Create a plan for the next year to improve your profitability and ROI!

STAY Ahead Hospitality is now up and running well. I have a few select clientele and am now working on a plan for the new year that will be really attractive and target independent properties with a promise to collaborate on a yearly plan to improve their operations.

Not only will it be really affordable even to the smaller operations but it will, include something that give every operator that joins me a great platform from which to build a plan. The plan will form the basis on which to be able to compete with the competitive set, improve and streamline the operations while ameliorating the business mix to maximize the best segmentation for ADR improvement.

Every serious operation needs a yearly plan within the context of the budget, and within the context of a longer plan for operational improvement, and STAY can help create this.

I will be rolling the plan out in the new year and will start by offering it first to the independent properties in Ontario, but it will be with a limited number of properties as I want to be able to focus and collaborate to create an in depth plan for those properties I take on.

More to come but I promise that the plan will be blockbuster plan and one that is NOT to be missed by operators who know the need for and are looking for professional assistance in getting a fresh start towards a better ROI.

Don't forget, YSNWA! (Go on, take a look!)

All the best for a Happy New Year, and may it be successful for all!

Stephen W. Ayers

‘Thinking inside the box.’ What the difference between Christmas and the rest of the year should be.

‘Thinking inside the box.’

What the difference between Christmas and the rest of the year should be.

Stephen W. Ayers

Just about the beginning of November the vast majority of us start thinking of Christmas presents for our loved ones and friends. We are thinking ‘Inside the Christmas box’, imagining the present boxed and wrapped up under the tree, waiting to be opened by the lucky recipient on Christmas day.

However, my question to you all as we prepare to celebrate this year is, how many of us stay ‘in the box’ throughout the year? How many of us are happy to sit there and live with the status quo in our professional lives?

How many of us represent the ‘old firm attitude’, where an opportunity is a problem, and how many of us are the new, hungry firms where a problem is an opportunity?

It is the hungry firms who will survive and thrive in the new world that is so competitive and cutthroat. No matter how large the box you are in, no matter how high the sides to climb or the lid to be opened, you have to carry on trying. How many entrepreneurs made it big after failing in so many ventures first? The solution is out there, but if you do not go searching you will never find it, and the first thing is to GET OUT OF YOUR BOX!

Think about a guy that gets out of jail after a ten year incarceration. As he gets used to being back in circulation he sees so many new things, experiences things he could not dream about while in his cell. He eats them all up hungrily, eager to understand the new world.

The same is true for the hospitality industry. Independent operators need to step out and question every aspect of their ‘status quo’, the operation of their property. Every department must be reviewed, every financial result scrutinized for a way to do better, to save more money or increase revenues. Food and beverage, housekeeping, maintenance, marketing and sales, the front desk, all must come under the magnifying glass.

Is food production over the top, are procurements being bought at best prices and seasonally used, are the shifts efficient and corresponding to high traffic peaks, is food stored properly and a myriad more questions to be answered.

What makes up your ADR? Which segments are performing best in profitability, and are there better markets to be tapped? How do I lower dependency on the OTA’s, and what is the best plan to do that?

Is my property well maintained and clean? Can I gain better consistency by better preventive maintenance, save money and increase guest satisfaction?

Is the service I give my guests the best we can do and how can we improve?

Is my budget realistic, and how can I get all my team and employees all pulling their weight and doing their best to reach targets?

The hotel guests of today are looking for value and meaning to their stay. They do not necessarily look automatically for the huge, generic brands to stay at. They are looking for a place that cares about them cares about the community and offers them a friendly, clean, well maintained property.

So my advice to all independent operators and owners is to climb out of that restricting box, take an honest look at your property and see if you offer this to your guests.

If you do not, then what are you going to do about it next year, after all the Christmas presents have escaped their boxes?

Stephen W. Ayers, CEO www.stayaheadhospitality.com

The 'go to' company for Independents!

Fun at Christmas! It’s Actually Global Cooling, Stupid!

FAKE NEWS  FAKE NEWS   FAKE NEWS

FAKE NEWS  FAKE NEWS   FAKE NEWS

It’s Actually Global Cooling, Stupid!

Reported straight from the elephant’s mouth! December 2016.

I wrote this for fun and to hopefully bring a smile to all who read it!

Prez Elect Trump to nominate Santa Claus as ‘Secretary of Global Cooling.’

Trump was severely concerned when he saw heavy snow falling from his home atop the Trump tower, and heard a worrisome security briefing reporting heavy snow in Washington DC, freezing ice across the country, a 55 car pileup caused by icy roads, and even snow falling as far away as Edmonton, Calgary and even Toronto. This, he is reported as saying, “is the fault of the DNC for listening to the global warming conspiracy served to them by the lying scientists, is getting out of hand and needs my immediate focus and intervention.”

It prompted him to direct his incoming defense chief elect to locate Santa Claus and escort him to the Trump Tower so that he could offer him the newly created Office of Global Cooling. Informed that Santa is just imaginary, it is reported the Trump broke down in tears but collected himself quickly and then became angry. He grabbed his mobile and tweeted angry comments about his parents and lack of transparency in his childhood, and blamed them for a cover up and what he called a ‘childhood Santa conspiracy’. He fired the assistant press secretary elect for informing him of the Santa conspiracy. After regaining his composure and waving his hands around, he again instructed the intelligence agencies to look for Santa, based on the fact that after all the fired employee elect was lying.

In a pivotal meeting with the CIA, the FBI and Homeland Security, he instructed them to aid in the search for Santa, but that if they confirmed the ludicrous ‘fact’ that Santa does not exist he would not believe them in any case. Since Moscow was ‘always cold and freezing in winter’ he would request Putin’s help in locating and hacking Santa’s emails in the continuing bid to locate the rotund gentleman and future secretary elect.

When asked by the press why he wanted a ‘Global cooling secretary’ in any case, he responded that the scientists had gotten it all wrong, and that the opposite was true, the world was heading for another ice. He backed this up by saying, “take a look out there, it’s freezing, we’re in a huge, huge freeze, and Santa can make great things happen!”

To prove his genius, he informed the gathered press that he was in touch with Carrier and had requested that they set up a research center in Alaska to study the global cooling, thereby creating great jobs for great Americans from the working class.

One reporter, branded immediately as an idiot by the Prez Elect, asked if he had any comments about the fact that it was reported that his golf resort at Mar-a-lago may be underwater in a few years due to global warming and the rise of sea levels. He responded that this was a scientific hoax but that just in case there was even an iota of truth in this, he would instruct the contractors building the wall on the Mexican border to build a wall around Mar-a-lago once they had finished down south. It would be paid for, he added, by the Mexicans and hidden among the costs of the border wall.

The same ‘idiot’ reporter then compounded his erratic behavior and dared to suggest that the same fate might await his luxury golf course in Scotland. Trump denounced him as an enemy of the state, but responded that he had also heard of this absolutely crazy and scientifically made up idea. He added that he had already sent over architects and Trump organization engineers that he trusted, and that had been vetted by Ivanka and Donald Junior, to study the famous Hadrian’s Wall. If the Romans, whom he called ‘my friends’ and ‘a great people’ could build a wall back in AD122, then he could do it now. He said that the initial plan calls for extending the Wall to protect the golf course from any rising sea levels. This would bring thousands of new jobs to Scotland and once completed, would create waves of tourism; ‘Huge, Huge’ waves of tourism the likes of which the ‘Tartan Skirt wearers’ have never seen. Depending on the level of ‘huge, wonderful, wonderful’ success, the wall would then be renamed ‘Trump’ wall in a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by world leaders in wet suits. ‘My friend Vladimir will be invited, but without his IT contingent, just as a matter of cyber security’.

Under his breath he was heard to mutter ‘veni, vidi, vici’ as he adjusted the laurel wreath on his head and excused himself to go off for another round of furious tweeting.

HAVE A HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR!!!!

‘YNWA’ One of the reasons I have been a Liverpool supporter for decades!

‘YNWA’

One of the reasons I have been a Liverpool supporter for decades!

By Stephen W. Ayers.

Take a minute to read the Liverpool anthem that is sung at every game they play by the tens and thousands of supporters at Anfield and at away games:

When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

It was written by Oscar Hammerstein by released as a popular song by Jerry and the Pacemakers in 1963, and adopted by the world famous ‘Kop’ not long after that. It is written proudly at the top of the famous crest.

 It was a little after  this time that I spent four years at Shrewsbury School, a famous English boarding school about seventy miles from Liverpool. Many of the enduring friendships that I made were with guys that hailed from in and around Liverpool, and I joined the ranks of the Anfield faithful soon after.

But what I would like to underline here is that the song and words are sp pertinent today for all of us, especially those that are going through tough times, and that includes hospitality properties.

Perhaps it might be better if we added another word to the four famous letters: the letter ‘S’. It would now read YSNWA and mean: “You should never walk alone”.

Take a moment to think about this. If you have a problem, whether small or large, you need not face it alone. Help and solutions are near at hand, you just have to want to ask. Thankfully, early on in my career I learned a lifelong lesson from the founder of the Isrotel Hotel chain, Mr. David Lewis, who has sadly passed on. I wrote about the incident in my article http://www.stayaheadhospitality.com/a-very-valuable-lesson , and I invite you all to read it.

It became my guiding thought whenever I came up against a problem that I knew I needed help with.

The thought was and is still today “Who is the best, most familiar with and most experienced person to help me with the problem?”

NEVER be too ashamed to admit that a room attendant can help you with a housekeeping problem, or that a steward can give you his inner feelings about how dishwashing can be streamlined. Your attitude towards these small problems is indicative of what you will do when faced with significant challenges.

Of course today’s problems for the hospitality owner are much larger, and in some cases it may be a matter of survival. The huge companies are taking over, the OTA’s are eating up more of your occupancy and your costs are forever increasing. My answer is still the same. Seek out people that can, with their experience and knowledge, help you better understand how to face and overcome the challenges facing our industry today. There are many qualified firms out there today who can help in a meaningful way.

Sourcing outside help with your problems, whether operational or other, will cost you funds from perhaps limited resources, but will almost always be the right thing to do. It is an investment that invariably pays itself back quickly, and in some cases can be a life saver.

Now more than ever, with the fast evolving pace of the industry, it is important to be the best you possibly can be in order to thrive and grow. When you feel frustrated by the results, by the challenges facing your property, remember help is always at hand. You just need to want to reach out, and the first step is to admit that you need help.

If you are a football (soccer) lover and have not heard the Anfield faithful sing YNWA, I invite you to open the source link, it’s a hair raising love story!

Always remember……….YOU SHOULD NEVER WALK ALONE! 

Source: http://www.kopleft.com/youll-never-walk-alone-lyrics-and-history/

Consistent maintenance or a short lived cash grab? Which policy is better?

Consistent maintenance or a short lived cash grab? Which policy is better?

I invite all you fellow travelers to think back to the hotels you have stayed in during the past year, and think about the following.

How many have been clean and well maintained to the extent that you overlooked minor shortfalls? At how many did you notice the lack of painting, worn carpets in the corridor or room, dripping taps, clogged drains, faulty HVAC, faulty light fixtures, TV remotes that do not work, torn towels, and the myriad of other things that can and do go wrong? In many ways you cannot place too much blame on those that come up short, especially in the independents, since resources are thin and all revenues are dedicated to expenses and in some cases survival.

I would hazard a guess that there are quite a few in the latter category, and in my opinion reflects a lack of understanding and short sightedness between a good product and marketability.

There are, in my mind, two types of owners and operators.

Over the course of my career I have had mostly good fortune in that my owners have been generous in providing the operational equipment that was needed, and the funds to keep my hotels in great shape for our guests.

These are the owners that understand that the key to satisfied customers lies not only in the service you provide, but in the physical product too. They support preventive maintenance, pass budgets for necessary replacements and ongoing maintenance and care about what the guest experiences. They and the management team make sure there are policies and procedures that take care to keep things shipshape. It is not just because that owners care about the state of their properties, it is that they understand that it allows for the sales and marketing to be able to succeed in their mission. It also in many ways cuts costs since those well kept hotels will have a much larger percentage of returning guests, and guests that are willing to pay good rates for what they perceive as value for their money.

On the other hand there are owners that, once having invested good money on a renovation, sit back and demand returns on their investment before any more funds are available for upkeep. Slowly but inevitable the state of the public areas, the rooms and the hotel systems get worn out, and an ever increasing number of guests notice this and take to social media to voice their concerns. Group business slows down, returning guests disappear and the rates spiral downwards in the fight for occupancy, while costs increase inexorably.

A well maintained and clean hotel will stay relevant all the time, it will keep its value and be able to compete against the competitive set in a consistent manner. Its’ reputation high, the management team, can concentrate on doing their job and getting guests through the doors at ADR’s that give the bottom line a glow and achieve budgeted targets.

Sure, it does cost more to keep a hotel in top shape, it does cost more manpower to clean and maintain, but it is vital to the consistent chance for success that is allowed for the operation. It will also mean that when the time comes for a more meaningful renovation it will also lower the total costs. I do not need to tell you that well kept systems and operational equipment will last for many more years.

In these times of cutthroat competition and the increasing OTA traffic, surely it is wise to at the very least level the playing field with a well maintained, well kept and clean property that allows your team to perform better? It will show in all areas, whether guest satisfaction, reputation, consistent ADR and of course occupancy. Your bottom line will be the better for your consistent investment.

Don’t let your property age badly. Would you rent a battered, rattling, badly maintained and dirty car from a rental agency? 

Hibernation? NO! Winter is a time for scrutiny, contemplation, planning and decisions.

Hibernation? NO!  Winter is a time for scrutiny, contemplation, planning and decisions.

The crazy budget season is over, the year’s results are almost history, and next year is looming fast upon hotels everywhere, whether luxury or simple, full service or not, and located the length and breadth of Canada.

Hibernation is definitely not an option in today’s high speed world and changing trends.

I would like to suggest that winter is one of the most important times for in depth scrutiny and reflection on the past year and the successes and failures it brought to your property.

Start with the performance against budget of the past year. Highlight the red areas where the differences are considerable, both in revenues and expenses. If results are studied monthly you will be able to see these red areas developing over the year, and comments appearing regarding the worrisome items.

Do not leave any line item out, check them all. No item is too small to ignore, especially for the smaller independent properties where resources are scarce and every penny saved can be used in more important areas.

Going back over the year and studying the year end red items will lead you to seeing a trend in those items, and any action taken to avoid them going forward. You will learn a lot about the actions taken and reaction time. Did you do enough and learn from the shortfalls, and did you try and improve?

On the expenses take a deep look at the department HR costs against budget. Did the departments perform as expected, and if not why not? It is your single largest cost and therefore of utmost importance.

One of the most important if not the most important aspect of your winter deliberations is the rooms’ revenues, the main source of your profits. How did your sales and marketing team perform?

It is wise to dissect the monthly results and performance of each segment and sub segment to see the details of performance and discuss why they performed well or underperformed. With all costs going up every year, you need to have a plan to improve your ADR’s and occupancy from the segments that provide you with the best revenues and ADR. Many hotels have a five year plan and I suggest that if not a five year plan, at the least a two year plan should be formulated for the smaller independents. This will get the sales and marketing staff used to thinking all the time about the improvement plan and working towards targets.

It is not enough to rely on OTA’s, or undersell the competition in the scrum to get business. Its fine to rake in OTA business during lean times, but more rewarding traffic is out there and must be brought in with careful planning, especially when busy. It may look like an uphill battle but if you run a clean, well maintained property with good friendly service and with a clear identity, the business is there.

Imaginative and creative thinking play a large part in the process of self improvement, and yes, maybe some resources must be set aside to achieve the goals. It will be money well spent.  It is not an option to sit back and decide that there are no funds to spend on S&M; business will not just walk in your door at better rates. It needs a reason to come to you, and it is you that needs to provide that reason. The reasons could be anything from touting a renovation, community actions, a ‘revamp and change’ in the identity of your property to give it a USP (unique selling point), the addition of a gym or spa area, upgrade in product, F&B deals, there are myriad ways to improve and get the message out there.

Winter must be the time to scrutinize, draw conclusions, make decisions and plan for the coming year in all areas. Set benchmarks and as the year progresses you will be able to gauge the efficacy of your plan, and make corrections along the way.

Finally, make sure to present your plan to the management team, along with the goals, and agree with them on the attainable targets after a frank discussion. That way all the team will all be on board and working to the same goals. It will make for a healthier hotel and one working with common purpose and rejuvenated for the future!.

The absolute perfect, authentic, best, most recommended, most approved product? Help me, what do I buy?

The absolute perfect, authentic, best, most recommended, most approved product? Help me, what do I buy? 

OK, I must admit that I am finally sick of the ad agencies and their creative departments. Every single product is the best out there! BUT, so are the rest.

Let’s draw an imaginary scenario. I want to buy a new toothbrush, so I hop on down to the local Shoppers Drug Mart, as I am in Canada. I identify the lane for the toothbrushes and wander down to make my pick. One particularly colorful toothbrush catches my eye and I unhook it to read about what I am going to purchase.

It is a ‘no brainer’, I gotta buy that brush. Right on the packaging it says why! Among the accolades and recommendations I find the following:

‘The brush most recommended by dentists.’  But it says that on others too! So what did they do, gather a few dentists, tell them to recommend the brush and then go ahead and print?

‘The most sold brush in America’…….so are some of the other brands, so is it sold in a specific region or what is the backup info? That, my friends, remains a secret!

‘Proven to protect from cavities’…..Who proved it? Why are all of them proven scientifically to do the same?

‘New packaging!!’……so bloody what? I need a toothbrush, not a package!

‘New, improved formula’….sounds good, what did you guys improve? Nope, no answer on that.

‘New, improved handle for better brushing’…….am I to really believe that? All of them look pretty good on the handling side to me…..

‘Special design with ‘cross brushes for greater effect’….I cross brush in any case, so why do I need the new, cross brush design? It sure looks like a great design, bristles all over the place but I am not falling for that! It all depends on how dedicated and efficient you are in daily brushing, not on the ‘cross brushes’!

So what does it all boil down to? The simple answer is that there is so much exaggeration in all advertising these days it makes me sick.

How about a bread bakery? If it’s not ‘Artisanal’ bread it’s no good?

If the frozen pizza is not ‘authentic stone baked pizza they cannot take more of your money?

Oh, and can a frozen Pizza be authentic Neapolitan pizza? I thought those were made in Napoli!

If the name of the restaurant is ‘Deep Blue Ocean’, can they take more money for a dish?

If the fish and chips are made with ‘line caught haddock’ is that worth more from your pocket than just simple Haddock fish and chips?

Another one……. ‘More value for your money’……..says who?

How about those padded guys that jump on dirt and spills in the kitchen? Does their brand of paper towels work better than the competition? Maybe they do, but you sure get fewer towels for your money, so maybe you can use two for every one if you buy cheap? And I don’t believe that a wet one can hold a knife and fork in it without tearing, nor do I believe that you can actually wash them and use again! I mean, WTF and who are you kidding?

What about the products advertised exclusively on TV? Some look really great don’t they? That is until they say….”But wait, if you order now we will double your order for free”. Why, is something so wrong I will need two? Is it so cheap that you can afford to give me another one as backup? Nope, no do buy!

So, I stand in the toothbrush aisle with a handful of brushes in my hand, all of them the best, most dentists recommended, most sold in America, newest design, newest packaging and best brushes for my teeth.

What do I do now?

I sit down in the aisle and cry! I hear someone calling for a straight-jacket………………..

HEY! I don't understand you!!

HEY! I don't understand you!

When taking part in the Mayor of Jerusalem’s panel on how to improve the foreign tourist experience, I ventured that every party involved in the chain of encounters that makes up a ‘Jerusalem stay’ must improve in every way.

Staring with all places of entry to the city I said that the train station must be clean and spotless, welcome signs in many languages and uniformed tourist agents on hand for clarifications necessary. Taxis should be in very good running condition, clean on the outside and in, all systems working. The drivers should be dressed respectfully. The same for buses and their drivers. The ‘new attitude’ I said, should filter down to all the shopkeepers, restaurants and establishments that welcome visitors.

It is not enough, I declared, that people are friendly and show warmth. Many tourists and visitors are used to a different mentality than those of the normal Jerusalemite. They arrive from places where they are used to cabs in good condition, clean, well dressed drivers, spotless shops and good service attitude.

I also added that it was absolutely imperative that as many people in service positions speak rudimentary English, and perhaps a small comprehension of another language.

Utopia, right?

I think it is attainable if everyone pulls his weight in the different professions that services tourists, and is an ever evolving improvement to be measured all the time.

Now, consider my surprise when I read in the newspaper that Brampton, a predominantly Indian city in the Greater Toronto Area is considering cancelling the obligatory spoken English test for cab drivers! Are the city councilors signaling that they want only Indian visitors to Brampton? Surely they too want guests entering cabs to be able to be understood and to be able to understand the driver?

Some will say that this is a racist attitude. Nonsense! It is a simple matter of reasonable service standards to which every service professional should be held. In many cases the cab driver is the ‘first impression’ a guest receives when arriving at a new destination. Can you imagine a tourist getting into a beaten up, dirty cab, settling down on torn seating and carpets that have seen better days………..and then not being able to communicate with the driver. Wherever the cab driver hails from he/she should have basic command of English to satisfy clear communication.

Unlike hotels and restaurants, they operate out of range of Trip advisor, so no threat from there!

Following the horrible travel experiences we are put through today (The subject of my article http://www.stayaheadhospitality.com/the-rise-of-staycations-my-thoughts ), we expect that when we do arrive at our chosen destination we would like to be understood by as many there as possible. Is that too much to ask?

And yet there are cities that think otherwise and are going backwards!

It is a fairly simple idea to understand. It is not rocket science. To develop tourism in your city everyone needs to pull together to make the experience one that will keep people coming back to your city. A modicum of spoken English is one important factor in the experience.

Complaints? Don't know the word! Only solutions.

While opening a resort hotel with four hundred and twenty rooms and ten food and beverage outlets many years ago as F&B and Executive Assistant Manager, one of the people that I still remember vividly is the onsite representative of one of the largest travel companies in Europe.

He was a very pleasant fellow but the one thing that stood out was his way of treating complaints, which, during an opening period as anyone will tell you, are numerous.

“There is no such thing as a complaint, there is only a solution.” It was his favorite way of handling a complaint, and he was right.

If you believe, as I still do, that most guests are honest, then something untoward must have happened to them for them to come forward with a complaint. In turn this means that it must be dealt with to their satisfaction or you will have an unhappy guest on your hands. Worse still, if not handled correctly, you will have a guest leaving your establishment dissatisfied which not only will lead to bad reviews across social media but will also cost you precious marketing and sales dollars in repair.

So you have an irate guest on your hands, and you may be the last person in line to handle that customer. He has already been handled by at least two of your staff and is still not satisfied that his or her complaint has been adequately taken care of.

How does you establishment take care of complaints? Is there are procedure in place, and do all the staff know what steps to take from the time a customer approaches with a complaint?

The best possible way to solve a complaint is to empower staff, even line staff, to solve them. It is not an easy thing to give empowerment to line staff, but often it is the best way to stop a complaint ‘in its tracks’. Train your staff in handling complaints and give them parameters of what they can offer as compensation for the different types of complaints. Again not easy, but this can be done with logical training. However, the staff must know when the complaint is such that it needs handling at a different level. The staffs I have been lucky to work with have virtually always known instinctively if the matter needed passing to a superior.

Giving staff the opportunity to solve the small complaints will leave them respecting your management more, and will make all those ‘niggly’, small complaints disappear before they get to you. Staff are clever and most know when a complaint is justified. They are in the best position to offer a replacement dish in the restaurant, rebate a cold soup or whatever the complaint justifies. Customers will appreciate the fast solution and no harm will be done to your reputation, something you work so hard for.

I recently picked up a takeout order from McDonalds only to find when I arrived that three orders of fries had not been included in the bag. I returned later to get the refund on my card which was done with no questions asked, and the server apologized profusely, which calmed me. What was out of the ordinary was that after processing my rebate the server handed me three coupons for free Big Macs. I did not ask for any compensation, it was offered a gesture. Will I return to that branch? You know the answer!

So, you now stand in front of an irate guest who is angered even more by having had to go through staff to get to you. What do you do now?

Here is what I have always done and it has worked for me in 100% of the serious complaints that have landed up with me……..where the buck stops.

Having concluded that the guest is telling the truth and has a valid complaint, I first apologize for this happening at the establishment I run. I do not know is an apology has been forthcoming previously, but it is a good step to take. I than ask for clarification of the actual complaint, even if the guest has already given it. I do this, as I inform the guest, so that we can learn from his experience and correct this for future guests. This gives him a feeling of ‘importance’, since we want to hear and learn, and it will, more often than not, bring out willingness to recount the incident.

While the guest is recounting his complaint, the time allows me to consider all the facts and come to a decision as to the compensation that is fair, in my honest opinion. The way I calculate this is to think of what I would want had this incident happened to me. I then decide on the maximum compensation that I would demand, and this is what I offer the guest.

I start with the MAXIMUM I would offer. I do not start any sort of negotiation on the level of compensation, but start off with the fairest offer I think suitable. It has nearly always worked for me, and oftentimes the guest is surprised by the ‘generous’ offer.

Complaints handled this way tend to sort out the ‘men from the boys’ in that if the guest still wants compensation outrageous and way above what is fair, it is now that you will see this. I again offer them the maximum that I started with, and apologize if they are not satisfied with that. But I never offer more than the maximum I would have demanded for the incident.

This method has invariable worked for me. The staff are happy that you place trust in them. They know when to pass along the complaint to a superior, and guests that do arrive at my doorstep most often depart satisfied.

It is the most sensible and logical approach to complaints. It has served me well.

Mr. Wrigley and the importance of consistency in F&B!

At the risk of sounding boring and just repeating what others have said, I write the following because lately I have visited establishments that 'think' they have all the bases covered but are a long way from managing efficiently, and in my opinion, at the risk of losing clientele and going out of business......in the end. Many fail in one or all of the subjects below.

Many restaurants and bars believe that they have a winning concept for their operations, and some do, but how long will it last?

A great food and beverage operation, even while at its' best and most successful will keep on asking questions that allow it to stay ahead of the competition.

William Wrigley was once asked why he kept on marketing his gum when he was already the largest producer and seller of chewing gum. His answer? "I market for the same reason an airline pilot keeps his engines running when once off the ground"

In the same way operations have to ask themselves what they can do better, and ask this question all the time.

Food: 
The food has to be great and consistently so.
The menu should not be crowded with choices, but each dish should be a masterpiece.
Keep abreast of trends and competition.
Prices should be competitive.
Daily presentations and tasting are a good way to ensure standards.

Beverage:
Unless a signature of the establishment, there is no need to offer exaggerated varieties of beverage, remember, idle stock costs money.
Depending on the standards, it is wise to keep a good selection of wines on the menu, and make sure you have great house wines at reasonable prices.........it will be the seller it is supposed to be if you do.
Keep abreast of trends and competition.

Service:
Every server must know each dish, the ingredients, the taste and be able to inform the guests.
Servers must know to recommend beverages and wines that suit the dishes chosen, and know the beverages and wines offered.
Servers must be well trained and friendly, they are your 'face'.
It may be superfluous to mention,  but servers must be clean and dressed in freshly laundered uniforms or clothes.
Linen must be impeccable.
Do not let a dissatisfied customer leave without resolving justifies complaints.

Maintenance: 
I have written before but cannot impress enough the importance of maintenance and upkeep.
Check all operating equipment for damage and faults: Unstable chairs and tables, lighting, HVAC, even the cutlery must be impeccable.
Create a team that checks all systems and the establishment at least once a week in depth, and daily as a habit.

Cleanliness: Make sure that everything in the facility is clean and ready to welcome guests: Floors, carpets, tables, chairs, sideboards, WC's, corridors, walls, windows, they must all be above criticism.

Criticism: Follow the comments on social media and respond to ensure better ratings.
Your clients are telling you what they think, ignore this at your peril.

So, HOW AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO FOLLOW THE ABOVE?

Putin, his personal driver and me!

A hilarious story from my time as GM of the David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem.

President Putin visited Israel during April 2005 and stayed at the David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem.

I had the pleasure of welcoming him on his arrival and bidding him farewell on his departure.

The one humorous event that occurred during his visit actually happened in the underground car park of the hotel. The Presidential Mercedes Limousine has been flown in with the delegation, and was the talk of the hotel. It was bulletproof and equipped with high tech modern communication equipment. I wanted to take a look, so I requested that one of his interpreters accompany me down to the car and explain the gadgetry and features of the Russian Presidents car.

The car was guarded 24 hours by one of the drivers who greeted us when we arrived, and explained about the thick glass bulletproof windows, the communication gear and also that the tires were solid rubber that couldn’t be shot out.

As a joke, I asked the interpreter to explain to the driver that these cars were not very reliable, and that should it break down as expected, I would be honored to lend the President my Peugeot 407, an excellent replacement.

The burly Russian driver had no sense of humor. He looked at the interpreter as he conveyed my message, looked at me with scorn and then told me curtly, “One of the wheels of my Mercedes is worth more than your car!”

All of us at the hotel enjoyed the Russian visit very much, from the State dinner held in his honor by President Katsav of Israel, down to camaraderie with his personal Chef and members of his staff.