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| 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.