rate the importance of 12 green practices that a restaurant can undertake.

• Bigger isn’t better: Investors favor boutique stores and hotels

  Tuesday, April 09, 2019

  Bigger is better, right? That’s why there have been more hotel mergers and acquisitions in recent years. There are also many hotel chains building larger loyalty programs to pull in more travelers. Besides hotels, Airbnb and online travel agents (OTAs) also want to get bigger through acquisitions. When it comes to product development, however, investors seem to favor small, boutique concepts over bigger ones. Here are a few examples.

• Machines, not workers wanted for Alibaba’s futuristic hotel

  Tuesday, March 26, 2019

  Alibaba, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, recently debuted a new hotel prototype in Hangzhou, China, where machines provide the services. This hotel of the future is called FlyZoo. The 290-room property maximizes guest-machine interactions but minimizes guest-staff interactions. Travelers, for example, can book and check-in into a hotel room with the FlyZoo App, as many other hotels have already offered with their apps. What makes the FlyZoo App stand out is that travelers can choose the room they want to stay in, including the floor the room is on and the direction the room is facing.

• Airbnb acquires HotelTonight amid transition to a travel enterprise

  Tuesday, March 12, 2019

  Airbnb made headlines again last week. The company is set to acquire HotelTonight, an online travel agent (OTA) that focuses on last-minute bookings through its website or a mobile app for hotel stays. Even though Airbnb is commonly known for its dominant position in the room-sharing market, the company has been aiming to become a massive travel enterprise. Besides hotels, Airbnb also competes directly with OTAs. According to The Wall Street Journal, adding more hotels to Airbnb listings has become a key strategy to boost growth before the company's initial public offering (IPO).

• IHG to add dynamic pricing to hotel rewards bookings by the end of 2019

  Tuesday, February 26, 2019

  The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) recently confirmed that it will implement a dynamic pricing model for its rewards programs by the end of this year. This new policy will affect all the brands that IHG owns or manages. In the past, frequent travelers could usually redeem rewards points towards a hotel stay according to the category where a hotel is listed (e.g., more points for a luxury hotel than a midscale hotel). This newly introduced dynamic pricing feature will allow IHG to update the number of points needed to redeem a free room according to changing demand by travelers.

• What to expect from Airbnb on its 11th birthday

  Tuesday, February 12, 2019

  This month marks the 11th birthday for Airbnb. Founded in 2008, Airbnb is the first and now dominant player in the P2P (peer-to-peer) short-term residential rental business. Last year at Airbnb’s 10th birthday, the company’s CEO Brian Chesky delivered a keynote speech — Airbnb for everyone. Around the same period, the company rolled out two new brands to its current product line: Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb. There is no doubt that Airbnb has become more than just a room-sharing enterprise, but what other markets is Airbnb after? What can we expect at Airbnb’s 11th birthday? Here are a few possibilities.

• Skift reveals 12 megatrends in travel, tourism for 2019

  Tuesday, January 29, 2019

  Skift released The Megatrends Defining Travel in 2019 earlier in January. Through surveys, interviews, and focus group research with travelers throughout the year, Skift reveals 12 megatrends in travel and tourism. For example, one trend is that brands give travelers more control over their experience. It is now very common for travelers to plan their own trips through price alerts and location-based apps.

• An international student’s journey to success in hospitality

  Monday, January 14, 2019

  The highlight of my recent trip to Thailand was my stay at a hotel managed by Araya Rojanapirom, a recent graduate from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona. After graduating from high school in Thailand, Araya completed his first study-abroad experience in Europe, where he received a bachelor degree in hospitality management at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland with two five-month internships at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok and the Sheraton Hotel in Tianjin, China. Araya then found his way to Southern California and spent two more years studying in the Master of Science in Hospitality Management Program at Cal Poly Pomona.

• What to look forward to in 2019 in hospitality

  Wednesday, December 12, 2018

  The holiday season is around the corner. It is a good time for us to review the major events discussed in 2018. A quick overview will very likely inform us what we can expect in 2019. Looking forward, Airbnb and hotels will fight over a bigger battleground in 2019. On one hand, more hotels, including Marriott, have entered the short-term residential rental market. On the other hand, Airbnb introduced two new brands — Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb, which offer many "certified" enhanced services that are usually found in a traditional hotel.

• 8 tips to avoid hotel hygiene horrors

  Tuesday, November 27, 2018

  In most hotels, a housekeeper only has 30-40 minutes to clean a checkout room, where the linens must be changed and straightened; the bathtub, toilet, and sinks must be cleaned and sanitized; the floor must be mopped, and the carpet must be vacuumed. While every traveler wants to stay in a clean hotel room, the fact is not all hotel rooms are cleaned thoroughly. Last week, a video about some housekeepers’ unsanitary cleaning practices recorded in 14 luxury hotels in China went viral on social media.

• Trends revealed at massive hospitality trade show in New York

  Tuesday, November 13, 2018

  Over Veterans Day weekend, I attended the HX: The Hotel Experience 2018 and the BD | NY: A Boutique Design Trade Fair in New York City with a group of students from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona. Also known as the "Hotel Show," the HX: The Hotel Experience 2018 is often perceived as the largest hospitality trade show in North America. There were four components in the trade show, including HX: The Marketplace, HX: The Conference, Boutique Design New York (#BDNY), and the STR Market Study Competition.

• Want to get a room on Airbnb? Being ‘similar’ to the host may help

  Tuesday, October 30, 2018

  Airbnb, along with other room-sharing websites, provides a cyber marketplace for innovative entrepreneurs to operate a lodging business without following the strict regulations that usually apply to hotels and hostels. For instance, while room-sharing websites provide pricing tools and guidelines to the hosts who are renting out extra space, it is still up to the hosts to decide what price they want to charge for the service provided and whether they want to adjust the price on a regular basis according to fluctuating demands from the travelers. In fact, the impacts of price positioning and dynamic pricing on a listing’s revenue performance or even on the neighborhood hotels’ revenue performance have been identified.

• Price positioning on Airbnb: Are multi-unit hosts revenue pros?

  Wednesday, October 17, 2018

  Room-sharing websites not only want more travelers to use their service to book a stay as travelers but also want more people to list the underutilized space on their platforms as hosts. They want to help hosts gain more profits over time, allowing them to attract additional hosts and keep their existing hosts happy. Before we can make any recommendations to the hosts and room-sharing websites regarding their pricing strategies, it becomes essential for us to find out whether the pricing strategies of price positioning and dynamic pricing are helpful in increasing a listing’s revenue performance.

• Want to hire the right people? AI can help

  Tuesday, October 02, 2018

  Artificial intelligence (AI) and machines can now perform many jobs traditionally done by human beings. Even in the restaurant business, where many believe only real human beings can accomplish most tasks, some entrepreneurs have already begun using machines to cook and serve customers. According to a recent CNBC update, AI can help businesses manage their human capital, too. For example, AI can help companies pick the best candidates, and more.

• Welcoming Gen Z into the workplace

  Tuesday, September 18, 2018

  Gen Z, also known as the iGen or post-millennials, has grown up. Born between 1996 and 2010, Gen Z makes up 32 percent of the world's population. They are young, they are energetic, and they are driven. They are now joining other generations in the workplace. As Gen Z is different from the previous generations, their expectations may or may not align with other generations, especially millennials. With what they want in mind, companies must adjust their recruitment strategies in attracting the top talents in Gen Z.

• Get ready for Gen Z in hospitality

  Friday, September 07, 2018

  It felt like yesterday that we discussed the expectations of millennials and what can be done in responding to their needs. Today’s update is about Gen Z, also known as "post-millennials" or "iGen," the generation that will soon surpass millennials in 2019. As it applies to hospitality, Gen Zers are more likely to accept automatic service or services provided by machines as they tend to find solutions on their own and rely less on a salesperson, among other unique characteristics setting them apart from recent generations.

• McDonald’s flagship: An example of newly renovated space

  Monday, August 20, 2018

  The advance of technology has transformed the way restaurants and hotels operate their businesses. When almost everything, from reservations, productions, and service delivery, to the collection of payments, can be performed by machines, restaurants and hotels must also reconsider how they may better utilize the space for smooth operations. McDonald’s, for example, recently revealed a flagship store that looks like an Apple Store in Chicago, roughly two months after the company opened a brand-new, $250 million headquarters in an up-and-coming Windy City neighborhood known for its trendy restaurants.

• Hotels try to pull in travelers with larger loyalty programs

  Tuesday, August 07, 2018

  Bigger usually means better, especially when it comes to hotel loyalty programs. Otherwise, why are hotel chains building bigger travel rewards programs? Marriott acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group in 1995 and then Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 2016, but it was not until this April that the company announced its plan to combine the three chains' independent rewards programs under one operation. The merger of these three travel rewards programs brought a combined membership of 110 million travelers into the new program.

• Airlines, restaurants and hotels are switching to more sustainable products

  Monday, July 23, 2018

  From airlines to restaurants and hotels, the hospitality and tourism industry is responding to the calls for more sustainable products. A small move, as “simple” as dropping plastic straws, could make a significant impact on the planet. For example, Starbucks announced in July that the company would eliminate single-use plastic straws in over 28,000 stores. This "small" move alone is expected to eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year.

• Restaurant predictions: More positive for QSRs than casual dining chains?

  Wednesday, July 11, 2018

  This year, a new record of 46.9 million Americans were predicted to travel 50 miles or farther from home during the July 4th holiday, the highest number since AAA began tracking the statistics in 2000. When more Americans are on the road, more patrons can be expected in hotels and restaurants. For the restaurant industry, then, is the record-breaking number of travelers during the July 4th holiday a good indication of a prosperous second half of 2018?

• 4 themes from HITEC Houston 2018

  Tuesday, June 26, 2018

  Were you in Houston last week for HITEC 2018? The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) is hosted and organized by the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), and has become the world’s largest hospitality technology event. I spent a day walking through the exposition, where I experienced the latest tech products available in the hospitality industry. Through my observations, I was able to identify four themes from this year’s trade show.

• McDonald’s opens new HQ; plans to add more self-service kiosks

  Tuesday, June 12, 2018

  McDonald's has moved back to Chicago’s West Loop after 47 years' of operations in the suburb of Oak Brook, Illinois. Now, the company’s brand-new $250 million headquarters is strategically located in an up-and-coming neighborhood known for its trendy restaurants. The move of the company’s headquarters is expected to help McDonald’s cultivate top talent and tap into emerging food crazes and tech trends, according to CEO Steve Easterbrook.

• Machines are replacing humans at work, but can it be an opportunity?

  Wednesday, May 23, 2018

  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 hotel room with their mobile app, place orders for service deliveries, and check out on a mobile app or the TV in the guest room.

• Marriott is getting into the room-sharing business, too

  Wednesday, May 09, 2018

  Hotels have been trying very hard to stop the growth of Airbnb, but still, Airbnb has remained the supersized rival of hotels. Despite the fact that more destinations are now tightening up the regulations for short-term residential rentals, Airbnb turns out to be an even stronger competitor in the market. Guess what? When it is impossible to get rid of Airbnb, hotels are now entering the room-sharing business.

• Good news for frequent travelers: Updates to Hilton, Marriott loyalty programs

  Friday, April 27, 2018

  With the purposes of winning new customers and keeping the existing ones happy, hotels are making continuous efforts to reinvent their loyalty programs. For example, hotel giants Hilton and Marriott also updated their loyalty programs earlier this month. These new upgrades are good news for frequent travelers.

• What to expect in summer travel 2018

  Friday, April 13, 2018

  ​Have you made any travel plans for the summer? If not, it is probably a good time to do so. As a matter of fact, it is now also a good time for business operators in the hospitality and tourism industry to revisit their existing summer plans and make adjustments if necessary.

• How soon will Airbnb become another Expedia or Priceline?

  Wednesday, March 28, 2018

  Airbnb promotes the idea of letting travelers rent a lodging facility or extra space from a local resident rather than a traditional hotel. While peer-to-peer (P2P) room-sharing services still remain Airbnb's core business at this point, the company is aiming for something bigger — Airbnb wants to be a travel enterprise.

• ‘Attractive’ enough to stay? Looking at similarity-attraction effects in room-sharing

  Tuesday, March 13, 2018

  Airbnb is the dominant provider for room-sharing services. The company is now turning itself into a full-service travel enterprise. With the debut of two new brands, Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb, its room-sharing services are expected to appeal to even more travelers. For many, it is a "cool thing" to stay in an Airbnb. Well…only if you don't get turned down or kicked out by a host. That doesn't sound cool at all, does it?

• Airbnb’s new branding strategy: The debut of Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb

  Tuesday, February 27, 2018

  Last week, Airbnb made an important move to help the company step up in the competition against hotel chains and online travel agents — the debut of two branded products. I expect Airbnb's new branding strategy will change the competition landscape in the market even though I was not surprised at this news at all, as suggested in last month's discussion.

• Is dynamic pricing good for restaurants and hotels?

  Wednesday, February 14, 2018

  According to the theories in classical economics, an equilibrium price of a product will be reached in a free market when supplies meet demands. When supplies remain stable, an increase in demands will result in a higher selling price for the product.

• What’s next for hotel mergers and acquisitions?

  Friday, February 02, 2018

  In recent years, more hotel chains are turning themselves into giant players through mergers and acquisitions. The most recent acquisition in the hotel world came in mid-January, when Wyndham announced that it would purchase La Quinta’s franchise and management business for $1.95 billion. Currently, Wyndham Worldwide operates more than 8,100 hotels in 79 countries, with a total room inventory of more than 705,700 rooms. The company’s portfolio includes 19 brands, ranging from the economy segment, such as Super 8 and Days Inn, to the upscale and luxury segments, such as Wyndham Grand and Esplendor Boutique Hotels.

• DMO services to hotels: How valuable are they?

  Wednesday, January 24, 2018

  Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are responsible for the management and marketing of a tourist destination. As a means to promote a destination, DMOs provide a variety of services to the tourists as well as other hospitality and tourism businesses in the area.

• What to expect in 2018 from the battle between hotels and Airbnb

  Monday, January 08, 2018

  Entering 2018, Airbnb will soon celebrate the company's 10th anniversary. The company has now turned into one giant service provider in the lodging industry. Today, Airbnb has already served more than 200 million travelers in more than 65,000 cities around the world. With a supply of more than 3 million listings, Airbnb has more available "rooms" than any ho

• Want to create a bigger eWOM effect on Facebook?

  Thursday, December 07, 2017

  As one of the most visited websites in the world, Facebook has become the most influential medium for business-to-consumer (B2C) communications. Almost every company is now on Facebook, where they build public pages for a brand or their business to engage their target customers.

• Hotels are now entering the short-term residential rental business

  Tuesday, November 21, 2017

  It is clear that room-sharing services have created a big threat to hotels — even though a recent study also reported that Airbnb listings could actually have positive impacts on hotels' RevPAR (revenue per available room) performance. Hotels are firing up for a new war against Airbnb, as well as other platforms that provide short-term residential rental services.

• More hotels are adopting the ‘asset-light’ strategy

  Wednesday, November 08, 2017

  Earlier this month, Hyatt Hotels made an announcement about the company's plan of selling its $1.5 billion worth of real estate in the next three years. By doing so, Hyatt would become another major hotel chain in the market that adopts the "asset-light" strategy, allowing the hotel to focus on franchising service with long-term management contracts.

• What is the future of tradeshows? The case of the Canton Fair

  Monday, October 23, 2017

  Canton (Guangzhou) is hosting the largest tradeshow in China — the Canton Fair. Officially known as the China Import Export Fair (or the China Export Commodities Fair before 2007), the Canton Fair is a biannual event with one session in the spring and the other in the fall.

• CHRS 2017: Opportunities in the era of disruption

  Wednesday, October 11, 2017

  I was in Ithaca, New York, last week for the 2017 Cornell Hospitality Research Summit (#CHRS2017), where a good mix of industry professionals and academic researchers shared their viewpoints on the outlooks of the hospitality business and findings of relevant research.

• Can Airbnb help hotels increase revenue?

  Wednesday, September 27, 2017

  It is commonly believed that the growth of Airbnb has made a significant negative impact on the hotel business. There are also empirical studies that have documented Airbnb's negative impacts on hotels.

• Travel is good for us, but do we need scientists to tell us so?

  Tuesday, September 12, 2017

  Among all the articles I shared on my Facebook page last week, one of them received substantially more attention than the rest from my network. This post reached three times more audience than the "least popular" update of the week. So, what was this popular article about?

• Minimum wage is on the rise — Is it a blessing or a curse?

  Friday, September 01, 2017

  Impeccable service can only be delivered by a well-trained, friendly staff. Accordingly, the service industry is labor-intensive and employs a large number of skilled and unskilled workers.

• Hotels, OTAs and Airbnb are firing up for a new war

  Tuesday, August 15, 2017

  By the time I finished writing the article "Expedia, Priceline join battle against Airbnb," hotel giants Marriott and Wyndham announced bold new strategic moves.

• Expedia, Priceline join battle against Airbnb

  Thursday, August 10, 2017

  Airbnb has become a big player in the global lodging industry. As a matter of fact, it is bigger than any hotel chain in the world.

• 7 technologies that will transform the hospitality industry by 2025

  Thursday, August 03, 2017

  ​I was in Baltimore last week for the annual ​iCHRIE (International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education) Conference, where hospitality professors and graduate students got together to showcase their research work and ​network with one another. Additionally, selected executives in major hospitality firms were invited to share their perspectives about the industry and their views on the future trends.

• 2 critical issues highlighted at HITEC 2017

  Wednesday, July 05, 2017

  HITEC 2017 (Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference) came to an end in Toronto last week. Hosted and organized by the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), HITEC is the world's largest annual hospitality technology event.

• More no-tipping restaurants? Survey reveals new insights

  Thursday, June 22, 2017

  Tipping in restaurants has always been the norm in the U.S. It was not until recently that more restaurants adopted a no-tipping policy. Will there be even more no-tipping restaurants in the future? The 2017 American Express Restaurant Trade Survey may give us some clues. Every year, American Express surveys about 500 restaurateurs and 1,000 restaurant consumers, aiming to reveal the facts and highlight the emerging trends in the industry.

• More hotel chains incorporate the in-room fitness concept

  Thursday, June 08, 2017

  ​Today's consumers want healthy living even when they are on the road. ​According to a TripAdvisor survey of 1,400 travelers in the U.S., 69 percent of them believed healthy eating was important during a vacation, and 53 percent stated that they always or often did exercise while they were traveling. ​In another survey of 32,000 young travelers from around the world, 14 percent said they worked out during a trip; only 11 percent admitted they did not do any exercise when traveling.

• Follow the consumers’ path of purchasing a travel product

  Thursday, May 25, 2017

  ​​​Hotels have been working hard to win more travelers to "​book direct" on their companies' websites, but are consumers listening? In fact, hotels are not alone. All service providers in the hospitality and tourism industry want their customers to make purchases directly on their websites, but consumers want to search and compare various options before making a decision.

• Can hotels stop the growth of Airbnb?

  Thursday, May 11, 2017

  ​Airbnb made innovative disruptions to the lodging industry by adding millions in room inventory to the market. Because almost anyone can rent out their extra space that is currently underutilized to other consumers on Airbnb.com, the listings on Airbnb have now exceeded 3 million, covering more than 65,000 cities in 191 countries.

• Imagining how hotels and restaurants are run in smart cities

  Thursday, April 27, 2017

  We have seen more ​robots and machines are replacing humans in the service sector. This trend is irreversible, but the good news is there are ​ways to cope with such changes at work. What if these changes also take place in the macro level? Then, what can businesses do to embrace this wave of innovations?

• How not to get replaced by machines at work

  Thursday, April 13, 2017

  I was not exaggerating in my previous article when I discussed how "machines will soon perform more service jobs than humans." My proposition was supported by more than 10 recent examples where service jobs are being replaced by robots or automatic service in restaurants, hotels and other fields in the service sector.

• Machines will soon perform more service jobs than humans

  Tuesday, March 28, 2017

  Can machines work as well as real human beings in ​delivering impeccable service? If so, will machines eventually replace human beings at work in the service industry? I had thought about those questions back in 2014 ​when I discussed the concept of the robotic butler ("Bolter") in hotels. But, at that time, I was unable to provide a definite answer. Today, I can finally assert with more confidence that a new era where machines serving people has arrived.

• How to shut down bad online reviews

  Wednesday, March 15, 2017

  "Our customers are always right." Even if they are wrong, they could still post bad online reviews or share negative word-of-mouth about a business on social media. And because negative reviews have significant impacts on a business's bottom line, customers will always win, no matter how wrong they can be sometimes.

• Airbnb wants to be more than just a room‑sharing enterprise

  Monday, February 27, 2017

  Airbnb started with the idea of letting people to rent out an unused bed, a bedroom or an entire house to travelers. So far, the platform has been very successful in attracting leisure travelers. According to Airbnb's website, this room-sharing platform has now more than 3 million listings located in 65,000-plus cities around the world, and has hosted more than 150 million travelers. The market value of Airbnb is estimated at $30 billion, about the same as Marriott International that recently acquired Starwood Hotels.

• Will supermarkets become a new competitor for restaurants?

  Tuesday, February 14, 2017

  ​There are four levels of market competition: product-form, product-category, generic and budget competition. It is not until a business understands exactly at what level a product/service is battling against its competitors that effective marketing strategies can be developed.

• What we know about online reviews — and what we don’t

  Tuesday, January 31, 2017

  Online reviews have now become a major information source for consumers when they make a purchasing decision even though many online review websites — including TripAdvisor and Yelp — were not established until the early 2000s. It is thus not surprising to see a high level of research activities related to online reviews.

• Responses to online reviews should vary based on hotel class

  Monday, January 16, 2017

  Online review websites, such as TripAdvisor, allow certified business owners or managers to make one managerial response to a consumer review, regardless of whether the review is positive or negative. Therefore, a business can either reinforce the positive messages conveyed in a consumer review or explain in detail what went wrong and/or what steps the management team has taken to address the issues brought up in a consumer review.

• It pays to be a loyal customer

  Wednesday, January 04, 2017

  Businesses want consumers' loyalty because repeat customers — compared to those who are not attached to a brand — tend to spend more when their lifetime value is calculated. Even in a single sales transaction, loyal customers are less price sensitive.

• Say hello to 2017 as we look back at 2016

  Wednesday, December 07, 2016

  ​In just a few weeks, we are going to welcome a new year. What shall we expect for 2017? Will it be a prosperous year for the hospitality and tourism industry? Or, shall we show more concerns? I wish I were a fortuneteller. Then, I could easily provide some "yes" or "no" answers.

• AHLA survey highlights 2017 hotel trends

  Tuesday, November 22, 2016

  Earlier this month, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and Smith Travel Research (STR) released the "2016 Lodging Survey." The goal of this biennial survey is to provide a current and comprehensive understanding of hotel operations. Drawing from the findings, hoteliers with a futuristic mindset may also be able to identify the critical travel trends heading into 2017.

• Hotels reinventing loyalty programs to win travelers

  Wednesday, November 09, 2016

  ​To many travelers, there is really not much difference among various types of hotels or apartments because these lodging products are basically all fulfilling one need: accommodation for those who are away from home. As such, hoteliers often find it difficult to distinguish their products from the competitors.

• Will hotels’ book-direct strategy push OTAs to work with Airbnb?

  Wednesday, October 26, 2016

  This year, the battle between hotel chains and online travel agents (OTAs) — such as Expedia and Priceline — is getting more intense. ​Hotels are fighting with OTAs to get more direct bookings on the hotels' websites.

• What makes travel reward programs the best?

  Thursday, October 13, 2016

  U.S. News and World Report recently released its third-annual ranking of the Best Travel Rewards Programs. Here are programs that made the Top 10 list for hotels and airlines.

• Airbnb faces big dilemma with racial discrimination allegations

  Tuesday, September 27, 2016

  Last week, the news feeds on all my social networking sites had one major update: ​Marriott finally completed the acquisition of Starwood and became the world's largest hotel chain. While the Marriott-Starwood merger is still in the spotlight, I would like to bring up another piece of news for discussion — there is evidence suggesting Airbnb (or Airbnb hosts) discriminates against African-American travelers. I expect more discrimination cases will soon emerge against every sharing economy platform.

• 3 reasons why students should actively participate in group projects

  Tuesday, September 13, 2016

  September is a special month for students, because it marks the start of a new academic year. Many students feel excited as they enroll in new classes, meet new professors and make new friends. Such excitement, however, may soon be wiped off by a professor who requires them to work on a group project in class.

• Online reviews: What can hotel managers do to make them more helpful?

  Wednesday, August 31, 2016

  Today, the power of online reviews on consumers' purchasing decisions can no longer be ignored. There is plenty of empirical evidence to support the positive relationship between online review ratings and a business's bottom line.

• Hotels are luring travelers with local flavors

  Wednesday, August 17, 2016

  Today, 85 percent of travelers consider "eating local cuisine" as an important or very important activity in a trip, according to a recent report about travel trends. With that in mind, should hotels use more local ingredients or add more local flavors to their restaurant menu? Probably.

• Dealing with a possible recession in the restaurant industry

  Monday, August 01, 2016

  According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry generates $782.7 billion in sales per year and employs 14.4 million people. The industry is projected to create another 1.7 million new jobs by 2026. Today, one out of 10 people in the U.S. workforce works in a restaurant. Therefore, job security should not be a concern for those who are working in a restaurant or ready to start a career in the restaurant business. However, several recent business reports have suggested a coming downturn for the restaurant industry.

• Truck attack in Nice will have long-term effect on world tourism

  Monday, July 18, 2016

  While the French are still recovering from the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, the truck attack July 14 in Nice added more salt into the wounds. The vivid images of such tragedies would probably never fade away from people's minds.

• 8 gifting tips for trips to visit friends and family

  Wednesday, July 06, 2016

  As cheap gas prices result in lower costs for road trips and better fares for long-haul flights, more people are expected to hit the road or travel abroad for vacations this summer. Many of them will probably travel to visit friends and family as well.

• TEM, technology and innovation in hospitality

  Wednesday, June 22, 2016

  ​I attended the International Hospitality Information Technology Association (iHITA) ​Annual Conference last week. This is an event where industry professionals, educators and researchers get together to share their knowledge and new ideas.

• No-tipping restaurants: A new trend in the US

  Tuesday, June 07, 2016

  More U.S. restaurants are opting in the no-tipping policy, according to a CNBC report. The report also cited the results of an American Express Restaurant Trade Survey with 503 random restaurateurs.

• 6 travel trends for the summer of 2016

  Wednesday, May 25, 2016

  Summer is here. Let's visit some of the summer travel trends for 2016 and get ready to welcome the vacationers. Shall we?

• A university’s role in educating our future leaders

  Wednesday, May 11, 2016

  In April, I raised a question and discussed the topic of "What makes a great professor these days?" Later, I attended two events at Cal Poly Pomona, which pushed me to think even deeper. One event was the board of advisors meeting at the Collins College of Hospitality Management, where I exchanged ideas with the board members about our college's curricular plan. The other event was the annual PolyTeach Conference, in which Diana Oblinger, president emeritus of EDUCAUSE, conducted a keynote presentation.

• Restaurants are taking on green initiatives, but do consumers care?

  Tuesday, April 26, 2016

  ​Sustainability and serving locally-grown and organic food are two big food trends in the restaurant industry, ​as suggested by the National Restaurant Association. Restaurateurs are actively responding to such trends by implementing various green initiatives in operations.

• What makes a great professor these days?

  Tuesday, April 12, 2016

  ​I was on WeChat the other day, having a conversation with some high school alumni in a closed-group setting. The chat app operates in China and is similar in function to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. A friend shared a brief story that was supposed to be "chicken soup for the soul."

• How much impact does Airbnb have on the lodging industry?

  Tuesday, April 05, 2016

  ​Airbnb does not seem to be a real threat to the lodging industry, ​as I suggested in my previous discussion. Rather, listings on Airbnb and traditional lodging products could possibly co-exist in the market and serve different needs of travelers.

• Is Airbnb really a threat to the traditional lodging industry?

  Thursday, March 17, 2016

  As a model of sharing economy, Airbnb started off from the idea of letting travelers rent an "unused" bed, a bedroom or an entire suite/house from a host. When consumers make good use of other consumers' unused or underutilized resources, the society as a whole can gain extra value.

• The art of curiosity: Great success begins with a good question

  Thursday, March 03, 2016

  ​Guess what can possibly help a job candidate stand out from the sea of applicants. Relevant job experience? A long list of certifications? A good track record of achievements at work? While these credentials could be important, for a popular post that attracts hundreds or thousands of qualified candidates, what really sets an applicant apart could be as simple as asking the right questions, suggests Gary Sherwin, ​president and CEO of Newport Beach & Company, who spoke in my tourism concepts class last week.

• Building a personal brand through blogging

  Thursday, February 18, 2016

  If a business does not maintain an active blog, it is out. Likewise, if you are a job seeker who is looking for a managerial position or a person who wants to be a leader in your field, you should also maintain an active blog for yourself. Blogging can help a person build a reputable personal brand and thus stand out from the sea of applicants.

• Can a study-abroad program be both vigorous and fun?

  Tuesday, February 02, 2016

  I am leading a study-abroad program in Italy this summer. In this program, students at Cal Poly Pomona will make a one-month field trip to Florence, Rome and nearby cities, where they will complete an equivalent of 12 quarter hours of course work in the Apicius International School of Hospitality while traveling.

• Survey: Travel trends for millennials in 2016

  Wednesday, January 20, 2016

  ​Millennials are taking over workforce and soon the travel and tourism market. ​While companies are busy responding to this trend, it is important to keep track of their preferences. ​A recent survey with close to 32,000 young travelers from 196 counties/regions on Topdeck Travel, a group tour provider, may provide some new insights about millennial travelers.

• 4 things to think about for a successful 2016 in lodging

  Thursday, January 07, 2016

  ​The year of 2015 marked a great year for the hospitality and tourism industry. According to the ​Lodging Industry Trends 2015 report released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the average occupancy for hotels reached 64.4 percent. In addition, travelers were spending more for their stays, paying $115.02 per room a night in June 2015.

• Beijing illustrates the need for sustainability in travel and tourism

  Thursday, December 10, 2015

  ​While world leaders in Paris are trying to come up with a solution to deal with climate change (hopefully they can reach an agreement this time), the air pollution in Beijing has reached the hazardous level. According to The New York Times, the government declared a "red alert" for the first time Monday, warning people to take precautions for their health.

• The impact of Paris terror attacks on world tourism

  Monday, November 16, 2015

  ​Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 is literally "Black Friday" for our French alliance and all humans living in the civilized world. As of this publishing, ​the official death toll of the Paris attacks has reached 129 people, with 352 injured.

• If processed meats cause cancer, what should the food industry do?

  Monday, November 02, 2015

  Here is the biggest news I heard last week: ​The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that processed meats — such as bacon, sausage, ham, and hot dogs — can cause colon cancer. Now, for the first time processed meats are considered as dangerous as tobacco and asbestos. Red meats in general, including beef, pork and lamb, are also found to be "probably carcinogenic" to people.

• Travel outlook and trends heading into 2016

  Thursday, October 22, 2015

  I attended the Southern California Visitor Industry Outlook Conference in downtown Los Angeles last week, where several research firms reported their insights of the 2016 travel outlook and trends in California and in the U.S.

• How much is your word worth in the business world?

  Tuesday, October 06, 2015

  Imagine you were going out with someone for the first time. You took off early from work to go home and prepare for the night. At the time when you were about to leave the door, you received a text message from the date, telling you all of a sudden s/he happened to book another important meeting for the night and, as a result, s/he would be happy to go out with you next weekend. What would be your reaction?

• Is Hong Kong in crisis? Lessons learned in tourism development

  Monday, September 28, 2015

  Hong Kong is a top tourist destination in Asia. I have visited this place many times in the past. I like Hong Kong partially because of my Cantonese heritage, but more so for its diverse culture as an international hub where East meets West.

• China Southern Airlines: Nice job, but still in need of improvement

  Thursday, September 10, 2015

  China Southern Airlines is not only the largest airline in China, but also perceived by many Chinese as a pricier carrier with better service. In fact, it is the only airline that offers nonstop service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Guangzhou/Canton, China (CAN).

• Which messages work best on Facebook?

  Thursday, August 27, 2015

  Not all Facebook messages are created equal. Some receive a lot of likes, comments and shares, and thus are seen by a large number of Facebook users, but others only reach a few. Do you know what type of messages tends to get the most attention from Facebook users?

• Why can’t academic conferences be fun?

  Monday, August 10, 2015

  Last week, I attended the 2015 Annual ICHRIE (International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education) Summer Conference in Orlando, Florida. Like many other academic conferences, it was an annual event where a group of hospitality professors and graduate students get together to showcase their research and network with one another.

• Hostels: Q&A with a staff member

  Friday, July 31, 2015

  Last week, we reviewed some reasons why hostels are becoming more popular among travelers and investors. But that alone is not a complete story, because we were still missing one important piece of the puzzle: additional insights from the staff who are actually working in a hostel. As a result, I invited Joanne Lam to share her experience of working in a hostel with us in a Q&A. Lam works in the Green Tortoise San Francisco Hostel and is a master's student at the Collins College of Hospitality Management (Cal Poly Pomona).

• Hostels: More than just another cheap lodging alternative

  Monday, July 20, 2015

  For years, people perceived hostels as the cheap lodging alternative for travelers on a tight budget, such as college students. Travelers could rent a bunk bed in a dormitory-like hostel, which usually included a shared bathroom, a small lounge/lobby and a shared kitchenette.

• Tipping etiquette differences across the world

  Monday, June 29, 2015

  I visited Auckland, New Zealand, earlier this month for the 13th APacCHRIE (Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education) Conference. Because I thought New Zealanders would share similar values and customs with their friends in the U.S., I did not do any research about the etiquette in New Zealand — even though it was my first trip to the country.

• Sustainable tourism in New Zealand

  Thursday, June 18, 2015

  I was in Auckland, New Zealand, recently for the 13th APacCHRIE Conference. During my stay, I had a chance to experience sustainable tourism in New Zealand. I was especially impressed with the country’s effort in minimizing waste, through the use of a "bio loo," water flow choices and a hotel offering a sustainable cleaning option.

• Why travelers are now taking more short road trips

  Wednesday, June 03, 2015

  ​Imagine we are going to take a long vacation in a place far away from our home. That sounds superb, doesn't it? Well, it really seems like a good idea until we have to think about all the logistics of the trip. If everything goes smoothly, the reality is probably like this.

• Finding a dream job: Dating for the perfect match

  Thursday, May 21, 2015

  May is the month of graduations. Many new graduates are excited about their future, but at the same time somewhat nervous about new jobs and a new life. Occasionally, I will meet with some graduating seniors who need career advice, either for a good reason (too many job offers to choose from) or a bad reason (no offers yet).

• B2C communications on Facebook: What has changed over the years?

  Friday, May 08, 2015

  As of March 31, Facebook reported 1.44 billion monthly active users — 936 million of whom access the website every day. Therefore, Facebook continues to be an essential social media platform for business communications. By 2012, ​74 percent of Fortune 100 companies had already set up at least one Facebook page for business communications.

• Tourism development: Lessons learned from Hong Kong

  Monday, April 20, 2015

  Last week, the Chinese government announced a new restriction toward the residents of Shenzhen on their travels to their border city of Hong Kong. Under the new rules, Shenzhen residents are only allowed to make one trip per week to Hong Kong. Those residents holding a multiple-entry permit may still travel to Hong Kong as often as they want until the permit expires.

• Learning from Japan to attract more Chinese tourists

  Monday, April 06, 2015

  When President Barack Obama announced the new visa agreement between China and the United States in November 2014, I made a few recommendations to help the government, convention and visitors bureaus, and local businesses make better preparations to welcome Chinese tourists.

• Airlines switching to fare-based frequent flyer programs

  Monday, March 23, 2015

  Earlier this year, Delta Air Lines and United quietly switched from a distance-based reward program to a fare-based frequent flyer program. What does that mean to travelers? And how much will such change affect travelers' ability of earning miles toward an upgrade or free flight?

• The path to a successful career in the hospitality industry

  Monday, March 09, 2015

  On Saturday, I attended this year's Collins Connection event at Cal Poly Pomona, where the faculty and staff members in the Hospitality College met with the incoming students and their family. About 200 guests attended the event. The cohort of this incoming class had a diverse background, but they were all excited about coming to our college and were looking forward to their future in the hospitality industry.

• Look beyond Lunar New Year to win Chinese customers through WeChat

  Monday, February 23, 2015

  Feb. 19 marked the first day of Lunar New Year (also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival). That is the biggest holiday and probably the most important festival of the year for many Asians (e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean). In a way, the Lunar New Year in Asia is like Thanksgiving and Christmas in the U.S., in which families gather together to celebrate the past and pray for a prosperous new year.

• 9 tips to succeed at a career fair

  Monday, February 09, 2015

  At a career fair for the hospitality industry, how can a job-seeker or a student stand out from other candidates for a job opportunity? The following checklist may help.

• Urging for breakthrough research: A reflection on the 20th Graduate Conference

  Tuesday, January 27, 2015

  The 20th Annual Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference (also known as Graduate Conference) in Hospitality and Tourism has drawn a conclusion. Once again, it was a great and successful academic event, which showcased a total of 145 stand-up presentations and 186 poster presentations over a three-day period.

• Helping Chinese companies increase service standards

  Thursday, January 01, 2015

  It has been almost 40 years since Mainland China open its doors to the world. Everyone is impressed with the huge achievements this country has made. The success of many megaevents — including the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Expo — suggests how China is playing an important role in the global economy.

• Getting ready to welcome Chinese tourists

  Wednesday, December 03, 2014

  President Barack Obama ​announced a new visa plan between China and the U.S. during his visit to Beijing last month. The White House expects this new visa agreement will bring more Chinese tourists to the U.S., and thus create 440,000 jobs and contribute about $85 billion a year to the economy.

• IHMRS 2014 showcases the latest innovations in hospitality

  Wednesday, November 12, 2014

  The International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS), which was in conjunction with the Boutique Design Trade Fair (BDNY), drew to a conclusion yesterday. Every year, the IHMRS brings in thousands of business owners and industry professionals, as well as hospitality faculty and students to New York City. IHMRS has become an important event where people find business opportunities, build professional relationships and identify future trends for the hospitality industry.

• Timing is critical in social media: A lesson from Chrissy Teigen

  Monday, October 27, 2014

  Nobody knows from exactly when social media became the primary source for "up-to-the-second" news, but everybody recognizes the power of social media in communications. Twitter is one of the most powerful tools where people receive news updates. According to Twitter's official website, there are 271 million monthly active users on Twitter, and the website publishes 500 million tweets per day.

• Can a business block consumers’ mobile Internet access?

  Tuesday, October 14, 2014

  Earlier this month, Marriott International was fined $600,000 after the company was found blocking people's Wi-Fi networks from their mobile service providers in an event held in the brand's Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

• Different meaning of hospitality: Japan vs. US

  Friday, September 26, 2014

  ​As a hospitality professor with multicultural background, I always thought I knew the "universal" meaning of hospitality, no matter where I traveled. That was the case until I paid my first visit to Tokyo a couple weeks ago for a vacation.

• Singapore Airlines shows how to act small and win big

  Wednesday, September 17, 2014

  What sets a company apart from the competitors? A legendary CEO? An competitive advantage on price or marketing? Probably, but there are also other companies that win big by focusing on tiny little things. DoubleTree and Singapore Airlines are two examples.

• Machines serving people: A continuous debate

  Thursday, September 04, 2014

  ​Every time when a machine replaced labors in an assembly line, we gave a big round of applause. Now, when machines are replacing the service staff in hotels, shall we make a big toast to celebrate a new revolution? Or shall we mark it the beginning of "the end of humanized service" in the hospitality industry? As customers, we probably have had enough negative experience with those automatic services provided by machines, such as calling the cable or telephone companies. Now that Starwood is introducing a "Botlr," or robotic butler to the Aloft Hotels, will the hospitality industry follow the same path of other businesses, offering more "cold" automatic services?

• Machines serving people: A new reality or a futuristic concept?

  Wednesday, August 27, 2014

  Last week, Starwood's Aloft Hotel in Cupertino, California, added a new member to the service team called A.L.O. (pronounced as "el-oh"). A.L.O., however, is not a traditional employee. It only takes electricity as salary and tweets as tips, and it will work as a "Botlr" (robotic butler) for the hotel.

• Impeccable service can only be delivered by well-trained, friendly staff

  Friday, August 15, 2014

  Last week, I stayed at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina for the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Conference. The recreational facilities in the property were nice, and the room I stayed in had a gorgeous marina view. However, this hotel still left me with a negative impression after I checked out: This was a "cheap" Sheraton.

• Does technology bring down our dining experience?

  Wednesday, August 06, 2014

  I was taking my friends out to one of my favorite Cantonese restaurants for dim sum the other day. I felt a little embarrassed, however, when I pointed the location to my friends on Google Map, because the restaurant only had a 3.0 rating on a 5-point scale on Google.

• When the customer is wrong

  Monday, July 21, 2014

  "The customer is always right." That is probably the most-heard sentence when companies talk about customer service. Yet, in reality, we all know that not every customer is right.

• Promoting business online but not on mobile devices: A small mistake or big failure?

  Thursday, July 03, 2014

  I was craving for dim sum the other day. A friend of mine recommended I try Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village in San Gabriel Valley, California. He told me the food was good and it was an upper-upscale restaurant for dim sum.

• Hotels respond to travelers’ demand for healthy living

  Thursday, June 19, 2014

  ​Earlier this month, President Barack Obama was caught on tape lifting weights at a Marriott Hotel during his visit in Warsaw Poland. The video went viral immediately on the Internet. I have no interest in politics, but this news caught my eye, because it confirms the healthy living trend among travelers.

• To love or to hate Chinese tourists

  Monday, June 09, 2014

  ​What would it look like if thousands of Chinese tourists showed up in your neighborhood at one time? No way? Actually, it's a "Chinese" way, and it just happened in Southern California a couple weeks ago.

• Forget the technology: Making sales in face‑to‑face interactions

  Friday, May 16, 2014

  Guided by Cal Poly Pomona's "Learn by Doing" teaching philosophy, students in my hotel sales class recently completed a sales blitz either for the Fullerton Marriott or the DoubleTree San Pedro. In the assignment, students were asked to prepare a list of prospective clients for the hotel, then stay in the property for one night to get familiar with the managers and the hotel.

• Are hotels ripping us off with a fee for Wi-Fi service?

  Monday, May 05, 2014

  After I recently suggested that hotels adopt a tier-pricing strategy for Wi-Fi service, I heard two types of responses. Some people agreed with me, and they have seen more hotels using a tier-pricing strategy for Wi-Fi. Others asked: Shouldn't all hotels offer free Wi-Fi service anyway because Wi-Fi has become a necessity for almost everyone? Isn't it just another fee that hotels add on to rip off customers?

• A tier pricing strategy for hotel Wi-Fi

  Monday, April 21, 2014

  When was the last time you made a hotel reservation? Did you look at how much a hotel charged for WiFi? I did. In fact, it turned out a hotel’s pricing strategy on WiFi had become the determining factor for my decision on a future hotel stay.

• 1 core principle of social media marketing

  Tuesday, April 08, 2014

  A few days ago, I attended Social Media Marketing World 2014 (#SMMW14) in San Diego. According to the event's website, this is the world's largest social media marketing conference, where about 2,000 marketing professionals get together every year to network and share their best practices on social media marketing.

• DoubleTree shows how to win customers with a small touch

  Monday, March 24, 2014

  In the effort to respond to the shifting customer base, hotels spare no time or money in developing fresh concepts. In front of hundreds of hotel brands, many travelers might have difficulty distinguishing one brand from another.

• Hotels, restaurants respond to shifting customer base

  Monday, March 10, 2014

  Millennials have grown up. They are not only replacing baby boomers in the workforce, but they also are becoming an important source of business for the travel and tourism industry. Many hotels and restaurants immediately responded to the shifting landscape in the marketplace by taking one or more of the following approaches.

• Replacing hotel CRCs with mobile service centers

  Tuesday, February 25, 2014

  Many hotels have developed enhanced e-commerce sites and guaranteed travelers they could find the best deals on the hotel websites, but hotels are not winning any consumers from OTAs. What is the problem? What can hotels do to get more direct sales?