There's no denying it: It's tough out there. This miserable economic climate has caused most hoteliers to write off 2009 with only hope that 2010 will be better. But we can't afford to keep our heads in the sand for a year then expect to pop out and everything will be fine and dandy, as though we’re waking up from a bad dream. That type of fairy dust just doesn't occur in the real world. Hoteliers need to keep their heads above water and do more than tread—they need to find tools to build a proverbial raft to stay afloat.

Most industry professionals agree the current cycle will be far worse than the last two downward cycles in the early 1990s and early 2000s. Even those few (and may I add they are in the extreme minority) that still have some glimmer of hope coupled with some capital resources are now stepping back to take a second look at their business missions and future projections.

It goes without saying they’re taking the safe road and waiting out the economic storm before proceeding with any development projects. When you’re facing a decrease in the key numbers—meaning occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room—there is very little to be done on the property level except to outperform your competition and contain costs. Unfortunately, many hotels play the rate, even though history proves we’re all collectively losers when discounting occurs and that it actually does very little to generate new business. Hoteliers must focus on stealing more business with value-added services, guest service and product amenities. This is where hoteliers need to embrace the mantra "out of chaos grows creativity" to get through these tough times. Here are a few things hoteliers can do to maintain a competitive status:

Stay ahead of the marketing curve by creating a strong presence in social networking sites. If you have a blog or presence on Twitter and Facebook sites, it shows younger consumers that you have your finger on the pulse and are in-the-know of the latest technological and communication tools. Hoteliers should show off their properties and take ownership of their local area as the hotel of their city. When consumers search for a certain city's name in Facebook, for example, your hotel's name should show up.

Research what local competitors are offering and one-up those promotions. Be bold and creative. Caribou Coffee nailed this on the head recently after its competitor, Starbucks, announced it was going to stop brewing decaffeinated coffee in the afternoons. Caribou shot back with a promotion announcing that coffee drinkers deserved better and offered free decaffeinated coffee on certain days during a limited time window. They took advantage of the market's effect on a direct competitor to win new consumers. I'm not saying hoteliers should offer free nights, but they should have their eyes open for unique attention-getting opportunities.

Engage your guests in word-of-mouth grassroots marketing techniques through customer rating sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Hotels.com. It's a no- brainer: Consumers have turned to the Internet for inside-track information on properties, and they’re relying on the experiences of those who have already stayed at the hotels. Whereas good reviews are worth more than an elaborate ad in a national magazine, bad reviews are a guaranteed business killer.

Strengthen personalized service. In order to ensure good word-of-mouth recommendations, your property needs to offer top-notch customer service to guests.

Additionally, in these tough times hotel owners should make sure they are capitalizing on all the resources their franchise companies have to offer. The strongest franchise companies have the ability and resources to help your property reach its full potential, including regional marketing, IT tools, share funding for regional advertising, substantial discounts with state travel guides and AAA and a host of other programs that will ensure your property receives its fair share of business. Far too often, these tools are readily available but underused by property managers.

Finally, it's easy to say that any good property operator is watching and modifying expenses whenever and wherever possible. My suggestion is that in this challenging economy, there are no sacred cows. In other words, every line-item expense on the P&L should be sent out for competitive bids. That includes long-term vendors with which you may have had relationships, including food vendors, insurance companies, printers, uniform companies—everything from soup to nuts. A good general manager will sit down and spend the necessary time to competitively shop each and every item. You may well be surprised in today’s marketplace today how much money you can save through this process if it's done thoroughly.

Even though we’re all in for some tough economic times that will bring about many challenges in our industry, we each need to be creative to stay afloat and drive competition. Mark my words, in 2010 those who were creative and diligent will not only survive but will be noted as trendsetters in the new era of our industry. Every hotelier should have the expression "Out of Chaos Comes Creativity" etched on his or her desk.

Steven J. Belmonte is president and CEO of Hospitality Solutions, a Randolph, NJ-based firm that provides new franchise agreement negotiations, franchise termination and liquidated damage claim negotiations, mediation, expert witness, litigation support, motivational speaking, market studies, feasibility studies, on-site analysis and ownership and development assistance to the hospitality and service industries. He is former president and CEO of Ramada Hotels, also served as chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Educational Foundation and served on the board of directors of Arlington Hospitality, Inc. For more information, visit www. stevenbelmonte.com or call 973-598-0839.