Mike Hohnen » Hotel

Why stay at a hotel?

Mike — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:23:15 +0000

If you could rent this for the same price with friendly service….

From the Financial Times this weekend:

“On a trip to Italy last July, I stayed at a hotel in Tuscany called Castello del Nero. Opened in 2006, it has featured in many best hotel lists around the world. I was visiting with my family (as a journalist on a complimentary stay) and was dumbfounded. Slow, forgetful service combined with unsatisfactory food left me wondering how the industry had reached a point whereby it could charge €500 a night for a hotel that was sub-standard – aside from the excellent spa. I was told some of the lapses were because of a departing chef. The trouble is, with the luxury hotel industry entering difficult times, there will be few opportunities for such excuses.

Next year will probably see a tough, consumer-led reappraisal of the market. Interestingly, early signs of this shakedown can be seen in the generally robust market for private villa rentals”

Read the full article here

How much extra for nice?

Mike — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:49:41 +0000

Is the question Seth Godin asks on his blog - it reminds me of a quote i once read from the HR people at South West Airlines: ” It is not technical skills we are looking for it is nice people. We can train people to do anything technical, but we can’t make them nice” .
When I conduct training’s for front line staff I ask them what in your opinion is a wow experience and when did you last have one. Invariable the same happens no matter what group I do this with: a) out of 25 - 30 people only 3-5 have had a wow service experience.
b) when I then ask them to describe in detail what is was, 9 times out of 10 the best experience always have to do with some one who was exceptionally nice - never ever do people mention the chandeliers in the reception area, the 6-foot flat screens in their room or any of the other features that are listed in a hotel brochure - always we come back to nice - my conclusion on this is: wow - what an opportunity, obviously very few people do it and it costs virtually nothing to implement - A huge opportunity indeed as Seth Godin says. I could not agree more.

Read the post here

Food trends for 2008

Mike — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 08:01:36 +0000

This time of year we are all (including me ) busy trying to forecast what the new food trends are going to be.

I gave a speak on the subject at the UK CESA conference in november – presenting the new and creative concepts that I have encountered in the major cities. Among these a quite unique concept in Barcelona – made by Camper. Watch it here.

Here is an attempt from restaurant guru Michael Whiteman

And here you will find a less colourful attempt from the Magazine Restaurants and Institutions

One thing I have observed is that the new mantra for buffets and food displays is that less is more - simplicity and quality have replaced volume and variety in some of the best and most progressive concepts I have seen. Tappas and Sushi style bites have replace huge displays.

The photos here are both from the spanking new Renaissance Shanghai Hotel - note that the cokkie jars are there for quest to take their pick if the feel like a cokkie with their coffee.

What do you think are going to be the dominant new trends in the Food business this year?

Communicating is not as easy as we think

Mike — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:19:49 +0000

We had great fun working with communication and problem solving with a group of hotel reception and booking people. How good are we at explaning to our colleagues what we have actually promised the guest? How good are we at understanding what the guest really wants? Good fun and lots of useful learning.

“What piece goes where did you say?”

Bangkok’s Smallest Hotel LUXX,

John Ford — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 09:32:50 +0000

probably the smallest hotel in Bangkok introduces a new taste of luxury for its guests. Going by the theme, “Beyond Hotel…Stay with LUXX,” this home for the young, hip and trendy traveller is bringing design, comfort and experience to a new level. From being a home of one of the owners to a left alone building, a young architect and designer merge a vision to create a premium class accommodation facility to fit the taste of the young, hip and trendy.

LUXX

Instant Room Service

John Ford — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:54:23 +0000

A branded hotel key card - a nice bit of marketing from MTN:

Jo’Blog

Pillow talk…

John Ford — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 08:33:20 +0000

Pillows have become serious business at high-end hotels, where guests are being presented with a broad choice of options, ranging from goose down or allergy-free pillows, to those designed to reduce snoring. At the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, guests have a choice of no less than 12 types of pillows, and at the Skylofts at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a “dream butler” delivers the pillow menu, which includes an option for pillows monogrammed with the guest’s initials

NYT

The worlds most radical hotel

John Ford — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 17:57:25 +0000

http://www.yotel.co.uk/
We have had an enormous response to Yotel over the last few months and would like to thank all those that have been in contact and are showing interest. We are working hard to bring you the first Yotel and will announce shortly where the first Yotel will open.

Fixing A Leak In The Hotel Profitability Pipeline: How To Manage The Costs Of Employee Turnover

John Ford — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 07:18:21 +0000

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000350/4020937.html

One of the most vexing and expensive managerial problems: employee turnover, and particularly turnover of the most productive and effective individuals-continues to plague the hotel industry. A recent study showed that the average turnover level among non-management hotel employees in the US is about 50%, and about 25% for management staff. Thus, small variations in property-wide turnover may have significant financial implications.

Why Discounting Doesn’t Work: The Dynamics of Rising Occupancy and Falling Revenue among Competitiors

John Ford — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 08:00:57 +0000

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/abstract/WhyDiscountingDoesntWork.pdf

by Cathy A. Enz, Ph.D., Linda Canina, Ph.D., and Mark Lomanno
Executive Summary: The long-running debate over whether hotels should discount room rates to boost financial performance becomes particularly contentious during tough economic times. The results reported in this study show that discounting relative to the competitive set does, in fact, fill a hotel, but the study also clearly shows that hotels in direct competition make more money when they maintain their price structure and do not discount to fill rooms. Data drawn from over 6,000 hotels between 2001 and 2003 show that hotels with lower prices relative to their competitive set captured market share from the competition, but did not gain higher RevPAR. Conversely, those with higher prices relative to their competitive set had lower occupancy and higher RevPAR. These results suggest a strategy of holding rates constant when competitors are discounting, or even raising prices to a small degree. By raising prices above the competition a hotel will lose occupancy but make up for that loss with higher RevPAR. By offering a lower relative price, on the other hand, a hotel will gain occupancy but its RevPAR performance will be lower than that of its competitive set.

In particular, the data analyzed over the last three years, a difficult period for the industry, show that when a given hotel discounted its room rates to a greater degree than its competitive set, the result was decreased RevPAR compared to its competition (despite increased occupancy). The dynamics between price and occupancy remain quite stable from segment to segment, but the degree to which higher relative prices produce dramatic or gradual relative drops in occupancy does vary by segment. In addition, for 2003 small relative price increases did not enhance relative RevPAR for some segments.

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/abstract/WhyDiscountingDoesntWork.pdf