Stories Of The Women and Men Lost On September 11/ Recommended Reading and Viewing from John J Hogan

By John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO
September 11, 2019

2001-2019 = 18 years of memories, lessons learned and values appreciated

I have re-posted this blog message several times because it should remain in our minds and hearts that we all need to pay attention to our role, values and place in history.

9-11 marked the first time the USA had been successfully attacked on its own soil in an undeclared war by terrorists and it changed the country forever in many ways. Innocent civilians of all religions, professions, ages and activities were affected in ways not imagined before.

I was with a  major hotel company on that day and my team and I were delivering a workshop out of state. The 100% closing of all airports nationwide, of some roads, and of many government and business centers was an eerie sensation for the week that followed.

In the years since that day, on those times when I am interacting with groups and others on September 11th, I make sure we take that moment of silence to remember and reflect.

I encourage you to watch the following You Tube and then read the short recap of real people’s lives that follow.

When the World Stopped Turning: A 9/11 tribute

Remember and Reflect

While this blog first was published several years ago,  the lessons we learned from each other and about inner strengths are worth another look.

American Lives: The Stories Of The Men And Women Lost On September 11

I have had this book for several years now – I found it at a used book sale. I almost passed it by, but was genuinely moved by the collection of personal stories complied by the staff of Newsday and the Tribune Company.   If you choose to pass on the book, I understand – it is not easy to keep returning to such a memory, but I strongly recommend you read the brief collection of thoughts below.

This is a mini-biography of some of the women and men who lost their lives on that day.  Some of what really moved me were the titles in the stories.  You will understand without even reading the full story:

• Robert, there’s another plane coming
• Dad, I gotta go. There’s smoke in here now
• Take care of my kids
• She still lives in his dreams
• She opened up his world
• A recovered ring completes a circle of life
• He made every day a party
• That day, she learned she was pregnant
• After 20 years, they still held hands
• A hero by any definition
• He ignored his own order to flee
• Firefighting was all he talked about
• He dreamed of a school for autistic kids
• She beat Hodgkin’s and eased others pains
• Her family’s first college graduate
• Death in a place of prayer
• They knew what was important
• She kept going back in
• A rescuer who wouldn’t be stopped
• A coach who brought out kid’s potential
• Her husband watched her disappear
• She tried to block the cockpit
• The man who said “let’s roll”
• He stayed to check on an elderly colleague
• A cool army vet who helped others evacuate
• He saved his wife, but not himself
• A son is born as a father is mourned
• and probably 200 more headings and stories

The book is only 200 pages in a slightly oversize format.  The five sections are to the point:

Little Brother, You’re MVP in our hearts, and as sub-sections includes
1. last phone calls
2. love stories
3. FDNY and
4. lost promises

The first into heaven
5. they died together
6. rescuers
7. mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers
8. on the planes

A Husband is Missing No More
9. High Finance
10. New Americans
11. In the Pentagon

A Man of Unusual Disposition
12. free spirits
13. tower people
14. legacies

The List of the Lost
World Trade Center Occupants
Pentagon
Emergency/Rescue Personnel
American Airline Flight #11 -WTC North Tower
United Airliners Flight #175 -WTC South Tower
American Airlines Flight # 77 – Pentagon
United Airlines Flight #93 – Pennsylvania

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

  Success does not come by accident or chance.

Contact us for assistance – John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com or 602-799-5375

Christmas Gift Suggestions

TWO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LISTS WITH THE SAME INTENTIONS

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

GUEST BLOG Lodging Leader Podcast #005 | What Makes a Leader with John Hogan

Please join Lodging Leaders Podcast founder Jonathan Albano with this link:

http://lodgingleaders.com/005-what-makes-a-leader-with-john-hogan/

John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO is a career business professional and educator who has held senior leadership with responsibility in several organizations involving operational, academic and entrepreneurial enterprise. He has demonstrated competencies as a strong leader, relationship builder, problem solver and mentor and is frequently invited to speak at franchise meetings, management company and hospitality association industry events. He also acts as an expert witness in both research and testimony in hospitality industry related cases.

Background:

John has been a part of the hospitality industry his entire adult life. He started out as a teenager at a seasonal summer resort in Vermont and shares that his emotion towards the spirit of hospitality was very profound from the beginning. John studied hospitality at University of Massachusetts and over the last 40 years has worked with companies of all sizes ranging from smaller family owned large to large independents, to niched, to corporate and franchises. He feels it is an exciting, never boring, always changing industry.

Resources & Links:

• John Hogan on LinkedIn
• www.hospitalityeducators.com – Resource Site for Hotel Owners & Managers
• www.hoganhospitality.com – Expert Professional Services for Hotel Owners
• AAHOA Certified Hotel Owners Program (CHO)

For book recommendations, go to:

https://hoganhospitality.wordpress.com

Leadership:

John decided to take on his first leadership role because it felt right to him. In his experience, he learned that one can’t be afraid to make mistakes – because you’re going to. It’s about making mistakes but not the same mistakes. It’s about knowing a good amount about everything but not needing to know everything while learning how to delegate because you CAN’T do it all alone. It is important to TRUST others and give them the tools they need for the overall success of the company.

So, what makes an effective leader? According to John, “Management is doing things right whereas leadership is doing the right things.” Leaders know how to take you through to the next level.

Are leaders born or made?

What are the common pitfalls hoteliers face today and how can they be avoided?

In working with local businesses and CVB’s. How does one drive reservations there?

Improving ADR:

How can Hoteliers increase their spend for guests?

What was a defining moment in your career?

What are some personal habits contributing to your success?

 

Hospitality Educators was created by John and his partner Kathleen in 2010 as a membership site.  It is a resource site. Parting advice: Keep your enthusiasm. Keep your focus. Enjoy what it is you do and regularly figure out how you can get 10% better this month. Within the year you will 100% be there!

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you have some feedback you’d like to share, leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons at the bottom of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The Lodging Leaders Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They really do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And if you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes. It’s FREE. All it means is that you’ll automatically be notified when the next episode is released. There are options for subscribing on Apple and Android devices!

Until the next …

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

Recommended Reading/Viewing from John J Hogan|Stories Of The Women and Men Lost On September 11

By John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO
September 11, 2018

2001-2017 = 17 years of memories, lessons learned and values appreciated

This is the 5th repost of this blog message,  because it should remain in our minds and hearts that we all need to pay attention to our role, values and place in history.

9-11 marked the first time the USA had been successfully attacked on its own soil in an undeclared war by terrorists and it changed the country forever in many ways. Innocent civilians of all religions, professions, ages and activities were affected in ways not imagined before.

I was with a  major hotel company on that day and my team and I were delivering a workshop out of state. The 100% closing of all airports nationwide, of some roads, and of many government and business centers was an eerie sensation for the week that followed.

In the years since that day, on those times when I am interacting with groups and others on September 11th, I make sure we take that moment of silence to remember and reflect.

I encourage you to watch the following You Tube and then read the short recap of real people’s lives that follow.

When the World Stopped Turning: A 9/11 tribute

Remember and Reflect

While this blog first was published last year,  the lessons we learned from each other and about inner strengths are worth another look.

American Lives: The Stories Of The Men And Women Lost On September 11

I have had this book for several years now – I found it at a used book sale. I almost passed it by, but was genuinely moved by the collection of personal stories complied by the staff of Newsday and the Tribune Company.   If you choose to pass on the book, I understand – it is not easy to keep returning to such a memory, but I strongly recommend you read the brief collection of thoughts below.

This is a mini-biography of some of the women and men who lost their lives on that day.  Some of what really moved me were the titles in the stories.  You will understand without even reading the full story:

• Robert, there’s another plane coming
• Dad, I gotta go. There’s smoke in here now
• Take care of my kids
• She still lives in his dreams
• She opened up his world
• A recovered ring completes a circle of life
• He made every day a party
• That day, she learned she was pregnant
• After 20 years, they still held hands
• A hero by any definition
• He ignored his own order to flee
• Firefighting was all he talked about
• He dreamed of a school for autistic kids
• She beat Hodgkin’s and eased others pains
• Her family’s first college graduate
• Death in a place of prayer
• They knew what was important
• She kept going back in
• A rescuer who wouldn’t be stopped
• A coach who brought out kid’s potential
• Her husband watched her disappear
• She tried to block the cockpit
• The man who said “let’s roll”
• He stayed to check on an elderly colleague
• A cool army vet who helped others evacuate
• He saved his wife, but not himself
• A son is born as a father is mourned
• and probably 200 more headings and stories

The book is only 200 pages in a slightly oversize format.  The five sections are to the point:

Little Brother, You’re MVP in our hearts, and as sub-sections includes
1. last phone calls
2. love stories
3. FDNY and
4. lost promises

The first into heaven
5. they died together
6. rescuers
7. mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers
8. on the planes

A Husband is Missing No More
9. High Finance
10. New Americans
11. In the Pentagon

A Man of Unusual Disposition
12. free spirits
13. tower people
14. legacies

The List of the Lost
World Trade Center Occupants
Pentagon
Emergency/Rescue Personnel
American Airline Flight #11 -WTC North Tower
United Airliners Flight #175 -WTC South Tower
American Airlines Flight # 77 – Pentagon
United Airlines Flight #93 – Pennsylvania

HospitalityEducators.com was created to help hospitality businesses address problems via a training and information resource site to help you increase your Hotel’s revenue, market share and profitability.   This site can help you solve your problems now!      Read More 

  Success does not come by accident or chance.

Contact us for assistance – John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com or 602-799-5375

…Thought of the day…Revisited

I first shared this anecdote almost 7  years ago and its message about VALUE, INTEGRITY and PERSPECTIVES has become even more important with the allegations in elections, changes in global terrorism and the increasing tensions in many of our every day lives.   I am proud to be a hotelier, author, speaker and educator and I encourage readers to note the business and personal message that bears repeating and thinking about.

          

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 note. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 note?”

Hands started going up.  He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 note.
He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air.
Well, he replied, “What if I do this?”

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends,
we have all learned a very valuable lesson.

No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that
come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely  creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know,
but by WHO WE ARE. You are special- Don’t EVER forget it

” Pass this on, you may never know the lives it touches,
the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it can bring…….

Count your blessings, not your problems.

This has been attributed to a number of sources and while I do not know the original author, I thank her/him on behalf of the many people I have shared this message with in programs, classes and my writing.

John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO^[1] is a career hotelier, author and educator who has held senior leadership with responsibility in several organizations involving operational, academic and entrepreneurial enterprise. He has been affiliated in management roles with Sheraton, Hilton, Dunfey (now Omni), Park Suite (now Embassy Suites), Med Center Inns of America, Best Western world headquarters and independent properties. He taught as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years at 3 different colleges and conducted more than 5,000 classes and workshops in his career as of 2016.

He is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of HospitalityEducators.com, which was founded in 2010 as a solutions center for hotel owners and managers.  HospitalityEducators.com completely updated and has been facilitating the Certified Hotel Owners program for AAHOA since 2012, with a participant approval rating of over 97% and more than 1400 certifications to date.

As the principal of Hogan Hospitality, he has provided litigation support, hotel expert witness services and hotel owner support services. He holds a number of industry certifications and is a past recipient of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Pearson Award for Excellence in Lodging Journalism, as well as operational and marketing awards from international brands. He has served as President of both city and state hotel associations and as an elected Chair of a major brand Hotel Owners Council.

Specific new services, workshops and keynote topics can be found at johnjhogan.com, including

• WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT HOTEL SCHOOL
• IT’S THE SIZE OF YOUR IDEA, NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR BUDGET
• 2017 HOT TOPICS ON SAFETY, SECURITY AND LEGAL ISSUES FACING HOTEL OWNERS AND MANAGERS THIS YEAR
• 15 TIMELESS STRATEGIES FOR TODAY’S LEADERS

 

He is currently working with his partner Kathleen Hogan and others on several new projects including the HOTELIERMASTERMIND series, an eBook series with Howard Feiertag on hotel sales, two new web sites and a fresh set of Keynote and Workshop programs, hospitality services and columns.

He writes regular columns for a number of global online services, has published 500 columns and 225 blogs for industry publications. He co-authored (with Howard Feiertag, CHA CMP) LESSONS FROM THE FIELD – a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES as well co-authoring the Supervisory Skill Builders from the Educational Institute. Hogan’s professional experience includes over 43 years in operations, service, sales & marketing, training, management development and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis.

He has supported numerous industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity for more than 15 years. He served on the AH&LA Certification Commission of the Educational Institute and as brand liaison to the NAACP and AAHOA with his long term involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program.

 

Contact: John Hogan John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com                 602-799-5375

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnhoganchache/

 

[1] Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Master Hotel Supplier (CMHS), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Certified Hotel Owner (CHO)

 

The Power of Follow Up – High Tech or High Touch?

We all deal with technology daily, whether it is one of dozens of social media outlets, responding to a guest review, using an app as either a consumer or service provider or simply emails.

To those of us over 40, we may recall when we were promised computers were going to make our lives simpler and shorten our work week.   While we likely agree that technology has increased our capabilities, I do not know many of us that have found the work week to be anything but more complex, as those potential capabilities have added many more duties and activities.

This column is a snap shot message – the power of follow up.

Like most of us, I have more than one computer and my 17″ laptop Dell failed for a 2nd time over a 4 year period. Complete freeze – would not boot, and luckily for me, it was a back up unit and I had opted for  a service plan with Data Doctors after the 1st failure.   They analyzed the problem, offered several solutions and two days later returned it to me with a minimal bill for parts.   It is now almost completely rebuilt and things seem to be in order.

The follow up came today with a phone call from the tech who serviced my unit.   Without prompting, he called me to see if it was working as it needed to be.   This was a highly unusual event – the follow up from email evaluations accompanies most tech situations, but someone taking the time to reach out PERSONALLY was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

The cost to Data Doctors?    $000.00

The benefit to me?  The sense that someone actually cared about how their quality of work affected me!

Which was this – high tech or high touch?  The answer is both.

In hospitality, we need to remember this fact – guests want to be appreciated and valued, and that includes the sincere, genuine attention that cannot be scripted or mandated by a brand standard or rule.  It needs to come from us – the hotel owner, manager and associate!

There are many ways to identify those unique touch points, and we @HospitalityEducators.com can help you find them.

About John J. Hogan  

John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events.

He is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of HospitalityEducators.com, which was founded in 2010 as a solutions center for hotel owners and managers. He is also the Principal of HoganHospitality.com, which offers hotel expert witness services and hospitality consulting.

Specific new services, workshops and keynote topics can be found at  johnjhogan.com , including

• WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT HOTEL SCHOOL

•  IT’S THE SIZE OF YOUR IDEA, NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR BUDGET

He is currently working with his partner Kathleen Hogan and others on several new projects including the HOTELIERMASTERMIND series, an eBook series with Howard Feiertag on hotel sales, two new web sites and a fresh set of Keynote and Workshop programs, hospitality services and columns.

Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Master Hotel Supplier (CMHS), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Certified Hotel Owner (CHO)

Contact: John Hogan John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com /              602-799-5375

Hospitality Tip of the Week from HospitalityEducators.com

A Providence RI hotel salutes its’ customers and staff in a special way.

(A special tribute to Southwest Airlines crew, which is known for their unique approaches to customer service)

How do you say THANK YOU to your best guests?

 

Success does not come by accident or chance.

Contact us for assistance.

John J. Hogan CHA CHE CHO and Kathleen Hogan  MBA CHO are the  co-founders of  HospitalityEducators.com, which 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 husband and wife team are transitioning the original membership site concept and evolving the business model today to a focused resource offering consulting, training, and individualized support to both hospitality and other service businesses.   Services include keynote addresses workshops, online support, metrics measurement, marketing and customer service from a group of more than a dozen experienced professionals.   While continuing to serve hospitality, the demand for these types of services is growing and can be personalized.

John Hogan is also the principal of HoganHospitality.com, which provides a range of expert professional services for hotel owners, including professional development for organizations, training, consulting and expert witness services.

Contact information:  Kathleen Hogan  480-436-0283,

John Hogan

602-799-5375 or service@hospitalityeducators.com

Workshops Available include: 

From the Chalkboard to the Front Line

What They Don’t Teach You at Hotel School

Focus:

• Hotel Profitability
• Hotel Sales
• Marketing Ideas
• Hotel Operations

There will always be an ongoing debate on the comparative merits of experience versus the knowledge acquired in formal educational settings.   The best lessons anyone can learn from hotel schools include an awareness of what really occurs on the front line in the actual hospitality setting.  This keynote transitions the academic message to the real world of running a profitable hospitality business.

 Click    here   for Keynotes and Workshops Available 

http://www.HoganHospitality.com
Your Hospitality Resource for Hotel Owners, Innkeepers, Managers and Associations

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

Hotel Common Sense – 7 Practical Steps on MBWA

Hotel Common Sense – 7 Practical Steps on MBWA

HOSPITALITY PRINCIPLES OF  SUCCESS

A previous article used one of Tom Peters and Robert Waterman’s fundamentals from their groundbreaking book on changing the ways we do business.   IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE introduced a formal name for what the more successful hospitality managers already knew about motivating their staff. The phrase “Management by Walking Around” was based on Hewlett-Packard’s commitment to their staff with interaction – not micromanagement, but ongoing listening and responding to staff ideas.

Hotel Common Sense – Philosophy #2 , Or, why the Open Door policy no longer works… article outlined how today’s workforce wants and needs to be considered as individuals who can contribute to the success of their organization.

Reader feedback showed the growing awareness to that need for additional management and leadership “active listening” and this follow-up message on MBWA offers some concrete ways to notch up that effort of positive involvement.

1. Allow your staff to share complete stories and messages.  Many hospitality companies are trying to improve their customer care programs, yet how often do leaders and managers actually ask an hourly staff member to share a story about either an unhappy or very satisfied guest?  Listening to the entire story could provide best practices that might be substantially more effective and less expensive than hiring a consultant.
2. Avoid the tendency to interrupt.   General Managers are results oriented people who are looking for the bottom line.   I know from personal experience the tendency to “hurry” people along is there, but allowing people to share the entire experience will encourage them to be more open.
3. Remember eye contact in conversations.  One of my first mentors taught me a great deal about hospitality, but his habit of looking over my shoulder when we were talking always made me feel I was missing something. Give confidence to people with your eyes.
4. Collect and communicate these stories of success (and failures). Sharing these stories (appropriately) at meetings of all staff, at training sessions, in newsletters and more provides an incentive to people to want to contribute because they have learned that you really do care.  I have seen some outstanding examples of “you tube” like testimonials from a number of hospitality companies of all sizes.
5. Remember this is not a game of “one-up.” As General Managers, we have likely been in the business longer or heard more stories and it is important to recognize that we should not try to offer one “better” story than the one we are hearing. Remember, MBWA is about “active listening.”
6. Credit the source.   When we add a new resource, form or best practice to our hospitality membership site, we obtain permission first and then always make certain we credit them fully.  Each of us has unique approaches, messages and talents and sharing the credit with our associates and guests is essential to moving forward.
7. Build trust by honestly listening.  Some (correction, many) of the best suggestions I have ever heard as a manager or executive came from the people who are performing the job.  I learned more about laundry sorting, washing pots and up-selling from people who were proud to be successful at what they were doing.  Some of those suggestions needed clarification and some were not told as quickly as I might have preferred, but building teams means using all the team members’ strengths.

I normally update the Hospitality Tip of the Week, but as this is an immediate follow-up message, I am going to maintain it, as I believe the point needs to repeated until it becomes a habit.

Keys to Success Hospitality Tip of the Week:   Focus on MBWA

A challenge to every manager who is responsible for 5 or more people:  measure your in and out of the office time and at the end of the week, see how much time you spent ACTIVELY INTERACTING with your team.

The goal is 70% of your time out of the office – how did you do?   

              What will you do next week?

KEYS TO SUCCESS is the umbrella title for my speaking programs, hospitality services and columns. This year’s writings will focus on a wide variety of topics for hotel owners, managers and professionals including both my “HOW TO” articles and HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS. My segments Lessons from the Field, Hotel Common Sense and Principles for Success will be featured at appropriate times in the year as well.

Success does not come by accident or chance.

Contact us for assistance.

John J. Hogan CHA CHE CHO and Kathleen Hogan  MBA CHO are the  co-founders of  HospitalityEducators.com, which 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 husband and wife team are transitioning the original membership site concept and evolving the business model today to a focused resource offering consulting, training, and individualized support to both hospitality and other service businesses.   Services include keynote addresses workshops, online support, metrics measurement, marketing and customer service from a group of more than a dozen experienced professionals.   While continuing to serve hospitality, the demand for these types of services is growing and can be personalized.

John Hogan is also the principal of HoganHospitality.com, which provides a range of expert professional services for hotel owners, including professional development for organizations, training, consulting and expert witness services.

Contact information:  Kathleen Hogan  480-436-0283,

John Hogan

602-799-5375 or service@hospitalityeducators.com

Workshops Available include: 

From the Chalkboard to the Front Line

What They Don’t Teach You at Hotel School

Focus:

• Hotel Profitability
• Hotel Sales
• Marketing Ideas
• Hotel Operations

There will always be an ongoing debate on the comparative merits of experience versus the knowledge acquired in formal educational settings.   The best lessons anyone can learn from hotel schools include an awareness of what really occurs on the front line in the actual hospitality setting.  This keynote transitions the academic message to the real world of running a profitable hospitality business.

Click    here   for Keynotes and Workshops Available