Hospitality Daily

Today, one of my favorite hospitality professionals in San Francisco, Ana Atienza, shares her journey from studying hotel and restaurant management in the Philippines to building a successful career in hospitality on the front lines of hospitality as the Guest Relations Manager at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g5Tughg8 Some takeaways from our conversation: Encourage and support employees' career aspirations.  Ana's father was initially hesitant about her working while in school, but her friends and family supported her passion for hospitality. As a leader, create an environment where employees feel encouraged to pursue their career goals. Recognize potential and offer growth opportunities.  When a coffee shop franchisee saw Ana's popularity and potential, they offered her a management trainee position. Be on the lookout for employees with potential and provide them with opportunities to grow and advance. Create a welcoming environment for all guests.  Ana was inspired by the genuine hospitality she experienced at hotels. Train your staff to make every guest feel like a VIP, regardless of who they are. Provide mentorship and share insider knowledge.  Ana's colleagues generously shared their knowledge about the hotel and guests, which helped her succeed. Encourage seasoned employees to mentor newer staff and share their insights. Teach employees to stay in the moment with guests.  Ana learned the importance of being present and truly listening to guests during interactions. Train your team to focus on the guest in front of them, even during busy times, as it sets the tone for their entire stay. Involve all departments in new initiatives and gather feedback.  The food and beverage team values input from other departments when launching new cocktails or menu items. Foster a collaborative environment where all teams feel involved and heard. Encourage work-life balance and flexibility.  Ana struggled with overnight shifts, and her leaders were understanding of her needs. Be open to accommodating employees' scheduling preferences when possible to prevent burnout and improve job satisfaction. Empower employees to handle challenging guest situations.  Ana's colleagues taught her not to take difficult guest interactions personally. Provide training and support to help employees navigate challenging situations with professionalism and empathy. Celebrate your city and create a sense of place.  Ana's love for San Francisco shines through as she describes her daily commute and the hotel's iconic location. Encourage your team to be ambassadors for your city and to share their favorite local experiences with guests. 🎧 Listen to the Hospitality Daily Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts ♻ Repost this with your thoughts to help someone else ➕ Follow Hospitality Daily here for more stories like this

This should be a poster on every leader’s wall 👏🏻 James Ferguson🎉

Samantha Hardcastle is the founder of The Storied Experience and was one of the first guests on our show years ago because stories and our ability to communicate play critical roles in providing hospitality. Today, she returns to share the latest of what she's seeing, hearing, and thinking about this: 🎧 Listen to the Hospitality Daily Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts A few takeaways from our conversation: 1) Focus on creating purposeful concepts and guest journeys that go beyond just providing a place to sleep. Aim to create experiences that align guests with who they desire to be and open up new paths for them. 2) Use neuroscience principles to design experiences that help guests step out of their comfort zones and change their narratives. This can be achieved by creating moments that provoke new thoughts, perspectives, or behaviors. 3) Identify the deeper mission and purpose behind your hotel and use that as a foundation for designing guest experiences. Reconnect with the original motivation for creating the property. 4) Understand how the environment impacts behavior and create enriching spaces that trigger positive thoughts, emotions, and actions. Incorporate activations that provoke curiosity and encourage engagement. 5) Align your hotel's experience with the broader tourism industry and focus on experiential elements. 6) Infuse the desired guest experience into the hotel's concept from the very beginning, making it clear that the stay has purpose and impact. 7) Incorporate the history and stories of the local community into the guest experience in an interactive and sensorial way. 8) Understand what your guests truly desire by asking "why" multiple times to get to the core of their interests and preferences. 9) Embrace the regenerative travel movement by playing a positive role in the local community to create positive ripple effects within your destination. 10) Explore creative ways to support the local community. Aim to be a force for good in your destination. 🎧 Listen to the Hospitality Daily Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or here: https://lnkd.in/gMSjeZQ9 ♻ Repost this with your thoughts to help someone else ➕ Follow Hospitality Daily here for more stories like this

Melissa and Tanner Cummings are building a remarkable next-gen luxury resort in Georgia, and today I had so much fun spending the day with them in Atlanta hearing all about this - including their vision for hospitality (based on the best of what's proven and new opportunities that exist today), as well as their unique approach to involving thousands of people in this project. Listen to our episode here now: https://lnkd.in/g_zSUMvF ♻ Repost this with your thoughts to help someone else ➕ Follow Hospitality Daily here for more stories like this

Hospitality is all about vibes! Insightful - thanks for sharing Kelly Dodd & Skift

This is hospitality: Brendan Town, manager of Indaco Atlanta working the phones and welcoming guests himself when he thought no one was looking. I’ve heard the hype of The Indigo Road Hospitality Group and had to experience it myself while in town for a day. Hospitality at its finest! I can’t wait to share more on what they’re doing soon…

"Many things returned to normal after the pandemic, but one change remained," citizenM hotels CCO Ernest Lee shares on our podcast today in a conversation on how they applied the "Amazon Prime Playbook" to the world of hotels. 🎧 Listen to the Hospitality Daily Podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gKJ6_xPX A few takeaways: 1) Differentiate your loyalty program: Instead of trying to compete with large chains on points programs, find unique ways to differentiate your loyalty offering based on your strengths as a brand. For citizenM, this meant leveraging their owner-operator model to implement real, meaningful benefits for members quickly. 2) Deliver strong value to garner loyalty: Focus on consistently providing exceptional value to guests with each stay and interaction. CitizenM took inspiration from Amazon Prime's approach of sacrificing short-term revenue for long-term customer loyalty. Make your loyalty benefits feel like a "steal" to quickly prove the program's worth. 3) Measure the right loyalty KPIs: Look beyond the membership fee revenue and track metrics like customer lifetime value, booking frequency, average revenue per user, and NPS scores. Compare this pre and post-joining the loyalty program to gauge its true impact on your core business. 4) Align loyalty benefits with guest lifestyles: Design a loyalty program that is relevant to guests' lives beyond just their stays. CitizenM offers a holistic program with travel perks, social benefits like events, and professional advantages like free coworking. This keeps the brand top of mind and drives more frequent visits. 5) Adapt to shifting work and travel behaviors: Recognize the structural changes in how people blend work and leisure travel. Offer benefits like coworking spaces and meeting rooms that cater to mobile professionals seeking fulfillment through travel. Be an enabler for the experiences guests seek today. 6) Simplify rollouts with clear frameworks: When implementing loyalty program changes across global operations, maintain a sharp focus but also keep things simple. Communicate the vision and create frameworks for staff decision-making. Empower employees while ensuring brand consistency. 7) Invest in continuous training: Repeatedly convey key messages to staff and invest in upskilling so they can efficiently deliver on the loyalty promise. Develop people at a personal level while maintaining alignment with overall company goals. Well-trained staff are critical to executing the loyalty experience. 🎧 Listen to Ernest and I talk more about this on the Hospitality Daily Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts today ♻ Repost this with your thoughts to help someone else ➕ Follow Hospitality Daily here for more stories like this

What would you ask Horst Schulze? Let me know in the comments...

Love this story from Ethan Orley about creativity and collaboration- could you do something similar? 🤔 Also make sure you’re following The Modern Hotelier with 🎙️Steve Carran & David Millili - it’s on my must-listen list because each episode is full of insights like this 😎

Today, Martin Soler shares the Jeff Bezos/Amazon approach to hotel tech: https://lnkd.in/ghnpUnHN A few takeaways from our conversation: 1) Focus on what will not change: Instead of chasing every new technology trend, concentrate on the fundamentals that will remain constant in hospitality, such as the need for personalized, efficient service. 2) Prepare for increased technology adoption: Recognize that guests will continue to bring more connected devices and expect to use them seamlessly during their stay. Ensure your infrastructure can support this growing demand. "What's also not going to change is that there will be more technology. What's not going to change is that people will have more connected gadgets, tools, and equipment. That's not going to change. This is just going to keep increasing."  3) Enable guests to use their own devices: Provide the necessary technology and connectivity to allow guests to use their own devices for entertainment, such as casting to in-room TVs or accessing their streaming services. 4) Minimize mundane tasks: Look for ways to reduce the need for guests to interact with boring, repetitive tasks like payments. Streamline these processes to enhance the guest experience. 5) Don't get distracted by short-term trends: While experimenting with new technologies can be interesting, avoid over-investing time and resources in tactical opportunities that may not have a significant long-term impact on your business. (Metaverse, anyone?) 6) Maintain a big-picture perspective: As a leader, it's crucial to zoom out and consider the broader industry landscape. This will help you make strategic decisions and allocate resources effectively. 7) Remember the core of what we do: Despite the rapid advancement of technology, the fundamental human need for hospitality will remain constant. Keep this in mind as you navigate our ever-changing world. 🎧 Listen to Martin and I talk about this today on the Hospitality Daily Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts ♻ Repost this with your thoughts to help someone else ➕ Follow Hospitality Daily here for more stories like this