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Hospitality Financial Leadership – Welcoming Imperfection
David Lund | May 17, 2017
By David Lund To maximize your effectiveness with your leadership team around the money you would be well advised to accept the fact that it's an endless exercise. We must see that the idea of mastering the numbers is elusive. This imperfect reality is comforting and seeing the challenge we have as just another endless mountain to climb is very healthy. It's critical to always remember when we do a budget or forecast for our hotel or our department that the only thing we know for certain is it's wrong. Yes, wrong, it will never be right. Why then do we go through such an exercise if we know it's wrong? The answer is obvious; we ...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 178: Hotel History: Pinehurst Resort and Spa (1895); Pinehurst, North Carolina (428 rooms)
Stanley Turkel | May 15, 2017
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS The history of Pinehurst began in 1895, when Bostonian James Walker Tufts, wealthy owner of the American Soda Fountain Company, purchased 5,800 acres of ravaged timberland in the sand- hills of central North Carolina. This land once held a flourishing pine forest that had been cut and deforested for its turpentine and building supplies. Tufts originally developed Pinehurst as a health resort for patients recovering from tuberculosis. After much of the construction had been completed, Tufts learned that tuberculosis was contagious and was forced to turn his new community into a leisure resort instead. Tufts hired ...
Any Monkey Could
David Lund | May 12, 2017
By David Lund A very colorful GM that I worked with many years ago, had a lot of slogans he would use to get his point across. One of my favorites is, "Any Monkey Could Fill This Place When The Phones Are Ringing!" He would say this to our director of sales quite often, not only to ridicule their efforts but to remind them that the business is there it's really about maximizing the opportunity and knowing that this telephone ringing condition will not last, it never does. So, what are we doing, and what's the plan to siege the day? This is the tale of any and every hotel. "The rising tide lifts all the boats." This quote was made famous...
A Tale of Two Hotel Experiences
Katie Scheer | May 11, 2017
By Katie Scheer In the last two months we had two very different hotel experiences in two different beach towns. The impressions that were left with us are so contrasting. I have now truly realized how my overall happiness, like many of today's travelers, is driven by the experience rather than the money I spend or save. There is much for every business to learn from this, which I will summarize after you first read the snapshots of our two hotel stays... #1- Less is Definitely Not More Construction blocked the easiest arrival to the porte cochere, but we found our way to the entrance where the valet attendants were attending to oth...
Last Click Attribution Is Killing Your Hotel Marketing Campaigns
Vikram Singh | May 9, 2017
By Vikram Singh Marketing success today can be measured using many diverse metrics. Analytics programs let you measure everything from who and where your website visitors come from to what content they are interested in. These engagement and conversion metrics can help you understand what is really working when it comes to your website and marketing efforts. Some hotels have an in-house digital marketing team, but most outsource their online campaigns to an agency. Either way, these teams are usually tasked with producing an ROI (return on investment) report for every dollar spent on channels like Google AdWords, Facebook, etc. There is...
The Secret to Giving Hotel Guests What They Want
May 8, 2017
By Jos Schaap, CEO, and Founder StayNTouch Gazing into a crystal ball to see the future has always been alluring. Imagine if a person could truly see the future. What an incredible impact this would have on our world. Hoteliers today are all trying to gaze into their own distinct crystal ball to better understand what guests want and how they can deliver on these guest needs and desires. In a recent Phocuswright Research Report titled, U.S Traveler Technology Survey Sixth Edition, travelers are looking for more engagement with the hotel property and those who run the hotel. When it comes to apps, 49% of travelers wanted to use their mob...
Guest Experience Management – Strategic “How to” Guide Helps Hoteliers Achieve Success
Smart Decision Guides | May 8, 2017
Starfleet Research, the leading provider of best practices research and recommendations for the hospitality industry, has released The 2017 Smart Decision Guide to Hotel Guest Experience Management. It is currently available for complimentary access. This 45-page Smart Decision Guide offers research findings, analyst insights and unbiased recommendations for enhancing the quality of the guest experience. It serves as a definitive resource for senior executives, general managers, IT directors and other decision makers charged with upgrading their Guest Experience Management (GEM) capabilities. It is not surprising that hoteliers are turn...
THE LONG READ: Redefining Luxury in Hospitality
May 4, 2017
by Suzanne Godfrey If you ask friends and colleagues who appreciate the finer things in life 'what defines a luxury hotel?', you'll likely get a range of responses from mod cons – with everything from a decent restaurant to a spa – to seamless, exceptional service and décor. All at a price justifying the offering and experience. In the classroom, when I polled my students, words such as 'elegance', 'glamorous', 'experience', 'personalized service', 'perfection', and 'amazing' came up. But so too did words like 'classic', 'tradition', 'super-modern' and 'design'. On a recent fact-finding trip to Paris I set out to disc...
Sky High Demand: The Surge in Skyscraper Hotels
Jll Real Views | May 3, 2017
By Neasa MacErlean Hotels are well versed in making their guests feel on top of the world but a growing number are now allowing them to wine, dine and sleep hundreds of meters above ground level as well. When the Wuhan Greenland Center takes its place as China's tallest building in 2018, a hotel will open in the top 35 floors of the 636 meter super-structure. Similarly, Seoul's just-finished Lotte World Tower, the world's fifth tallest building, includes 25 floors of hotel space in the top third of its 554 meters. Indeed, 18 of the world's tallest 50 super towers currently contain a hotel. But of the generation now in construction, half...
Tourism Tidbits: Religious Tourism
Dr. Peter Tarlow | May 2, 2017
by Peter Tarlow We only have to see photos of people praying in Mecca, visiting the Vatican, washing in the Ganges, or attending a religious festival at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to know that both religion and religious pilgrimages play a major role in tourism. Religious tourism even bleeds into the world of "secular faith" as proven by the millions of people each year who make a "pilgrimage" to places such as Washington, DC or treat their favorite football team almost as if it were a religious icon. People in the world of tourism should not be surprised by this phenomenon. Faith based visitations speak directly to the emotions and ...
What Makes the Better Hotel Investment? Luxury or Lifestyle?
May 1, 2017
by Stuart Pallister If you're looking to buy a hotel, what makes more sense as an investment? A high-end luxury hotel or a lifestyle, boutique establishment? We would all like to be rich enough to buy a trophy hotel in central London, Paris or Singapore. Imagine the kudos in being able to invite your friends round for dinner. But in reality, what presents the better value in terms of returns? "Lifestyle hotels, boutique hotels, when they started were very trendy, unique and quirky," says Ramsey Mankarious, founder and CEO of Cedar Capital Partners. Speaking recently at a panel discussion at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, he s...
The Paper Can’t Talk – “Give the Money the Proper Voice”
David Lund | May 1, 2017
By David Lund In the hotel business, we have three equal pillars. The guest, the colleague and the money. We need to realize that the 3rd pillar, the money, the owner, the P&L, the paperwork, whatever you want to call it, it needs a proper voice. The right voice, a voice that speaks to the leadership and the highest purpose that a corner stone of our business warrants. Far too often the voice of the money is scary stingy or down right mean. If the paper is going to have a voice we want to ensure it's the proper one. The voice that will get and give equity with all of our constituents. You're probably thinking that the director of fi...
Loyalty in Hospitality: Taking on the OTAs at Their Own Game
Scott Dahl | April 28, 2017
By Scott Dahl After years of complaining about online travel agencies (OTAs) and how they have inserted themselves in the relationship with their customers, most major hotel brands have identified loyalty programs as the tool to re-engage directly with their customers, but for many of the industry's owners and operators, their efforts so far fall short of the goal. While hiding discounted rates behind a password and requiring travelers to join a loyalty program to access them has clearly resulted in an increase in direct bookings, it has come with unwanted discounting and additional costs. Some savvy industry veterans point out that the...
Gastronomic Trends: Veganism – Gastronomic Movement or Lifestyle Choice?
April 27, 2017
Veganism has never been so big, and is one of the most famous current gastronomic trends of the moment. Understand more about this concept and why it may be both a gastronomic movement and lifestyle choice. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT VEGANISM? Veganism is a term now tossed about freely by adherents from various backgrounds and all ages, including teenagers and millennials.It may even be close to becoming a gastronomic movement, if one considers its origins. Although the term was coined in 1944, the concept of veganism has roots going back to both ancient Indian and early Eastern Mediterranean societies. Veganism is in general considered to be ...
Why Good Food is Increasingly on the Menu at Hotels
JLL Real Views | April 27, 2017
By Natasha Stokes Hotel restaurants are shedding their stuffy image, thanks to forward-thinking hoteliers who hope to attract food-savvy travelers with buzzy destination restaurants and casual lobby bars. Take the Mama Shelter boutique hotels. In stark contrast to the faceless hotel cafe of yore, the stylish restaurant and bar in its Paris outpost is a nightspot in its own right that earned accolades for its design, cocktails and simple menu well-executed. "In the last two decades, food tourism has been a major driver for travel – people go to experience local food and culture," says Jonathan Doughty, Head of JLL Foodservice Consu...
Flow Through – Understanding How it Works and How to Include Flow Thru in Your Financial Statements
David Lund | April 25, 2017
By David Lund Flow Thru, this is my abbreviation, is a catch all phrase that measures how much made it through your business comparing one period to another. What made it through, from revenues to profit. Another term to describe this measurement is retention. A good analogy to grasp the concept of flow thru is to compare it to your paycheck. Imaging I give you a $1000 a week raise. The question then is how much will end up on your pay vs. how much got eaten up by higher taxes and other deductions. The same goes for additional revenues in your business. If revenues are $50,000 higher this month than the same month last year, how much of...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 177: Hotel History: Cranwell Resort, Spa And Golf Club (1894)
Stanley Turkel | April 24, 2017
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club Lenox, Massachusetts As you stroll about the grounds of Cranwell Resort, you are walking through history. Over the years, Cranwell has served as a home to wealthy industrialists, clergy, writers, students, golfers, and culture lovers in Massachusetts. The centerpiece of the property, with its extraordinary views of the Berkshires, is the hilltop Tudor-style Mansion, which has dominated the countryside for more than a century. The history of Cranwell is entwined with many stories of the opulent period between 1880 and 1920 that is known as the Gilded Age. In 1853, the Reverend H...
Is It Time to Overhaul the Restaurant Star System?
April 20, 2017
By Stuart Pallister When leading chef Joël Robuchon came to EHL recently to receive an honorary professorship he touched on profitability and business pressures. "I think it's increasingly difficult to run a gourmet restaurant. Regarding profitability, you need a lot of personnel and a substantial upfront investment," he said. "They will always have their time and place, notably for special occasions, but I don't think it's what customers want right now, or will want in the future. This is why the Ateliers have done well." It was Robuchon's Atelier concept which 'dismantled' the notion that you could only get a three-star rating fo...
PressReader and Marriott International Partner to Redefine the Stay Experience
PressReader | April 19, 2017
PressReader is bringing more than 6,000 newspapers and magazines to every Marriott International and Marriott-owned hotel room in Europe. Guests can now download titles like The Guardian, Le Monde, Corriere della Serra, the Washington Post, Vogue, GQ and thousands more to their smartphones, tablets, or laptops without any subscription. They'll also receive extended access to the entire PressReader library for up to 48 hours after checking out. Simply visit the desktop platform or download the app using hotel Wifi to start reading. "We're reimagining how newspaper and magazine content is distributed to our guests. Through PressReader, we...
Does the Guest of the Future want High Tech or High Touch?
April 19, 2017
By 2030, multiple changes will occur and will influence the hospitality industry due to globalisation, one of them being a shift of market power. In the fourth thesis of the Lausanne Report, EHL - in cooperation with hospitality experts - discuss this trend that will disrupt the industry depending on the economic stages of a market and its geographical position. #4 THE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE The main challenge of hospitality managers of the future is to improve guest experience, which involves perceptions and emotions. Customers may react in many different ways and the experience must therefore be carefully thought of and created. In a h...
Do Your Hotel Financial Statements Pass The Test? Part 2
David Lund | April 17, 2017
By David Lund Do your hotel financial statements give you the information you need to effectively manage your hotel? Are you able to see if your profits are where they should be in an enhanced top line statement? Do your statements measure flow thru? Do you record your rooms business by proper segments and track the rooms occupied, rate and revenue in each segment? Do you record customers served in F&B and do you separate meal periods? Do you record liquor, beer, wine and mineral sales on your financials separately? Do you measure labor productivity in your financials? Do you record hours of work in your financials? Do you have payr...
A Hard Week in the World of Tourism
Dr. Peter Tarlow | April 17, 2017
by Dr. Peter Tarlow No matter what our political positions are or how we want to view these past few days, most people would agree that these have not been easy days for the tourism industry. From customer service problems to continual low-grade acts of terrorism in Europe, the tourism industry has felt the impact. Tourism is a composite industry and from the customer's perspective what occurs in what part of the industry may well impact other parts of the industry. People who work within tourism, however, often tend to see their section of the tourism industry as independent of other components within the industry. Thus, airline person...
In Search of Inspiration, Innovation and Transformation in the Hospitality Industry
April 13, 2017
by Katharine Le Quesne The good, the great and the – sometimes – downright innovative came together in Berlin this month to discuss the state of the hospitality industry and make their voices heard both on and off stage. On the face of it, it was "business as usual" and so the on-stage messages contained few surprises. But by and large it was in the panels and off-stage discussions on innovation that would have provided some inspiration for the next generation of hoteliers. The pace of structural change in our industry is accelerating, driven by new technologies, new owners and fresh thinking; and the opportunity to create n...
A Career in Luxury: Passion Required
April 11, 2017
by Grace Goni What's the secret of success in the luxury goods business? That's a key question many young marketing professionals in the sector are asking these days. In my view, you need passion if you're going to succeed. It's the only thing that will last. Passion is also linked to creativity which is an invaluable quality in life. In a recent LinkedIn post, I touched upon the topic of passion and the luxury goods business. As a lecturer and consultant specializing in luxury and marketing, I am often asked by young, aspiring hoteliers and marketing professionals in the luxury goods business, what is the secret of success? In ...
