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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #55

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #55 for the week of October 2nd,2011

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Stories read:

East Coast Cleans Up After Irene
By Beth Kormanik found on HotelInteractive.com

Hyatt:Today’s travelers want good beer,not free beer
By Barbara De Lollis found on USAToday.com

Social Media Coercion:How far should hotels go to please and appease?
By Daniel Edward Craig found on DanielEdwardCraig.com

U.S. STR Report for the week of September 18-24,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

Gordon Ramsay to Star in New Hotel Makeover Reality Show
By Roger Yu found on USAToday.com

Live-in GMs:True work-life balance
By Harvey Chipkin found on HotelNewsNow.com

Same Team? Same Goals?
By Rick Garlick found on HotelsMag.com

All musical credit to Pearl Jam

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #54

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #54 for the week of September 25th,2011

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Stories read:

U.S. STR Report for the week of September 11-17,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

Les Miserables:The Innkeeper Lives!
By Larry Mogelonsky found on LMA.ca

Space Hotel:Room with a View 217 Miles Above Earth
By Barbara De Lollis found on USAToday.com

Preach Value Not Price
By Glenn Haussman found on HotelInteractive.com

Hotel Bees A Honey of an Idea
By Polly Campbell found on USAToday.com

How Not to Waste Recruitment Cost and Effort
By Caroline Cooper found on HotelNewsNow.com

The Importance of Brands:Intellectual Property Rights and What They Mean
By James Butler found on HotelsMag.com

How Sheraton Has Owned the Downturn
By Beth Kormanik found on HotelInteractive.com

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #53

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #53 for the week August 14th,2011

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Stories read:

NYC Hilton Sues Over Ground Zero Construction Noise
By Barbara De Lollis found on USA Today Travel

Joie De Vivre Founder to Receive 2012 ISHC Pioneer Award
Found on Hotel News Resource

Kevin De Leon Fights Evil Unfitted Sheets
By Steven Greenhut found on CalWatchDog.com

STR Report for U.S. for week ending August 6th,2011
Found on STR Global

Stop and Listen
By Marlin Fludd found on HotelInteractive.com

4 Outside Influences Impacting the Industry
By Jason Q. Freed found on HotelNewsNow.com

California Hotel Foreclosures Jump 91% as Lenders Seek to Sell Properties
By Nadja Brandt found on Bloomberg.com

Hotel Keen Lets Guest Put the Writing on the Wall
By Caryn Eve Murray found on BuyerInteractive.com

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #52

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #52 for the week of August 7,2011

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Stories read:

10 Tips for Retaining Loyal Guests
By Caroline Cooper found on HotelNewsNow.com

Gay Urban Resort to Open on 42nd Street in Heart of Manhattan
Found on HotelNewsResource.com

Google Hotel Finder Repackages Hotel Info
By Stacey Mieyal Higgins found on HotelNewsNow.com

U.S. STR Report for the Week Ending July 30th,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

Hotel Chain Boosting Staff Training to Fight Child Prostitution
By Michael Martinez found on CNN.com

How to Deal with Poor Performance
By Caroline Cooper found on HospitalityNet.org

Hotels Offer Visitors a Chance to Snooze Under the Moonlight
By Charisse Jones found on USAToday.com

All musical credit to Pearl Jam

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #51

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #51 for the week of July 31,2011

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Stories read:

New Orleans Hotels Put Katrina in Rearview Mirror
By Patrick Mayock found on HotelNewsNow.com

U.S. STR Report for the week of July 17-23,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

More Than a Third of Hotel Guests Don’t Interact with Staff After Check-in
By Barbara De Lollis found on USAToday.com

Hotel Owners Offer Free Rooms in Return for Glowing Reviews
By Colin Fernandez found on DailyMail.co.uk

J.D. Power:Hotel Guest Satisfaction Down in 2011
By Patrick Mayock found on HotelNewsNow.com

Healthy,Natural Snacks Invade Hotel Minibars
By Anya Martin found on MarketWatch.com

One Night Stands Are Expensive
By Robert Mandelbaum found on HotelNewsResource.com

All musical credit to Pearl Jam

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #50

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #50 for the week 7-17-11

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Stories read:

STR Report for the week of July 3,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

LodgeWork’s Deal Shows Hyatt’s Commitment to Growth
By Shawn Turner,Jason Q Freed and Jeff Higley found on HotelNewsNow.com

What Drives an Entrepreneur?
By Chip Conley found on PeakOrganizations.com

The Power of a Handwritten Note
By Larry Mogelonsky found on LMA.ca

Is It Time to Retire the 5-Star Rating System?
By Colleen Taylor found on Gigaom.com

Are We Killing Our Customers with Engagement?
By Neicole Crepeau found on BusinessesGrow.com

Hotel Guests Post 4 Positive Reviews for Every Negative Review
By Josiah Mackenzie found on ReviewPro.com

All musical credit to Pearl Jam.

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #49

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #49 for the week of 7-10-11

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Stories read:

Another Incident Puts W Hotels in Spotlight
By Jason Q. Freed found on HotelNewsNow.com

Retaining The Benefits of Hotel Education
By Betsy MacDonald found on HospitalityNet.org

Let Freedom Ring:Free Wifi Is A Basic Right Not A Profit Center
By Larry Mogelonsky found on LMA.ca

STR Report for the week of June 26-July 2,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

Most Outrageous Story-Telling Business Traveler Rewarded with $25,000 from Four Points by Shertaon
Found on HotelNewsResource.com

Guest Check In,iPhones Check out
By Anne Tergesen found on WallStreetJournal.com

Top 10 Quirky Hotels
By Martin Clinton found on CheapFlights.com

All musical credit to PearlJam

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Retaining the Benefits of Hotel Education

Here’s the story:Retaining the Benefits of Hotel Education

Here’s how I see it as a young,small fish in an old,large pond…

Though this story is read in Issue #49 of the podcast,I thought it was still important to address because it something that is very applicable to me as someone “recently” out of college,even if it was five years ago. With a quick search around some social media sites you can figure out where I went to college,but for this posting I’m going to omit the school’s name. I started working at a hotel company the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college and it became apparent that the experience I was getting was helping me in school more than the education I was receiving. Everything I learned within my first two years of college,before starting to work in the industry,was very abstract and a lot of “This is how we do this”-preaching from teachers who have been out of the field for quite some time. Being able to apply the lessons in class to the real world was not what was happening,it was the reverse,I was applying my working experience to my school work to display a better understanding of concepts and the “real world” which was made to seem like a hell-ish existence by our professors.

Betsy MacDonald offers two ways to better retain the educated workforce. The first one is to give reasonable expectation about what the job entails,how quickly you’ll move through it,and what the working conditions will be like. I like that she points out this information should be offered from both colleges/universities,as well as the hotel companies themselves so that there are no surprises for a graduate who isn’t a General Manager by the age of 25. Generally speaking,the operations side of a hotel can be quite scary as a first job for someone. Maybe the long hours don’t apply to line staff,but the yelling of customers,high expectations from your own company,and the speed at which you are expected to move certainly do.

I’ve never been a fan of the “throw ‘em to the wolves” mentality for new employees/managers,but unfortunately,there is some value to learning how to fix problems on your own and “sinking or swimming.” If there was a book that had the answer to every problem that would come up within a hotel,it’d be too big to carry. There is a level of conditioning and numbness that comes after your first few years in the hotel world which school cannot teach you. Eventually,a guest threatening your life because you don’t have a king bed for them has less of an effect on you,being called a racist because you are sold out doesn’t feel as offensive after the 10th time,and working 12+ hours doesn’t seem so difficult after doing it each day. I do believe that people either have “it” or they don’t- if those things I just mentioned will make you run away crying to the back office then hotels aren’t the place for you. Thicker skin comes with time,but it’s all about the reward you feel from doing your job correctly,resulting in happy guests and happy owners/management.

The second way that Betsy recommends retaining the educated workforce is offering more competitive salaries. I have friends who make two,three,or four times more than I do. Do I blame them or myself for my career path? No. This is where the intangible’s come into play. I love what I do,and that’s worth me staying in the field that I paid to get a degree in,even if it is making less than other Law-graduates or stock traders who hate their jobs. And again,it’s about how you value what you do and what you take out of it.
The biggest challenge regarding salary of educated hotel workers is the increase in tuition costs,as Betsy points out. The higher paying hotel locations are within major cities,and so cost of living is higher. Paying rent and then the same amount in loans each month is less than pleasant. These are all things that should be thought of/considered/addressed before choosing hospitality management as a career choice. My guidance counselor suggested it to me because my grades weren’t great and the school I attended did not have SAT score requirements at the time,so it was a natural fit! It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life;I do something I love and that I am good at,and it’s something I see a future in.

To my fellow Hotel/Hospitality degree holders,what do you think?

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #48

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #48 for the week 7-3-11

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Stories read:

Double Deviation:Two Wrongs Never Make A Right
By Larry Mogelonsky found on LMA.ca

W Hotel Closing As More Glass Falls
Found on KXAN.com

Maximizing One on One Meetings with Team Members
By Caroline Cooper found on HotelNewsResource.com

New York City Hotels Offer Same-Sex Wedding Packages
Found on HotelsMag.com

STR Report for the week of June 19-25,2011
Found on STRGlobal.com

Modifying Undesirable Behavior,the Catch’em Game
By Dr. Rick Johnson found on 4Hoteliers.com

4 Ways to Become a Better Hotel Manager
By Birgit Radin found on HotelNewsNow.com

All musical credit to Pearl Jam

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Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #47

Hotel Manager Talk:Issue #47 for the week 6-26-11

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Stories read:

STR Report for the U.S. June 12-18,2011
STR Report Found on STRGlobal.com

More Hotels Distribute iPads to Guests for Ordering Room Service,Amenities
By Roger Yu found on USAToday.com

One Quarter of Hotels Not Using Social Media to Help Increase Occupancy and Revenue
Found on HotelNewsResource.com

What Your Employees Should Know About You
By Marlin Fudd found on HotelInteractive.com

Boutiques Face Big Brand Competition
By Lisa Francesca Nand found on HotelNewsNow.com

How to Maximize Hotel Loyalty Programs
By Doreen Hemlock found on BaltimoreSun.com

Hotels in 2030 Will Feature Virtual Love Making
By Oliver Smith found on The Telegraph

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