Global Update
on Hotelsmag . com
exclUsive :
Hotel equities ventures upmarket
Hotel Equities , Atlanta , has primarily been a management , ownership and development company for select-service properties in the southeastern United States . However , this is set to change via Hotel Development Partners , a joint
Brad Rahinsky venture with IRE Capital , Atlanta , which has secured approximately US $ 150 million for developing full-service projects , which Hotel Equities says it will operate with more of a select-service model to drive efficiencies .
“ This fund allows us to expand our footprint and segment reach ,” Brad Rahinsky , Hotel Equities ’ chief operating officer , told HOTELS . “ We will be looking at full-service upscale and luxury opportunities . It ’ s still a 4- and 5-star experience , but with select efficiencies such as cross-training to improve flow-throughs .”
bloG : empowering staff for improved service , retention
Read the full interview : http :// hotelsm . ag / 1jdpuCa
In his HOTELSMag . com blog , Kevin Buchanan , general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Providence Airport / Warwick in Warwick , Rhode Island , wrote that he fights turnover among his line staff and improves service by emphasizing what he calls the “ 3 Ps of Empowerment ,” which include :
• Power to take care of a guest
• Permission to take care of a guest Kevin Buchanan
• Protection for the employee on whatever decision was made to take care of a guest .
The post received many responses praising the approach and citing similar procedures . “ It is so important to provide associates the opportunity to take care of the guest , and we call it ‘ unleashing ’ as opposed to empowering ,” wrote Donna Lowell , human resources director , Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa , Indian Wells , California . “ Associates also conduct empathy interviews with the guest to dig deeper and be able to take care of the guests ’ needs more in tune to what makes them happy .”
Read the full post : http :// hotelsm . ag / 1oBHZmZ
exclUsive : travel marketing takes Humorous turn
The winners of this year ’ s HSMAI Adrian Awards reflected a turn toward humor by hotel marketers in efforts to have their brand messaging go viral by appealing to younger travelers with a taste for quirkiness .
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants , San Francisco , skews toward female travelers and ran a YouTube video that featured a rolled-up yoga mat with a male voice . The video shows the mat talking to a stressedout female guest , asking , “ Can ’ t we just spend this one day together ?” which the guest finds irresistible .
Visit Scotland ’ s video put two ponies in gigantic sweaters and received more than 114,000 views on YouTube and was featured on CNN , NBC and ABC , garnering 18 million viewers .
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Read the full article : http :// hotelsm . ag / OXD5EN
The 2014 Adrian Awards ceremony in New York City
launched a campaign that features a man named Las Vegasdotcom who discusses how his life was normal until the website LasVegas . com was launched . The campaign was featured on television , print advertisements , social networks and digital marketing and increased LasVegas . com ’ s traffic by 40 %.
18 HOTELS May 2014 www . hotelsmag . com