staff training
Meyer Jabara Hotels’ Journey Culture Reaping a 75% Employee Retention Rate
Meyer Jabara Hotels | August 8, 2023
Implementing principles of continuous cultural improvement is slashing the management company’s turnover rate through empowerment and accountability [Danbury, Conn., August 8, 2023] — Meyer Jabara Hotels is reporting a 24.20% turnover rate through the first half of 2023. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics citing 70% to 80% turnover annually as the industry norm, this 46-year-old hotel ownership and management group is obviously doing something right. With hotel operators still feeling the sting of the “Great Resignation,” MJH is revealing its secret to employee retention success. “Our biggest competitive advantage is wha...
Doug Kennedy Announces Next Topic in His Webcast Training Series: Hospitality Training: Bringing Out the Best in Our Guests Brings Out the Best in Our
Doug Kennedy | June 7, 2023
Complimentary Registration Sponsored By Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Kennedy Training Network Inc. (KTN) announced today the topic for Doug Kennedy’s next training webcast, which this month features a hospitality theme: Bringing Out The Best In Our Guests Brings Out The Best In Ourselves, scheduled for Monday, June 12 from Noon – 12:40pm. REGISTER HERE According to Doug, “Most guests don’t start their day with the intention to complain, whine, and create conflict. However, the challenges along the way can bring out the worst side of even the nicest personalities.” This KTN training webcast...
From Best Practices to Good Habits: How Hoteliers and Technology Partners Can Align for Better Staff Training
Warren Dehan | March 22, 2022
The best parts of hospitality, begins with a conversation; A quality tech vendor will do everything in its power to provide up-to-date information, templates for training, and in-person demonstrations By Warren Dehan Hoteliers have a lot on their plate right now, particularly independently branded properties, so it’s important for operators to have confidence in their teams to deliver exceptional experiences in an efficient manner. Smaller staff pools, a growing reliance on technology and the increased complexity of that technology have made thorough training an imperative — particularly when it comes to the hotel’s property-...
Leader in Group Sales Data Insights Launches Knowland Academy
KNOWLAND | October 28, 2021
Content-rich platform offers easily consumable training modules to help hotels with fast onboarding and upskilling of new and returning sales teams ARLINGTON, VA — October 28, 2021— Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, today launched Knowland Academy, a new way for customers to learn its platform, quickly, easily and in a self-paced environment. Visit academy.knowland.com to see the user portal. Knowland Academy was developed to deliver training in bite-sized, consumable videos, articles, notes on new releases and more, streamlining four weeks of user training...
Lately, Hotels Seem to Be Falling Short on the People Parts
Doug Kennedy | October 7, 2021
By Doug Kennedy At the time of this writing, I’m on a plane ride back from attending four lodging industry conferences in 10 days, which caused me to be staying at four different large, branded hotels in Minneapolis, Dallas and San Antonio, all of which were close to the convention centers. While all of the staff I encountered were polite and efficient, their service style was overall reactive and not proactive. Notably absent were some core essentials of hotel hospitality excellence that used to be part of “Hotel 101” orientation. Much has been written about the challenges of finding qualified staff, but in each encounter, ther...
Are Your Guests “Apped Out?” Only Welcoming Words Such as These, Spoken by Humans, Convey Authentic Hospitality
Doug Kennedy | April 19, 2021
By Doug Kennedy As a writer in the hospitality space, I am often approached by new companies with emerging technology who are looking for PR. Despite that my articles are almost always related to training tips for human engagement such as sales and hospitality skills, they somehow think that my help promoting whatever new gimmick they have come up with is key to promoting their services. Recently I was approached by yet another company about an exciting “new” innovation they had invented. It was an app for interacting with guests and fielding their requests. Wow, no one ever thought of that before, and just what the industry needs,...
The Battle for Direct Bookings Is Hand-to-Hand Combat, Not Aerial Strafing
Doug Kennedy | March 11, 2021
By Doug Kennedy For years now, hotels have been fighting desperately to win back market share from third parties such as Online Travel Agencies and thus reduce the cost of customer acquisition. Huge sums are spent on strategic initiatives such as ad campaigns, updating guest loyalty programs, improving organic and paid SEO, making sure the website tells the hotel’s story and ensuring a smooth journey from looking-to-booking. All of this increases the likelihood that a prospective, web-surfing guest may engage with the hotel directly. In military terms, I would say it is sort of like aerial strafing because the “ammo” has a mostl...
Train Your Hotel Staff to Show Hospitality When Enforcing Mask Requirements
Doug Kennedy | July 14, 2020
By Doug Kennedy With most hotels around the globe requiring guests to wear facemasks in all public areas these days, it has fallen upon the frontline hospitality staff to enforce this policy, which in many cases is also municipal ordinance or decree. Although most guests comply voluntarily, a small minority are voicing their displeasure but still complying. An even smaller, but very vocal minority of hotel guests are challenging our staff’s authority to require compliance in a way that is confrontational and often demeaning. From what I am hearing, it’s the front desk staff who are most often the receptors of a verbal barrage, as th...
