Guest Blog – Crowdfunding and cash sources from LODGING LEADERS

 

LODGING LEADERS

Mass

Mass Appeal: Crowdfunding for hotel development mines new sources of cash

https://longlivelodging.com/227-mass-appeal-crowdfunding-for-hotel-development-mines-new-sources-of-cash/  

When it launched five years ago, crowdfunding for real estate development was a hot topic, especially among hotel developers seeking new ways to pay for their projects.

Though it’s not creating the same level of buzz as it did when it first became a federally sanctioned option in 2014, crowdfunding remains a viable tool in attracting a wide range of investors and sourcing new streams of cash.

Basically, crowdfunding is a campaign for small amounts of money from a large number of people. It is friends and family financing gone viral.

We talk to hotel developers who are using the alternative financing method to raise cash for their projects.

The projects are vastly different, as are the fundraisers’ goals, and target investors.

One is a boutique property in a resort market, and the developer plans to raise the entire construction cost via crowdfunding. The other is a midscale branded hotel in a technology park, and the firm is selling shares to close a funding gap.

Featured in today’s report is Nathan Kivi, founder of HotelierCo, an online fundraising company targeting hotel development; and Bhavik Dani, founder of EquityRoots, another fintech venture that’s raising capital for one project while about to break ground on another.

We also explain the evolution of crowdfunding, and why the federal government gave the technology its nod of approval as part of a national economic recovery program.

Anyone considering raising money for a project over the internet, or investing money via an online program, should first consult a professional adviser.

Resources and Links

• Nathan Kivi, founder of HotelierCo
• Bhavik Dani, founder of EquityRoots

For more information on crowdfunding visit:

• Investor.gov
• SEC’s Spotlight on Crowdfunding

The SEC study mentioned in this report is titled “Capital Raising in the U.S.: An Analysis of the Market for Unregistered Securities Offerings, 2009‐2017” and can be accessed here.

Comments and suggestions for future articles are always welcome john@hoganhospitality.com 

 

John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO

Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness

• Principal,  HoganHospitality.com   Expert Witness Services, Workshops, Consulting
•  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability
• Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

John@Hoganhospitality.com    Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375

Lodging Leaders Podcast Guest Blog: HOTEL CRIME- How to manage a high-profile case

When a hotel becomes a crime scene, there is little an owner or manager can do to ward off publicity. But a hotel can recover from a crisis and save its image if it has a plan in place to deal with the aftermath of a high-profile incident. Hotel crime has escalated around the world, and the U.S. is no exception. Some U.S. hotels have been indelibly marked by crime. No matter if the hotel redesigns or even closes, the site is known forever for the high-profile incident. In a few cases, owners have embraced the notoriety and actually made it work for their business. In this episode, we talk with: Nancy Patel, a hotelier who acquired a Texas hotel without knowing its infamy Chris Daly, a hospitality PR expert who specializes in crisis communication Imesh Vaidya, a hotelier who has been a spokesman for his city’s lodging community in the aftermath of hotel-related crimes Click here to listen to the full episode Jonathan Albano, CHO Host of the Lodging Leaders Podcast Co-Creator of the Build Great Hotel Teams Training Program (404) 594-4484 Connect with Lodging Leaders        Copyright © 2019 The Lodging Leaders Podcast, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to our email list on LodgingLeaders.com

Comments and suggestions for future articles are always welcome john@hoganhospitality.com 

 

John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO

Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness

• Principal,  HoganHospitality.com   Expert Witness Services, Workshops, Consulting
•  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability
• Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

John@Hoganhospitality.com    Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375

Click below for a fascinating look at one of the most successful of all American Hospitality businesses

Howard Johnson’s, Host of the Bygone Ways

Oct 6, 2017

For more than seven decades American roads were dotted with the familiar orange roof and blue cupola of the ubiquitous Howard Johnson’s restaurants and Motor Lodges.  The company’s founder and namesake was a grade school dropout who became a franchising pioneer and introduced the restaurant industry to centralized purchasing.  Johnson repeated his formula with motor lodges, creating one of the world’s largest hotel chains.

In 1965 Howard Johnson’s sales exceeded the combined sales of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  By 1979 the “Host of the Highways” had become the largest hospitality company in America, with more than 1,000 restaurants and 500 motor lodges.  But the company saw a decline of its rule over the roadways in the 1970s after a series of events destroyed the company’s earnings.
cover photo courtesy Ben Schumin

 

https://sometimes-interesting.com/2017/10/06/howard-johnsons-host-of-the-bygone-ways/ 

 

Howard Johnson first became locally famous for his ice cream.  He claimed the secret recipe came from his mother, while other accounts suggests it came from William G. Hallbauer, a retiring German immigrant who had been selling ice cream from his horse and cart in the area at the turn of the century.  The ‘secret’ was to double the amount of normal butterfat, and to use only natural ingredients.  This created a premium ice cream that was an immediate sensation and earned Howard $60,000 in revenue from his first beachfront stand.

An image accompanying a 1948 newpaper article shows Howard Johnson’s 28 flavors at the time (source).

Additional flavors were added – 28 in all – as well as “frankforts,” a premium hot dog sandwich developed by Howard that was grilled in butter.  Johnson clipped the frankfurters at both ends and notched them lengthwise.  He used only the highest quality meats grilled in a creamy butter, and for buns he used lightly buttered and toasted fresh rolls.

By 1928 Howard Johnson was grossing $240,000 from his store and small network of beachfront ice cream and frankfort vendors.

[ Howard Johnson’s original 28 ice cream flavors:  Banana, Black Raspberry, Burgundy Cherry, Butter Pecan, Buttercrunch, Butterscotch, Caramel Fudge, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Coffee, Frozen Pudding, Fruit Salad, Fudge Ripple, Lemon Stick, Macaroon, Maple Walnut, Mocha Chip, Orange-Pineapple, Peach, Peanut Brittle, Pecan Brittle, Peppermint Stick, Pineapple, Pistachio, Strawberry, Strawberry Ripple, Vanilla.

MORE DETAILS HERE
https://sometimes-interesting.com/2017/10/06/howard-johnsons-host-of-the-bygone-ways/ 

                 

 

 

Comments and suggestions for future articles are always welcome john@hoganhospitality.com 

 

John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO

Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness

• Principal,  HoganHospitality.com   Expert Witness Services, Workshops, Consulting
•  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability
• Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

John@Hoganhospitality.com    Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375

Guest Blog – Jonathan Albano – Host of the Lodging Leaders Podcast; Tri-branded hotels change playing field

In this episode, you’ll hear from executives and managers at North Point Hospitality and First Hospitality Group of Chicago, which each opened a tri-branded hotel in the past 12 months. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Nashville, Tennessee, is home to the country’s first tri-branded Marriott hotel. Developed by North Point Hospitality Group, the 470-room limited-service property consists of transient brands AC Hotel and SpringHill Suites, and Residence Inn, an extended-stay hotel. Located in downtown’s SoBro neighborhood where government offices are located, the $140 million complex is also across from Music City Center, a six-year-old facility with more than 2 million square feet of event space. Since it opened, the hotel has been at near capacity every day. In this episode, you’ll hear from executives and managers at North Point Hospitality and First Hospitality Group of Chicago, which each opened a tri-branded hotel in the past 12 months. They share the state of the tri-brand business so far, including some unforeseen challenges; how convention and tourism officials grasp the multi-flag concept; and how guests react when they realize there are three different hotels under one roof. Click here to listen to the full episode Jonathan Albano, CHO Host of the Lodging Leaders Podcast Co-Creator of the Build Great Hotel Teams Training Program (404) 594-4484

Connect with Lodging Leaders        Copyright © 2019 The Lodging Leaders Podcast, All rights reserved. John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO John@Hoganhospitality.com    Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375 Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness Principal,  HoganHospitality.com   Expert Witness Services, Workshops, Consulting  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

Guest Blog message from Stanley Turkel- The Pineapple as a Symbol of Hospitality, Fanciful Travel Predictions & Definition of “Turnpike”,

I am pleased to share a message from noted hotel historian, Stanley Turkel, CMHS that he posted earlier this year.  In this post, he notes the history of how the pineapple came to be known as the universal symbol of Hospitality.

John J. Hogan

This background is why we at HospitalityEducators.com chose the pineapple as part of our logos over the years.

  Original 2010 logo   

    Updated 2017

______________________________________________________________________

Fanciful Prediction, Definition of “Turnpike”, The Pineapple as a Symbol of Hospitality, Hokusai, the Great Japanese Printmaker

 (original publication date July 18, 2018 )

by Stanley Turkel, CMHS

Hotel History: Fanciful Prediction – In the September 1912 issue of American Homes & Gardens, futurist Harold D. Eberlein presented his predictions of the impact of air travel on American cities.  Eberlein foresaw a proliferation of roof gardens on top of large hotels to provide pleasing views for guests.  He also predicted that travelers could expect to find “clerks and bellboys posted on the top floor ready to attend to the immediate wants of tourists who have just arrived by airplane. Aerial taxicabs will circle like vultures over the hotel waiting for a doorman to signal one of them to alight and pick up a departing guest.” The creation of drones and self-driven vehicles shows just how close we are to fulfilling Eberlein’s fanciful prediction of the future. Google’s efforts to build delivery drones and internet-beaming balloons are no longer just science projects.

Definition of “Turnpike” – It came from the practice of placing a pike or staff across a toll road. One side of the pike was imbedded with spikes. When the toll was paid, the pike was turned spikes down so the traveler could pass. The first turnpike was built between Philadelphia and Lancaster in 1792.

The Pineapple as a Symbol of Hospitality – In order to understand how the pineapple became the symbol for hospitality, we must return to Newport, Rhode Island in the 17^th century. It was founded in 1639 by settlers seeking religious freedom. Newport’s majestic schooners participated in the infamous Triangle trade:  ships would sail to western Africa to pick up slaves, continue to the Caribbean to trade the slaves for sugar, molasses and sugar and then back to New England. Along with these commodities, captains would bring home pineapples whose exotic shape and sweetness made them a rare delicacy in the colonies.  Before emails or cellphones, sea captains would place the pineapples on their gate posts or over their doorways to inform neighbors that they had returned.  Colonial hostesses would set a fresh pineapple as a centerpiece of their dining table when visitors joined their families in their homes.  Later, carved wooden pineapples were placed over the doorways of inns and hotels to represent hospitality.  The practice has continued to the present and frequently one sees the pineapple icon in hotels, restaurants and homes to signal an atmosphere of hospitality and welcome.

Hokusai, the great Japanese master printmaster, once wrote:

“From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things and since the age of fifty I have published many drawings. Yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvelous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own.”

My Published Books

• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)
• Built To Last:  100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

About Stanley Turkel 

Stanley Turkel was designated as the 2014 and the 2015` Historian of the Year by Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This award is presented to an individual for making a unique contribution in the research and presentation of hotel history and whose work has encouraged a wide discussion and a greater understanding and enthusiasm for American History.

Turkel is a well-known consultant in the hotel industry. He operates his hotel consulting practice serving as an expert witness in hotel-related cases, provides asset management and hotel franchising consultation. He is certified as a Master Hotel Supplier Emeritus by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

All of his books can be ordered from the publisher (AuthorHouse) by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book title.

Contact: Stanley stanturkel@aol.com / 917-628-8549

Please Take Note   Effective June 5, 2018, my new address is:

Stanley Turkel, CMHS,   5000 Fairbanks Avenue #321,      Alexandria, Virginia 22311

______________________________________________________________

John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO

John@Hoganhospitality.com    Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375

Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness

• Principal,  HoganHospitality.com    Expert Witness Services,  Workshops, Consulting
•  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability
• Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

How the World’s Largest Hotels have changed – Guest Blog

I have always admired Ellsworth Statler and am pleased to post this as a guest blog.

John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO    John@Hoganhospitality.com

The Inside Inn Was the World’s Largest Hotel During the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair—Then It Was Torn Down
By Mark Young -October 30, 2018

Ellsworth Statler, the legendary American hotelier, was a visionary who applied late 19th and early 20th century advances in technology and modern business systems to hotel operations. In applying these modern efficiencies while simultaneously maintaining the comforts and elegance that customers expected, Statler helped create the most successful American hotel chain of the first half of the 20th century.

Before hotels, Statler operated dining rooms and restaurants. When the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and World’s Fair—better known as the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair—was announced, his interest was piqued. Fair organizers were worried that the existing hotels in St. Louis would be overwhelmed with visitors. Even with the construction of many new hotels to serve the fairgoers, there was a fear that the scarcity of accommodations might negatively impact the fair and city. Nervous fair organizers approached Statler, who had successfully operated a large temporary hotel at the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

They asked if he would be able to construct and manage a large temporary hotel for the exposition. Statler offered to build a structure that would house fairgoers and provide dining facilities inside the fairgrounds. That hotel—the only one within the fairgrounds —was appropriately called the “Inside Inn.” Although a temporary structure, it was described as the “largest hotel ever built in the history of the world.” It occupied the equivalent of four city blocks and ranged from two to four stories high. Incredibly for the time, the Inside Inn contained 2,257 rooms, 500 with private baths and another 500 with bath/shower combinations; for guests in the remaining rooms, there were common facilities. There were 156 bellboys—as they were called then—to assist the guests. The room rates started at $1.50.

The Inside Inn was the largest hotel in the world at the time it was built. To accommodate its many guests, the Inside Inn had 156 bell boys. Ellsworth Statler’s hospitality experience led him to create Statler Hotels, one of the United States’ earliest hotel chains.

The wood structure used a fireproof material called Sackett Patent Board, plastered over with green fire-retardant burlap wallpaper. Fireproof burlap was used on the ceilings and floors to add extra safety and comfort. The outside of the structure was given a whitewashed plaster appearance with Moorish turrets to look like most of the fair’s other structures.

The kitchen was said to be the largest in the world. For the month of June 1904, it used 12,270 dozen eggs, 1,180 bushels of potatoes, 401,618 pounds of meat, 244 barrels of flour, 9,605 pounds of butter, 8,824 gallons of milk, and 6,014 pounds of coffee. The dining room had the capacity to serve over 2,000 guests with the option of an American or European dining plan. Statler first hired male waiters but later switched to female waiters, finding them more courteous and dependable. The food was described as good and reasonably priced.

Thanks to Statler, the tourists visiting the 1904 World’s Fair were assured of a clean, safe hotel with dining facilities that ran smoothly. The fair ran from May through November. In the end, Ellsworth Statler made a tidy profit of over $360,000—not bad, considering the average American worker earned between $200 and $400 per year in 1904. At the close of the fair, the Inside Inn, like most other fair structures, was demolished and sold for scrap.

Mark Young
Mark Young, Ph.D., is director of the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, University of Houston.
John J Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO   

John@Hoganhospitality.com       Office 480-436-0283   Cell 602-799-5375

Hotelier, Speaker, Educator, Author, Expert Witness

•   Principal, HoganHospitality.com    Workshops, Consulting, Expert Witness Services    
•  Co-Founder & CLO, HospitalityEducators.com, Resources in Customer Services, Training, Marketing and Sales, Profitability 
•  Visit  johnjhogan.com for Coaching and Development

A statement of teaching philosophy

HospitalityEducators.com changes Business Model

HospitalityEducators.com was created in 2010 to be a resource for hotel owners and professionals as they sought to improve market share, occupancy, operational efficiency and profitability.

 The original business model we used was that of a membership organization, and our success included readers and members from all six continents and more than 50 countries.   When we evaluated our progress in our business plan mid -year, we realized that our business model was becoming more like a magazine which had never been our intent.

The annual SWOT analysis showed us that we were not focusing on what had been our passion and goals, so we elected to move our business model from the membership site to a resource for both hospitality and other service businesses.

This is the 1st of 3 explanations of how our business model is evolving over the next several months.

Our strengths include a network of professionals who have interacted with and assisted a number of service businesses through teaching and training.  To that end, we are pleased to share

A statement of teaching philosophy for HospitalityEducators.com

Our philosophy of teaching includes fostering self-instruction, formulating questions rather than just giving answers and establishing high expectations. Professors have limited capacity to teach students anything – they primarily motivate students to teach themselves. Our principal pedagogical role is to help students learn how to search for a complete answer as we work through the question-and-answer process of real world scenarios. Our goal is to stimulate active learning and acceptance with the idea that being “wrong” is part of learning. 

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” Peter Drucker (1909-2005),  Author  

Our role as the instructor is not only a source of knowledge, but also a source of support and an avenue for other resources. Students can expect that we are approachable, available to answer questions, and genuinely invested in their academic success.

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”

 Roy Disney, American Film Writer

We are firm believers in active learning, and we try to maintain a very interactive classroom. Teaching is not about lecturing to students; it is about presenting theories, concepts, and questions to students in ways they can incorporate into their own life experience or goals.

It should be the goal of every student and professor to increase knowledge and understanding in both the classroom and the real world. Group interaction is an important part of learning, so that all parties share ideas, argue or validate them with others and practice teamwork as an important link in social and mental development.

 

“A company culture cannot be imposed or mandated. It must grow from within over a long period.”

Isadore Sharp, Founder Four Seasons Hotels

 

1. Teaching is an opportunity to inspire and empower.  Our teaching philosophy is based around concepts that bridge and link academic programs to real world situations.

2. Strategic planning
3. Continuous Learning
4. Individualization      Achievement  in       “Real World” applications These real world scenarios offer solid and practical links to the academic work in      the class.

 Corporate Teaching Philosophy 

 “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”      

Malcolm S. Forbes, Publisher, Entrepreneur (1919-1990)

The global community is changing at a record pace and recognizing and responding to emerging opportunities is critical.  Keeping focused on achieving agreed upon results requires open, honest, consistent and transparent communication.

 The Founders of HospitalityEducators.com careers have always had strong ties to academic integrity, including service as an adjunct professor at different institutions.  Additional commitment to learning was delivered to other Institutes and Universities through research and recommendations on curriculum and program specifications for hospitality programs. 

Our role as corporate and academic educators in the business world has provided us with individuals who continuously challenge us to seek better and more effective ways to reach the desired goals.  We want to challenge others to likewise achieve more from themselves and from others.

As a teacher and as a business professional, one lesson learned from mentors was critical thinking.  In a world changing at incredible speeds, this competency is invaluable.   Interdisciplinary study lends itself to more creative thought development. 

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.”        Colin Powell, American Secretary of State

Defining Success

1. Successful graduates of balanced programs learn certain academics but also have embraced the need to learn certain life lessons, such as the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People.
2. Successful innovators and professionals need to develop strong competencies as a leader, a relationship builder, a problem solver and eventually a mentor.

As faculty members , the range of experience and exposure to the industry can be huge, especially if dealing with introductory courses. We set different learning objectives for the level of the course and the student likely to be taking it.

1. to fully explore the range of career options available in the field of business
2. to provide the appropriate level of information and tools needed to help in the student’s understanding of this class to the options available in business and/or hospitality
3. to share real world experiences and examples by a professional who is passionate about what he does

‘It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

Bill Gates ,  Founder of Microsoft)

Blended Learning

Learning occurs as a progression but that process is not uniform with each student.  In our careers, we have come to the realization that students learn from us and from each other, but that we also learn from them in this fast-paced world. By sharing with them my teaching objectives and experience, students know that we are genuinely interested in them.

 

 

Eight Gifts (of Value) You Can Give Away, Which Will Not Cost You a Cent | Guest Blog – HospitalityEducators.com

Eight Gifts (of Value) You Can Give Away,  Which Will Not Cost You a Cent

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING 
But you must REALLY listen.
No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listen.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION 
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER 
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories.
Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE 
It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.
 

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT 
A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job,” or “That was a wonderful meal,” can make someone’s day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR 
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE 
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.
 

8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION 
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. Really it’s not that hard to say “Hello”  or “Thank You.”

Friends are rare jewels indeed. 

  They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. 

They lend an ear, share a word of praise, and always want to open their hearts.

 

Dr. Marc Clark, CHA, CHRE, CHE, CHO,
President & CEO at SmartBizzOnLine.com

Hotel Owners Linking Higher Yield from More Personalized, Direct Selling – The Best of David Brudney

While some things change in hotels, certain fundamentals remain intact.

Enjoy this Guest blog re-posting from the BEST OF DAVID BRUDNEY

Hotel Owners and Operators Expecting Higher Yield from Increases in More Personalized, Direct Selling Expenses

REPOSTED JULY 2016

While sales and marketing-related labor costs have experienced moderate growth and advertising has declined, more dollars are being directed to “Selling” expenses, according to a recent article by PKF Consulting (“Focus of Hotel Sales Personnel to Shift from Selling Room Nights to Capturing More Dollars”, by Robert Mandelbaum and Viet Vo).

 “If you’re selling a service, you’re selling a relationship”
Harry Beckwith

“Selling” expenses – – trade shows, travel, and prospect and client entertainment – – grew 9.2 percent in 2006, by far the largest increase of all major cost categories for sales and marketing departments, according to the PKF article.

What this information suggests is that maybe hotel owners and operators have rediscovered the importance and value of more personalized direct selling as a means to increasing revenue through higher average daily rates.

And doesn’t it suggest also that after investing millions of dollars in new technology, embracing state-of-the-art CRM, Sales and catering software and group database programs, managing the Internet distribution channels better and creating powerful, interactive websites and blogs, focus may be shifting now from technology based selling back to relationship based selling?

If so, hallelujah!  A primary message repeated in so many past articles of mine has been the concern I have over an entire new generation of hospitality sales professionals that have mastered the art of technology based selling while forsaking the timeless skills required in relationship based selling.

“Only a computer wants to do business with another computer.  People respond to people”   Harvey Mackay  

We’ve created a generation that prefers e-mails over phone calls, text messaging over personal sales calls and computer time over trade shows and travel.

E-mails and text messaging have become a necessity in all of our business and social lives.  No argument here.

But today’s direct sales teams must be adept at leveraging the value and impact of all of these communication and data exchange tools – – technology and relationship based – –  and understand when and where best to employ each.

Now that hotels have re-staffed their sales force “in an effort to capture group business and implement yield management strategies,”  according to PKF, I believe that owners, asset managers and operators will be looking to the direct sales teams to drive even higher group room rates in 2008.

This will pose no small challenge now with supply having caught up with demand and meeting planners, eager for the pendulum to swing back to more of a buyers’ market, having grown tired of paying top rates with fewer options.

 

Owners and operators’ expectations will be high and scrutiny will be intense.  There will be little, if any, patience or tolerance for direct sales teams that continue discounting practices to book group business.

Will direct sales teams respond to the challenge?  Have too many become too comfortable during the prolonged sellers’ market of recent years?  Have too many become too reactive and less proactive?  Have too many lost that selling “edge”?

The true test might be which sales departments have the experience and skills required to capture higher rates?  Which sales teams have benefitted from management’s commitment to advanced professional sales training during the recent span of high profits?

Let the real selling begin.

 

By David M. Brudney, ISHC, December 2007

© Copyright 2007

David M. Brudney, ISHC, a nationally recognized spokesman for hotels and a veteran with four decades of experience, is the principal of David Brudney & Assoc. of Carlsbad, CA

 

About David Brudney & Associates

David M. Brudney, ISHC, is a veteran hospitality sales and marketing professional concluding his fourth decade of service to the hospitality industry. Brudney advises lodging owners, lenders, asset managers and operators on hotel sales and marketing “best practices” and conducts reviews of hospitality (as well as other industry) sales and marketing operations throughout the U.S. and overseas. The principal of David Brudney & Associates of Carlsbad, CA, a sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry since 1979, Brudney is a frequent lecturer, instructor and speaker. He is a charter member of International Society of Hospitality Consultants. Previously, Brudney held hospitality sales and marketing positions with Hyatt, Westin and Marriott.

Contact:  David M. Brudney, ISHC, Principal
David Brudney & Associates
Carlsbad, CA 92009
Phone:  760-476-0830

Email David Brudney
Web Site:   www.DavidBrudney.com

A Shared holiday smile from SIEGEL SAYS and HOTEL-ONLINE – Some Thanksgiving fun facts

A Shared holiday smile from SIEGEL SAYS and HOTEL-ONLINE

From Rich Siegel

And now for you-know-what… Some Thanksgiving fun facts:  The Pilgrims’ first-ever Thanksgiving took place over three days in Plymouth, Mass. Gov. William Bradford planned the first Thanksgiving dinner. The Pilgrims ate items like lobster, hickory nuts, cabbage, goat cheese and squash at the first Thanksgiving. Pilgrims probably didn’t wear all black with big buckles. That stereotype was created by illustrators in the 19th century. A writer named Sarah Josepha Hale is responsible for Thanksgiving’s national holiday status. She asked President Abraham Lincoln to declare it an American holiday in October 1863. Congress designated Thanksgiving as an official holiday in 1941. For the past 67 years, the president has pardoned a live turkey every Thanksgiving. The pardoned turkeys get to live on a farm until they die of old age. Benjamin Franklin campaigned for the turkey, not the bald eagle, to be the national bird. Nearly 90 percent of Americans eat turkey every Thanksgiving. About 46 million turkeys are eaten every Thanksgiving. Turkey doesn’t make you tired. It contains no more tryptophan than cheese or chicken. Most of the turkeys come from Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia and Indiana. Turkeys can’t see well at night, and if they’re raised commercially, they can’t fly. Most Thanksgiving turkeys weigh about 15 pounds. They’re usually 70 percent to 30 percent white meat/dark meat. Every year, the average person in the United States eats about 17 pounds of turkey. The oldest Thanksgiving day parade was organized by Gimbels department store in 1920. The Macy’s parade didn’t start until four years later. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has the most liquor sales of the whole year.

Happy US Thanksgiving from Hospitality Educators!

Kathleen Hogan and John Hogan  

480-436-0283           Service@HospitalityEducators.com