10 Hotel Booking Trends and Other Travel Market Developments
from Hotel News Now
After an opening day chock full of data analysis, attendees of the inaugural Hotel Data Conference began day two peering through the looking glass to gain a new perspective on the industry and the market trends affecting it. More

AH&LA's New Employee Card Check Video Now Available in DVD Format
from AH&LA

• The newest educational tool about card check, "Stand Up," has been enthusiastically received by the industry and AH&LA members.
• The 11-minute video helps answer many questions managerial employees have about union organizing campaigns that can suddenly appear in a hospitality workplace. The video was created with assistance from partner state association executives and other industry stakeholders.
• To date, the video has been downloaded over 300 times by members.
• The video can be downloaded for free in a high-resolution Windows Media format from www.ahla.com/cardcheck. A Spanish-language version of the video will be coming soon on the same Webpage.
• The Educational Institute also has DVD copies of the video for sale for $5.00/copy, plus shipping. The video can be found via www.ahlei.org/standup.
• "Stand Up" is also on the AH&LA YouTube channel and Facebook fan page, making it easy to forward to members.

Employee Branding That Rocks
from Ehotelier
How you attract, hire, train, develop and treat your front-line employees is commonly known as the one true strategy to provide great guest service. In lieu of managers doing all of the work themselves, a specific culture must be created and fostered to secure commitment from the employees to stick around and deliver the desired service. This takes time and a lot of work. More

National Media Attention Focuses on Security Breaches
from NYSH&TA

• During the past few weeks, stories on hotel security breaches have been in the national media spotlight.
• A Good Morning America (GMA) segment “How Safe is your Hotel?”, showed a GMA security expert fooling the housekeeping, front desk, and valet staff with several gimmicks, and he obtained possessions in a guestroom, including room keys and luggage, as well as a car that did not belong to him. The segment showed hotel staff not following proper security precautions.
• Other recent media coverage of security breaches include the case of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, and the Columbus, Ohio, piece: "Your Security Might Be At Risk In Hotel Rooms."
• Andrews was photographed via a peephole in one hotel room; and in Ohio an undercover reporter and a local security expert were able to obtain room keys at two hotels without proper identification.
• Contact Mark Dorr, Communications Manager at mark@nyshta.org with any questions or to inform NYSH&TA of local media coverage of this topic in your area.

Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax Reminder
from NYSH&TA
The metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT) is a new tax imposed on certain employers and self-employed individuals engaging in business within the metropolitan commuter transportation district (MCTD). This department administers the tax for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (The MCTD includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester.) More