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Tourism Tidbits – Delivering on the Tourism Experience
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | November 11, 2014
by Dr. Peter Tarlow Anyone who has traveled in the last year has faced the fact that the travel experience has some key challenges. Tourism is promoted as a stress reliever and a way to renew both body and soul. Unfortunately what should be and what is are often very different experiences. In too many places, travelers face imprecise language, fine print that does not deliver what is promised, add-on fees, poor customer service and angry employees, sub-quality food, and buildings and locales that are tidy or even sanitary. Perhaps then the greatest challenge for the tourism industry in the coming years is to create a tourism experience ...
Do You View Hotel Marketing as a Cost or an Investment?
Vikram Singh | November 3, 2014
By Vikram Singh I am often asked, "What is the most important factor in a good hotel marketing strategy?" One of the top factors (that no one likes to talk about) is how a hotel's owners and management view their marketing budget. Those who treat hotel marketing as an investment will be able to maximize their online revenue potential. They will keep "spending" investing online, as that is where their audience lives, breathes, researches and books their trips. Those who view it as a cost will treat it like any other cost; they strive to keep costs down. This group is the one that gives away revenue and market share to the OTAs and their ...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 131; Hotel History: The Opening of the Current Waldorf-Astoria
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | October 27, 2014
My New Book: "Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf"; 2014 Historian of the Year By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: The Opening of the Current Waldorf-Astoria In 1931, the new Waldorf-Astoria Hotel opened at Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets under Lucius Boomer's direction. The Art Deco style hotel, designed by architects Schultze & Weaver, dazzled thousands of onlookers when it was unveiled. With 42 stories and 2,200 rooms, the building was the largest hotel in the world at the time of its opening. On September 30, the night before the official opening, thousands of New Yorkers gath...
Nobody Asked Me, But…No. 130; Hotel History: The Original Waldorf-Astoria
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | October 14, 2014
My New Book: "Hotel Mavens: Boomer, Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf"; 2014 Historian of the Year By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: The Original Waldorf-Astoria Did you ever wonder about the hyphen between Waldorf and Astoria (Waldorf-Astoria). Here's how it came to be. On March 14, 1893, William Waldorf Astor opened the world's most luxurious hotel on 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue, the current site of the Empire State Building. Despite poor weather, a kitchen workers' walkout and a serious accident, the hotel opened under the sponsorship of the St. Mary's Free Hospital for Children. George Boldt, the hotel's proprietor along with ...
Tourism Tidbits – The Importance of the Religious Tourism Market
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | October 2, 2014
by Dr. Peter Tarlow Religious tourism is one of the earliest forms of tourism. The idea of the religious pilgrimage begins almost with the dawn of humanity. Almost since the dawn of history human beings have traveled to holy sites. By the Biblical period important religious centers had become not only a part of the cultural landscape, but they also had become major players in local marketing and important parts of the economy of those cities that hosted religious centers. In the western world, cities such as Jerusalem, Rome and Mecca continue to attract millions of visitors on a yearly basis. Religious-oriented travel then has occurred ...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 129 Hotel History: Roosevelt Hotel (1893), New Orleans
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | September 22, 2014
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans The original Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel was built in 1893 by Louis Grunewald, a German immigrant, as the Grunewald Hotel. In 1908, it was expanded with a fourteen-story 400-room annex. The expansion was designed by the Milwaukee architectural firm, H.C. Koch & Sons who also designed the Pfister Hotel and the City Hall in Milwaukee. The Grunewald was the site of The Cave, one of America's first nightclubs. The subterranean supper club came with waterfalls, stalagmites, stalactites and a line of chorus girls dancing to a Dixieland jazz band. The Cave remained in o...
Reality Check: 7 Questions for Your Hotel Marketing Agency
Vikram Singh | September 10, 2014
By Vikram Singh Everything digital, including marketing, changes rapidly. Hotels know that online marketing is crucial, yet they take a back seat on innovations. Most of the hotel owners/managers I've met have been hesitant to do much more than hire an outside agency to handle all things digital. They lack the time, budget, knowledge or interest to get more involved. Change is in the air again; online marketing for hotels continues to rapidly evolve. So even if you're not one of those typical hands-off agency clients, there are some questions you need to ask the people you have hired to generate revenue for your hotel through your most ...
The Key to Delivering World-Class Service: Be An Ambassador
Bryan Williams of B.Williams Enterprise | September 4, 2014
by Bryan K. Williams It's amazing who some business leaders allow to represent their company. On a recent trip, I stopped at a sandwich shop to order some lunch. After the employee told me they ran out of the sandwich I ordered, I asked for another sandwich suggestion; to which she promptly replied "None of the sandwiches here"!! Wow. Perhaps it did not occur to her that by suggesting one of her company's sandwiches, I may actually enjoy it, return, and potentially refer others...all of which translate into additional revenue (plus more job security). To guests, the person serving them IS the company. That employee's actions, words, and...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 128 Hotel History: Hotel Dixie/Carter; Quote of the Month
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | September 3, 2014
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Hotel Dixie/Carter A recent article in the New York Times (July 27, 2014) reported on the adventures of North Vietnamese businessman Truong Dinh Tran ("Mr. Tran's Messy Life and Legacy"): Truong Dinh Tran led a mostly uneventful life, unless you count spending two years in a North Vietnamese prison, swimming his way to South Vietnam, building a fortune in wartime, fleeing to the United States with a suitcase full of cash and another full of gold, installing himself and his four paramours and their children in a single-room-occupancy hotel on Manhattan's West Side, becoming a subject of the big...
Tourism Tidbits: Tourism’s Importance in a World in Crisis
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | September 2, 2014
by Dr. Peter Tarlow The last three months have not been easy ones. Politically the world has seen some of its greatest threats since the end of World War II. Economically, Europe is still very much in shambles, the US has fewer unemployed but it also has fewer people employed, and those who are employed often have low paying jobs. From a security perspective, the Middle East is in flames. European cowardice and the US's desire to lead-from-behind have created a world in which terrorists no longer fear repercussions, and groups such as Hamas and ISIS simply believe that they can manipulate a naïve public. Tourism officials do not know w...
The 1st Step of Service: Be Eager to Serve
BWTV | August 18, 2014
by Bryan Williams Have you ever walked into a business and left before you were served? That scenario has happened to me multiple times. On past occasions, I left because the staff showed no sense of urgency to be of service. Please note that the business(s) had the product or service I wanted, but I left because there was an obvious sense of apathy among the staff. Yes, your customers can feel the apathy; especially if the majority of the staff look like they would much rather be anywhere else besides work. Example 1: I was at a hotel recently and getting ready to check out. I had two bags with me and while approaching the front desk, ...
World-Class Service Tips for Your Staff
BWTV | August 13, 2014
Join the free industry webinar to learn how to build a culture of service excellence for your staff Bowie, MD – Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - B.Williams Enterprise, a leading service company focused on driving improvements in service excellence, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness, will host a complimentary webinar on August 20, 2014, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST entitled, "Improving & Sustaining World-Class Service With BWTV". The webinar will discuss tips for building a culture of service excellence on your team and how BWTV can help to sustain it. When guests make the decision to visit a hotel, restaurant or spa, t...
Stanley Turkel Named Recipient of Historic Hotels of America 2014 Historian of the Year Award
August 6, 2014
WASHINGTON---Stanley Turkel has been named the recipient of the Historic Hotels of America 2014 Historian of the Year Award. Turkel will be honored with this distinguished award on October 2, 2014 at the Historic Hotels of America Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner at The Hotel Hershey® (1933) in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Historic Hotels of America Historian of the Year Award is presented to an individual for making a unique contribution in the research, and presentation of history and whose work has encouraged a wide discussion of greater understanding and enthusiasm for American History. Stanley Turkel is one of the most distinc...
West Inn & Suites Signs with BWTV for Online Service Excellence Training
BWTV | August 5, 2014
Bowie, MD (August 5, 2014) - West Inn & Suites has signed with BWTV from B.Williams Enterprise, LLC. The hotel's BWTV subscription brings world-class service education to the hotel and both of its award-winning restaurants. "Bryan Williams is simply a must! His Leadership and Guest Service training are inspirational, applicable and fundamental to any successful business. He is a master of delivery and his content will thoroughly engage your team", said Kimberly Akers Malaspina, VP of West Hospitality. West Inn & Suites is one of the top hotels in the world for families, based on online reviews from TripAdvisor, and is consistent...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 127: Hotel History: Hotel Theresa: the “Waldorf of Harlem”
Stanley Turkel, CMHS | August 4, 2014
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS 1. Hotel History: Hotel Theresa The Hotel Theresa opened in 1913 on 125th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem and closed its doors as a hotel in 1970. It was built by German-born stockbroker Gustavus Sidenberg to the designs of architects George and Edward Blum. The Blum brothers were trained at the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and they designed a full-blockfront all-white apartment hotel 13 stories high with 300 rooms. Like its façade, the newly-opened Theresa had an all-white clientele and staff for its first twenty-eight years. In 1940, reflecting the changing population of Harlem, the hotel accepted...
Tourism Tidbits: Protecting People Different from Ourselves
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | August 4, 2014
by Dr. Peter Tarlow Tourism is about discovering the unknown and about learning about the other. Often in the tourism we need to deal with people who have a different sexual, religious, or political orientation from ours. We also have to deal with, serve and protect people whom we may not like. Often these people are a challenge to our belief system and from a personal perspective these are people whom we might not want to choose as our personal friends. Despite our personal preferences, we all have to deal with people whom we do not like, who hold radically different beliefs from our, or whom we find to be annoying. As long as they peo...
A Brief Guide to Managing Your Hotel’s Digital Assets
Vikram Singh | August 1, 2014
By Vikram Singh One of the most crucial aspects of running a hotel or a lodging business is asset management. The same efforts and energy should be used when it comes to your hotel's digital assets. In my experience working with hotels and asset management firms worldwide, I have seen most of the hotel managers and marketing departments show apathy towards owning and managing their digital assets. Their neglect is usually a result of trying to keep costs down (ie, hiring low-cost digital marketing vendors and leaving management to them), or just a general lack of knowledge about how and why they should pay attention to their digital ass...
Improving & Sustaining World-Class Service With BWTV; A Complimentary Webinar
BWTV | July 30, 2014
Bowie, MD – Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - B.Williams Enterprise, a leading service company focused on driving improvements in service excellence, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness, will host a complimentary webinar on August 20, 2014, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST entitled, "Improving & Sustaining World-Class Service With BWTV". The webinar will discuss tips for building a culture of service excellence on your team and how BWTV can help to sustain it. When guests make the decision to visit a hotel, restaurant or spa, they are trusting that the service will be gracious, attentive and consistent. This all requires a stro...
“Engaging & Dynamic” – Shore Lodge Resort Signs with BWTV for Online Service Excellence Training
BWTV | July 21, 2014
Bowie, MD (July 21, 2014) - Shore Lodge Resort has signed with BWTV from B.Williams Enterprise, LLC. The resort's BWTV subscription brings world-class service education to over 400 employees at the award-winning resort. "We love Bryan Williams and BWTV! The contents of his material and examples that he shares truly resonate with each and every employee regardless of their position. Our staff loves the videos, and I think this is a GREAT way to set the foundation for us to continue to build on and reinforce", said Kaili Moss, Director of Human Resources for Shore Lodge. Set on the sandy shores of beautiful Payette Lake, the iconic Shore ...
Ten Ways You Can Tell If a Hotel is Truly Focused on Service Excellence
Bryan Williams | July 14, 2014
by Bryan Williams "If it weren't for these guests, I could get my job done!" Believe it or not, I have heard that exact phrase on more than one occasion. Some people view the guest as an interruption of their work. In their minds, guests complicate things, cause stress, and get in the way of an, otherwise, enjoyable job. The point that is sorely missing is...THERE IS NO JOB without the guests. It may sound ridiculously obvious, but many people completely miss that point. Guests are not an interruption of your work, they are the purpose of it. In my mind, serving, giving, sharing, helping and teaching are all pointing to the exact same t...
Summer 2014 Lodging Industry Forecast by Robert Rauch
Robert Rauch | July 8, 2014
Yes, the recovery was slow and erratic but 2014 is shaping up to be a great year as we begin the summer and there is no reason the momentum will slow next year or anytime soon. Sure, there is always some type of uncertainty regarding expenses, e.g. the impact of minimum wage bills and the living wage movement on labor costs or healthcare costs and the impact of Obamacare, but in the short term it is mostly good news. And there is always the possibility that an "event" of some sort could dramatically disrupt things, but here is what is going on in key areas of the hotel industry. Travel and tourism is the world's biggest industry, repres...
Independent and Empowered: A letter to my manager by Bryan Williams
B.Williams Enterprise | July 3, 2014
(Dedicated to all hospitality employees who work with passion, pride and professionalism) As our country prepares to celebrate the Independence Day holiday, it made me think about what it truly means to be "independent". Especially as it relates to those of us working on the front lines of the hospitality industry. To me, independence means to be free...without restrictions. As a concierge, bellman, housekeeper or server, I need to know that my manager trusts and believes in me enough to empower me to serve with excellence. No, I don't mean just having a clever mission statement that claims that the staff is empowered. Rather, does my m...
Priceline’s Acquisition of Buuteeq: Why Hotels Must Own Their Digital Assets
Vikram Singh | July 1, 2014
By Vikram Singh The hotel marketing and distribution world was recently shaken when Priceline Group (aka, The #1 Lodging Online Travel Agency in the World) acquired Buuteeq for an undisclosed sum. This officially makes them the first OTA to directly enter the B2B hotel marketing services sector. Can you hear me now? For over nine years, in every one of my lectures, workshops, consultations – just about every interaction with hoteliers – I have tried to stress the importance of owning your digital assets (your domain, website, analytics, etc). I have evangelized WordPress to the hotel sector for quite some time now. I could not have ...
Full-Service Hotel Planned for Houston’s New CityPlace Mixed-Use Development
Patrinely Group, LLC | June 19, 2014
HOUSTON, June 19, 2014 -- A development venture comprising Patrinely Group, CDC Houston and USAA Real Estate Company, today announced project details for the new CityPlace, formerly known as Springwoods Village Town Center. The 60 acre fully integrated, mixed-use development will provide the Houston community with a new destination of choice that integrates working, shopping and living, with over four million square feet of Class A office space located above ground floor retail, and luxury urban multifamily, and a full-service hotel. "CityPlace is an innovative development located at the nexus of Interstate-45, Grand Parkway and the Har...
