By Francine Cohen
Article source
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=10193
An email message just popped up outlining the details on the dreaded annual meeting which used to mean being cooped up in a bone dry, overheated, windowless boardroom where you struggled to keep your eyes open and your mind stimulated by more than a repetitive counting of the soundproofing tiles in the ceiling above your boss’s head. But this year’s meeting looks a whole lot more promising. What’s going on?
Welcome to the world of smarter meetings where meeting planners and their hotel conference department counterparts are working to create meeting and event environments that foster creativity and encourage open dialogue so that business objectives are met and even exceeded. Every element of the meeting experience, from furniture to décor, lighting, food, a/v and even architectural design is being touched in this new effort to create a memorable and productive experience. No longer are meeting planners forced to book their group at a hotel that only offers a standard meeting package. Now a number of hoteliers are offering supremely customized options that are tailored to the size, attendees, and purpose of every meeting. Successful meetings boil down to options and communication from the beginning of the sales process. Says Caryn Kaboudi, Director of Public Relations for Omni Hotels, “It really should be who is going to be there, what kind of people they are, what is your leader like, what works for him/her, understanding the customer and having the good old fashioned dialogue.”
A dialogue has been ongoing at Omni, where roughly 50 percent of their revenue comes from meetings. They realized that the day of sterile ballroom meeting environments is over and created a new brand wide meeting concept, dubbed Sensational Meetings. Designed to touch all the senses the introduction of this meeting program initially showcases three approaches: Energetic Meetings – where the environment created by vibrant, high-energy colors and stimulating flavors is favorable for brainstorming, planning and training; Challenging Meetings – a relaxed environment where lower lighting, green tea and soothing music is employed to mitigate the stressful points of discussion; and Recognition Meetings – where upbeat music, vibrant floral design, decadent champagne truffles and stimulating scent are put to use for meetings designed to honor past successes and build on them for the future. Kboudi notes, “Beyond coordinating dates, race, and space we want to partner with them to make meetings more successful. We think we are revolutionizing the meetings business.”
An environmentally conscious revolution is underway at boutique hotelier Kimpton. Kimpton Hotels leverages their boutique size to address every need of their clients while promoting their core beliefs of corporate responsibility and encouraging meeting partners to join in the effort. Great Meetings, Great Causes meetings are a natural extension of Kimpton’s EarthCare program. Great Meetings was created to allow businesses the opportunity to extend environmental responsibility into their meetings. Companies are offered a variety of options for conserving resources, reducing waste, recycling, making donations, and educating event attendees on the benefits of environmental responsibility. It all happens without a lot of fuss as organic foods and beverages are served on china, eliminating all paper products, decorations are made of eco-friendly materials, recycling bins are placed throughout the space and event materials are printed on recycled paper, using soy based inks. Jesse Suglia, Corporate Director of Hotel Sales Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, notes why so many companies are excited about this and comments, “They love it. Whether it is on the managed travel side or on the meetings side corporations are seeing the opportunity to reduce their impact on the planet. They are looking for solutions and it is seamless and integrates quickly.”
Integrating comfortable furnishings, soothing lighting, and great architectural design are how many hotels are upping the ante. At the Conrad Miami General Manager Robert Thrailkill notes, “Every one of our rooms has natural light for meetings – there are no air walls. Air walls make lousy meeting rooms.” The Conrad focuses on a serene environment by keeping extraneous furniture to a minimum and offering the best seat in town. Thrailkill boasts, “We built in buffets so we don’t roll anything into the room. And I’m the only one in this market place who can do a meeting for 150 people in ergonomic chairs.” In the competitive Chicago market the newly opened Hotel Sax has created an environment without right angles. Adam Kaplan, Director of Sales and Marketing, explains, “There are actually a couple of right angles, but we tried to zig where everyone else zags. We were starting from raw space which had never been developed and decided to design the space from the ground up to be inspiring for people who will appreciate it when they get together. It’s these spaces with the right environment, lighting and technology that people are really responding to. The technology is such that each room has a flat plasma or drop down HD projection screen and the colors and furniture and the sweeping angles of some of the rooms are meant to put you in a different perspective than you’d get in a traditional hotel meeting room.”
To catch up with attendees’ fine dining expectations meeting food is getting an overhaul and menus are designed to encourage day long productivity. Suglia remarks, “Attendees are becoming more sophisticated. They are looking for a culinary experience whether they are in a meeting room or our restaurants. The palate is important.” At Hotel Sax all F&B needs are met by the award winning in-house restaurant, Bin 36. Kaplan adds, “Food and catering – that’s an area where there’s quite a bit of flexibility. Bin 36 is known for their wines and cheese and their New American cuisine with French influences. It’s a fabulous selection of wines, cheeses, and entrees that have a unique feel to them and it can get decadent. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a hotel driven menu.” At Omni they relied on the experts at the Culinary Institute of America for guidance with their catering menus. Kboudi explains, “We sat down last fall with CIA and they helped us really understand the right ingredients to use at the right times and how to put those together. We already knew, for instance, that you don’t serve a lot of carbs at lunch if you wanted to brainstorm in the afternoon and that you shouldn’t keep running caffeine all day but CIA really offered the food sciences part of it. We are at the process now creating menus they’ve helped us develop. Every hotel will have some customization and pricing depending on how they procure food product.”
At Fairmont DC they know that sourcing local food products, like cheese from nearby farms, is important but it also goes well beyond the food. Bob Mikolitch, Director of Catering, puts a lot of emphasis on creating the right setting through green, creative décor to add to the success of a meeting. He explains, “Normally people are looking for the typical continental breakfast or break-out. We’ve all seen the boring break but here we create an attractive organic look. We use texture like a wicker mat, buckets of fresh grown grass, and large pieces of granite or river rock. We work with the Executive Chef at Fairmont to create a “green” break that is appealing to the senses. We try to equate green and eco as being healthier and hope that the meeting experience ends up leaving you feeling better than when you walked into the room.”
The best meetings at the Hilton Bella Harbor in Rockwall, Texas don’t even take place in a meeting room Here conference attendees focused on team building are invited to board The Sea Wolf, a 50-passenger, 40 x 25’ handmade wooden catamaran. The conference center’s exclusive “Sailing into the Future” executive training program includes: nautical assessment (common goals), raising the sails (plan execution), sail trim and steering (optimizing productivity), reading the wind (external factors) and docking the boat (project completion). Jennifer Wasserman, Hilton Bella Harbor’s Director of Sales and Marketing explains, “The boat seats up to 50 at a time. Part of the meeting is in a classroom, the other part is on the boat. When you are maneuvering a sailboat you have to rely on people to make that boat go. It is critical to show how important each person is in order to do that. The boat is a giant symbol for your business.”
A successful business can evidently happen on land or on the sea, just as long as it moves beyond the long accepted method of seating people around a boardroom table and boring them to death.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wounded Wolves - The Journey Forward - By Dr. Rick Johnson
This is a story about finding your way. It's dedicated to any and all people that may have found themselves lost, confused, powerless, in a dead end career, going nowhere and those who may have lost sight of what they really want from life.
It's a story about 'Wounded Wolves' and making the journey forward. Forward to success, self esteem and pride. Maybe a few of you can relate to this as it's happening now. Or, maybe you were wounded once and remember the journey you had to make to create happiness and success in your life.
Being wounded can be a result of many things - a personal crisis, family life, a bad marriage, the way you were raised, poor life decisions, limited exposure to education and learning, and sometimes just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can even be just a matter of heritage and the socialistic environment that you become accustomed to as a child.
If you find yourself in this type of situation, often times your attitude suffers, you can't seem to make anything work. You lack focus and you often become paranoid. Optimism doesn't exist. In fact, you become very pessimistic and may even create the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
You become disappointed, disappointed in life, disappointed with your job, disappointed with yourself. You begin to dislike what you have become, but you don't really know what to do. You don't know how to change. You may even begin to dislike yourself.
Okay Stop!!!
That's enough with the Doom and Gloom. This isn't about feeling sorry for you. This is about creating 'The Journey Forward.' My very first mentor that took me under his wing at the prime age of 18 years old when I was in the military said these five words to me that I still remember today.
'Never ever - ever give up!'
So.... Let's start there. No matter what situation you find yourself in, make a pledge right now that no matter how tough the journey seems, you are committed, and you will not give up. Your journey may be simply creating a better career path at your place of employment. It may be starting your own business or it may be as extreme as grabbing yourself by the bootstraps and pulling yourself out of personal devastation. It doesn't matter what circumstance you are in. You can create a path forward if you are committed and you pledge to 'Never - ever - ever - give up.'
Let's begin discussing your journey forward by reflecting on another journey.
A number of years ago a 10-year-old boy roamed the streets of Toledo, Ohio. He grew up on those streets learning life's lessons. Like many of us, he came from a broken home. His daddy left him and his four brothers and one sister when he was five. His dad died when he was nine. He was the youngest, the baby of the family. You can imagine that times were tough, feeding six hungry kids wasn't easy, especially without a father figure. In fact, he was on welfare during his entire adolescent period until he joined the military at age 17.
At the age of 10 he sold newspapers in downtown Toledo. He crafted his abilities, his drive, on those streets. He didn't have a plan, he didn't have anyone to show him the way. He only had himself, and he had a best friend, a black kid, named Louie Jones. They didn't have a normal paper route like most kids, delivering to the same house every day in nice, quiet neighborhoods. This young boy and his friend, Louie, did what was known as blue jacking and their territory happened to be skid row. They carried a canvas sack filled with the Toledo Blade. The bag weighed almost as much as they did. They went form bar to bar.
If they couldn't sell a newspaper, they'd shine shoes. If that didn't work, they'd dance to music on the jukebox hoping the drunks and semi-drunks on skid row would throw nickels and dimes at them. In fact, it wasn't Michael Jackson who invented the moonwalk, it was Louie Jones who first did it in a little bar called the Erie Café in Toledo, Ohio.
At the time the young man didn't realize what life should be like. He knew he was wounded but he just didn't know how badly. They say ignorance is bliss, well, this young man's ignorance was only of his surroundings. He was quite an entrepreneur and became more successful on the streets as he grew, but he was wounded and heading for trouble. He started his first business at the age of 15 selling used car parts. He would take orders by day and fill them by night.
You need hubcaps for a '57 Chevy, not a problem, a carburetor for a '55 Ford, you'll have it in two days.
The young man didn't realize how deep his wounds were even though at times he would crouch down and hide behind trash cans and cars as he walked home from school until the rest of the kids were gone so they didn't see him go into that condemned house where they lived on the city dump.
His wounds could have gone deeper but then a life-changing event occurred, he graduated from high school and, at the age of 17, he had no clue what to do with his life. But he did know what he didn't know. He knew that if he continued on the path he was on he would end up in deep trouble, maybe even prison. In fact a juvenile judge explained that to him with crystal clarity. He knew he needed something to change the direction he was headed in. Something to change the path he was on. He was offered the opportunity to join the military.
It was during the Vietnam Era and the military trained him in Jungle Survival, not a whole lot of different than the techniques he learned in street survival. Not a whole lot different then the techniques you must learn to be successful in business today. Those four years were filled with defining moments in his life. He had no idea what to do when his four years in the military were up.
As he left the military his wounds seemed to open a bit. Self-doubt started to creep in until he remembered those words from that old Sergeant.
'Son - if you want to really be successful in your life you have to want it so bad that it overcomes all the pain and guilt you have stored in your memory. And remember, Never - ever - ever - give up!'
Different Journeys
So What..... What does this journey have to do with you and your personal journey? In reality, nothing. Everybody's journey will be different. I only tell this story to let you know that you are not alone. Most people face some sort of crisis at some point in their life.
Let me share a few principles and guidelines that may help you if you find yourself in any type of difficult situation or you just want to accelerate your journey forward toward success as you define it.
I. Take Responsibility ---- for who you were, who you are, but more importantly - who you want to become. It really doesn't matter how or why you are in the current state you are in. You must take responsibility for it. Until you own it - you can't change it. So... the very first step is to look within and forgive yourself and relieve yourself of any guilt. People wont start respecting you until you respect yourself. Regardless of your situation, no one but you has the control over changing it. But, you have to want it so bad that it overcomes the pain and the guilt. Do something .... Your chance of winning the lottery is extremely remote. Don't create false dreams. Create productive dreams that have a better chance for success. The 'Law of Attraction' only works when you take action. Stop blaming other people or circumstance.
II. Avoid the Irrational Ghosts ---- Let go of your fears. Change is scary but if you create it, you can control it. Be a little bit of a maverick. Decide to take some calculated risk. Begin to look at all your options. Success principles, and there are hundreds of them, only work if you conquer your fears first.
III. The Time is Now ---- No change can occur until you do something. The beginning of your journey forward starts with you. You may have an angel looking over you but you must initiate success ---- no one can do it for you. Analyze your life, your career, your dreams and your realities. You need a clear purpose, a purpose that motivates you. Figure out exactly what you want to do with your life and call that your 'Destination.'
IV. Map the Journey ----- Nobody starts on a journey without some type of direction. You must go forward with focus, passion, and a sense of meaning. Begin by quantifying your goals. How will you measure success? What does succeeding mean to you? For some it's just a promotion to upper management. For others it means happiness and spiritual wealth and to others it may mean being the CEO. You define success for your life and only you can do that. Don't let anyone else set your standards for personal life achievements. Outline your purpose. Get off the path you are currently on. Every single one of us at some point in our lives feels stuck. Get unstuck. Start by investing in learning. Commit yourself to at least one hour a day of scheduled reading or other forms of education.
V. Write Down Your Goals ---- Write down at least three to five goals for your life, under each goal try to identify milestones along the way that can track your progress. And lastly, under each goal identify specific actions that you feel you must take to accomplish that goal. It's amazing how success rates multiply simply by defining goals and putting them in writing. List specific factors in your life that would allow you to generate the best methods in accomplishing your goals
VI. Execute ------- Some general once said, 'No plan survives contact with the enemy.' To me that means unless you begin to execute, you will never figure out what adjustments and changes are necessary to keep your journey on track to reach your destination. Remember, you're not alone. Many of us have been wounded in some form or fashion. Even the rich and famous in our society have wounds, some may be even deeper than ours. Begin executing by searching for a coach or mentor that can help you. Someone who has been there and done that. You will be amazed to find out how willing some people are to reach out and help you succeed if you are sincere, dedicated, hard working and willing.
It is Possible
This story is heartfelt because it is my personal journey. I am the young man who sold newspapers on skid row. I am the young man who has been inspired for a life time and whose heart holds treasured lessons and memories from the old Sergeant in the military. I Never-ever-ever gave up and I had to learn to forgive! I only reflect on it to let you know I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I wasn't a member of the 'Lucky Sperm' club. Although I have the academic credentials, I am not an academic. I didn't complete my formal education in life until I was over fifty years old. But more importantly, I was wounded once and found my way forward. You can too. It may not be easy but it's doable.
Remember...Success isn't a gift. It just doesn't happen. Like the Wolf --- you must learn to lick your wounds. They will heal. But if you are going to create a journey toward success, you have to plan for it. We all live 24 hours each day. What you do with that time determines your success. Ask yourself if you really have defined your destination. Ask yourself if you have defined the map for your journey. Create a self-imposed respect for time. Learn to multi task. Treat time as an investment.
If that ten-year-old kid from Toledo who was headed for trouble can make it, so can you. Be a Lead Wolf. Believe in yourself, work hard, be committed and 'Never - ever --- ever --- give up!'
Thanks for listening, I hope I've opened a door for you that never closes.
Dr. Eric 'Rick' Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in Distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit www.ceostrategist.com for more information.
It's a story about 'Wounded Wolves' and making the journey forward. Forward to success, self esteem and pride. Maybe a few of you can relate to this as it's happening now. Or, maybe you were wounded once and remember the journey you had to make to create happiness and success in your life.
Being wounded can be a result of many things - a personal crisis, family life, a bad marriage, the way you were raised, poor life decisions, limited exposure to education and learning, and sometimes just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can even be just a matter of heritage and the socialistic environment that you become accustomed to as a child.
If you find yourself in this type of situation, often times your attitude suffers, you can't seem to make anything work. You lack focus and you often become paranoid. Optimism doesn't exist. In fact, you become very pessimistic and may even create the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
You become disappointed, disappointed in life, disappointed with your job, disappointed with yourself. You begin to dislike what you have become, but you don't really know what to do. You don't know how to change. You may even begin to dislike yourself.
Okay Stop!!!
That's enough with the Doom and Gloom. This isn't about feeling sorry for you. This is about creating 'The Journey Forward.' My very first mentor that took me under his wing at the prime age of 18 years old when I was in the military said these five words to me that I still remember today.
'Never ever - ever give up!'
So.... Let's start there. No matter what situation you find yourself in, make a pledge right now that no matter how tough the journey seems, you are committed, and you will not give up. Your journey may be simply creating a better career path at your place of employment. It may be starting your own business or it may be as extreme as grabbing yourself by the bootstraps and pulling yourself out of personal devastation. It doesn't matter what circumstance you are in. You can create a path forward if you are committed and you pledge to 'Never - ever - ever - give up.'
Let's begin discussing your journey forward by reflecting on another journey.
A number of years ago a 10-year-old boy roamed the streets of Toledo, Ohio. He grew up on those streets learning life's lessons. Like many of us, he came from a broken home. His daddy left him and his four brothers and one sister when he was five. His dad died when he was nine. He was the youngest, the baby of the family. You can imagine that times were tough, feeding six hungry kids wasn't easy, especially without a father figure. In fact, he was on welfare during his entire adolescent period until he joined the military at age 17.
At the age of 10 he sold newspapers in downtown Toledo. He crafted his abilities, his drive, on those streets. He didn't have a plan, he didn't have anyone to show him the way. He only had himself, and he had a best friend, a black kid, named Louie Jones. They didn't have a normal paper route like most kids, delivering to the same house every day in nice, quiet neighborhoods. This young boy and his friend, Louie, did what was known as blue jacking and their territory happened to be skid row. They carried a canvas sack filled with the Toledo Blade. The bag weighed almost as much as they did. They went form bar to bar.
If they couldn't sell a newspaper, they'd shine shoes. If that didn't work, they'd dance to music on the jukebox hoping the drunks and semi-drunks on skid row would throw nickels and dimes at them. In fact, it wasn't Michael Jackson who invented the moonwalk, it was Louie Jones who first did it in a little bar called the Erie Café in Toledo, Ohio.
At the time the young man didn't realize what life should be like. He knew he was wounded but he just didn't know how badly. They say ignorance is bliss, well, this young man's ignorance was only of his surroundings. He was quite an entrepreneur and became more successful on the streets as he grew, but he was wounded and heading for trouble. He started his first business at the age of 15 selling used car parts. He would take orders by day and fill them by night.
You need hubcaps for a '57 Chevy, not a problem, a carburetor for a '55 Ford, you'll have it in two days.
The young man didn't realize how deep his wounds were even though at times he would crouch down and hide behind trash cans and cars as he walked home from school until the rest of the kids were gone so they didn't see him go into that condemned house where they lived on the city dump.
His wounds could have gone deeper but then a life-changing event occurred, he graduated from high school and, at the age of 17, he had no clue what to do with his life. But he did know what he didn't know. He knew that if he continued on the path he was on he would end up in deep trouble, maybe even prison. In fact a juvenile judge explained that to him with crystal clarity. He knew he needed something to change the direction he was headed in. Something to change the path he was on. He was offered the opportunity to join the military.
It was during the Vietnam Era and the military trained him in Jungle Survival, not a whole lot of different than the techniques he learned in street survival. Not a whole lot different then the techniques you must learn to be successful in business today. Those four years were filled with defining moments in his life. He had no idea what to do when his four years in the military were up.
As he left the military his wounds seemed to open a bit. Self-doubt started to creep in until he remembered those words from that old Sergeant.
'Son - if you want to really be successful in your life you have to want it so bad that it overcomes all the pain and guilt you have stored in your memory. And remember, Never - ever - ever - give up!'
Different Journeys
So What..... What does this journey have to do with you and your personal journey? In reality, nothing. Everybody's journey will be different. I only tell this story to let you know that you are not alone. Most people face some sort of crisis at some point in their life.
Let me share a few principles and guidelines that may help you if you find yourself in any type of difficult situation or you just want to accelerate your journey forward toward success as you define it.
I. Take Responsibility ---- for who you were, who you are, but more importantly - who you want to become. It really doesn't matter how or why you are in the current state you are in. You must take responsibility for it. Until you own it - you can't change it. So... the very first step is to look within and forgive yourself and relieve yourself of any guilt. People wont start respecting you until you respect yourself. Regardless of your situation, no one but you has the control over changing it. But, you have to want it so bad that it overcomes the pain and the guilt. Do something .... Your chance of winning the lottery is extremely remote. Don't create false dreams. Create productive dreams that have a better chance for success. The 'Law of Attraction' only works when you take action. Stop blaming other people or circumstance.
II. Avoid the Irrational Ghosts ---- Let go of your fears. Change is scary but if you create it, you can control it. Be a little bit of a maverick. Decide to take some calculated risk. Begin to look at all your options. Success principles, and there are hundreds of them, only work if you conquer your fears first.
III. The Time is Now ---- No change can occur until you do something. The beginning of your journey forward starts with you. You may have an angel looking over you but you must initiate success ---- no one can do it for you. Analyze your life, your career, your dreams and your realities. You need a clear purpose, a purpose that motivates you. Figure out exactly what you want to do with your life and call that your 'Destination.'
IV. Map the Journey ----- Nobody starts on a journey without some type of direction. You must go forward with focus, passion, and a sense of meaning. Begin by quantifying your goals. How will you measure success? What does succeeding mean to you? For some it's just a promotion to upper management. For others it means happiness and spiritual wealth and to others it may mean being the CEO. You define success for your life and only you can do that. Don't let anyone else set your standards for personal life achievements. Outline your purpose. Get off the path you are currently on. Every single one of us at some point in our lives feels stuck. Get unstuck. Start by investing in learning. Commit yourself to at least one hour a day of scheduled reading or other forms of education.
V. Write Down Your Goals ---- Write down at least three to five goals for your life, under each goal try to identify milestones along the way that can track your progress. And lastly, under each goal identify specific actions that you feel you must take to accomplish that goal. It's amazing how success rates multiply simply by defining goals and putting them in writing. List specific factors in your life that would allow you to generate the best methods in accomplishing your goals
VI. Execute ------- Some general once said, 'No plan survives contact with the enemy.' To me that means unless you begin to execute, you will never figure out what adjustments and changes are necessary to keep your journey on track to reach your destination. Remember, you're not alone. Many of us have been wounded in some form or fashion. Even the rich and famous in our society have wounds, some may be even deeper than ours. Begin executing by searching for a coach or mentor that can help you. Someone who has been there and done that. You will be amazed to find out how willing some people are to reach out and help you succeed if you are sincere, dedicated, hard working and willing.
It is Possible
This story is heartfelt because it is my personal journey. I am the young man who sold newspapers on skid row. I am the young man who has been inspired for a life time and whose heart holds treasured lessons and memories from the old Sergeant in the military. I Never-ever-ever gave up and I had to learn to forgive! I only reflect on it to let you know I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I wasn't a member of the 'Lucky Sperm' club. Although I have the academic credentials, I am not an academic. I didn't complete my formal education in life until I was over fifty years old. But more importantly, I was wounded once and found my way forward. You can too. It may not be easy but it's doable.
Remember...Success isn't a gift. It just doesn't happen. Like the Wolf --- you must learn to lick your wounds. They will heal. But if you are going to create a journey toward success, you have to plan for it. We all live 24 hours each day. What you do with that time determines your success. Ask yourself if you really have defined your destination. Ask yourself if you have defined the map for your journey. Create a self-imposed respect for time. Learn to multi task. Treat time as an investment.
If that ten-year-old kid from Toledo who was headed for trouble can make it, so can you. Be a Lead Wolf. Believe in yourself, work hard, be committed and 'Never - ever --- ever --- give up!'
Thanks for listening, I hope I've opened a door for you that never closes.
Dr. Eric 'Rick' Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in Distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit www.ceostrategist.com for more information.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Contingency Hotel Revenue Management Strategies – "I Will not Cut Prices"
By Carol Verret
Saturday, 15th March 2008
“Everyone repeat after me: "I will not cut prices nor panic sell because it does not stimulate incremental demand and only serves to drive down prices." (Jeff Weinstein, Editor, Hotels Magazine, February 08) Jeff has given us the mantra that all GMs, Revenue Managers and Directors of Sales should repeat every morning.
While most analysts have continued to be bullish on revenue increases of at least 4% in 2008, that was before the employment numbers began to slide. PKF, in its January research article indicated that although the industry was well positioned to weather the storm, there was one caveat. “What will keep the economy buoyant, as well as the lodging industry, is the continued growth in employment.
Historically, we have seen a strong correlation between changes in employment and lodging demand,” Woodworth observed. Unfortunately, the assumption of a continuing employment growth turned out to be short lived as the latest two government indicators showed significantly slippage in this area.
The erosion in the economy has been relatively rapid. A survey of over 1600 meeting planners indicated that for only 37% of them were their meeting plans for 08 were unaffected by the economy. (MeetingNews on MiMegasite February 26, 2008)
Okay, disposable income upon which leisure travel is dependent is shaky , the continuing credit crunch is impacting corporate travel and now the meetings market, what is a revenue manager to do to stop the bleeding and stimulate demand if not cut rate?
Monitor Changes to Market Segment Activity Daily.
This should go without saying but many daily flash reports do not carry lines that compare daily activity year over year by market segment or month over month or YTD by market segment. Reports that include percentages of occupancy by market segment are a graphic way to detect downturns. This is an ‘early warning’ signal that will allow you to take action before the slippage becomes worse.
Manipulate the Rate Structure
Don’t lower it!
Closely monitor inventory and rate on the OTAs. Open discounts to more room types during periods of low demand. Participate in promotions with the OTAs until you reach the goals of the promotion. Close inventory to lower rated rooms when demand warrants it. Train the reservations staff to close each reservation by skillfully offering room type options at different price points if that’s what it takes to convert the call.
Evaluate Channel Distribution.
When the revenue management strategy was first developed last fall, what were some of the distribution channels that were not included due to high commissions, relatively low production, etc? A high commission on some revenue may be better than no commission on unsold rooms. Were the Opaque channels abandoned as requiring too deep a discount? A discount on an opaque channel is not a lower rate structure but a way to expose inventory to markets that you may not have exposed the hotel to in the past. In both of these scenarios, you control the inventory.
Dynamic Packaging.
Packaging options on the hotel website, distribution channels and channels such as TravelZoo provide an opportunity to expose your hotel, generate incremental revenue and ‘disguise’ the rate within the package. Packaging on the hotel’s web site is the cheapest and easiest way to generate incremental business but you have to drive your customers and potential customers to the site through effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and CRM initiatives.
Monitor the Hotel’s Online Presence.
Especially in difficult times it I more imperative than ever to monitor the hotel’s online presence. Pet peeve, make sure that the links work everywhere you are listed. I logged onto a CVB site recently and four of the seven hotels whose links I clicked didn’t work. You can’t have an online presence unless you are ‘present’. There are tools that can assist you in this that can make this process easy and give you the info to make good decisions. The Avalon Buzz Report among others makes monitoring your online presence and that of the competition easy. These reports can also expose opportunities to fill gaps in demand with ecommerce initiatives.
Correct Deficiencies.
If your hotel presence online monitoring tool uncovers areas where you are not in rate parity, correct immediately. As well, there may be some links on sites that were enabled years ago that no one was aware of and are therefore unattended. These can have erroneous information and rates. I discovered this with a simple search for an independent hotel client. The hotel was offering an NFL special on an obscure site that no one at the property was aware of.
Respond to Critical Online Reviews.
Respond with a measured response to any online review as to how the deficiency has been corrected and or how a situation surrounding a less than optimal guest experience occurred. Ensure that there are no areas of the hotel that you would not like to see in pictures or videos posted on TripAdvisor. One client took the response thing to a whole new level and even responded to positive reviews with a Thank You response!
Diligence and creativity are the hallmarks of crafting a contingency revenue management strategy and for many of you the time to implement a contingency plan is here. I suggest one more thing to implement at your stand up meeting each morning with the GM and DOS. Prior to analyzing the numbers and starting the day, repeat Jeff Weinstein’s mantra, in unison – “I will not cut prices!”
Carol Verret And Associates Consulting and Training offers training services and consulting in the areas of sales, revenue management and customer service primarily but not exclusively to the hospitality industry. To find out more about the company click on www.carolverret.com. To contact Carol send her an email at carol@carolverret.com or she can be reached by cell phone (303) 618-4065. Visit www.hotelsalesblog.com.
Saturday, 15th March 2008
“Everyone repeat after me: "I will not cut prices nor panic sell because it does not stimulate incremental demand and only serves to drive down prices." (Jeff Weinstein, Editor, Hotels Magazine, February 08) Jeff has given us the mantra that all GMs, Revenue Managers and Directors of Sales should repeat every morning.
While most analysts have continued to be bullish on revenue increases of at least 4% in 2008, that was before the employment numbers began to slide. PKF, in its January research article indicated that although the industry was well positioned to weather the storm, there was one caveat. “What will keep the economy buoyant, as well as the lodging industry, is the continued growth in employment.
Historically, we have seen a strong correlation between changes in employment and lodging demand,” Woodworth observed. Unfortunately, the assumption of a continuing employment growth turned out to be short lived as the latest two government indicators showed significantly slippage in this area.
The erosion in the economy has been relatively rapid. A survey of over 1600 meeting planners indicated that for only 37% of them were their meeting plans for 08 were unaffected by the economy. (MeetingNews on MiMegasite February 26, 2008)
Okay, disposable income upon which leisure travel is dependent is shaky , the continuing credit crunch is impacting corporate travel and now the meetings market, what is a revenue manager to do to stop the bleeding and stimulate demand if not cut rate?
Monitor Changes to Market Segment Activity Daily.
This should go without saying but many daily flash reports do not carry lines that compare daily activity year over year by market segment or month over month or YTD by market segment. Reports that include percentages of occupancy by market segment are a graphic way to detect downturns. This is an ‘early warning’ signal that will allow you to take action before the slippage becomes worse.
Manipulate the Rate Structure
Don’t lower it!
Closely monitor inventory and rate on the OTAs. Open discounts to more room types during periods of low demand. Participate in promotions with the OTAs until you reach the goals of the promotion. Close inventory to lower rated rooms when demand warrants it. Train the reservations staff to close each reservation by skillfully offering room type options at different price points if that’s what it takes to convert the call.
Evaluate Channel Distribution.
When the revenue management strategy was first developed last fall, what were some of the distribution channels that were not included due to high commissions, relatively low production, etc? A high commission on some revenue may be better than no commission on unsold rooms. Were the Opaque channels abandoned as requiring too deep a discount? A discount on an opaque channel is not a lower rate structure but a way to expose inventory to markets that you may not have exposed the hotel to in the past. In both of these scenarios, you control the inventory.
Dynamic Packaging.
Packaging options on the hotel website, distribution channels and channels such as TravelZoo provide an opportunity to expose your hotel, generate incremental revenue and ‘disguise’ the rate within the package. Packaging on the hotel’s web site is the cheapest and easiest way to generate incremental business but you have to drive your customers and potential customers to the site through effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and CRM initiatives.
Monitor the Hotel’s Online Presence.
Especially in difficult times it I more imperative than ever to monitor the hotel’s online presence. Pet peeve, make sure that the links work everywhere you are listed. I logged onto a CVB site recently and four of the seven hotels whose links I clicked didn’t work. You can’t have an online presence unless you are ‘present’. There are tools that can assist you in this that can make this process easy and give you the info to make good decisions. The Avalon Buzz Report among others makes monitoring your online presence and that of the competition easy. These reports can also expose opportunities to fill gaps in demand with ecommerce initiatives.
Correct Deficiencies.
If your hotel presence online monitoring tool uncovers areas where you are not in rate parity, correct immediately. As well, there may be some links on sites that were enabled years ago that no one was aware of and are therefore unattended. These can have erroneous information and rates. I discovered this with a simple search for an independent hotel client. The hotel was offering an NFL special on an obscure site that no one at the property was aware of.
Respond to Critical Online Reviews.
Respond with a measured response to any online review as to how the deficiency has been corrected and or how a situation surrounding a less than optimal guest experience occurred. Ensure that there are no areas of the hotel that you would not like to see in pictures or videos posted on TripAdvisor. One client took the response thing to a whole new level and even responded to positive reviews with a Thank You response!
Diligence and creativity are the hallmarks of crafting a contingency revenue management strategy and for many of you the time to implement a contingency plan is here. I suggest one more thing to implement at your stand up meeting each morning with the GM and DOS. Prior to analyzing the numbers and starting the day, repeat Jeff Weinstein’s mantra, in unison – “I will not cut prices!”
Carol Verret And Associates Consulting and Training offers training services and consulting in the areas of sales, revenue management and customer service primarily but not exclusively to the hospitality industry. To find out more about the company click on www.carolverret.com. To contact Carol send her an email at carol@carolverret.com or she can be reached by cell phone (303) 618-4065. Visit www.hotelsalesblog.com.
Friday, March 14, 2008
How To Provide Powerful Coaching To Your Staff.
By Bob Wall
Friday, 14th March 2008
Coaching is a conversation about performance, addressing what someone did well or providing information that will help improve performance.
That is all coaching is…a simple conversation. Some performance management systems are so complicated and bureaucratic that the simplicity and ease of coaching has gotten lost. But to be effective, coaching is a conversation that benefits from applying a simple structure that is easily committed to memory.
The following structure serves as a mental organizing device. As you approach the employee to offer praise or developmental feedback, the model serves to organize your thinking and your communication into a logical sequence. Once your thoughts are organized, you deliver coaching in a manner that is natural for you. You don’t want your coaching to be awkward or sound canned, like you’ve just been to a workshop.
A Structured Format For Coaching
1. Opening Statement
“I want to talk to you about (general area of performance.)”
2. Observation
“I’ve observed (describe performance or behavior).”
3. Impact
“The impact is (describe the impact on the job being done)”.
4. Request
“From now on, I’d like you to (describe improved performance or behavior).”
Write this model on a card, carry it in your pocket, and memorize it. As you will see, you will use this structure very flexibly but if you memorize it as written, you have a path to follow in formulating feedback.
Purposes of each step in the structure
The opening statement is used to get the employee’s attention. If you always begin coaching with this simple phrase, they will learn to pay attention because you have something important to say to them.
Step 2 is very important. You much provide specific, concrete examples so there is little chance of miscommunication. For example, “You did a lousy job of cleaning rooms today” is a harsh communication that provides no information to convey what you observed. “I noticed that there was dirt left in the corners, that you hadn’t vacuumed under the bed, and that the floor of the shower stalls were a bit sticky and needed better rinsing and drying” is much more specific.
The same principle applies to praise. “I noticed you did a great job with that tour this morning” sounds nice to hear but doesn’t describe what you liked. Far better to say, “I noticed that your mood was upbeat and welcoming. You introduced yourself to each guest as they got on the bus. And your comments during the tour were both informative and very entertaining.”
Step 3 links your observation to the job. You aren’t taking time out to provide coaching merely because you might be irritated. Instead, you want to tie your coaching to some aspect of the job that is important. For example, “One of our core values is impeccable cleanliness in every aspect of our resort” reminds people why you are concerned about their performance.
The same holds true of praise. “We promise our guests a level of service that is unparalleled in the industry for friendliness and efficiency” ties your praise for the tour direct to one of your organization’s core values.
Step 4 is used very flexibly. With praise, end with a simple “Thank you. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated how welcoming you were to our guests.”
In delivering developmental feedback you have a couple of options. You might go on to describe exactly what you want the person to do from now on. But a better strategy might be to describe the performance problem and why you consider it a problem. Then ask if the person agrees that this performance needs improvement. Follow that up by asking the person what they need to do to make the necessary improvements. If you get people involved in improving their work, they will be much more committed to following through with it than they might if you just demand that they do so.
Coaching for Emotional Intelligence
Coaching to develop someone’s EQ is much more delicate because the feedback can get so personal. You must earn the right to deliver this kind of feedback by taking time to get to know your employees and establishing relationships with them that are both personal and professional. Your employees will accept coaching more easily if they know you care about them as people and that you are committed to helping them be as successful as possible. Coaching on personal characteristics must be done within the framework of a supportive relationship.
You must also make a habit of delivering genuine, heartfelt praise on a regular basis. In a sense, your employees are not doing their jobs. They are doing parts of your job for you. As a manager, you are accountable to your boss for work done by other people. So when they are doing things right, if you don’t appreciate it, you’d better re-examine what it means to be in a leadership position. When your staff perform well, you look good. And if they perform poorly, your boss doesn’t have a problem with them…he or she has a problem with you.
Some managers act as if coaching would be a nice thing to do if they had the time. But if you are not coaching, you are not leading. Whenever something doesn’t go well in your area of responsibility, the only question to ask is “What am I doing – or failing to do – that is contributing to this situation? Often as not, you’ll find that you aren’t providing enough coaching.
EQ is very important in the hospitality business. It doesn’t matter how technically proficient your people are, if they can’t work together as a team and provide world-class service to your guests, you have a problem that must be addressed.
Suppose someone makes a suggestion in a staff meeting. You notice Ralph sigh, roll his eyes, and make a comment to a coworker. Immediately after the meeting call him aside and say, “I want to talk with you about something I observed in the meeting. When Betty made a suggestion to help us coordinate the various events happening every day, you got a look of scorn on your face, sighed audibly while rolling your eyes, and made a comment to your friend, Jack. One of our core cultural values is that we listen to each other with respect, even when we disagree. I don’t know if you noticed but Betty was embarrassed and the discussion of her suggestion came to a halt. No one else was willing to risk offering another suggestion.”
The first goal in coaching for EQ is to raise people’s awareness. Ralph may have been doing this kind of thing all his life and may not recognize the negative impact he has on other people. If so, you want him to start paying attention to his reactions during meetings and live up to your cultural value of listening.
Suppose you have one of your wait staff, Jim, who doesn’t handle complaints very well. One night you observe that a guest complains about her food being cold. Jim does exactly what he is supposed to do. He apologizes and takes the food back, promising to bring a hot dinner right away. But you also notice subtle nonverbal facial expressions that indicate that this is a real irritant and that he thinks the guest is being too demanding.
People are exquisitely sensitive to facial cues that convey emotion. Although the guest will get a hot meal, she may not feel good about how the interaction was handled. Call Jim aside and talk about it. Point out that he did the right things but that his facial expression looked like he was irritated and put out. People often have facial cues of which they are completely unaware. You might even need to imitate the expression you saw on Jim’s face and ask him how that might have made the guest feel about the service she was getting. Ask him to start observing himself much more carefully in situations like this and monitor any nonverbal expressions that convey irritation. The next time you see him handle a similar situation but with a smile on his face, call him aside a praise him for handling the situation with more grace.
Also look for opportunities to praise people for emotionally intelligent behaviors. I once led a management retreat in a hotel. When I arrived about 45 minutes before the event, I realized that the table arrangement had to be changed to encourage discussion and allow frequent movement into small groups. The people who had set the room had done so with obvious care and attention to detail. Every place setting was perfect; pens, writing materials and water and glasses on every table.
I hated to do it but the success of the meeting was at stake. I called my contact person from events planning and explained that the room needed to be entirely reset and that we were short on time. She replied that she would in about two minutes. In a few moments, she burst into the room with three people to help reset the room. She listened with genuine interest to what I needed and why I needed it. She assured me that the hotel wanted nothing more than to support our group in any way required. She quickly gave direction to break down the room, get rid of the tables and bring in rounds. All of this she did with grace, even going so far as to explaine to her helpers why the new arrangement would result in a better meeting.
She couldn’t have handled the situation better. Her work crew, however, needed a little coaching. They did exactly what was required, quickly and neatly. But the expressions on their faces and the occasionally slammed chair made clear to me that they did not appreciate having to set the room twice.
That is the hospitality industry captured in a single moment. I had made a last minute but essential request. My contact person handled the situation with grace and a commitment to serve. But her helpers needed coaching on doing whatever is required with a smile on their faces rather than giving into nonverbal petulance as they did what they had to do.
Your people are constantly interacting with each other and your guests. A good coach is constantly on the alert - providing praise where it is deserved and developmental coaching where it is required. Start watching your people carefully and you see that your people, except for new hires still being trained, know what to do and how to do it. The difference between a very good hotel and a great hotel lies in coaching people how to handle delicate moments with equanimity and the display of emotional intelligence. And coaching makes it so…
©2008 Bob Wall
For 28 years, Bob Wall has specialized in accelerating the development of leaders and teams in the workplace. Whether serving as an executive coach, doing an assessment of a corporation’s culture, providing customized team development and planning events, or delivering management and staff training, the common thread through his work is EQ, i.e., emotional intelligence…those personal characteristics and social abilities shown to be essential to success in the workplace. Recent research has demonstrated that no matter how intelligent and professionally trained people might be, if they lack the ability to work with and through other people, they are not likely to achieve their full potential, a finding with profound implications for those involved in leading and developing today’s companies.
His two most recent books provide a roadmap for leaders wanting to build corporate cultures that nurture EQ. Coaching For Emotional Intelligence (2007, AMACOM) provides leaders with a structured approach to coaching for performance and to develop their employees’ EQ. His latest book, the Second Edition of Working Relationships: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Effectiveness With Others (2008, Davies-Black Publishing) provides an understanding of relationships in the workplace and offers readers a practical methodology for building teams and resolving conflict. Bob can be reached through his website, www.bobwallonline.com to learn more about his services and the use of the EQ Profile, an uncannily accurate assessment of EQ that Bob has used successfully in fifteen different countries.
Friday, 14th March 2008
Coaching is a conversation about performance, addressing what someone did well or providing information that will help improve performance.
That is all coaching is…a simple conversation. Some performance management systems are so complicated and bureaucratic that the simplicity and ease of coaching has gotten lost. But to be effective, coaching is a conversation that benefits from applying a simple structure that is easily committed to memory.
The following structure serves as a mental organizing device. As you approach the employee to offer praise or developmental feedback, the model serves to organize your thinking and your communication into a logical sequence. Once your thoughts are organized, you deliver coaching in a manner that is natural for you. You don’t want your coaching to be awkward or sound canned, like you’ve just been to a workshop.
A Structured Format For Coaching
1. Opening Statement
“I want to talk to you about (general area of performance.)”
2. Observation
“I’ve observed (describe performance or behavior).”
3. Impact
“The impact is (describe the impact on the job being done)”.
4. Request
“From now on, I’d like you to (describe improved performance or behavior).”
Write this model on a card, carry it in your pocket, and memorize it. As you will see, you will use this structure very flexibly but if you memorize it as written, you have a path to follow in formulating feedback.
Purposes of each step in the structure
The opening statement is used to get the employee’s attention. If you always begin coaching with this simple phrase, they will learn to pay attention because you have something important to say to them.
Step 2 is very important. You much provide specific, concrete examples so there is little chance of miscommunication. For example, “You did a lousy job of cleaning rooms today” is a harsh communication that provides no information to convey what you observed. “I noticed that there was dirt left in the corners, that you hadn’t vacuumed under the bed, and that the floor of the shower stalls were a bit sticky and needed better rinsing and drying” is much more specific.
The same principle applies to praise. “I noticed you did a great job with that tour this morning” sounds nice to hear but doesn’t describe what you liked. Far better to say, “I noticed that your mood was upbeat and welcoming. You introduced yourself to each guest as they got on the bus. And your comments during the tour were both informative and very entertaining.”
Step 3 links your observation to the job. You aren’t taking time out to provide coaching merely because you might be irritated. Instead, you want to tie your coaching to some aspect of the job that is important. For example, “One of our core values is impeccable cleanliness in every aspect of our resort” reminds people why you are concerned about their performance.
The same holds true of praise. “We promise our guests a level of service that is unparalleled in the industry for friendliness and efficiency” ties your praise for the tour direct to one of your organization’s core values.
Step 4 is used very flexibly. With praise, end with a simple “Thank you. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated how welcoming you were to our guests.”
In delivering developmental feedback you have a couple of options. You might go on to describe exactly what you want the person to do from now on. But a better strategy might be to describe the performance problem and why you consider it a problem. Then ask if the person agrees that this performance needs improvement. Follow that up by asking the person what they need to do to make the necessary improvements. If you get people involved in improving their work, they will be much more committed to following through with it than they might if you just demand that they do so.
Coaching for Emotional Intelligence
Coaching to develop someone’s EQ is much more delicate because the feedback can get so personal. You must earn the right to deliver this kind of feedback by taking time to get to know your employees and establishing relationships with them that are both personal and professional. Your employees will accept coaching more easily if they know you care about them as people and that you are committed to helping them be as successful as possible. Coaching on personal characteristics must be done within the framework of a supportive relationship.
You must also make a habit of delivering genuine, heartfelt praise on a regular basis. In a sense, your employees are not doing their jobs. They are doing parts of your job for you. As a manager, you are accountable to your boss for work done by other people. So when they are doing things right, if you don’t appreciate it, you’d better re-examine what it means to be in a leadership position. When your staff perform well, you look good. And if they perform poorly, your boss doesn’t have a problem with them…he or she has a problem with you.
Some managers act as if coaching would be a nice thing to do if they had the time. But if you are not coaching, you are not leading. Whenever something doesn’t go well in your area of responsibility, the only question to ask is “What am I doing – or failing to do – that is contributing to this situation? Often as not, you’ll find that you aren’t providing enough coaching.
EQ is very important in the hospitality business. It doesn’t matter how technically proficient your people are, if they can’t work together as a team and provide world-class service to your guests, you have a problem that must be addressed.
Suppose someone makes a suggestion in a staff meeting. You notice Ralph sigh, roll his eyes, and make a comment to a coworker. Immediately after the meeting call him aside and say, “I want to talk with you about something I observed in the meeting. When Betty made a suggestion to help us coordinate the various events happening every day, you got a look of scorn on your face, sighed audibly while rolling your eyes, and made a comment to your friend, Jack. One of our core cultural values is that we listen to each other with respect, even when we disagree. I don’t know if you noticed but Betty was embarrassed and the discussion of her suggestion came to a halt. No one else was willing to risk offering another suggestion.”
The first goal in coaching for EQ is to raise people’s awareness. Ralph may have been doing this kind of thing all his life and may not recognize the negative impact he has on other people. If so, you want him to start paying attention to his reactions during meetings and live up to your cultural value of listening.
Suppose you have one of your wait staff, Jim, who doesn’t handle complaints very well. One night you observe that a guest complains about her food being cold. Jim does exactly what he is supposed to do. He apologizes and takes the food back, promising to bring a hot dinner right away. But you also notice subtle nonverbal facial expressions that indicate that this is a real irritant and that he thinks the guest is being too demanding.
People are exquisitely sensitive to facial cues that convey emotion. Although the guest will get a hot meal, she may not feel good about how the interaction was handled. Call Jim aside and talk about it. Point out that he did the right things but that his facial expression looked like he was irritated and put out. People often have facial cues of which they are completely unaware. You might even need to imitate the expression you saw on Jim’s face and ask him how that might have made the guest feel about the service she was getting. Ask him to start observing himself much more carefully in situations like this and monitor any nonverbal expressions that convey irritation. The next time you see him handle a similar situation but with a smile on his face, call him aside a praise him for handling the situation with more grace.
Also look for opportunities to praise people for emotionally intelligent behaviors. I once led a management retreat in a hotel. When I arrived about 45 minutes before the event, I realized that the table arrangement had to be changed to encourage discussion and allow frequent movement into small groups. The people who had set the room had done so with obvious care and attention to detail. Every place setting was perfect; pens, writing materials and water and glasses on every table.
I hated to do it but the success of the meeting was at stake. I called my contact person from events planning and explained that the room needed to be entirely reset and that we were short on time. She replied that she would in about two minutes. In a few moments, she burst into the room with three people to help reset the room. She listened with genuine interest to what I needed and why I needed it. She assured me that the hotel wanted nothing more than to support our group in any way required. She quickly gave direction to break down the room, get rid of the tables and bring in rounds. All of this she did with grace, even going so far as to explaine to her helpers why the new arrangement would result in a better meeting.
She couldn’t have handled the situation better. Her work crew, however, needed a little coaching. They did exactly what was required, quickly and neatly. But the expressions on their faces and the occasionally slammed chair made clear to me that they did not appreciate having to set the room twice.
That is the hospitality industry captured in a single moment. I had made a last minute but essential request. My contact person handled the situation with grace and a commitment to serve. But her helpers needed coaching on doing whatever is required with a smile on their faces rather than giving into nonverbal petulance as they did what they had to do.
Your people are constantly interacting with each other and your guests. A good coach is constantly on the alert - providing praise where it is deserved and developmental coaching where it is required. Start watching your people carefully and you see that your people, except for new hires still being trained, know what to do and how to do it. The difference between a very good hotel and a great hotel lies in coaching people how to handle delicate moments with equanimity and the display of emotional intelligence. And coaching makes it so…
©2008 Bob Wall
For 28 years, Bob Wall has specialized in accelerating the development of leaders and teams in the workplace. Whether serving as an executive coach, doing an assessment of a corporation’s culture, providing customized team development and planning events, or delivering management and staff training, the common thread through his work is EQ, i.e., emotional intelligence…those personal characteristics and social abilities shown to be essential to success in the workplace. Recent research has demonstrated that no matter how intelligent and professionally trained people might be, if they lack the ability to work with and through other people, they are not likely to achieve their full potential, a finding with profound implications for those involved in leading and developing today’s companies.
His two most recent books provide a roadmap for leaders wanting to build corporate cultures that nurture EQ. Coaching For Emotional Intelligence (2007, AMACOM) provides leaders with a structured approach to coaching for performance and to develop their employees’ EQ. His latest book, the Second Edition of Working Relationships: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Effectiveness With Others (2008, Davies-Black Publishing) provides an understanding of relationships in the workplace and offers readers a practical methodology for building teams and resolving conflict. Bob can be reached through his website, www.bobwallonline.com to learn more about his services and the use of the EQ Profile, an uncannily accurate assessment of EQ that Bob has used successfully in fifteen different countries.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Hilton launches personalized Web pages for business groups
Leading the newest generation of event planning online, Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotels enable planners to customize their own Web page for business groups, special events and sports trips at more than 2,400 hotels in North America.
Features of the Personalized Group Web Pages include:
- The ability for event planners to create their own Personalized Group Web Page online 24/7 at no cost for any event that includes guest rooms;
- Complete control placed in the hands of the event planner without depending on hotel input or involvement unless requested;
- A means for event planners to promote their events and display important event details for attendees/guests all in one place;
- The ability for event planners to select their own chosen color scheme, two photos, and event details such as maps and schedules;
- A booking mechanism that directly links to the group block, providing easier and more accurate hotel and rate information for attendees/guests.
“The launch of Personalized Group Web Pages underscores our philosophy of putting even more choice and control into our customers’ hands by uniting around-the-clock online event planning with creative customization,” said Bob Brooks, vice president – eSales for Hilton Hotels Corporation. “With event planners juggling their business, social and family lives, the Hilton Family of Hotels e-Events makes it easier for them to take control of their event booking at their convenience.”
After event planners use the booking method of their choice to secure the event with guest rooms, they have the opportunity to set up their own Personalized Group Web Page by visiting hiltonfamily.com/GroupPage or they can provide their hotel representative with the information they would like to include on the Personalized Group Web Page and the page will be created for the event planner.
With unprecedented efficiency, e-Events enables planners to book meeting rooms and/or guest rooms for business, social events, family reunions, weddings and amateur sporting events 24/7 and receive immediate online confirmation of their booking. The online booking tools cater to groups requiring 25 rooms or less at more than 2,400 participating Hilton, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotels in North America.
A January 2007 study by PHoCusWright Group, which illustrates Hilton’s e-Events web page and alludes to Hilton Hotels as “An Industry Pioneer,” points out that “As the demographics of meeting professionals shift to younger, more technologically savvy individuals, there will be growing expectations for facilitated online interaction with suppliers to arrange and book group gatherings. These individuals are comfortable with self-service and are looking for 24/7 access and immediate results.”
How e-Events Works
Representing a first in the hotel industry, the Hilton Family of Hotels enables planners or organizers to book their next meeting or event online from start to finish, with no RFP and no waiting. Planners can book up to 25 guest rooms one year in advance, as well as meeting space, high speed Internet access, food and beverage, and audio/visual equipment online, 24/7. The planner receives instant confirmation of his or her event booking.
The company’s industry-leading technology, called OnQ, provides the infrastructure that links all Hilton Family hotels to a single-platform system, enabling planners to see availability across a wide variety of hotels.
Beginning in March 2007, the company’s small meetings service, called Hilton Direct (1-800-321-3232), began booking all sales calls made via phone on e-Events, underscoring the efficiency and functionality of the company’s online group bookings.
Event planners can earn Points & Miles® for qualifying events with the Hilton HHonors® Event Planner Program.
Guest List Manager (all-inclusive feature for event guest list management)
Offering an all-inclusive feature for guest list management, Guest List Manager enables planners to manage their room block, including instant, real-time online access 24/7 to their group reservation details and guest room info through their HHonors or Fast Reservations profile. Planners instantly can see who has booked guest rooms for their event, or they can reserve rooms on behalf of guests, and keep tabs on head counts. Online efficiency eliminates the need to call the hotel or wait for the hotel to upload rooming lists manually.
Related Link: Hilton Family: Personalized Group Web Page
Article location: http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/hilton_launches_personalized_web_pages_for_business_groups
Features of the Personalized Group Web Pages include:
- The ability for event planners to create their own Personalized Group Web Page online 24/7 at no cost for any event that includes guest rooms;
- Complete control placed in the hands of the event planner without depending on hotel input or involvement unless requested;
- A means for event planners to promote their events and display important event details for attendees/guests all in one place;
- The ability for event planners to select their own chosen color scheme, two photos, and event details such as maps and schedules;
- A booking mechanism that directly links to the group block, providing easier and more accurate hotel and rate information for attendees/guests.
“The launch of Personalized Group Web Pages underscores our philosophy of putting even more choice and control into our customers’ hands by uniting around-the-clock online event planning with creative customization,” said Bob Brooks, vice president – eSales for Hilton Hotels Corporation. “With event planners juggling their business, social and family lives, the Hilton Family of Hotels e-Events makes it easier for them to take control of their event booking at their convenience.”
After event planners use the booking method of their choice to secure the event with guest rooms, they have the opportunity to set up their own Personalized Group Web Page by visiting hiltonfamily.com/GroupPage or they can provide their hotel representative with the information they would like to include on the Personalized Group Web Page and the page will be created for the event planner.
With unprecedented efficiency, e-Events enables planners to book meeting rooms and/or guest rooms for business, social events, family reunions, weddings and amateur sporting events 24/7 and receive immediate online confirmation of their booking. The online booking tools cater to groups requiring 25 rooms or less at more than 2,400 participating Hilton, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotels in North America.
A January 2007 study by PHoCusWright Group, which illustrates Hilton’s e-Events web page and alludes to Hilton Hotels as “An Industry Pioneer,” points out that “As the demographics of meeting professionals shift to younger, more technologically savvy individuals, there will be growing expectations for facilitated online interaction with suppliers to arrange and book group gatherings. These individuals are comfortable with self-service and are looking for 24/7 access and immediate results.”
How e-Events Works
Representing a first in the hotel industry, the Hilton Family of Hotels enables planners or organizers to book their next meeting or event online from start to finish, with no RFP and no waiting. Planners can book up to 25 guest rooms one year in advance, as well as meeting space, high speed Internet access, food and beverage, and audio/visual equipment online, 24/7. The planner receives instant confirmation of his or her event booking.
The company’s industry-leading technology, called OnQ, provides the infrastructure that links all Hilton Family hotels to a single-platform system, enabling planners to see availability across a wide variety of hotels.
Beginning in March 2007, the company’s small meetings service, called Hilton Direct (1-800-321-3232), began booking all sales calls made via phone on e-Events, underscoring the efficiency and functionality of the company’s online group bookings.
Event planners can earn Points & Miles® for qualifying events with the Hilton HHonors® Event Planner Program.
Guest List Manager (all-inclusive feature for event guest list management)
Offering an all-inclusive feature for guest list management, Guest List Manager enables planners to manage their room block, including instant, real-time online access 24/7 to their group reservation details and guest room info through their HHonors or Fast Reservations profile. Planners instantly can see who has booked guest rooms for their event, or they can reserve rooms on behalf of guests, and keep tabs on head counts. Online efficiency eliminates the need to call the hotel or wait for the hotel to upload rooming lists manually.
Related Link: Hilton Family: Personalized Group Web Page
Article location: http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/hilton_launches_personalized_web_pages_for_business_groups
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Web 2.0 Damage Control
By Jeff Schmitt
We've all survived bad customer service. An unhappy customer will tell eight or more people about a bad experience, and three-quarters will never buy from you again. Of course, only one in 10 unhappy customers will ever tell you about their experience.
Word of mouth can sink your business faster than you can counter. Still, many marketers sit back and watch the complaints roll in, believing they would tip them off to improper behaviors and emerging trends.
Today, there are few barriers to individuals sharing their thoughts with a large audiences. These opinions can be easily publicized across the Web, without being filtered for truth or merit. Everyone has a voice and an outlet. Exposure equals credibility.
This shift has tremendous ramifications for businesses. Imagine a prospective business partner or employee Googling your company. Do you know everything they will find on the first page of a search engine? Will they sift through your Web site pages and carefully orchestrated publicity? Or will they find an anonymous, brutally critical posting on a message board?
The Internet has forever changed publicity. It is no longer the volume of complaints bubbling below the surface that can derail your brand reputation. It only takes one disgruntled person with Internet savvy and writing ability. Any self-styled activist or emotional hypochondriac now has a means and a weapon.
It is an asymmetrical threat, the Web 2.0 equivalent of bad word of mouth, gossip and slander, often rolled into one. Depending on your search optimization, personal grievances can have equal footing with your publicity machine. It is a PR nightmare you cannot anticipate.
Think about these threats:
Watchdog sites: With any complaint, your goals are to soothe the customer, keep the business and encourage privacy. With sites like ripoffreport.com, the latter is near impossible. Here, any dirty laundry—a rude employee, an unsatisfactory resolution, a failure to live up to expectations—is there for the world to read, regardless of validity.
Online communities: These networks sprout up on what seems like a daily basis. While they foster bonds between people with similar experiences and interests, they can also reinforce prejudices and spread fabrications. Blog postings offer similar drawbacks.
Custom Web sites: Imagine having a site devoted specifically to trashing your organization. Look no further than wakeupwalmart.com. Imagine you are a sports executive and have a site publicizing every blunder you make. Ask Jerry Angelo of the Chicago Bears (who has the added ignominy of firejerry.com shirts and mugs selling on the net). From an outraged fan to a well-funded union, people can leverage Web sites to distribute their message and mobilize like-minded people.
YouTube: Want to become an Internet sensation? Have a staff member captured on camera or tape doing something embarrassing. See it get posted on YouTube. Have it jump mainstream to the late night talk shows. Watch it spread virally via e-mail. Have it picked up in the old guard press as a symbol of larger abuses. Can't happen? Ask AOL about the service agent who put a 20-minute full court press on a customer attempting to cancel his service.
Even worse, it isn't always outsiders who pose the biggest threat. Look at your own employees and partners. Today, sensitive documents can easily be scanned, downloaded and spread with a mouse click. And your employees often have rich lives outside the office. Do they mention you on their MySpace or Facebook profiles? Are you the subject of any of their blog rants?
What can you do? Very little. These revolutionary trends can't be reined in. However, there are some steps to anticipating and mitigating the damage:
Audit: Learn what people are saying about you. Use it as a learning tool, to help you better understand your customers and pinpoint your weaknesses. Audit the web regularly, as new sites, communities and postings can pop up every day.
Counsel: Review your privacy policies with legal. Make sure your employees understand your expectations. Of course, don't stray into heavy-handedness; you'll quickly become the subject of parodies or hard feelings that could discredit you beyond the corporate walls.
Awareness: You know that any jaded customer or employee can expose your embarrassing moments to the world. How do you react? Do you withdraw or become guarded? Or, do you fully commit to being honorable with everyone? Similarly, examine your operations. How do you resolve conflicts? How well do you follow up? How well do you consistently deliver your brand experience?
Be proactive: Escalate all issues. Review them. Follow up. It is no longer just about looking for trends, but being prepared. It is about anticipating any potential embarrassment and having a media-based disaster recovery plan.
Jeff Schmitt is a consultant from Dubuque. His e-mail is jschmittdbq@mchsi.com.
We've all survived bad customer service. An unhappy customer will tell eight or more people about a bad experience, and three-quarters will never buy from you again. Of course, only one in 10 unhappy customers will ever tell you about their experience.
Word of mouth can sink your business faster than you can counter. Still, many marketers sit back and watch the complaints roll in, believing they would tip them off to improper behaviors and emerging trends.
Today, there are few barriers to individuals sharing their thoughts with a large audiences. These opinions can be easily publicized across the Web, without being filtered for truth or merit. Everyone has a voice and an outlet. Exposure equals credibility.
This shift has tremendous ramifications for businesses. Imagine a prospective business partner or employee Googling your company. Do you know everything they will find on the first page of a search engine? Will they sift through your Web site pages and carefully orchestrated publicity? Or will they find an anonymous, brutally critical posting on a message board?
The Internet has forever changed publicity. It is no longer the volume of complaints bubbling below the surface that can derail your brand reputation. It only takes one disgruntled person with Internet savvy and writing ability. Any self-styled activist or emotional hypochondriac now has a means and a weapon.
It is an asymmetrical threat, the Web 2.0 equivalent of bad word of mouth, gossip and slander, often rolled into one. Depending on your search optimization, personal grievances can have equal footing with your publicity machine. It is a PR nightmare you cannot anticipate.
Think about these threats:
Watchdog sites: With any complaint, your goals are to soothe the customer, keep the business and encourage privacy. With sites like ripoffreport.com, the latter is near impossible. Here, any dirty laundry—a rude employee, an unsatisfactory resolution, a failure to live up to expectations—is there for the world to read, regardless of validity.
Online communities: These networks sprout up on what seems like a daily basis. While they foster bonds between people with similar experiences and interests, they can also reinforce prejudices and spread fabrications. Blog postings offer similar drawbacks.
Custom Web sites: Imagine having a site devoted specifically to trashing your organization. Look no further than wakeupwalmart.com. Imagine you are a sports executive and have a site publicizing every blunder you make. Ask Jerry Angelo of the Chicago Bears (who has the added ignominy of firejerry.com shirts and mugs selling on the net). From an outraged fan to a well-funded union, people can leverage Web sites to distribute their message and mobilize like-minded people.
YouTube: Want to become an Internet sensation? Have a staff member captured on camera or tape doing something embarrassing. See it get posted on YouTube. Have it jump mainstream to the late night talk shows. Watch it spread virally via e-mail. Have it picked up in the old guard press as a symbol of larger abuses. Can't happen? Ask AOL about the service agent who put a 20-minute full court press on a customer attempting to cancel his service.
Even worse, it isn't always outsiders who pose the biggest threat. Look at your own employees and partners. Today, sensitive documents can easily be scanned, downloaded and spread with a mouse click. And your employees often have rich lives outside the office. Do they mention you on their MySpace or Facebook profiles? Are you the subject of any of their blog rants?
What can you do? Very little. These revolutionary trends can't be reined in. However, there are some steps to anticipating and mitigating the damage:
Audit: Learn what people are saying about you. Use it as a learning tool, to help you better understand your customers and pinpoint your weaknesses. Audit the web regularly, as new sites, communities and postings can pop up every day.
Counsel: Review your privacy policies with legal. Make sure your employees understand your expectations. Of course, don't stray into heavy-handedness; you'll quickly become the subject of parodies or hard feelings that could discredit you beyond the corporate walls.
Awareness: You know that any jaded customer or employee can expose your embarrassing moments to the world. How do you react? Do you withdraw or become guarded? Or, do you fully commit to being honorable with everyone? Similarly, examine your operations. How do you resolve conflicts? How well do you follow up? How well do you consistently deliver your brand experience?
Be proactive: Escalate all issues. Review them. Follow up. It is no longer just about looking for trends, but being prepared. It is about anticipating any potential embarrassment and having a media-based disaster recovery plan.
Jeff Schmitt is a consultant from Dubuque. His e-mail is jschmittdbq@mchsi.com.
Monday, March 03, 2008
How To Be A Good Hotelier...
An Hotelier must be a diplomat, a democrat, an autocrat, an acrobat, and a doormat.
S/He must have the facility to entertain Prime Ministers, princes of industry, pickpockets, gamblers, bookmakers, pirates, philanthropists, popsies and prudes.
S/He must be on both sides of the political fence, and be able to jump that fence.
S/He should be, or have been, a footballer, golfer, bowler, tennis player, cricketer, darts player, sailor, pigeon fancier, motor racer and linguist, as well as have a good knowledge of any other sport involving dice, cards, horse racing and billiards.
This is most useful, as s/he has sometimes to settle arguments and squabbles. He must, therefore, be a qualified boxer, wrestler, weight-lifter, sprinter and peacemaker.
S/He must always look immaculate, when drinking with the ladies and gentlemen mentioned in the second paragraph, as well as bankers, swankers, theatricals, commercial travellers and company representatives - even though he has just made peace between any of the two, four, six or more of the aforementioned patrons.
To be successful, an hotelier must keep the bar full, the house full, the store rooms full, the wine cellar full, the customers full, and not get full himself.
S/He must have staff who are clean, honest, quick workers, quick thinkers, non-drinkers, mathematicians, technicians, and at all times on the boss's side, the customer's side, and stay on the outside of the bar.
To sum up: The hotelier must be outside, inside, offside, glorified, sanctified, crucified, stupefied, cross-eyed - and if s/he is not the strong, silent type, there is always suicide.
Published with permission of : Chateaux & Hotels de Charme www.ila-chateau.com
Article courtesy of Henry Togna
Owner of hotel “22 Jermyn Street” - St James's - London.
S/He must have the facility to entertain Prime Ministers, princes of industry, pickpockets, gamblers, bookmakers, pirates, philanthropists, popsies and prudes.
S/He must be on both sides of the political fence, and be able to jump that fence.
S/He should be, or have been, a footballer, golfer, bowler, tennis player, cricketer, darts player, sailor, pigeon fancier, motor racer and linguist, as well as have a good knowledge of any other sport involving dice, cards, horse racing and billiards.
This is most useful, as s/he has sometimes to settle arguments and squabbles. He must, therefore, be a qualified boxer, wrestler, weight-lifter, sprinter and peacemaker.
S/He must always look immaculate, when drinking with the ladies and gentlemen mentioned in the second paragraph, as well as bankers, swankers, theatricals, commercial travellers and company representatives - even though he has just made peace between any of the two, four, six or more of the aforementioned patrons.
To be successful, an hotelier must keep the bar full, the house full, the store rooms full, the wine cellar full, the customers full, and not get full himself.
S/He must have staff who are clean, honest, quick workers, quick thinkers, non-drinkers, mathematicians, technicians, and at all times on the boss's side, the customer's side, and stay on the outside of the bar.
To sum up: The hotelier must be outside, inside, offside, glorified, sanctified, crucified, stupefied, cross-eyed - and if s/he is not the strong, silent type, there is always suicide.
Published with permission of : Chateaux & Hotels de Charme www.ila-chateau.com
Article courtesy of Henry Togna
Owner of hotel “22 Jermyn Street” - St James's - London.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)