Copyright 1995-2013 Hsyndicate http://www.hospitalitynet.org/organization/17007591.html Latest news, events, photos and more from Hospitality Performance, Inc. en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 22:27:59 +0100 cs@hsyndicate.com (Hsyndicate) info@hsyndicate.com (Hsyndicate) Hsyndicate RSS FeedGenerator 120 http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4059919.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4059919.html Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:56:14 +0200 Kempinski Hotels has a terrific reputation for extraordinary service and delivery in the world of five star properties. They also do some things differently, and the Brand has proven successful and resistant to some of the economic turmoil the rest of the market has experienced. COO, Duncan O'Rourke, shared some thoughtful approaches they have taken with Elite Traveler. He started with three strategies within a five - six year period: talent, innovation and Food and Beverage. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4058933.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4058933.html Mon, 24 Dec 2012 09:38:32 +0200 Human Resources was once thought to be a discipline of the future in the early 1990’s, when everything was so rosy and plentiful. Then, we had the high tech implosion, terrorism attacks, two wars, a global economic melt-down and very slow rebuild. Companies changed – contraction, downsizing, relo, outsourcing, acquisition at quite a pace. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4056463.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4056463.html Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:04:50 +0200 As an uncertified economist, even I can appreciate when the marketplace gets saturated. What does that mean for the business and their customer? We certainly are watching this play out on the Gaming landscape. Massachusetts, which has several casinos legislatively approved, is looking afresh at the competitive market – not just in the State, but in the entire Northeast. Potential casino operational dreams may be pared back as that selection process moves along. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4052829.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4052829.html Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:06:45 +0200 We in Hospitality are at a very interesting juncture. Everything has changed – our market, our business model, our guests, employees – really soup to nuts. Let’s take a look at the big picture, where Hospitality currently operates and a new way of thinking about our business. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4051475.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4051475.html Fri, 20 May 2011 12:58:10 +0200 Marketing Strategy sessions always began with an interpretation of the Marketplace, particularly focusing upon the Visitor numbers. Our Feedback results were captured by a variety of means, not particularly sophisticated or reliable, but they were tracked. Make no mistake, unless you know what your Visitor or Guest says about their experience with your Destination’s hotel, restaurant, convenience store, taxi service or museum, any marketing initiative is flawed. “Feedback” is the crucible! http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4049754.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4049754.html Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:37:31 +0200 What a climate we all worked in this past year, many sectors tasting recovery and revenue boosts, while others saw swift demise or grappled with debt. This “Brandscape” was volatile, yet wildly opportunistic for those with liquidity and foresight. Properties changed portfolios, new Brands were announced, old favorites faded away. Loyalties and Brand identification became confused and diminished. Investment and expansion aimed towards Asia, the new Hospitality frontier. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048946.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048946.html Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:14:10 +0200 That's right, you will slip, skip and slide (even skid) as we move further into the recovery. The taste of the upswing has been tantalizing, but the path is still strewn with obstacles and challenges, as we pursue that ascension into economic recovery. What a tough few years. We have done everything to survive – cut our staff, extended our Vendors, held off on renovation and upkeep, trimmed our advertising and marketing – all not quite to the bone, but pretty close. Now, we see some light and have some decisions to make about how we move forward with our Brand(s). http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048251.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048251.html Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:53:22 +0200 Well, if you are the only game in town, and your locality is in the middle of nowhere, the fact that 33% of your Customers do not really care one way or another about your business probably does not matter much to local management. Some Casinos do have a “captured audience”, but most do not, and they very much need to be attentive to their Players and the Casino Experience. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048022.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4048022.html Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:27:19 +0200 I want it my way, and this is what that looks like. Will this be the next step in the Hospitality evolution? The restaurant sector has played around with this a little – from Wendy’s and to Fuddrucker’s building your own burger. Buffet tables have always been a favorite – no portion control and heaps of your pleasures. Even the New York Times Frank Bruni covered a TriBeCa Bar, Ward III, which “…creates drinks out of customers’ whims”. One such challenge centered around a Hostess Twinkie. But, as Bruni noted, what really excites the owners/Bartenders “…is using their experience behind the bar to bring balance, nuance and good sense to a drink hatched on the spot”. Is this not what we all wish to accomplish – using our skills and sensibilities to satisfy our Guest’s expectations, create some differentiation and distinction, market that reputation and prosper? http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045951.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045951.html Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:12:20 +0200 The rest of us in Retail and the service industry have it easy. We say visit our shops, dine with us, spend a night, give us a call, enjoy a round of golf, try this on, watch your favorite team and so on. We have that moment to WOW, a specific short window to make the Experience memorable. We are oriented to the moment - orchestrate the one meal, present the goods, address a particular problem, conduct the tour, etc. We also have the chance to recover from a lapse – a lapse of attention, service, and credibility. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045697.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045697.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:08:09 +0200 Many in the Hospitality Industry felt they knew everything about the Customer Experience. Even the very definition of Hospitality percolated with terms like care, attention, excitement, relaxation, special, nourishment for the body, soul and spirit – all oriented to that special cachet, which was ours alone. And, others started to borrow on our expertise, particularly with an emphasis on Customer Service. However, we still owned the distinction, and it rang throughout our Brands. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045403.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4045403.html Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:29:15 +0200 Ego aside, what do you think your reputation is in the marketplace? It really does not matter what you believe; it does matter what everyone else does. You define what you are through your marketing and delivery on service, product and facility. The marketplace validates your performance. Their report card is your reputation – good, bad or indifferent. Thus, it boils down to how you can influence and leverage that reputation with what you have learned and how you http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044836.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044836.html Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:58:20 +0200 Our Retail world was pretty well whacked in the last two years, and 2010 will be a year of rebuilding our Brands with a new Value Proposition. The most serious question we all must ask is what does our Customer want? We have learned that Greed is not good, resources are limited and the consumer is resilient yet wary. Definitely, it will not be business as usual. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044832.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044832.html Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:14:09 +0200 Our Retail world was pretty well whacked in the last two years, and 2010 will be a year of rebuilding our Brands with a new Value Proposition. The most serious question we all must ask is what does our Customer want? We have learned that Greed is not good, resources are limited and the consumer is resilient yet wary. Definitely, it will not be business as usual. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044490.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4044490.html Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:39:44 +0200 My dinner partner this Thanksgiving was my sister-in-law’s Mother, a gracious woman of a certain age. She was also one of the first Stewardesses for a major airline, still travels, has a sharp eye for style and substance and is very wise. We naturally talked about Customer Service – then and now. We all can bemoan the current deterioration in service, sadly demonstrated daily by the airline industry, which once stood for attention, care, respect, empathy and the highest level of service delivery. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043990.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043990.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:50:11 +0200 Boston is a pretty toney town, even though it has no classic song, like New York, Chicago or San Francisco (“Down by the River Charles” and “Charlie on the MTA” don’t quite cut it). High end Retail is prominent, from iconic hotels, Newbury Street merchants, extraordinary cuisine, cultural institutions, attractions and a well read, traveled, educated consumer. Boston is a Destination of Choice. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043674.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043674.html Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:18:14 +0200 It used to be so easy to make a Hotel reservation. We were led primarily by our prior Guest Experience. We knew what to expect. Hotel companies had defined Brands, service standards were consistent, amenities continually enhanced, and marketing pockets deep. We were believers and loyal to the Brand. We felt good! http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043463.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043463.html Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:42:28 +0200 Business Week magazine in a recent article called Consumer Trust the most perishable of assets. Given the assault on our various Brands and our inability or choice not to respond to this market dynamic, we find ourselves at a loss of credibility in the public eye. We’ve pretty well shot ourselves in the foot, limping along with the projected economic recovery. We have let our Performance Standards lapse, our staff depart and product quality become minimized. We know the status, and our Customer knows it, as well. There is some rebuilding to do! http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043175.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4043175.html Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:09:02 +0200 We continue to bemoan the obvious — the decline of Service and the devaluation of Product. We are what we say we are. Our Brand is verified by our Consumer, based upon how we delivered on the expectation(s). Their Experience is impacted by what they feel, how all their senses interacted, and how their perceptions turned into reality - the validation process. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4042668.html http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4042668.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:55:06 +0200 Nothing like a world-wide recession to expose our Brand vulnerabilities. Our advantages have been shed, slashed and even trashed. Everything has been discounted to leverage some type of parity and attractiveness. Now, value is seen as two-for-ones, 50% off, good through October, meals for two under $10, children and pets fly for free, upgrades in suites, cars and Loyalty points. What an uphill battle we face, when the economy does turn, as we try to reclaim our market posture. Some will never succeed; others will simply fall by the wayside.