Siegel Sez: Not Your Father’s Power Socket
September 3rd, 2021
The Most Important Hotel “Salesperson” Right Now Is Working Behind Your Front Desk
Doug Kennedy | July 22nd, 2020
Does Your Hotel Have a Policy on Piercings?
Larry Mogelonsky | April 11, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Just over a year ago on Hotel-Online, I wrote about the need to put in definite terms what your hotel would tolerate for visible tattoos as well as how this policy might vary for back-of-house versus front-of-house. It's an important topic because tattoos are on the rise amongst the younger demographics, and yet a guest from a more traditional upbringing may be turned off by such ink. If you don't have the proper documentation and signed agreements from everyone at the associate level, you risk irritating customers or running into problems surrounding discriminatory hiring practices...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 194: Hotel History: John McEntee Bowman (1875-1931)
Stanley Turkel | April 11, 2018
Hotel History: John McEntee Bowman Part 2 During his lifetime career as a hotel developer and operator, John Bowman was a horse lover and a thoroughbred racing enthusiast. He was president of the United Hunts Racing Association and the National Horse Show. For a time, he served as the president of the Havana-American Jockey Club that operated the Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianas, Cuba. In addition to the six Biltmore Hotels which I described in Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 193, here are the descriptions of ten more Biltmore hotels. Flintridge Biltmore Hotel- located in La Canada Flintridge atop the San Rafael Hills in Californi...
Want To Hear What Your Reservations Agents Are Saying Right Now To Callers?
Kennedy Training Network | April 5, 2018
For a limited time, Kennedy Training Network (KTN) is offering a complimentary round of reservations mystery shopping reports for all new prospective clients. KTN's team will produce 4 complimentary reports, scored according to its baseline reservations sales call criteria and targeting different agents. Each mystery shopping report will be sent via email, including a link to a scored checklist, plus commentary and sales coaching tips from a KTN Reservations Coach. Best of all, reports include a link to the audio recording of the actual conversation, so you can listen to what callers are hearing your agents say. Shop calls will begin sh...
Should You Start Putting Rooms On Airbnb?
Larry Mogelonsky | April 4, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) One of the hallmarks of the early 21st century that we are currently will be the gradual shift away from a traditional, corporate-based model of capitalism to a crowd-based one. We're seeing this with the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and we're seeing this in the travel industry with global, billion-dollar entities like Airbnb. While legislation will help to level the playing field so hotels have a fighting chance, it will be impossible to reverse this overarching trend. And so, as the question in the title of this article implies, you cannot wait for policymakers in your te...
Hotel Supply in France: Nothing Begets Nothing
Georges Panayotis | April 4, 2018
By Georges Panayotis Without a doubt the machine is jammed. The French hotel supply has been stable for nearly 15 years. Meanwhile, all other major and competing destinations have largely developed their supplies in the face of globalization and the liberalization of trade and travel. This is true in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom... It is time to check out and service the engine driving France's supply before it breaks down for good. For the moment there is a fuel shortage, but care must be taken because the malfunction is getting worse. While depending on the method – including listed hotels or not, those closed for works, i...
Building Your F&B Reputation Through Events
Larry Mogelonsky | March 28, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Good food can help put heads in beds, but few hoteliers fully grasp how this symbiotic relationship works. For today's case, events that showcase on-property chefs are not on every manager's calendar, most likely because they typically deliver an expense line well above operating revenues. However, they provide significant value in several indirect ways. First, events like this allow a hotel to demonstrate unbridled culinary excellence. Next, they allow your chefs to demonstrate creativity. Thirdly, they afford your public relations team with great fodder for continued media interes...
Make the Hotel the Most Beautiful Place on Earth…Opportunities to Seize!
Georges Panayotis | March 27, 2018
By Georges Panayotis Tell me what you love, I'll tell you who you are. This old adage is even truer today since many customers are developing statutory consumption including for travel. In order to attract and develop the loyalty of these clients, today it is all the more necessary to tell a story, make them dream, make them want to stay at your hotel... what could be more logical for a major group than to rely on its brands and reputation. Seems obvious, doesn't it? And yet, we question ourselves; we even sometimes worry when we see the direction some are headed in as they leave behind their brands' values to die after decades of reno...
Paving the Way to the Future: Round up of the Award-Winning Hotel & Travel Tech Startups to Watch
Alan E. Young | March 21, 2018
By Alan E. Young Today's world is constantly changing, and the travel and hotel industry is facing many technological challenges and intense competition. When competition is at such a fever pace, innovation is everything. Across various platforms and specialties, we are seeing the enthusiastic embrace of ambitious thought leaders, entrepreneurs and start-ups who are fearlessly carving out their vision of the future. In the past, there were yearly events that enabled travel and hotel technology providers to showcase their current solutions to prospective buyers. Now, due to the rapid change of technology and its impact on the industry, a...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 193: Hotel History: John McEntee Bowman*(1875-1931)
Stanley Turkel | March 21, 2018
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: John McEntee Bowman John McEntee Bowman, president of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotel Corporation, had no easy boyhood. Born in 1875 in Toronto to Irish-Scottish immigrants, Bowman came to New York in 1892 when he was seventeen years old with the traditional lack of funds. He carried a letter of introduction to the manager of the old Manhattan Hotel at Madison Avenue and Forty-second Street. After waiting hours for an interview, he left without seeing the manager. He subsequently mailed the letter, asking for an appointment but received no reply and no returned letter. He got his first experience in the ...
Ten Steps to Revitalizing Your Coffee Experience
Larry Mogelonsky | March 21, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) We all love caffeine and coffee happens to be among the most components in your F&B arsenal. Let's start by recapping what should you already know or have gone through with your team prior to starting to think about this ten-step process. Firstly, you've reviewed your brew and you're convinced it is a contender to of note to guests as well as locals. Next, you've done your best to include a great decaf companion. And lastly, you're offering, at a minimum, espresso, cappuccino and lattes to flesh out your menu beyond mere percolated beans. Now, how do you lever this into creating...
In Europe, We Made A “Bang” but It Wasn’t “Big”
Georges Panayotis | March 20, 2018
By Georges Panayotis The sharing economy is a generous concept, but it is one with which Latin societies are not very familiar. Latin populations are rather attached to their properties, and have a difficult time sharing them with others. The company Gobee Bike which drew from the French market in a blatant illustration of the lack of respect in France (where the population is more accustomed to associative operations) for things that do not belong to them. Uber entered full throttle, suffered violent setbacks from the taxi corporation in France, and is suffering in Greece. The outcry is also heard from its drivers. Meanwhile, the compa...
A Story of How Handwritten Notes Increase Service
Larry Mogelonsky | March 14, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) On a recent domestic flight, I was surprised by a folded paper napkin handed to me by the flight attendant. Odd, I thought, as I had not made any requests. Handwritten was a simple instruction providing details regarding my connecting flight. Legibly signed, I could not help but be both appreciative and duly impressed. Handwritten notes are an excellent way to build a rapport with guests – this we should all be well-familiar with by now. But they can also be counterproductive if done wrong. Looking back, there was nothing out of the ordinary on that flight. As expected, the bu...
French Hotels & Restaurants: Fruit Bearing Trees Must Be Tended To!
Georges Panayotis | March 13, 2018
By Georges Panayotis Will we play the third wheel on the wagon forever? Why is it that all politicians rush to the agriculture fair while only a few of them make the trip to events organised by the tourism and hotel industry? Agriculture represented 714,000 jobs in 2014 compared to 899,000 jobs for hotels and restaurants. France's granary brings in 32.1 billion euros per year, or 1.5% of the GDP, compared to 7.2% for tourism, which brings in 160 billion euros of domestic consumption. The agriculture sector - which is essential to the health of our economy and to our health in general - has been subsidized since the birth of the com...
Bridge as a Niche Opportunity for Hotels
Larry Mogelonsky | March 7, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Anyone who's met me knows how crazy I am for the game of duplicate bridge. Our local club is honored to have Isadore Sharp of Four Seasons fame as one of our midweek, afternoon regulars. For those unfamiliar with the game, duplicate bridge involves multiple teams of two (or four) taking a crack at the same series of card deals, the winners being those who do the most with what they're dealt. Importantly, I'm far from the only avid player. In fact, the game's popularity is growing at a considerate rate, so much so that many clubs are now looking for new facilities to host their e...
How Much Does It Cost To Generate A Voice Reservations Inquiry? How Much Are You Investing In Properly Following-Up?
Doug Kennedy | March 5, 2018
By Doug Kennedy Despite that there is more information for guests to view online than ever before in the history of the lodging industry, the phones continue to ring in reservations offices and at the front desk. Simultaneously, hoteliers continue to increase direct bookings. Hardly a day goes by that I don't see another article on this topic, yet when I click on them the discussion is almost always on website bookings; rarely do I see a mention of voice as a distribution channel. If you are truly committed to increasing direct voice bookings, read on. A first step that I always do with my consulting clients and also with participants i...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 192; Hotel History: The Negro Motorist Green Book
Stanley Turkel | February 28, 2018
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: The Negro Motorist Green Book This series of AAA- like guides for black travelers was published by Victor H. Green from 1936 through 1966. It listed hotels, motels, service stations, boarding houses, restaurants, beauty and barber shops. Widely used when African American travelers faced a swamp of Jim Crow laws and racists attitudes which made travel difficult and sometimes dangerous. The cover of the 1949 edition advised the black traveler, "Carry the Green Book with you. You may need it." And under that instruction was a quote from Mark Twain which is heartbreaking in this context: "Travel is fat...
The Importance of Bottle Design in Selling Wine
Larry Mogelonsky | February 28, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) A riff on the classical adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," let's first examine this more common expression a bit closer to see how it applies to wine, spirits and the pursuit of restaurant profits. We are told not to base our opinions or conclusions about objects and individuals solely on their outward appearance because there is often far more happening beneath the surface worthy of our consideration, if you were only to give said object or person a chance. It's a valuable piece of advice, hence why it sticks. But its popularity, aside from its terse and catchy qualities, ca...
TRACK/ResortsandLodges.com and Doug Kennedy Announce Upcoming Webinar for March 13
ResortsandLodges.com | February 27, 2018
Cottage Grove, Minn.- As part of its ongoing commitment to education and training, TRACK Hospitality Software and ResortsandLodges.com are pleased to announce their next sponsored quarterly webinar with Doug Kennedy, the lodging industry's most experienced sales and guest service trainer. The webinar "Tracking And Following Up On Voice Inquiries Is Key To Increasing Direct Voice Reservations Booking" will take place at 11:00 am CST on March 13th, 2018. To register click here. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for managers at hotels, resorts and vacation rental companies to learn how they should be tracking voice inquiries and als...
Thinking Broadly About Fire Safety
Larry Mogelonsky | February 21, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) This past year saw two heartbreaking and widespread fires in California. While my first thoughts go out to all those who lost loved ones and those were left homeless, I cannot help but also think about those hotel properties evacuated or damaged by the flames. Not being a member of the fire marshal's office, I can only imagine the full extent of structural damage to any of the properties affected. As a hotel general manager, no doubt a property fire would be among your worst nightmares. In your position, you have a dual responsibility. First is to mitigate any risk of fire. Second i...
Unlearning to Learn Also Means Inventing
Georges Panayotis | February 20, 2018
By Georges Panayotis Since the industrial revolution, many fundamental innovations have transformed the working world and led to the strong development of the societies in which they were born. The model of Fordism, based on a virtuous cycle of improved mass production, resulting in markedly improved results and therefore better remuneration for employees, was the first step towards drastic changes in the working world. The quality circles introduced in Japan in the 1960s by Kaoru Ishikawa, and which arrived in Europe in the 1980s, have allowed the Land of the Rising Sun, through mastery of manufacturing and strict quality control, to ...
Get Your Hotel Operations Team Onboard The Tricycle of Guest Service
Doug Kennedy | February 14, 2018
By Doug Kennedy As hospitality industry trainers know, using symbols and models can help trainees grasp abstract concepts and make seemingly-complex paradigms easy to understand. Seems like is a good time for the hotel industry to update its model, so let's get your team onboard The Tricycle of Guest Service. When you think about it, a tricycle is the perfect model for a positive guest experience. For one, it has three wheels, just like the three components of a memorable guest stay. The back wheels represent Technology and Systems Efficiency and a quality Physical "Product," while the front wheel stands for Hospitality and Guest Servic...
How Amazon Go ‘No Checkout’ Stores Will Influence the Future of the Hospitality & Travel Industry
Alan E. Young | February 14, 2018
By Alan E. Young Our world is endlessly transformative, with a wealth of technological innovations and advances coming to life and capturing large-scale societal attention on what feels like a weekly basis. Self-driving cars, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence — the future seems to be arriving faster than some of us have a chance to take a breath. At the heart of most revolutionary technology exists the progressive desire for increased convenience and efficiency as it applies to our day-to-day lives, businesses and more. Staying true to this trend, Amazon Go recently opened a grocery store like we've never experienced (but pr...
What Winesday Teaches Us About Restaurant Marketing
Larry Mogelonsky | February 14, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) One clever practice used in restaurants to drum up sales during the midweek druthers is to devote a given day of the week or period of each day (otherwise known as 'happy hour') to a special promotion, either in the form of unique offerings or unbeatable deals. While this a good start for boosting those slow midweek cycles, numerous other eateries already have these types of programs fully set up with established marketing engines. And when everyone else is running something like this, how will you stand out by directly imitating your competitors? You can't, not unless you change th...
Rights Need a Helping Hand
Georges Panayotis | February 13, 2018
By Georges Panayotis More than 400 years ago Molière said: it is not always enough to be on the right side; sometimes a little extra help is needed, a little nudge that makes it possible to go further and succeed. The tourism industry reports an impressive bill of health with 20 years of steady growth that can be expected to continue for years to come. Just over 60 years ago, 50 million travelers journeyed the world around. Today, there are more than 1.3 billion. The tourism sector represents 5% annual growth on average, 1 in 10 jobs worldwide and 8 to 15% of the GDP of developed countries. In France in 2016, the sector accounted...
