When comparing Canadian politics to our counterparts south of the border, we come up pretty short in terms of excitement. Let’s face it, Canadians are a pretty boring lot in this regard. Yet, from time to time, a hum dinger makes the airwaves. This week, one such missive hit the newsstands, tying with it one of the grand dames of the hotel world. The story...
My dear wife was reading John Gray’s 1993 classic book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (you know the one, the bestseller, with 7 million or more copies in print), and it got me wondering: Are hotels and resorts different? Just think about it. They truly are. Yet, for some strange reason we tend to lump them together as simply, “the hotel industry.”...
Hoteliers are bound by the code of customer service. Like doctors who take the Hippocratic Oath, hoteliers are sworn to uphold the safety, comfort and needs of their guests, treating them as if they were friends invited into their home. I’ve experienced this level of customer respect, going above and beyond the call of duty. It is impressive. As MOD, I’ve...
When the average person thinks of an ostrich, he or she probably visualizes a large bird, with its “head in the sand.” In fact, an alternate dictionary meaning for an ostrich is “someone who ignores unpleasant things.” But what of the venerable llama? This South American pack animal is mostly known for its wool, but it is also sure-footed, reliable, patient...
I admit it. I am a proud Canadian. Sorry to offend those who think we’re the 51st state up here. Except for those in Quebec, Canadians speak the same language as our U.S. counterparts, albeit with a different accent. We shop at the same stores — the Gap, Wal-Mart, Old Navy — and we are excited to announce that soon we’ll even have Target! Travel to one of o...
It seems like the distant past, but every time that I read an article in the press about hotel brands or banding, it reminds me of my old days in Procter & Gamble’s brand department. Yes, it was called the BRAND department, not advertising or marketing. Why? As BRAND managers, our responsibility was to manage the critical equity of the company, namely,...
In short, online travel agencies are commoditizing the hospitality industry. On the surface, they offer a lucrative channel to heighten exposure and increase bookings, but the big picture is grim for hotels. OTAs are stripping brand identification away from independent and chain properties, eroding your customer loyalty in the process, and all for a lo...
My favorite TV show, “Mad Men,” is back this month for Season 5. And, I was wondering, are groups flocking back on property as well? I get that feeling reading some excellent in-depth research done by Meetings Focus magazine. In a similar vein, Benchmark Hospitality International recently released optimistic meetings business predictions for 2012. I am exci...
A press release caught my eye last week. It was from one of the “flash sale” companies. (For those of you not familiar with the terminology, flash sales are web-based programs that offer a very deep discount for a limited time period.) I can’t remember which one, not because of my age, but because they all appear to be the same insofar as their attitude and...
It's not anywhere near a stretch of the imagination to understand just how crucial the weddings business is. The real quandary is what your property can do to cash in. So, rather than approach this from the hotelier's perspective, let's take the viewpoint of the bride and groom, and then you can make your own extrapolations. To get a good insider's...
