international institute of modern butlers
Thinking for Yourself May Be the Only Regimen for a Full Recovery Part I
Steven Ferry | July 22, 2020
By Steven Ferry “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” Groucho Marx Do you personally accept the "New Normal" for the hospitality industry and society as a whole—which is based on the premise that Covid-19 is a singularly dangerous threat that requires a complete change in our lives, when (as it turns out) it is actually on a par with the common flu and (as it turns out) every other incorrectly declared pandemic? Or do you want to understand what has happened and do whatever is in your power, big or small, to return to the old, fun and life-f...
Auditing the Auditors: What Happens When Quality Assurance Morphs Into PR & Marketing?
Steven Ferry | December 2, 2019
By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers If Quality Assurance had not been taken over by such interests, it would be focused on operational audits and follow-up actions that result in improved service and thus influenced guest perception based on real-world intentions and actions. This hijacking of QA could explain some very real problems that hoteliers are facing today in their operations and even with guest perceptions.... Did you hear about the case of the incredible disappearing hotel manager? No? Well, this is not so much a joke or a detective story as the beginnings of an obituary for the old-t...
Auditing the Auditors: A Quality Assurance Program for the 21st Century
Steven Ferry | November 27, 2019
Part III of IV By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers In the first two articles in this series, we looked at how independent Quality Assurance programs have fallen into a conventional wisdom and modus operandi that is out of touch with their clients' and their guests' needs and then examined the challenges and relevance of QA in helping their client's assess their performance in a world increasingly guided by the megaphone of social-media reviews. In this third and last article, we look at what an ideal QA program would look like, in the hope that third-party QA companies, and/or internal QA programs are...
Emotional Engagement—A Mantra in Search of a Technology
Steven Ferry | August 16, 2016
By Steven Ferry Emotional engagement is one of those hot subjects that most have heard of but very few can actually define. What is it exactly? As with any subject, a keen observation of life in action followed by a logical analysis can shine light on the dark corners of our knowledge to bring clarity to our understanding, and, in order to be useful, a workable procedure for action that brings about desirable results. In the case of emotional engagement, it would be guests who are thrilled at the renewal or reinforcement of life and energy they experience when interacting with hotel staff. Of course, that would presuppose and require th...
Constant Creativity & Enthusiasm In the Drive to Exceed One’s Own Lofty Expectations
Steven Ferry | April 12, 2016
By Steven Ferry Four- and five-star hotels and resorts around the world number in the hundreds, catering to different markets/publics with different needs and wants. The imperative to make the guest experience so memorable that the guests become repeaters and ambassadors, occupancy runs dizzyingly high and word of mouth sizzles, is one that every new (or existing) General Manager/Managing Director faces; each has a vision, a style of management, a stable of successful actions, and erstwhile colleagues they trust to support their standards and whom they quickly bring in to precipitate success for owners, shareholders, management, staff, ...
