32
| Hospitality Today | Feb / Mar 14
He said he was told to aim for 40 % seat sales , but with huge effort and by making seats affordable , there were sell-outs .
He exhorted hoteliers to build on exceptional , inclusive experiences for different guests with different needs : “ it will make social , legal , moral and – yes – business sense ”.
Nurturing your People
Mik Baker of Unleash Training gave a presentation on how to look after your staff .
Growing Brand Value in the Customer Age
Al Alloway , CEO of CAB Studios , said that brands must be more relevant , personal , individual , and must offer “ Relevant , Remarkable and Rewarding ” experiences – the new “ three Rs ”.
Helping is selling : Jeff Bezos of Amazon said : “ we don ’ t make money when we sell things , we make money when we help people make purchase decisions ”. Powerful brands start with “ why ”. People don ’ t buy what you do – they buy why you do it : Alloway cited IHG ’ s new brand Even Hotels – they have a very strong “ why ” – a reason to stay , for wellness and nutrition .
Protecting your growth : Taking Risk Management Seriously
This panel discussion featured Mark Child , Partner , Kingston Smith Consulting LLP ; John Ludlow , Senior VP Global Risk Management , IHG ; Bob Dulieu , Managing Director , Capcon ; Paul Moxness , VP Safety & Security , Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group ; and Dr Alexandros Paraskevas , Chair in Hospitality Management , University of West London .
The stakes are high : for instance , the maximum fine under the Data Protection Act is £ 500,000 , but under the pending EU Data protection Directive , this could be 5 % of annual global business turnover .
A trusted company is more likely to survive when something bad happens – so the message is , “ build up that trust capital ” in your bank .
Empower your staff to deal with every aspect arising from a customer complaint . Handling a crisis well can even enhance a company ’ s long-term reputation .
The DNA of a Champion
Sir Clive Woodward OBE gave an inspiring speech on how to be a winner – and the often wafer-thin difference in sport between a winner and an also-ran ( in the last Winter Olympics , there was a 1.25 seconds between the Gold medallist and the 21st skier ). He started by emphasizing that “ great teams are made up of great individuals ” – with the England Rugby Team , he had focused on making each individual player to be as good as they could possibly be .
Talent is essential , but on its own is not enough – you need “ teachability ” – “ be a sponge , not a rock ”.
A thirst for knowledge is in the DNA of a champion – and a passion to beat the person you are competing with .
He introduce delegates to “ T CUP ” – the importance of “ Thinking Correctly Under Pressure ”. Winning is often about making the right decision in an instant at a moment of pressure . Here , you do not have time to analyse the situation and think it through – you have to react instantaneously . How can you make it more likely that you will make the right call ?
Woodward says he made his team role-play hundreds of game scenarios , and forced them to give quick answers . That way , when one of those scenarios happens for real , you are more likely to make a correct decision under pressure . Focus and preparation is all .