Besides breaking news stories involving hotels, there are always an abundance of on-site "evergreen" stories, or timeless features; every employee is a potential story. For example: the immigrant housekeeper from Vietnam who has endured great hardships prior to becoming a model American citizen; the affable bartender who is on a first-name basis with many guest celebrities; the resourceful concierge who has gone out of his way to overcome a guest's angst over misplacing an important personal item; a world-renowned chef who is creating exciting new culinary delights in the hotel restaurant; or the security director who is a former military hero.

Another clever feature story idea incorporates the use of animals in hotel promotion. Several establishments have done this so successfully that their animals have actually become an integral part of their brand identification. Notable examples include: the famous lobby fountain ducks of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn.; the pair of Dalmatian dogs that roam the premises at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia; and the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, in Beaver Creek, Colo., where "Bachelor," a white Labrador retriever, is a hugely popular star of the hotel's Loan- A-Lab Program.

The feature ideas here are, of course, in addition to the typical hard news "hooks" that arise at nearly all lodging establishments such as: facility renovations; new general managers and chefs; innovative room amenities and technological improvements; the inauguration of new, specialized services, e.g., "technology butlers" and "firewood concierges"; special rate packages; culinary creations by...