Sometimes, You Need to Ask

Tripadvisor is fast becoming a trusted source for research as well as on-line booking. So, why wouldn't you hand out a card to every guest with the URL leading them to review your hotel? Maybe even give them a card at check-in so they can post during their stay. Seems like a better use of time than a long comment card to fill-out. Just a thought.

Oh, the more reviews you receive, the higher you rank on search engines.

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The Power of A Voice

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Lately, I've been looking at a lot of hotel websites, some good...and some, not so good. I've also called many of the same hotels. Interestingly, no matter what I experienced while looking at the website, it was almost immediately replaced by what I felt when talking with the operator, reservations agent, etc.

We all focus a lot on our on-line presence...because we're told it's really important. And, it is...often the difference between getting the call or not. But, don't let that overshadow something far more critical to the sale...your voice. Be sure to spend  at least an equal amount of time on that part of the experience too.

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The Shift...It's Happening

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Technology is changing the world...we all know that. What you may not know is how quickly it's changing, and how important this is to you...and to hospitality.

Watch this video (courtesy of glumbert.com). It crystallizes the velocity of the change going on around us...the shift. You can't stop it. You probably can't alter it or slow it down. But, you can take advantage of it. This shift toward greater efficiency, greater knowledge, lower cost of production, a global economy, more outsourcing, etc., creates a grand opportunity for those with a different skill set...the ability to build relationships, communicate well, care for others, create meaningful experiences and to provide engaging service. For most of us, technical skills will take a back seat to relating to, understanding and dealing with people.

Since you aren't likely to do it any faster or cheaper (just check out the statistics on China and India), going forward, your best chance to be extraordinary will likely be in the non-technical fields, including hospitality. So, will there be a flood of talent into our industry? How will we train people who used to build computers and cars to be hosts and tour guides? We're going to explore this more on tomorrow's indieHotelier show at 11 AM EDT (US). Visit Talkshoe to listen or join-in. It should be interesting and fun.


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How Much Will We Pay For Health?

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Horizon

100%...that's how much more you'll pay for this organic milk in our local market. And, at least half of the time there's a sign on the cooler door warning that supplies can't keep up with demand.

Personal health and environmental sustainability are the two hottest trends right now...people want to feel good about themselves. And, people will pay more for what they want. Of course, you should embrace these agendas and make the most of them. Tony Longhurst and I discussed some of the "players" in the most recent episode of indieHotelier.

But, the real value and the way to create distance between your efforts and everyone else is to tell a story. Create a profile of the passionate employee who spearheads the recycling program, develop a blog for your company that highlights your actions, introduce the local organic farmer to your guests, give them space on your website, create a video of a mass light bulb change-out to lower wattage bulbs, promote your certifications (Like LEED) on the front page of your website. And, if you don't have any certifications...get some. This will soon be a standard...kind of like free WiFi.

People want to hear these stories more than anything right now. So, give them a chance to spread the word about you. Give them something interesting, something they want to sell to their neighbor or colleague.

Oh, and if you need some help, e-mail Tony.      

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Friendship

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Friendship is extremely important in hospitality...in fact, it's the heart and soul. If we treated all of our guests, owners and staff as well as we did our closest friends, I suggest things could be better and easier for everyone. The speed bumps in our business grind would get much smaller.

Last month, I made a lot of friends at the Inn at Lost Creek...a splendid little hotel in Telluride, Colorado. A small collection of them are pictured above (clockwise...Karito, me, Pati, Lore and Cali, up-front). There are others, like the Majors family, the Yasura's and Lord and Lady Hamer...all wonderful guests. While we went through our daily journey, we learned from each other, discovered new ways of doing things and somehow survived what sometimes seemed like an insurmountable objective...to get to the end of season. My hat's off to the entire team...good job. And, to the many friends I made along the way...thank you.

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Bring a Box of Chocolates

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Picked this one from Tom Peters as he writes about his recent experience in Holland and meeting Swedish management guru Jan Gunnarsson.

"Jan performed a wonderful little riff on stage about the person in charge walking into a meeting:

The "boss" brings a PowerPoint presentation.
The "leader" brings a polished Vision Statement.
The "host" brings a box of chocolates. (Hey, we were in Holland.)"

Leadership is not at all about being in charge or demonstrating how much you know. It's just the opposite...believing in and relying upon the ability of those around you.

Talking With People vs. At Them

Just read this excellent synopsis about blogs and what they mean to you and your company. The point is that blogs are an inexpensive way for you to start and hold conversations with people...to add a human element to your organization. That's a lot different than the old fashioned approach of spending tons of money to shout at people, and not really caring about  what they think.

Recruiting The Best

When you consider the importance of recruiting the best and brightest people into your company (your life depends on it), why is it we often treat the prospects like applicants, instead of possible partners? Remember the hoops you jumped through to win the heart of your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend? Remember the passion, the creativity that went into getting that person's attention? I submit that if we tried just half as much to show  job candidates how much we care, we might stand a chance to snag the best one.

Here's a great example of a very meaningful recruiting strategy (thanks Seth for the pointer). 

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One Manager Exercise

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Do you run your place, your hotel, your store, your company with one manager? If not, could you? If you don't think so, list all the reasons why and start chipping away at those obstacles...immediately. Some that come to mind...

  • Reporting
  • Legal
  • Financial- salaried people reduce hourly rate of pay (they work tons of hours)
  • Skills
  • Oversight- Measuring the performance of others
  • Scheduling
  • Management
  • Guest Satisfaction

You may never get to the one manager state, but you will improve your organization if you scrutinize your status quo...guaranteed.

Of course, the other way to look at this...run your place with only managers (or, those with the skills to fit into that category as you currently have it defined). Who could be promoted today, tomorrow, in a week or month?

The Rush

I've spent the last month assisting the F&B staff of Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride, Colorado. With few exceptions, they performed admirably, giving guests a memorable experience. Occasionally, we would incur the "rush" when it seemed like everyone in town decided to dine with us at once.  During these onslaughts, I noticed something interesting. Food took longer to get to the table, it took people longer to get seated, and it took longer to get the bill. But, that's not what mattered most. What mattered was the absence of conversation...the little bit of extra time and attention we normally provided when we had the right amount of staff, less guests to serve, or both.

The heart and soul of hospitality is conversation, attention and caring. That needs to be preserved at all costs, especially when it's really busy...when people expect it the least.

Getting Big

Many companies, from start-up's to mid-size to already large, have "growth" as a primary objective. They spend a lot of time mapping out strategy on how to get from one store to fifty, from one region to twenty and so on. Hotel companies are no exception. I clearly recall my days at the infant Doubletree, then later at Omni when almost everything was centered on this idea...getting big. In hindsight, this is rarely a good strategy. Below is an excerpt from the now well publicized memo from Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz...

"Over the past ten years, in order to achieve the growth, development, and scale necessary to go from less than 1,000 stores to 13,000 stores and beyond, we have had to make a series of decisions that, in retrospect, have lead to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand. Many of these decisions were probably right at the time, and on their own merit would not have created the dilution of the experience; but in this case, the sum is much greater and, unfortunately, much more damaging than the individual pieces."

A better approach is to focus on continuous improvement and building relationships with your guests. If you do that well, the big will follow. Then, you'll have a new problem, i.e., Starbucks....how to stay small, at least in the eyes of your customers and employees. A key part of success is figuring out how to manage it. Growth strategies and the development of efficient systems and procedures may seem important. But, the real issue and the one that should get most of the attention is how to retain the guest experience that created the growth in the first place.  Those are the SOP's that matter most.