Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Valentine's Day is an interesting day for many people. Some spend hundreds of dollars on their significant others on candy, flowers, food, and presents while others absolutely hate the day and its celebration of love; some even call this day Single Awareness Day. However, the hospitality industry loves this day the most! Restaurants are booked with reservations, and consumers have to wait for hours to be seated; hotel rooms are occupied by those who want to get away or continue the celebration of the day of love after hours.  In fact, restaurants and hotels not only offer Valentine’s Day promotions for couples, but also for those who are single as well. For example, the Thompson Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in Chicago, offered a Single Awareness Day package for those celebrating Valentine’s Day by themselves. The hotel’s advertising slogan went like this: “Forgo the candy and flowers this Valentine’s Day, and celebrate singledom at the Thompson Chicago” (Hotel F&B, 20...

Do you find it difficult to get hired or even get an interview with an employer? I know because I do. With the job market becoming more competitive, it becomes more common and convenient for employers to seek employees through the Internet. Physically going into an establishment and handing in a resume is no longer the way to get a job. Due to the lack of physical contact with employers, it takes much more than a great resume and cover letter to get hired. Today, job seekers must use various tools to market themselves not only online, but offline as well. Self-marketing, or personal branding can help job seekers highlight skills, values, and experiences. At the same time, it also helps them to separate themselves from the competition. There are a variety of strategies that we can use to self promote ourselves.  Here are some suggestions:  Build an Online Presence As we are living in a digital age, it is critical for us to build an online presence. Keep in mind th...

Kickstarter provides the ability for companies to begin and build a successful start-up by developing an alternative that is based on people’s contributions to the business. Every entrepreneur and business developer understands the hardships of financial issues that arise in creating a business which can hinder progress in several fields. Financing companies view start-up companies as an advantage as it allows them to raise their prices on loans and provide other overpriced services. Kickstarter tries to eliminate that step by giving the donator the ability to determine which company should be helped based on future revenue and growth predictions. It allows for add-ons between companies therefore pushing the drive to seek new ideas while creating new markets, developing certain domains and preventing the saturation of others. Within the hospitality industry, the development of new ideas that can push the industry forward need financing. Therefore Kickstarter c...

Besides leisure travelers, Airbnb definitely wants to attract business travelers as well. For example,  Airbnb has already established a website page that  tailors to business travelers . The company is also working closely with hosts in developing the products that   meet business travelers' needs . It is also  clear that Airbnb wants to become a full-service travel company, especially when it faces the competition from hotels and OTAs. I proposed earlier that the competitions among  room-sharing websites, hotels, and OTAs (online travel agents, such as Expedia and Travelocity) might have pushed OTAs  to work more closely with room-sharing websites . Expedia, for example, just spent $3.9 billion in 2015  to acquire the room-sharing website Homeaway . Today, in just 18 months after the acquisition, travelers are now able to check out residential rentals as well as the available hotel rooms in a tourist destination through Expedia.com and Kayak.co...

Running a restaurant business is becoming more difficult these days. Restaurants face many challenges, including the soaring minimum wages and lower store traffic. On top of that, the food cost has remained relative low over time, widening the price gap for the food purchased in a supermarket and a restaurant. That is a major reason why I see supermarkets are becoming a product-category competitor for restaurants. In my recent discussion on Multibriefs.com , I first described the differences among four levels of competitions --- product-form, product-category, generic, and budget level competition. Traditionally, supermarkets are not considered a product-category competitor for restaurants, but... More supermarkets are offering restaurant service , selling food with a much lower price. I have seen people eating and drinking in some high-end supermarkets, such as Whole Foods as if they were eating in a casual dining restaurant. Grab-n-go is getting better in supermarkets. So a...