With 2021 now in full swing, many business leaders, including myself, are anticipating and planning for a return to normalcy, even if that means a “new normal.” We eagerly await the day we can bring all employees back into the workplace safely. Today, there are medical treatments for the virus and vaccinations rolling out. However, we’re still a long way from getting a majority of people vaccinated. According to medical experts, we will probably need to continue wearing masks and social distancing at least throughout 2021.

HeadTrash is the internal chatter of the little voices in your head. It doesn’t take much to get them whispering or even yelling. HeadTrash is created by the nasty, little people who live inside your brain. The chorus of critics who minimize you and convince you that you are not good enough. They are the "perfection people" who lurk in the shadows, waiting for you to fall out of your comfort zone and question you, your abilities and even your relationships.

My last column started by reminding readers that for the last 50 years, the way hotels sell has remained basically unchanged. It went on to discuss attribute-based selling as a major opportunity to better align with the expectations of today’s guests. This week I will continue the theme and highlight some of the many other revenue-enhancing technologies that have emerged in recent years (or are in development now) and that should at least be on the radar of hotels, if not already in their plans.

Most hotels today sell using a model that has changed very little for the last 50 years. The customer selects a room type and maybe a rate plan, an arrival date and number of nights, and confirms a booking. This works fine when all the guest needs, is a bed and shower. But for those looking for more, hotels are leaving money on the table.

Vaccines are on the way and every hotel is eagerly awaiting the day when we can ‘get back to normal’ in terms of seeing a steady flow of new reservations to bolster all-too-depleted business returns. Careful what you wish for, though. There is another scenario we must be cognizant of – that of being drastically understaffed.