Score Update: Union 1, Airline 0

Don't you just hate it sometimes when you're right?

You know what I mean, you predict something that you actually hope won't happen, but every instinct that you have tells you this is going to go down just as you predict it, whether you like it or not.

That's the way I felt when I read a story in the Globe & Mail last week that said that Air Canada had narrowly averted a strike with their Flight Attendants by reaching a tentative agreement.

Here's the kicker. . .  The tentative agreement was reached as a result of Air Canada agreeing, among other things, to shelve their plans to launch a low cost carrier as a branch of their main operation.

I wrote, in May of this year, in my post entitled; "Air Canada Discount Subsidiary - Does Anyone Really Believe it Will Ever Take Flight," that "Air Canada announced that the launch of their discount carrier would be contingent on the Air Canada Pilots Union agreeing to certain concessions and a two-tier arrangement, as it relates to the pilots of Air Canada and the pilots of the discount carrier."

I had further gone on to say that; "As soon as I read that, I knew the deal was dead.  There is no way that the Air Canada pilots union will agree to anything out of the ordinary.  They have a long-standing history of drawing a line in the sand and then standing on “their” side of that line and daring you to cross it, at your peril."

Apparently, I was close, but I predicted that it would in fact be the airline pilots union that would kill the deal and apparently I underestimated the flight attendants union who have now brought this venture to a close.

I've made it no secret that I didn't think Air Canada should launch another discount carrier anyway.  They've already failed at the experiment on more than one occasion, but I was nonetheless disappointed to see that the deal was dead at the hand of the flight attendant's union.

It is, yet again, a clear indication of when unions have too much power over business, power that can bring a business to its knees, and in some cases, to bankruptcy and closure, but the union marches on, they have nothing to lose, nothing at risk.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; It’s a perfect example of everything that is wrong with unions.

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Airline Flight Departure Times - It's Anybody's Guess

I recently returned from a quick trip to San Francisco, to attend yet another installment of the ongoing leadership course that I have been involved in for the past 5 months.

Periodically, our group of about 25 participants, which meets locally every week, merges with other smaller groups in a conference like setting for about 150 participants overall, and we meet in either Seattle or San Francisco.

This past weekend, we were in San Francisco.

Needless to say, this involved flying into and/or out of San Francisco for many of us who opted to travel in that way.

As I was sitting in the departure area, waiting for my flight to depart, now into my 4^th hour of waiting for what I dared to hope was the eventual departure of my United flight from Vancouver to San Francisco, a couple of thoughts occurred to me.

First, this certainly wasn’t the first time this had happened to me, and,

Second, when did the airline business get to be like the cable company or other utility companies used to be?

We all remember it well, we wanted a utility or service hooked up, and we were told; “we can be there 2 weeks from Monday, either between 9am and Noon, or, between 1pm and 5pm, which would you prefer?”

The day of our installation came around and we spent the day waiting, hoping that if we were lucky, maybe, just maybe, they would come at the beginning of the time slot, not towards the end, and then maybe we wouldn’t have to waste half a day.

But even the utility companies figured out that many of us took our displeasure out on them by going to another provider (where there wasn’t a monopoly on the service provided).

Yet for all the technological advancements that we have made, we still can’t accurately predict the departure (and arrival) times for our airline flights.

I’m not naive, I know that there are thousands of things that could interfere with the planned departure time, and obviously, weather is a huge factor, but how about when weather isn’t a factor, what then?

In our businesses, we have contingency plans, we plan for various alternate scenarios, and, we COMMUNICATE with our customers, especially when things go wrong, something sorely lacking in this situation.

So it occurred to me that airlines should just come out and admit that they have almost no idea what time our flights are going to depart, and instead of selling us a flight with a specific departure time, they should just offer us a 3 or 4 hour window.  “That’s confirmed sir, we have you on flight #5357 Vancouver to San Francisco departing sometime between 9am and Noon on Friday, thanks for booking United.”

Then at least we would know what we’re in for, and, the airline would have an opportunity to exceed our expectations every now and then when the flight left in the earlier portion of our departure window.  They would have under-promised and over-delivered against our initial expectations, and we, the flying sheep, would be thrilled.  High fives all around.

I’m sure as soon as the major airlines get wind of my brilliant idea, they will be lining up to see who can implement it first.  I can already see the slogan; "United Airlines, we’ll get you there, eventually."

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A Sense of Urgency

Do you have a sense of urgency about what you do, or, are you a procrastinator?

I love people who have a sense of urgency; these are my kind of people, people who get things done and produce results.

It’s a delicate balance though, ensuring that those of us who have that high sense of urgency are not misunderstood.  I know that for me, on occasion, my high sense of urgency has been misinterpreted by some and seen as either impatience on my part, or, an unreasonable level of accountability to which I have held my team members.

To avoid this, I have always made a habit of asking people who take on or are assigned specific tasks to set their own due dates.  Sure, I may have to ask them to conform to a certain time table in some instances, but wherever possible, I encourage my team members to establish their own time lines for completing projects, to heighten their sense of ownership and control of the situation and to demonstrate my commitment to empowering them as leaders.

The flip side, and I always make sure that my team members understand this going in, is an associated high level of accountability.  You take on a task and set your own time table, then I expect you to meet that deadline, and the majority of the time, if you have high performers in your midst, they will meet their deadlines and willingly take on more.

You know who these people are if they are in your operation and whether you recognize it or not, you have grown to count on them, and you hate it when they are not around.  (I used to hate it when my number 2, who had a tremendous sense of urgency and an equally amazing capacity for getting things done, would take extra days off or go on holidays.  It felt like nothing that I delegated to anyone else in her absence ever got done.  I was so used to, (and spoiled by), her high sense of urgency and her energy and the fact that whenever I followed up with her on anything, her response was almost always; “done.”)

More so, if you have had a person with that great sense of urgency working with you in a pivotal role, and they have left, usually because their talents and results have been recognized, and they have been promoted and transferred to another hotel, it has felt like the momentum has been sucked out of the operation in the days and weeks that followed.

I think the hotel business just naturally lends itself to attracting a high percentage of people with that sense of urgency about them, there is just too much to be done, too much multi-tasking required, and too many people counting on you for you to able to exist with a lackadaisical attitude.

I also find that, for the most part anyway, people who don’t possess that sense of urgency simply don’t survive in our business, they can’t.  As they try to exist by putting things off, and adding them to their ever-increasing list of things that they will get done, someday, their teams and their peers, grow intolerant of their lack of results, and sooner or later they are held accountable.

And you can’t teach it, you either have a high sense of urgency, or you don’t, it’s just that simple.

I wish you could teach it, then maybe I wouldn’t still be comparing every other leader I have ever worked with with that exceptional woman and expecting them to get as much done as she did.

We work with so many great, talented people that cross our paths, but every now and again, we work with someone truly exceptional who serves to set the bar higher for all those that follow in their footsteps.

"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." ~ Jim Rohn

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Destination Marketing Funds – Who Doesn’t Have One?

The list is getting shorter every day.

I picked up a newspaper the other day and saw yet another City in Canada that has added a destination marketing fund (“DMF tax”) to their room rates.

I certainly don’t fault the hoteliers in this or any other City for implementing such a tax, in an attempt to offset declining commitments from Government, at all levels, for the marketing of their destination.

What choice do hoteliers have?

They certainly can’t afford to ignore the problem, and it is widely accepted that you could lobby the Government until the end of time and they would still not increase the funding to the necessary levels to properly market their special and unique destinations.

I have a couple of problems with this.

The first, and arguably the biggest problem that I have with this continuing situation, is the fact that the Government either does not know just how much tourism generates in the way of tax revenues and jobs, or, they just don’t care.

In short, this industry does not get the respect that it deserves - it never has.

Tourism, in its many forms, creates billions of dollars of revenue for the economy and more jobs than anyone can really accurately estimate, due to the number of secondary or support jobs that may be once removed from the obvious link to tourism, but are nonetheless in business as a direct result of primary tourism businesses, yet the Government seems blind to this.

One of the reasons may be that tourism always finds a way to survive, in spite of the circumstances thrown at us, we always find a way to keep moving forward, to overcome adverse situations, compared to some other industries that have failed entirely, or, been on the brink of failure, and the Government sweeps in and makes special concessions, or subsidizes their operations, to keep them in business.

Should we (tourism) be punished because we are resilient, problem solvers?

My other problem with this issue is that it always seems to fall to the hotels to find the solution, to come up with the money necessary to offset the latest shortfall in funds.

What about the other tourism businesses?  The businesses that obviously benefit from tourism, and, from the guests in our hotels, such as attractions.  Why aren’t they part of the solution?

One can easily make the argument that there are several other business sectors, besides hotels, that benefit directly from tourism, and yet, repeated attempts to convince these business sectors to add their own “tax” to their admission price, or the like, in aid of marketing the destination, have largely fallen on deaf ears.

Why?

Unfortunately, the reason is simple – they don’t need to do anything to be part of the solution.  Attraction owners, and other similar tourism business owners know, (much like the Government), that the hoteliers will not allow the situation to deteriorate to such a level as to negatively impact the flow of visitors to the destination.  They can’t.

It’s the ultimate irony.  The only way for hoteliers to prove their point would be for them to allow visitation to their destination, and to their businesses, to decline, to fail, and they will never do that, so we can expect more of the same – hoteliers coming to the rescue while others stand by and watch.

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Gossip - What You Permit You Promote

Hotels are notorious for gossip.  It’s inevitable when you have so many people working so closely together day after day.

Gossip is defined as; “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.”

I’ll add one more component; when the person in question is diminished by the content of the conversation.

Gossip can be cancerous is an organization.

It’s often been amazing to me how many unfounded rumors can circulate around a hotel, based on absolutely no facts, but strictly on the basis of conversations pieced together by people who think they know what’s going on, and who then go about telling everyone as a point of fact.

And it’s never good news, what these people are spreading around amongst the team, and that is one of the ways in which I draw the comparison to cancer, which I also realize is a serious topic unto itself.  But think about it, it starts out as a whisper between one person and another, and then it starts to spread, conversations in the designated smoking area, in the staff cafeteria, and one by one individuals and groups are infected by this garbage.  And once it has taken root, it’s twice as hard to remove.

It’s one of the things that I have found frustrating, on occasion, as a General Manager, when a junior manager has approached me and told me of a conversation that they have heard, and I have asked them what they did about it, only to have them respond by telling me that they did not contribute to the conversation, as if that was enough.

What you permit, you promote.

Doing nothing, taking no action, is not the same as taking action.  Even in your silence you are speaking, loud and clear.

Don’t tolerate gossip.  Make it clear that it is not acceptable in your business, as a part of your culture.  If people are the foundation of your business, your culture, what can be more important than preserving their self-esteem and supporting them in whatever they may be facing?

“The time is always right to do what is right.”  - Martin Luther King Jr.

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Air Canada Discount Subsidiary – Does Anyone Really Believe it Will Ever Take Flight?

Earlier this year Air Canada announced their intent to launch yet another discount carrier, under an as yet to be determined name.  Apparently, they have not learned their lesson from their past failed attempts to launch and run a discount carrier.

After I initially rolled my eyes in disbelief, and stopped laughing, at the fact that Air Canada seems bent on their own self-destruction, (I mean really, how many times can the Canadian Government bail them out), I read the rest of the announcement and noticed what I consider the clincher, as it relates to why this venture will never take flight.  

Air Canada announced that the launch of their discount carrier would be contingent on the Air Canada Pilots Union agreeing to certain concessions and a two-tier arrangement, as it relates to the pilots of Air Canada and the pilots of the discount carrier.

As soon as I read that, I knew the deal was dead.  There is no way that the Air Canada pilots union will agree to anything out of the ordinary.  They have a long-standing history of drawing a line in the sand and then standing on “their” side of that line and daring you to cross it, at your peril.

Arguably, the Air Canada pilots union has not been the only Air Canada union body that has come close to forcing the airline out of business, on more than one occasion.  Flight attendants and customer service representatives’ unions have contributed equally to the near failure of this airline, but it has always been the pilots union that has been the most steadfast and obstinate in past negotiations aimed at keeping the airline aloft.

And then, just the other day, there was a story in the Globe & Mail (Labour dispute threatens to delay Air Canada discount airline), in which they stated; “Air Canada’s plans to launch a discount leisure airline next winter is at risk of being delayed after pilots rejected a tentative labour pact.”  “The rejection of the tentative deal casts uncertainty over the carrier’s proposals for starting a low-cost carrier and introducing pension reforms.”

Gee, what a surprise.

It’s a shame, because as a consumer I would love to see another discount carrier, to increase competition and maybe, just maybe, give us some addition cost-effective options when we’re planning that next trip.  And as a business person, I would love to see an opportunity to potentially make Air Canada’s business model more successful, and competitive as a carrier, not to mention creating hundreds if not thousands of jobs in an economy that could dearly use them.

But don’t hold your breath.  I’m laying odds that this discount carrier will never take flight.  Air Canada’s pilots union will make sure that this subsidiary stays grounded for the foreseeable future. 

It’s a perfect example of everything that is wrong with unions.

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Are You So Quick to Judge a Book by its Cover That You Are Missing Out on Some Great People?

I am a VERY judgmental person.  I know that I am.  I often wish it was not the case, but it’s a reflex that I simply have no control over.

If I walk into a meeting, or a function, my eyes move around the room with android-like precision, judging and assessing everyone in the room.   Who is wearing what kind of suit, how do their clothes fit them, what kind of shoes are they wearing, and what condition are they in, what kind of watch are they wearing?  Are they over-weight, thin, tall, short, appropriately dressed for the occasion?  Do they look “put together” or like they just rolled out of bed? 

Over the years I have come to recognize that I do this, but fortunately, what I have also learned over the years is to keep my opinions to myself, which I would have to admit, was not always the case.

There was a time where if I was attending that same function with a friend or colleague, I would have been sharing my assessments in great and vivid detail with that person throughout the evening.  “Can you believe that guys pants, they must be four inches off the ground.”  “Do you think he can feel the draft on his ankles when he goes outside?”  “Doesn’t he own a mirror?”

You get the picture.

Unfortunately, as much as I realize that I do this, I still do it, but as I said, it is not a conscious decision that I make, it really is like a reflex, and it is not a trait that I am proud of, in any way.  I wish I could actively turn it off.

Case in point . . .

I was attending one of the first meetings of the leadership group that I have mentioned before.  It has people from all walks of life, different age groups, etc., and at that time, I had not met all of the members.

When I first entered the room that evening, I happen to notice a woman, quite a bit older, over-weight, and with a distinct food stain on the upper portion of her blouse, and of course, I had an immediate opinion about that – enough said.

She ended up seated next to me and there came a point in the evening when we needed to share something specific with the person next to us, and solicit their feedback on that point, and when this was first announced, my immediate reaction was one of disappointment that my partner for this exercise was my food stained friend from earlier in the evening.  What was she going to be able to contribute to me?

I know, what an arrogant thing to think.

It gets worse.

She invited me to go first, and as instructed, I shared my situation with her.  She listened intently to me until I was finished, and then to my great surprise, she gave me some of the most insightful and beneficial feedback that I have ever received from another individual.

Needless to say, I felt like a colossal ass, and that could be the end of that, but what it really made me realize in that moment was the fact that by drawing the initial judgments that I do of people, from time to time, based solely on my first visual impression of them, I was missing out on the opportunity for others to contribute to me.

That may sound like a selfish conclusion, but I don’t mean it that way.  Obviously, there are greater things at stake here – missed friendships, relationships, etc..  Things that I could in turn contribute to that person.  All true, but my point is that I did not initially think that they had anything to contribute to me, and by drawing that conclusion, I was the person who was missing out.

It was an embarrassing reminder of the importance and value of people, all people.  And that one chance encounter changed my outlook forever.

It’s really quite amazing what can happen when you openly share yourself with others, and in so doing, allow them to contribute to you.  The possibilities are endless.

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Are Spas the New Starbucks?

I live in an urban centre and I had arranged to meet someone a few blocks from where I live, at a nearby Starbucks, just the other day.

As you can probably imagine, almost no matter where you may live, it wasn’t hard for me to find a “nearby” Starbucks, because there is one every two or three blocks, everywhere, not that I’m complaining.

However, what I noticed for the first time that day, as I was walking to my appointment, was just how many spas I passed along the way.  And then, in the last few days as I have been in various parts of my city, I found myself noticing just how many spas I passed in what seems like every district of my city, and I know that this is not unique to where I live.

Spas are not new to me, nor did they pop up overnight, but I realized that I have become immune to what seems like the weekly occurrence of yet another spa opening and they have grown to the point of saturating the city to such a point that it occurred to me that there may now be as many spas in any given city as there are Starbucks.

I can remember when we first started to introduce spas into hotels and there were some people who questioned whether or not we were chasing a fad or temporary trend that would be over before it really got started.

I did the research in one of my hotels to demonstrate the significant impact that adding a spa would have on revenue for that property, and even though the argument was compelling on a number of levels, the project was turned down.  I left a couple of years later after having pitched the idea a couple more times over those years, only to have it turned down repeatedly.

About three years later, they used that same proposal of mine to justify the addition of a spa to the property, after several other hotels in that market had introduced spas and were puling market share as a result.

Now, just about every hotel of any significance has a spa within its walls, unless for some reason it just isn’t feasible, due to physical building limitations, or, something of that nature, and certainly any hotel spa that I have been in is leaps and bounds ahead of the multitude of day spas that have popped up on virtually every street corner, but there is no denying that the demand is there, not just for hotel guests and/or the travelling public, but for the residents in these various neighbourhoods.

Spas, as we all know, are here to stay.  As we find ourselves downsized, working harder, smarter, longer, we will continue to look for ways to escape, to pamper ourselves, if only for an hour or two at a time.

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Is the fear of "no" stopping you in your tracks?

Really, is it?

Think about it.  Can you think of an instance or instances where your fear of hearing “no” has kept you from making the request in the first place?

It will take being really honest with yourself to see if this has been the case, and I would argue that everyone has been at the affect of this unrealistic phobia at one time or another in their lives.

I heard a great example the other day that I’ll share with you as an access to giving you an example to look for yourself.

Peter, a successful business man, has just left work and is headed for home.  He has about a 45 minute commute to get home.  He is married to a great woman, Mary, who is successful in her field as well.  They bought a new house a few years ago and they have been very focused on paying down their mortgage, as a priority above everything else.  Peter sees the importance of this, but it has been Mary that has been the driving force on this issue.

Over the last couple of years, there have been a couple of opportunities to deviate from their mission for a little self-indulgence, but after having discussed the matter each time, they have always decided to stick to their original priority – pay down the mortgage.

Just before leaving work today Peter received a great opportunity for him and Mary to take a quick trip to Mexico, deeply discounted, but he is sure that she will say “no” because that is money that could be put toward the mortgage.

So sure is he that she will say no that he spends the next 45 minutes on his way home having a fictitious argument with her, imagining what he would say, followed by her responses and on and on, with the obvious conclusion that after having argued back and forth, they will not be going to Mexico.

Peter arrives home after his commute, and now he is frustrated and angry, having lost his imaginary argument with Mary on the way home. 

The irony of course is that he is frustrated and angry with Mary, and she has no idea why?

Sound familiar?  If you said no, you are kidding yourself.  We’ve all done it.  Been so sure of an outcome of a conversation that we haven’t even bothered to initiate it in the first place, and then we blame the other person.

It’s what we make “no” mean that gets in our way, as well as our firm belief that we know that person so well that we can in fact predict their response.  We can foretell the future.  Wow. 

Sounds kind of ridiculous when you really look at it doesn’t it?

No means no, and that’s it.  It means no now, to that request, singularly, and it is not necessarily a predictor of future behavior, so the next time you are stopped by no, before you have even started, try letting go of all of your attachments to what it will mean if they say no, and just go for it, imagine they will say yes instead and you may be surprised to find that you approach the conversation in a completely different way, (because you haven’t already given up), and you may, in the process, create an environment where yes is possible where it wasn’t before.

Think about it.  If no one has been able to successfully predict the future up ‘til now, what makes you think that you can? 

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Boutique or Big Box Brand – What’s Your Preference?

Aside from some very aggressive growth from several of the major brands, whose growth is mostly being driven by greater opportunities in emerging markets around the world, like China and India, I think one of the fastest growing sectors in the Hotel business in North America must be the “boutique” hotel.

What was once a smattering of Mom and Pop operations that were one step up from a road-side motel, has blossomed into some of the most unique and specialized boutique properties located in every major city in North America.

Many of these boutique properties that have come on the market in the last decade have established enviable reputations for providing the finest level of service and amenities, rivaling the big box branded hotels in their market.  And, many of these same properties have attracted the “A List” from the social and entertainment fields, which has in turn only served to enhance their reputation as “must stay” locations in certain cities.

Not that I would include myself on any “A List” of any kind, and the people that I consider my friends are an eclectic mix of people from every socio economical level you can imagine, but suffice to say that they all enjoy travelling and do so for both business and pleasure on a regular basis.  So I conducted my own unofficial poll to see what the preference was – boutique or big box brand.

I wasn’t really that surprised to find that there was a preference to the big box brand, for business, and, the boutique style property for pleasure trips.

In the case of business travel, and the associated preference of the big box brand, it was primarily a factor of the business needs that might encompass the trip, and the propensity for the major brands to have a greater assortment of technology in-house, both in the guest room itself, and with in-house business centres, and of course, conference services personnel to assist with meeting and presentation needs and the like.  Fair enough.

In the case of leisure trips, and peoples’ preference for the boutique properties, the overwhelming sentiment that came up again and again was the enhanced level of intimacy of these hotels, as well as a genuine level of warmth and personalized attention that they felt when they stayed at the boutique properties.

One of my friends commented that she has been staying at the same property in Seattle, an average of once or twice a year, for the past five years, and they remember her and her partner every time they stay, and they feel like they are treated as much like friends as they are guests.  The environment is that much more personal and the pace is that much more relaxing, although prompt and attentive.

Another common occurrence I found amongst the boutique hotels, was that they were more prone to hosting special evenings for their in-house guests, such as evening wine and cheese get-togethers, or other small, intimate receptions, where the managers would mingle with the guests, and, guests could meet each other and get to know each other as well.  

It’s just a different kind of experience, and I think that no matter how great the service and facilities are of the major brands, you cannot help but have a more personalized, more intimate experience when you stay at a boutique property, where the focus may be on a maximum of 100 guests at any given time, compared to 1,000 potential guests or more in the big box branded hotel.  Their whole business model is built upon providing exceptional and unique experiences to each and every one of their guests, personalized to such a level to create the highest level of guest loyalty and repeat guests.

What’s your preference?  Let me know . . .

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Politics – A Vivid Demonstration of Everything that is Wrong with the World

If you’re a Canadian, you know that we are now in the midst of the latest political campaign, in an attempt to influence our vote for the upcoming Federal election in May 2011.

I know that we are fortunate, especially when compared to many other countries in political turmoil right now, that we have the democratic system that we do, the very right to vote, and on and on, and I am appreciative for where I live and the liberties that I enjoy, I really am.

That said, I would like to be “inspired” by my political leaders, not driven to choose where to cast my vote based on who I dislike the least, and I know that I am not alone.  I admitted to a friend recently, that, for the first time in my life, I did not vote in the last Federal election, because I was so disillusioned and disgusted with the campaigns of each of the candidates, I just couldn’t bring myself to vote for any of them, because I was not willing to use the formula that I just described – he who sucks the least wins.

And now, here we are again, being bombarded with images and messages of everything that is wrong with the “other” candidate.  Here’s a thought, how about, instead, you tell me about you, move me, inspire me, by demonstrating who you are and what you are committed to on my behalf and on behalf of my country.

What I see and hear in these negative ad campaigns is everything that is wrong in the world, manifested in the words and images broadcast across the televisions and radios throughout the Nation.

I see bullying, I see discrimination, I see unnecessary fighting and arguing, I see unfounded accusations, lies and defamation, I see initiatives designed to separate us, not bring us together, messages designed to create fear amongst us.  All of this from the people who want to lead us.

What is perhaps most astounding to me, is that all of this is somehow, inexplicably deemed as acceptable behavior, which hardly seems to raise an eyebrow from most people, or, people shrug it off with statements like; “it’s politics, what do you expect?”

But imagine if we ran our businesses like this, if we embraced this kind of leadership style as our own?  How long would we last?

Consider you open your newspaper tomorrow and there is a full-page ad, by say Fairmont Hotels, telling you how awful Four Seasons Hotels are.  It goes on to accuse Westin and Sheraton of being dirty, Marriott Hotels of having terrible service, and concludes with some negative caption under a photo-shopped photograph of Bill Marriott.  Would you think to yourself, wow, I want to stay with Fairmont Hotels; I am moved and inspired by their ad.  I think not.

What’s more, we would be disgusted and outraged, because it is simply unacceptable behavior, at any time, but perhaps even more so when it is seen to be spearheaded by those that would label themselves as leaders, pillars in our community.

That which was intended to drive us to one brand would instead send us running in the opposite direction.  Why then is this acceptable behavior from those that would lead us at the highest level, representing our country and our values to the world.

I admit, I don’t have the answer.  It is I confess one of those moments in life when I feel about as significant as a grain of sand on the beach.

But, it all starts with one voice.

Martin Luther King once said; “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

If you’d like to see a new era of politics in our country, add your voice.

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Fine Dining - The Death of an Era

Earlier this week the news was all a buzz about 2 major restaurants, owned by renowned chef Daniel Boulud, that announced that they would be closing in the next few weeks.

Daniel, and his partners, were quoted as having blamed the closing on the “perfect storm” of economic factors, which they have been unable to overcome, and certainly I can empathize with restaurant and bar owners who have had to deal with the new HST, and the tougher drinking and driving laws that have recently come into place.

Everyone knows that the profit margins in restaurants are low, and in particular if your restaurant’s food to liquor ratio is quite high.  At least if you are serving higher percentages of liquor, beer and wine, you have the benefit of higher yield from beverage sales to at least somewhat offset the low profit margins from food sales, but if the majority of your sales is food, good luck.

The other friend of the successful restaurant is volume.  If you can turn the restaurant over two or three times an evening, the majority of the days that you are open, and assuming a decent average check as well, you are doing well.

Regardless, some restaurants will make it, and some will not.  As I sited in my previous post; “Opening Soon – Are You Crazy?” 80% of all new restaurants do not survive past their second anniversary, but these two restaurants had several good years under their belt at this point.

I believe that they were doomed to failure for another reason – a failure to adapt from what was “fine dining” to what a truly memorable dining experience has become.

People are no longer looking for white table clothes and fine linen napkins as the definition of the environment of an exceptional dining experience.  In fact, I would argue that in many, many cases, the sight of an overly formal “dining room” can be enough for people to turn around and promptly exit stage left in search of an alternative location.  Who hasn’t been turned off by finding themselves in an overly formal room, where you feel like you need to be in a suit and tie and that whispering is the only form of acceptable conversation over dinner.  The serving staff looks like they have just come from the opera and everything about the restaurant screams pretentious.  

What people are looking for are any one of a number of variations of a simple common theme; good, fresh local ingredients, prepared and presented in a unique and captivating manner by knowledgeable and friendly staff, highlighting and celebrating the region where the restaurant is located.  Sure, the setting plays a role, but not one of pretentiousness, but rather a clean, warm and inviting room where people feel truly welcome and comfortable to settle in for a while, to enjoy the company of their friends and family in an environment where the food is the star, not the room.  It’s about the experience.

That’s the formula for sustainable success in the restaurant business today.  The time for table clothes and stuffy rooms where you feel like you need to pass a social status test in order to enter is over.  Special occasion restaurants, as many of these tend to be, are not sustainable.  If it takes an anniversary or other special occasion, for everyone to feel the need to dress up to go out for dinner, that won’t be enough to keep people coming through the doors, and your days are numbered.

Fail to adapt and you face extinction.

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Hotel Fundamentals . . . Since the Beginning of Time

As far as I’m concerned, as soon as you decide to hang a sign on a building that says “Hotel” you have certain minimum responsibilities, regardless of how many diamonds or stars your property is.

I believe it’s fair for the consumer to make a few assumptions based on seeing that sign, encouraging them to check-in for the night at your Hotel.

You could certainly argue that there are more than the minimum requirements that made my list, but I would hope that you would not argue that these are, at least, the minimum expectations of any Hotel, dating back to when the first Hotels began to pop up around the world, and regardless of what part of the world you are in.

A Decent Night’s Sleep

You’ll notice that I didn’t specifically reference the bed, although that is, of course, one of the key fundamentals required for “the good night’s sleep.”  However, it is not the only thing, which is my point.  You can have an absolutely fabulous bed, but if it is in a room that has lousy climate control, or the room is overly noisy, or maybe you can’t get the drapes to close properly, preventing light from outside streaming through the windows, you are not going to get a good night’s sleep, and isn’t that the #1 reason you check into a Hotel for in the first place?

A Good Shower

This is definitely a personal preference for me.  When I get up, after my good night’s sleep, and after having returned from my morning run, and I am ready to begin the day, I want to have a good shower, which I define as enough consistent hot water, with good water pressure.  After that, I don’t care.  I don’t need a shower massage, and I don’t need multiple shower heads.  Sure, they can be nice, but they don’t make my list of shower fundamentals.  For me, water pressure is king.  It doesn’t need to have the ability to rip my skin off, but to me, there is nothing worse than having to dance around in the shower to get wet, and, after having spent the appropriate amount of time in the shower, to feel like your body is still covered with soap, and your hair is still full of shampoo.

A Good Cup of Coffee

Now some of you might expand this to be a good breakfast, and I don’t necessarily disagree, but there are those of us who prefer not to eat first thing in the morning, and for us, and arguably, as a key component to the good breakfast as well, would still be a good cup of coffee.

Now this is a tough one, given people’s many different preferences, but regardless of brand preferences, we all know a good cup of coffee when we have one, regardless of whether or not it is our own personal “favourite” brand or not, or perhaps more so, we all know a bad cup of coffee when we experience it.

If you are not committed to providing your guests with a decent night’s sleep, a good shower and a good cup of coffee, you have no business calling yourself a Hotel and it’s time to take down the sign and close your doors.

And for those of you who are appalled that I didn’t mention service as a fundamental requirement, please remember that I did say “minimum” requirements, for ANY Hotel, regardless of whether it is budget or luxury or anything in between.  Great service can, and often does, offset shortfalls in other areas of a Hotel experience.

You may wonder why I went to the trouble to state what must seem so obvious to everyone who reads this, and I’ll tell you, it’s because there are far too many Hotels who fail this test on one or more of my minimum requirements, and what’s worse, they either don’t know it, or, they don’t seem to care.

When is the last time that you stayed in your own Hotel, and attempted to experience your property as a guest would?

When did you last use the health club in your Hotel?  (Another hugely important area I might add).  Not just walk through, but actually use the equipment?

It’s not enough to simply do a walk-through of the various areas in your Hotel, and to “assume” that everything is fine, just because you have not received complaints to the contrary.  Remember, a huge percentage of people never bother to report their complaints to the Hotel, but they do go on to tell their friends about what happened, and what’s worse these days, they’ll go on-line and write a negative review  for everyone to see.

Want to know what your guests are experiencing?  Then put yourself in their shoes from time to time.  You’ll be surprised what you see, from this perspective, that might otherwise have gone unseen. 

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Virtual Meetings – Virtually Fabulous, or, a Virtual Flash in the Pan?

I know that I could very well end up being known in the same manner as those people who said that talking movies were just a fad, but I just don’t see virtual meetings taking hold to an extent that gives Hotels any cause for concern.

I love technology and I do think a great deal of this particular technology, but I just don’t see businesses running out to rent these technology suites to use instead of travelling to the location of their other offices, and it’s expensive, from the quotes that I have seen from Hotels that have invested in the technology.

I have a bias as well, just to be up front about it, in the interest of full disclosure.

During a time when I was functioning as an Asset Manager for a company that owned a number of Hotels, some branded and some not, we were approached by one of the major brands that we worked with to put in a technology suite, which we could in turn rent out to clients who wanted to defer the cost of travel in favour of a virtual meeting with their counter-parts in other parts of the world.

According to the brand, our city was identified as one of the major cities where this need was identified as being significant in the coming years and we were being given the opportunity to jump on the band wagon to capture on this market when it takes hold.

Problem is, the technology required is VERY expensive, and, even if you use the suggested rental prices that the brand felt were appropriate, (which I could not imagine anyone paying), the ROI on this investment just isn’t there – not in my opinion anyway.

In case you haven’t already guessed, we did not invest in the technology suite.  I told the owner I thought that the brand was being irresponsible with his money by proposing this investment, and that it was my strong recommendation that he not authorize this expenditure, at that time.  He agreed.

I can see this technology being tremendously successful with companies who have multiple offices in multiple locations around the world, but I would see those same companies investing in the technology themselves, to have in their own offices, so they could meet whenever they please, and with little or no notice required, potentially saving them a great deal of money on travel, and giving them a respectable ROI that would justify their investment.

That was another problem that I had with the brand proposal – they were suggesting that by investing in this technology in our Hotel, in our city, people would travel to our city and choose our Hotel so that they could use our technology for their virtual meeting.  In short, they were suggesting that business executives would still travel, albeit shorter distances, then have a virtual meeting, from our Hotel, with their company executives, at another of our brands’ Hotels, presumably which they too may have had to travel too.

I’m sorry, but I think that’s crazy.  The whole point of the virtual meeting is to avoid the cost of travel, not just reduce it a little bit.

And let’s not forget that the real cost of travel is not just the hard costs associated with air fare and Hotel costs and the like.  As big a consideration is the loss of productivity.  In spite of the improvements in technology, people are not as productive on the road as they are in their offices, it’s a fact.

Also, given the speed with which companies like Skype are improving their platforms, I suspect that it won’t be long before we can have a virtual meeting in any number of ways that may work for us, and at a significantly reduced cost that makes sense for the majority of us.

Lastly, and as important as anything that I’ve already said, is the argument for the benefit of travel as it relates to relationships.  Sure, you can have a good and productive meeting using virtual meeting technology, but it does nothing to maintain or enhance relationships, and as I have been guilty of saying repeatedly, I believe that the hospitality business is all about relationships.

If you agree with that assessment, then you would also agree that there will always be a need, and a benefit, to travel in our industry.  In a business that is all about people, it will always be important to meet, face to face, with the people in our business. 

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Opening Soon - Are You Crazy?

There is a restaurant on my daily running route that I have noticed under construction for the last six months or so.  It’s a new build, from what I have seen, which is to say that it isn’t one of those oh so typical situations where someone is going in to take over the location of the last restaurant that failed, minimizing their investment, given the presumption that there is already a kitchen, a bar, etc…

Any of you that have been involved in construction know that the cost to take a shell of a building, and then add everything required, to turn it into a functioning restaurant (or Hotel) is considerable.  It’s probably 10 times more expensive than taking over a failed location, throwing a fresh coat of paint on the walls, making a few other improvements, slapping on some signage and announcing your new concept to the world.

For months now I have been running past this location, taking note of the construction, the various trade vehicles coming and going, and like many others, I have been wondering what is coming, and, when it would open.

Just to put this into further perspective, I should tell you that this restaurant is not located in the heart of the business or tourist district.  It is on a busy street with strong vehicular traffic, and I would guess, little foot traffic on an ongoing basis. 

A couple of months ago now I noticed that they had placed several large banners on the building that said “opening soon,” leaving me to wonder just how soon they would be opening.  I’ve seen instances where owners have erected signage such as this six months or even a year before the location was scheduled to open, hoping to create awareness in the community, a curiosity, a level of anticipation.

My question was answered, at least partially, today, when I ran passed the restaurant and saw that the brown paper was down from the windows, the interior appeared to be largely completed, and, the most telling sign – the bar was fully stocked.  

Presumably, this restaurant will open within days, in the latter half of December, which leads me to wonder one thing about the owner – is he or she rich, or crazy, or both? 

Why, in heavens name, would you open a restaurant just after everyone has done their pre-Christmas entertaining, and spending, and just as those same people are about to go into their annual self-imposed freeze on spending, while they assess the damage from Christmas and sit around calculating how long it is going to take to get their credit cards back under control.

No one is spending money in January, or at least not on discretionary items like dinner out with family and friends.  How could someone not know that?

I was involved with a company once; where I was brought on to open a Hotel, among other things.  When I first arrived I was told by the owner that he wanted to open the Hotel in November of that same year, and my immediate question was why?

Why would you want to open at a time when business is historically slow for the destination and remains slow until probably April or May when things traditionally pick-up?

Why would you want to endure months of negative cash flow, high labour costs, made even higher by the fact that you would be open over Christmas and New Year’s, requiring you to pay additional statutory wage costs, and on and on? 

It made no sense – a point that I was able to make clear after producing several budgets for the owner, based on opening at different times, and of course taking into account that there were still financing costs that needed to be taken into consideration, if we delayed opening as I was suggesting.  Regardless, it was clear that the right answer was to delay opening, which we did, resulting in a very successful, and appropriately profitable, first year of operations.

So, back to the new restaurant opening in my neighbourhood.  Do they know something that I don’t?  Have they found the secret to opening in a mediocre location, at a time of year when everyone is curtailing their spending? 

Or, has the owner got deep pockets?  I sure hope so, because in as much as I do not want to see anyone go out of business, I cannot help but think that these people have set themselves up with a significant challenge as they open their doors and try to make it in the fiercely competitive restaurant business.

Statistics show that 80% of all new restaurants do not survive past their second anniversary.  In North America, restaurant failure rates are much higher simply because most are under-capitalized and in many instances owners or managers fail to understand all aspects of the business. 

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The Happiest Place in the World

I know what you’re probably expecting, based on that headline, but no, this is not a story about Disneyland or Disney World – but admittedly this is my pre-Christmas “feel good” article.

Granted, that Walt Disney was no dummy, and most people, if asked, would say that Disneyland or Disney World are the happiest places on earth.

I’m not here to try and argue the point – Disneyland and Disney World are unique products with unprecedented levels of success.

However, for me, my personal happy place is a Hotel, most any full-service Hotel in most any major city around the world.

I love everything thing about a Hotel, and it makes me happy, instantly I might add, to step inside of a busy full-service Hotel and come face-to-face with everything that makes for a great Hotel experience.

I’ve known for a very long time now that I was destined to work in the Hospitality business, and specifically, in Hotels, and that point is never clearer to me than when I walk into a Hotel that I have not been in before for the first time.

I can feel a warm smile cross my face and I have an almost overwhelming sensation that I am home again, no matter where I might actually be in the world. 

At that point, I become aware of the cleanliness of the lobby, the attention to detail in the layout, the furnishings, all things physical.

Simultaneously, I become aware of the many conversations taking place, between staff and guests, guest to guest, and amongst the staff.

There is a steady and consistent buzz in the lobby as everyone is set on their individual course, they all have their own priorities, and for the most part, all are indifferent to the activities and conversations of the other groups, but it all works.

To the lay person it must look like controlled chaos at times, but I see it for what it is; a symphony, where everyone in the orchestra knows their respective part and instinctively goes about their tasks with a harmony and efficiency that is rarely seen in other business environments.

A Hotel is a truly special place.

And the only thing that makes me happier than being in a Hotel that creates that positive environment that you sense as soon as you cross the threshold, is being the “orchestra leader” in that scenario.

I’m always so proud of my team when I can see them in action, sense their confidence as they each do what they do and know best, and support each other in pursuit of a common goal – to create consistently exceptional guest experiences, different, special and unique to each and every guest that we have the privilege to come in contact with, but exceptional nonetheless.

It may not be Disneyland, but Disneyland is not for everyone.  

Everyone should be so lucky as to find their true calling – to live their dream.  

It reminds me of a great quote that I was recently exposed to – regrettably I do not know the author.

“A person who is a master in the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labour and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love and their religion.  They hardly know which is which and simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace, whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing.  To them, they are always doing both.”

When you do what you love, you do not think of it as “work.” 

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Value - One of "the" Buzz Words of 2010

Value became one of “the” buzz words for 2010 and I suspect that it is with us for a while yet.

It seems that every Hotel company came to recognize the importance of value to their customers in 2010 and worked to position themselves against their competitors as providing better, or more, value than their competitors.

It certainly served to ramp up competition, and I suspect, get many Hoteliers to examine what their value proposition was, and once they figured that out, how to creatively and effectively communicate that point to their prospective customers.

The big winner in the chase for customer dominance has to be the customer themselves.

Every time they turn around, another company is trying to court them and to entice them with yet another perk for choosing to stay with them over their competitor.

But I believe something has gotten lost in this fast-paced race between Hoteliers.

As they have been busy trying to one up each other, many of them have somehow managed to (incorrectly) translate value into “cheaper is better” and they have devalued their product and experience, along with their competitors, along the way.

Value can be an elusive target, and it means something different to everyone.

I have found myself paying $300.00 or more for a dinner for two and left feeling very happy, very satisfied, and, feeling like I got great value for my dollar, based on my expectations, and, my overall positive experience.  

How much it cost never crossed my mind, because my expectations were exceeded and I had an exceptional experience.

Conversely, I have gone out for lunch for two and spent $50.00 and left feeling entirely ripped off.  Food was mediocre, service was largely the same, and my overall experience was one of aggravation and frustration.

How much it didn’t cost was not the issue.

What was the issue was the impact of the overall negative experience.

Therein lies my point; you can’t put a price on value.

And if you can’t put a price on value, then it’s entirely possible that all you are doing is unnecessarily discounting on your product and experience, and, you’re leaving money on the table.

The one, and only, company that I have seen that seems to truly understand this is Four Seasons Hotels.

They have remained steadfast in their support of, and commitment to, the value of their brand and what it means to stay at a Four Seasons Hotel and to have a Four Seasons experience, and it’s not for sale.

You won’t find Four Seasons Hotels on Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz or any of the other on-line discount channels – they flatly refuse to get into the discount wars with other Hotels of their caliber in their various markets.

I won’t pretend to know the level of business that Four Seasons has been able to maintain during these tough economic times, but I will speculate that if this was a losing proposition, they wouldn’t still be holding out.

Also, when the economy improves, Four Seasons won’t be faced with the same challenge that other companies will face – how to now significantly increase their rate from the depths to which they have sunk, and, how to convince their guests that their increased rates are suddenly justified again.

Hotel companies that are out there teaching consumers, by their actions, that there is always a better deal to be had, are going to face a long and hard return to profitability as and when the economy returns into positive territory. 

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How Can We Change the World if You Won’t Look Me in the Eye?

I was in Ottawa a while back, to visit my daughter, who is in the Masters English program at the University of Ottawa, and she encouraged me to attend a “slam poetry competition” with her.

If you know me, you would know that I am about as likely to be at a slam poetry competition as I am to be found walking on the moon.

That said, you would also know that I have often attended events like this, at the urging of my daughter, because she is a very thoughtful young woman who believes in experiencing as much of life as possible.

Through her, I have experienced many things that I might otherwise not have been as open to, and I have always left a better person than when I arrived, as was the case when I did indeed attend the slam poetry competition.

There was a young man there whose poem was based upon the premise of the question; how can we change the world if you won’t look me in the eye?

It was a very powerful poem that reinforced that our expectations of ending wars and other lesser conflicts are in fact somewhat naive when we consider that we can’t even look each other in the eye.

It’s a simple concept, but it is so true.

Coincidently, a short time later, I attended a training program where one of the exercises was to stand, face to face, with a stranger, and look them in the eye for 5 minutes.

I cannot tell you how many people in the program had difficulty with this exercise, even though by the time we did it, we had spent several hours together, so we weren’t really strangers anymore.

Nonetheless, people had a tough time of it, but once completed, everyone was equally as moved by what they had experienced, myself included, and I would count myself as someone who does look people in the eye, and did so long before this.

Regardless though, it has stayed with me since then, and I have been keenly aware, as I have walked around my city, attended meetings, crammed myself into an elevator with many others, of just how little eye contact goes on in a given day.

It’s sad really, but with the advancement of technology and the prolific use of things like the iPod, people are completely withdrawn from each other, and from the rest of the world that surrounds them.

It does beg the question; how can we change the world if you won’t look me in the eye?

Hotels, I’ll give you, are an exception to this situation, thankfully.

Clearly, someone figured this one out a long time ago and it has been a part of our commitment to service since Hotels first began to spring up, all over the world, a cornerstone with which our service training has built upon.

I could be wrong, but I think Hotel people, people who have chosen the hospitality industry as their chosen profession, are up to great things.

These are people, who, at their core, care about other people, so who better to take up the cause.

Ghandi said; “be the change that you want to see in the world.”

So here’s my challenge to you: take your commitment to people and spread it beyond the four walls of your Hotel, be the change that you want to see in the world and inspire others through your actions. 

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