Guests don't sleep in categories. They sleep in rooms. And between those two sentences sits a return-on-asset question that hotel asset reviews have never asked. Not out of negligence — until recently, the question had no possible answer. That excuse is gone. Whether you're the asset manager who should be putting it on the agenda, or the GM or revenue manager who'll be expected to answer it, this is the question: "What did our rooms' attributes earn last year — and what did giving away...

Not unless you change what it actually sells. You can redesign the page all you like, but underneath it is still the same room categories the OTA already show. The hotels that win more direct business sell something else: real products guests connect with, priced for the value they see. For years, a nice booking page helped you sell. Sales teams showed the design. Hotels bought the design. But was that ever driving performance? Today a beautiful, modern booking page is easy and cheap to...

The World Cup kicks off in North America this week. Out of curiosity I opened the official FIFA store the other day. Same store, same tournament, same few panels of polyester sewn together — and look at what they're charging: Brazil home shirt: $100 England, "Authentic" version: $180 Argentina with Messi's name on the back: $130–$180 South Africa: $100 It's the same garment. Moisture-wicking polyester, stitched the same way, off the same kind of production line. Nobody is paying $80 more for...