Most of us enjoy the theater — sitting in the audience, in hushed darkness, waiting for the curtain to go up. As the play unfolds, actors and actresses follow their scripts and deliver remarkable performances. We come away a few hours later, happy or sad — depending upon the script, of course — with fond memories. Several days later we may recall the perfor...
If you are going to embark on a journey of wine discovery and education, knowing the basics about French wines is a must. There’s no way around it. And one of the foremost appellation regions in France is Burgundy. Lying roughly in the middle latitudes of the eastern half of the nation and catching the tail end of the Rhone River in the northwestern Alps, B...
What has transpired in Boston is a tragedy of epic proportions. My immediate sympathies and condolences go out to all those affected by this unspeakable act of evil. Many nearby hotels were severely impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing. In the wake of this disaster, it is vital that you contemplate whether such a calamitous event could occur in your ar...
Sometimes in order to understand what sets the bar for good service in the hotel industry, you have to gaze upon the dark underbelly of what is truly and horrifically bad. It's all about contrast; the yin and the yang. To know what would qualify your establishment as a lemon, you need only taking one passing look at Fawlty Towers, the 1970s 12-episode Briti...
Do you know the real story behind April Fools’ Day? Let me summarize it, as there’s a valuable lesson underneath. Many centuries ago, the European New Year officially rang in after the Easter festivities and in line with the more-or-less start of spring. In other words, celebrating the upcoming year on April 1 symbolically coincided with the idea of rebir...
For those unfamiliar, Downton Abbey is a spectacularly produced period drama set on the titular aristocratic estate just outside of London in the period in and around World War One. The story follows the Earl of Grantham family, the activities of the era and, importantly, the ample cadre of servants with their own explicit hierarchy. As a hotelier, I feel a...
To open, I must confess: Most of what I describe in this wine-themed series of articles comes from firsthand knowledge that I’ve amassed over decades of curiously tinkering in the viticultural highlife. But occasionally, I’ve had to supplement my prose with some fact checking and research. Lucky for me, “the rigors of research” often involve sampling exotic...
Anyone who lives or works in Southern California is well aware of the two ultra-luxurious Montage properties in their midst, located in Laguna and Beverly Hills (in addition to a third property in Deer Valley, Utah). In the 10 short years since the opening of its Laguna property, Montage has worked hard to deliver one of the finest accommodation experiences...
Monscierge is an interactive software company that helps hotels connect today’s savvy traveler to trusted local recommendations, understanding that simplicity and rapidity are essential elements of any new technological implementations. It’s always a joy to read their GEM Reports, highlighting the latest and greatest in hospitality trends. Now, you might...
It’s often said that a key problem we face in today’s labor market is not a lack of job opportunities, but a paucity of candidates with the prerequisite skills. Wrapping this sentiment around the prospects of hiring and training someone from the Millennial generation, I add that there’s a scarcity of potential employees with the necessary motivation and pas...
