By: Lizz Chambers Lisa sat down in my office, fidgeting and anxiously squirming in her chair. This once confident, driven and passionate operations person was disappearing before my eyes. It was only two months ago that we had promoted her to Director of Sales for a select-service hotel. Since then her performance had slipped. HerRead more
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By: Bud Nolan The value to a hotel of effective mentoring and succession planning cannot be overestimated. Any business is, after all, wrought with pitfalls and pratfalls that can be more easily avoided if a novice has one-to-one access with a veteran. The concern over good mentorship is now coming to the forefront as moreRead more
By: Andrew Carey As hoteliers, we spend our days focused on providing a safe, comfortable refuge for our guests while meeting the challenges of the day. We provide beautiful common areas to gather and commune; we design rejuvenating guestrooms; we care about our customers’ wellbeing. But, at the present, we are leaving our sensitive dataRead more
By: Lizz Chambers Scenario One: You walk by the hotel reception area, you hear the phone ringing and ringing…five…six…seven times. You observe Robert at the front desk checking in a guest and ignoring the phone. So you run to the back office, handle the call and say nothing to Robert. What have you just told Robert? ScenarioRead more
By: Lizz Chambers You are more than likely working for an abusive manager when a day at work can be described in any of the following terms: Walking on egg shells Living in fear Never knowing when the quake will strike Expecting sabotage Stress levels soaring the moment you walk through the doors With stressRead more
By: Wayne West Hotel management isn’t rocket science; it’s blocking, tackling and caring. It can’t always be distilled into a formulaic approach. Too often management teams lose sight of their primary objective: to deliver excellent service to their associates who in turn deliver excellent service to their guests and to the community at large. ItRead more
By: Lizz Chambers How many of us get up in the morning absolutely on-fire looking forward to another day at work? While this may be something more often obtained by those in senior positions, in the case of housekeepers the world over, it’s, “Yes, another glorious day at work cleaning up after our hotel guests!”Read more
River Bistro, located inside the Double Tree hotel on Water Street in Downtown Binghamton, is one of the the city’s best-kept secrets. Full article hereRead more
Newport Hospitality Group (NHG) is a management company that has existed since 1990. Growing primarily from managing distressed properties to prime select and full service hotels, co-founder Mike Pleninger has a lot to say about resuscitating hospitality businesses and sustaining profitability. So, let’s dive in and see what we can learn. Click here to viewRead more
By: Lizz Chambers The Suites at Yale-New Haven is a very special place. Boasting 24 suites equipped with full kitchens along with cooking and dining essentials. Located just two blocks from the Yale-New Haven Hospital they offer a special service for patients and families. The staff is one of the smallest that NHG employs. GeneralRead more
By: Lizz Chambers Having been a Hotel Sales Associate for most of my professional life I have had to endure many misperceptions of what I actually contributed to the operation on a day to day basis. I found early on that there were ways to take these negative perceptions and turn them into actual teachingRead more
By: Lizz Chambers, CHE, CHA Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of success is showing up. Unfortunately, this accurately describes the mindset of the majority of workers today. Multiple studies conducted in different countries and across just about every industry show that very few workers, on average seventeen percent, are passionate about their jobsRead more
By: Lizz Chambers, CHE, CHA Working in hotels for many years, I have heard more than my fair share of words that steal. In fact, I have most certainly been a popular target. The way that I have survived everything, from not being ‘qualified’ for my position to a ‘shady past’ that would make aRead more
By: Lizz Chambers, CHE, CHA You could refer to his expertise as ‘Poetry in Motion’ or compare him to an ‘Orchestra Conductor’ because his primary responsibilities are to set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and listen to and shape the sound of the ensemble. …or you could call what he does night afterRead more
By: Lizz Chambers, CHE, CHA Code Red…Caller ID shows one of those dreaded numbers! Ima Whiner or Malicious Michael is calling AGAIN! First it was about a manager not performing to standards, and then everyone was abusing their time off, and then supervisors were accused of playing favorites with scheduling. As the number flashes, youRead more
By: Lizz Chambers, CHE, CHA I have recently written an article entitled ‘The Key to Hotel Security/Creating a Culture’. This article emphasized the importance of properly recruiting, selecting, and training our associates to create a security culture in our hotels. However, once this monumental task has been accomplished how do we continue to ensure that ourRead more
By: Lizz Chambers Enthusiasm is sometimes defined as a whole-hearted devotion to an ideal, cause, study or pursuit. One might be said to be enthusiastic if they are excited about that in which they are engaged. I am a trainer and I must admit that although I have a passion for training and I spendRead more
By: Lizz Chambers I know what you are thinking: Empowerment has been done to death. It is so ‘last century’ (it became the corporate buzzword in late 1980’s). The problem is that there has been much dialogue and much written about empowerment, but how many times have you actually worked in an ‘Empowered Workplace’ supportedRead more
By: Lizz Chambers How many of us get up in the morning absolutely on-fire looking forward to another day at work? Yes, another glorious day at work cleaning up after our hotel guests-some of whom are not the personification of cleanliness and order. Another beautiful day scrubbing toilets and feeling that the rest of theRead more
