Hotel guests no longer need to leave their best friends at home, as traveling with pets is becoming more popular and widely accepted among many hotel brands. Today, a multitude of national hotel companies and smaller independent properties across the country are realizing the value of being truly "pet friendly" and rolling out the red carpet for Fido and Fluffy. More than just a marketing ploy, many hotels are debuting elaborate, carefully crafted programs, converting rooms to designated "pet friendly" spaces, and actively promoting to a pet-loving crowd.

Nobody wants to be a serial hotel brander but sometimes it just happens because of economic reasons or the decision of a new owner. A brand is a promise to deliver on a set of standards but what happens if a hotel or resort shuffles through multiple brands in a short time? How does the public - or travel planners - keep up with that kind of change?

Marketing can be a fierce competition around the holidays, but for some companies the holiday season brings out their more humanitarian sides as well. As consumers start planning get-togethers with family and friends over long weekends, marketers tap into their customers' sentimental feelings and bring their chosen causes to the forefront of their campaigns (those marketers who have causes, anyway).

Tomorrow is Election Day, and if you've been following the polls and listening to the pundits, you're keenly aware of the increasing impact minorities will have on the outcome. Whether it's the African-American, Asian or Hispanic vote, the power being displayed by these electorates should serve to remind all of us in marketing to pay close attention to the growing clout of these audiences.