Do hotels pay to get good reviews in guidebooks? And if so, who's to blame?

Silence is the new luxury, and traveling in the low season helps make that happen. If I can avoid it, I don't think I'll ever visit a top destination during the peak season.

"Africa is probably to China what Asia was to the U.S. While the U.S. leveraged Asia's labor, China is leveraging Africa's commodities."

The most valuable asset a luxury hotel has is its brand and brand reputation. Investment in this asset is a long-term investment with a return over several years, not just one. So is an investment like this a wasted expense or a strategic capital investment?

As markets get saturated with all the brands under the sun, hotel management companies are developing new brands to cater to developers’ demands. Take an already cluttered brand architecture with existing brands that might have confused identities and positioning, and throw a few new ones in the pot. You get the idea.

The Peninsula Hotel short films, labeled as 'Peninsula Moments' moved me in the most unexpected way. In short — I cried.  Am I crazy? Did I just cry from an advertisement?

We've been recycling for a few decades now and it's amazing how passive people still are about reducing waste, resource use and their general impact on the environment. What many hotels and restaurants don't realize is that it takes very little to do well ethically while doing as good, if not better, financially.

Are short lived promotions that feature sustainability good, bad or ugly?

How people travel is changing and hotels and other destinations have to adapt their offering as such to attract and build long term loyalty. Here are our thoughts on trends moving forward - from staycations to Airbnb, food tourism to voluntourism.

Sure, I like a hotel that listens to my preferences, but when it starts assuming that I like girly magazines and pink-toned furniture because I'm a single female traveler, I have to think twice about how intuitive it actually is.

Should old colonial buildings be restored into new hotels with butler service reminiscent of the English occupation? Should hotel employees start dressing in traditional gear and bowing to guests? I suppose that's what travelers want. Perhaps it's even what I wanted. But is it right? 

China loves its superlatives. Everything now has to be the biggest, fastest or tallest. But really, who cares?

With the growing number of certifications is the growing list of uncertainties.

The use of social media by hotels is becoming commonplace, but while large hotel chains take their time thinking about strategies and best practices, independent hotel operators are taking great strides to creatively and effectively communicate with their guests.