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Tom’s Take: What Do Transient Guests Want?

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

We all assume we know what our guests desire when they stay with us. Do you really know or are you assuming you know?

Do you need more or less amenities?

Some hotels and companies do an excellent job surveying their guests. These hotels have advance knowledge on their customers changing tastes.

When was the last time you surveyed your guests when they checked in or out?

Start by giving guests a 4″ x 6″ card at check in that asks: Please indicate the 3 things we can do to make your stay enjoyable. Then have 3 lines. At bottom ask them if they would like you to remember these for their next visit. If so please enter their name and email address.

At check out give them a second 4″ x 6″ card asking them to list the 5 most important amenities you can offer. At bottom ask them if they would like you to remember these for their next visit. If so please enter their name and email address.

Giving guests blank cards enables them to tell you exactly what is most important to them. After the guest has left have your front desk staff indicate on the card whether the guest is traveling on business or pleasure. If possible identify the business the guest is in.

Several hotels are starting to survey their customers each time they check in. The hotels have developed follow-up mini-surveys for repeat customers. Better service starts by understanding each of our guests. The above program cost is typically less than $25 per month. If you don’t have the ability to print on 4″ x 6″ card stock, then use 8 1/2″ x 11″ 28 pound paper stock. Run it through your photocopier and cut it into quarters.

To run efficiently, we each need to apply “zero based” practices whenever possible. This means starting without preconceptions. Several hotels that have done this have found they could eliminate some of the room amenities they provide “as a matter of course.” Of course these hotels have to meet brand standards. They have also been able to suggest to brands that some amenities need to be available. That doesn’t mean they need to be in the room.

Tags: customer surveys, guest surveys, know your customers., Transient guests
Posted in Industry News, Leadership, Operations, Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Best Places for Business Meetings

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Robert Half Management Resources recently ran on survey on “the best places to hold a business meeting” outside the company’s four walls.

Following are the results and few ideas on how hotels can drive revenues.

The recent survey by Robert Half Management Resources.

When asked, “Other than in the office, what was the location of your most successful business meeting ever?,” here’s what 1,400 finance execs replied:

restaurant (36%)
trade show or conference (25%)
sporting event (4%)
golf course (3%)
in a car (1%)
on a trip/plane (1%)
nowhere else (24%), and
other/don’t know/refused (4%).

To increase your revenues:

-Call local businesses and offer your restaurant for business meetings between meal periods. Let them know that 1400 financial executives surveyed indicated this is the number one source of business meetings outside of their own offices. If they need larger area, sell them meeting space. Long term benefit: Local businesses will become aware of services you offer and will tell vendors that visit them. As employees of these companies become aware of your hotel they can refer visiting friends or social business to you. Collect business cards to establish communication paths.

-Trade show or conference. When there is trade show for any industry in your town or city, do you attend? This is one of the best opportunities to discover all the vendors that come to your town/city. You have a captive audience. Ask them where they are staying. If not at your hotel, exchange business cards so you can cultivate them.

-Sporting Event. Check with local golf courses, country clubs, and casinos to see when they have events/tournaments scheduled. Visit them to collect business cards from people that can use your hotel and facilities the next time. A half day at these functions can generate 50 or more leads for future business. Tournaments attract vendors, spectators and participants. All can be your customers.

We all talk about people who “think outside the box.” Any of your employees who are doing the above are demonstrating these abilities. Take care of these employees. Need more employees like this? That requires you to think “outside the box.” We can help. There are inexpensive ways to recruit, call Securemploy at 800-935-5280. We’ll be glad to share what we hear from successful companies.

Posted in Finance, Industry News, Leadership, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Hiring the Top 40%

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Employers are telling us they will need ‘better’ employees in 2010.

Their definition of better? Employees who are:

Highly motivated,
Already cross-trained, or demonstrate the ability to be cross-trained
Have accomplishments they can quantify
Team players
In all probability, currently employed.

The above definition applies to 40% of employees at most. The rest may be good employees, but don’t have the same degree of promotability.

2010 employers all need to do more with fewer or the same number of employees. That means that all employers will be chasing the same 40% of the work-force.

How to Attract Candidates in the Top 40%.

Offer highly competitive compensation packages and don’t be afraid to quote real salaries. Especially when advertising sales positions.
Tell them about your standards of performance for their position.
Describe your management team and how they work together.
Indicate how they can make a positive impact on your company.
Tell them about people who have been promoted.

To hire candidates rated among the Top 40% you need to give people a reason to apply for your jobs. These candidates are currently working. They are willing to listen to new career opportunities. When you first reach out to them they are not highly motivated to change jobs. Your employment advertising needs to be create a reason for them to start thinking about changing jobs now.

Willing to share? What recruiting techniques are working best for you?

Posted in Leadership, Operations, Recruiting & Training, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Profiting from Multi-Family Ind. Problems

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

There is a lot of doom and gloom talk in the media, and in our industry on what lies ahead for 2010. I try to follow it all. WHY? To identify where the hidden opportunities are.

None of us can afford to waste time waiting for the government to bail us out. It’s never happened yet. The business world is always responsible for our own “bail outs.

I just read an article on the bleak outlook for multi-family sector of our industry. Their problems open opportunities for Extended Stay hotels in our industry to take some of the multi-family business. Is it great business? Maybe, maybe not. But it can provide a base of business. It can also be an option for some older hotels that are struggling and can’t afford a renovation.

Luxury Extended Stay Opportunity: Many major corporations maintain corporate apartments their employees use when coming to corporate or regional offices. High-end extended stay properties can compete very effectively for this business. Whether it’s business related travel, or temporary housing for relocating employees.

Mid-market Extended Stay Opportunity: Seek out mid-market companies. Ask if they have corporate apartments for transferring or traveling employees. Perhaps you can provide the services less expensively. Mid-market full service hotels can also provide a service to these companies by offering use of F&B outlets. Include the price of 1-3 meals a day into the price of the suite. This can benefit your F&B facilities as well as benefit the customer, especially those with children.

Basic Extended Stay Opportunity: There can be opportunities to make multi-month rentals/leases to people displaced from their apartments. You can determine the types of long-term rental customers that best meet the needs of your property. Long-term rentals to guests with pets might be excellent market for ground level units that have patios/exterior entrances. Or for rentals to guests with special needs.

Resort Opportunity: Resorts close to headquarters for companies may be able to pick up relocation stays. Many companies would rather put their employees up at nice resort than some apartment/hotel in town. Should resort be lucky enough to attract several stays from a corporation at once, offer to provide basic transportation back and forth.

Opportunity for Hotels in need of restoration or who are being pressured by franchisors or financial institutions: Evaluate your physical plant to identify opportunities to convert rooms to studio or one bedroom apartments. Then identify if the revenues you can generate can provide a better ROI than the current use. At very least it might provide a base of business to cover the basics.

There are always opportunities. Watch and listen for them. Then encourage your employees to contribute their ideas.

Have a profitable week.

Posted in Leadership, Operations, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: 2010 Opportunities for Management Companies

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Opportunities for management companies to add properties to their portfolios are excellent for 2010. But not in traditional ways.

There have been many investment conferences and roundtables.

Several things are clear:

There are trillions of dollars in commercial real estate that is not covering debt service.
The government is not going to let the financial institutions carry these assets at a loss for long.
Financial institutions will be forced to take many of these assets back. At that time they have the choice of writing them down, or finding management companies to operate them until the real estate markets stabilize and the assets can be sold at a profit. According to the experts that’s several years down the road. The experts also agree financial institutions can’t write these assets down enough to unload them without getting into financial difficulties.

This spells opportunities for solid operators to pick up management contracts that will likely be multi-year contracts. This is different than previous recessions. In prior recessions financial institutions have taken back properties and sold them quickly. Management companies would get fees for only a few months. Many times the management contracts on these distressed assets didn’t provide a ROI for management companies.

This time around, with shrewd negotiating, management companies will be able to make money on the management contracts; get first right of refusal on acquiring the hotels, and; in some instances can probably just take over debt service on the hotels, assuming the management companies can identify ways to increase business to at least cover expenses. Operators who have ability to build asset values over a few years will assume much stronger leadership positions in our industry.

Management companies can also start to act as Asset Managers on select hospitality assets. The best opportunities will be on assets held by small financial institutions who don’t have the Asset Management depth to properly evaluate hospitality assets.

Financial institutions will need consulting expertise in marketing and operations. Many assets taken back may best be operated by splitting out the F&B from the rooms. Or totally repositioning the asset.

One of our clients recently took over the F&B operations at a nice hotel close to their corporate offices and reasonably close to another hotel they operate. An ideal contract? On the surface no, in actuality yes. This deal makes sense given the location in relation to other operations the company is already managing.

2010 will be year of excellent opportunities for companies to expand their portfolios…if they concentrate on assets close to home. This is wonderful market to build new relationships. A few management companies are already taking advantage of these opportunities. It will be interesting to see how many companies use 2010 to expand their portfolio from 20-100%.

Posted in Finance, Leadership, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom Take: What are Vidoes of Your Property Company

Friday, November 13th, 2009

The number of businesses that have videos has increased greatly. But what is the purpose of the video for your hotel, business or company?

Any authorized video for your business is better than no video at all. Many businesses talk about how professional and up-to-date their company is. Your company will come across as behind the times if you talk about the above but don’t have a video when asked for one.

A video gives you the opportunity to convey your message to job candidates and potential customers. The video doesn’t have to be professionally done. High priced professional videos often miss the mark because they are obviously professionally done and designed to present the company in the best possible light. People are interested in seeing your company as it really is.

Videos enable you to convey a message to candidates for your jobs and to your customers.

Many companies make the mistake of having one video, when they really need several. If you only have one video, use it. But tell people information that is not in the video. The information that will help the person make an informed judgement about your company.

Think of a video as a commercial. Think about all the commercials you see about cars and trucks on the TV every day. A typical commecial talks about safety reliability, gas mileage, their warranty, etc. Each commercial highlites several features and benefits. There is rarely any time for details. A video for your property, or about a specific job you are trying to fill is similar.

The ideal job video.

Will show several key aspects of the job.
Then show a typical day.
It will include comments from one or more people who are in or have held the job.
Last it will talk about some of the challenges of the job.

We hear a great deal about branding. When creating a general video for your business, that is very important. When creating recruiting videos the content is more important. Work the brand in, but it does not need repeated reference like it should in a general video.

A recruiting video should communicate the culture and values and mission of the company or property. Be sure the video accurately portrays the job. Don’t be afraid to talk about some of the challenges of the job. You want candidates who understand and have the skills to meet the challenges.

There are people working at your location that can shoot the video. Ask for volunteers. Better yet have a contest with a simple fun prize (like pizza and pop.) Then see what they can do. Typically employees will get into the project and work together and the end product will be better…and everybody can win share the prize.

If nothing else, a project like this creates buzz about your property and company, and gives your employees something positive to talk about.

Create your video and post it on You Tube. It’s quick and easy. People are used to looking at You Tube videos and they have an understanding on the quality of video to expect.

You can include your video on your Internet ads on Hospitality Jobs Online to give your company an edge when advertising.

Posted in Leadership, Recruiting & Training, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: How Job Seekers Evaluate You & Your Jobs

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Smart job seekers:

Research employers using Google, Your Website, Social Networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, Ladders, Facebook, etc. They also use industry experts like Securemploy, who track and research employers.
They want to know about your culture, values, training you provide and employee loyalty and morale.
Then they evaluate your requirements and decide if they will apply for your job.

Employers who do the best job on steps 1-2 receive the best candidates in step 3.

There are 2 categories of Job Seeker. Which are you attracting?

Currently Employed & Relatively Happy

Will listen to new opportunities but let opportunities come to them.
Feel they strongly contribute to their current job and company.
Feel recognized and appreciated.
Look for careers with companies they can contribute to and advance with.
Have compensation they feel is fair, so carefully consider offers.
Secure knowing they will advance their careers.
Average 42 months per employer, giving employers solid ROI.

Aggressively Looking

Frequently Unemployed
Often have lots of job movement.
Often complacent about their careers or unrealistic on how fast they should advance.
Typically look for jobs.
Often willing to take any or the first job offered.
Usually feel undercompensated, overworked, or unappreciated.
Stay in most jobs 15 months or less.

Which group are you getting your employees from?

Posted in Leadership, Recruiting & Training, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Recruiting Techniques have Changed, Have You?

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Candidates continue to change how they search for jobs.

In the early 1990’s print employment advertising still held sway. Early 2000’s it was cross-industry job boards and then niche job sites. In2009-10 Web 2.0 tools are being used, Search Engine optimization continues to evolve, social networking has taken off, and job aggregators play a key role. All aspects of recruiting now rely on technology.

Do you have a Pinpoint Recruiting Strategy? One that saves you money and measures the ROI on the people you have hired?

View Securemploy’s Media Services to help you tie all the latest technologies into one simple plan.

http://www.securemploy.com/recruiting_services.php

Recruiting isn’t tough, but it does require the effort to create media that will draw the candidates you want…people currently successful in their jobs.

Posted in Recruiting & Training, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Decreasing Turnover

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Just read a very interesting report from the Aberdeen Group on Decreasing Turnover. The Aberdeen Group studies and reports what and how Best in Class companies are addressing various issues.

It’s no secret that the current ecomonmy is increasing the importance of Human Capital Management. The challenge is how to connect talent and workforce initiatives to the priorities of the business. Then how to measure the results.

Aberdeen Group studied 233 companies for their report.

Best in Class companies measured turnover, but then looked to see if the employee turnover was related to lack of skills. If so, these companies identified the current skills gap against current and future needs. Each of us in the hospitality industry needs to do this each time a job is vacant. As we consolidate more jobs, we must be sure we are hiring the skills to enable employees to succeed in their new roles.

That means we need to be more accurate when we are describing jobs in our employment ads

What are some of the tools Best in Class companies use?

-Actual spread sheets that track turnover and identify if person released had skill set to succeed. If so, why did the employee leave.

-Best in Class companies have well defined processes to collect data on employees. What kind of data? Data on the key skills to assure success in the job.

-Staffing models based on strategic needs of hotels or companies. Right now, hotels are consolidating a lot of management jobs. A lot of these consolidations don’t make sense long-term, but they can work now, based on skills of people in your organization. Best in Class companies may have to do this as well, but they are careful to identify how the organization should ideally be staffed to assure long term success.

-Best in Class companies share data on what skills are needed with employees on a regular basis. Employees need to know what is expected short and long term. Best in Class companies give employees the opportunities to acquire the skills to advance.

-Clearly define competencies for all positions.

Posted in Recruiting & Training, Tom's Take | No Comments »

Tom’s Take: Smart Phone Marketing Opportunities

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Many people are using smart phones instead of computers

How can hotels use this technology to drive revenues?

1. Advertise evening specials in your lounge, restaurant, or spa. Make sure your message is very short. Think of the Twitter concept that only allows 140 characters in a message.

2. Advertise room night specials or weekend specials.

3. Advertise products from your gift shop that can be easily shipped. Brand some of your amenity products to build brand loyalty.

Smartphone usage skyrocketed 187% from July 2008 to July 2009.

IPhones and Google Android-enabled devices offer ads on large screens. You can use display and banner ads.

Remember, majority of SmartPhone users are twenty somethings. While younger, they are very tech savvy. About 65 million of Facebook’s 300 million members are mobile users. Eight months ago, it was 20 million. Of MySpace’s estimated 125 million members worldwide, about 25 million use mobile devices. A year ago, it was 6 million.

Posted in Revenue Generation, Sales & Marketing, Tom's Take | No Comments »

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