Hospitality Basics

The Pearl Continental in Peshawar Pakistan is a landmark hotel in the country’s northwest not far from the Swat Valley. It is a five star property with an affluent clientele including foreigners which probably contributed to it becoming a target. BBC reports that a Serbian UN worker and injured a British and a German national. The attack killed 11 people and injured 52. Three men rode a in a truck and fired at the security guards at the main gate before driving the truck close to the building and blowing it up. The blast damaged parts of the hotel and could be see 3 miles away. It left a crater in the ground and severely destroyed parts of the Pearl Continental. Last September a bomb blast killed 53 people and injured 266. Luxury Hotel bombed in Peshawar Pakistan

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Technology presents a wealth of solutions for hoteliers wishing to wow their guests and get an edge over their competition and it necessarily does not mean a large investment. With a bit of creativity, it has become much easier to engage and build relationships with your guests resulting in loyalty and return visits. I  disagree that technology advancement has sacrificed personal service and on the contrary believe that the tools available today can make it easier for businesses to connect with their customers. With a little bit of creativity your property can compete with hotels with much larger budgets.
Consumers now have the ability to seek out their preferred experiences and with a click can share their own experiences with the entire world through readily accessible social media platforms. For hoteliers this type of connectedness has its pros and cons.

• What is promised must be delivered. Today’s guest demands transparency. The days of heavily overbooking certain room types, views and expecting guests to accept are over.

• Reward those that share feedback or complain…because they give you an opportunity to make it right! The others might choose to share their experience with the world.

• There can be no such thing as an unsatisfied guest; every guest must be satisfied before they leave the property

• A happy guest is your best marketing tool

• Build relationships with your guests

• Treat problems as opportunities for improvement

Hospitality organizations that can build customer centric cultures will benefit greatly in our connected world. Social media amplifies the voice of the customer and satisfied customers are all hotels will need to be successful in the future.

Teg Brar

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The famous NY times is starting a new column called ‘Haggler’ with the purpose of making things right for people who have complaints and are disappointed with product or services. These people may have brought these concerns to the attention of the parties in question but failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. New Times with their heavy clout gives organizations another opportunity to win customers over. People can email their consumer complaints to haggler@nytimes.com . The Haggler will call the organization in question and get to the bottom of what has happened and hopefully provide a satisfactory solution for the consumer. This is another example of the power of the consumer voice and a clever way for New York Times to use their influence in building customer relationships. A good marketing ploy! Should the hospitality industry expect calls from the Haggler regarding guests that were not happy with their experiences? We’ll just have to wait and see! You can read the promotional article as published in the NY times here.

Teg Brar

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Los Angeles times reported that recent research studies have concluded that coffee is not harmful to health. On the contrary it has the potential of protecting diabetes, liver cancer, cirrhosis and Parkinson’s disease. Previous studies suggesting coffee had an adverse effect on health were due to the fact that most coffee drinkers were also smokers. Read the full article ‘Read this over coffee’ in LA Times.

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A receptive tour operator is a local tour company that specializes in Canadian Tourism experiences and manages products and services for incoming visitors most often booked through international tour operators. Receptive tour operators play an important role in the packaged travel industry.
When a tour operator is planning an itinerary in a market they are unfamiliar with – they seek the expert cooperation of a receptive tour operator. Read more…

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Anyone looking to progress their career beyond the borders of North America should consider building a good CV. A CV is your passport to international success and well worth the time and effort. In North America employers are used to shorter resumes and consider information regarding age, marital status, nationality and sex to be irrelevant which is not the case in the global marketplace. CV is far more detailed than a resume and can easily run from four to eight pages in length. Here, I have outlined some simple format basics that you will find helpful in preparing a CV for your international career. Read more…

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An Italian cruise liner ‘Melody’ carrying 1500 passengers was attacked by Pirates off the coast of Somalia around 180 miles north of the Seychelles. It was reported that six armed pirates in a rubber speedboat attacked the ship which sustained broken windows and bullet holes but continued on its journey with naval escort. The incident lasted for about 20 minutes and at one point they even tried to put a ladder on the bow but aborted the attempt as security personnel from the cruise line returned fire. There were no injuries reported, it must have been a total nightmare for the passengers and crew on board. Here is what Captain Ciro Pinto said in an interview with BBC…

by Teg Brar

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Free Coffee at McDonald’s is creating buzz…it is a clever marketing strategy to get a slice of the Canadian Java pie! McDonald’s rolled out a new promotion in Canada offering free ‘premium roast coffee’ to consumers between 5:00am to 10:30am for two weeks (April 20 – May 3). No purchase necessary. The current state of economic affairs coupled with Starbucks closing stores and Tim Horton’s facing challenges…this is a good move by the fast food giant to get in on the coffee market in Canada. Coincidentally, Starbucks is also offering free coffee on Earth Day this Wednesday April 22, 2009…for people that bring their own cups. Read more…

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by Jessica Wang, Student - Les Roches Hotel Management School, Switzerland.
I arrived in one of the mysterious cities in China. Indeed, this was the first time I visited this city and that was why I was full of enthusiasm. I took a day off before I started my training in an international branded hotel.
Day 1
At 10am, I went to the pastry department. The chefs were preparing the desserts for the Christmas Day Dinner Buffet. There were strawberry mousse cakes, black forest cakes, green tea cakes, puddings, cookies, cheese cakes and more. They cut and place the cakes on the crystal plate with amazing decoration that made me not want to eat them. The executive chef explained the different type of flours, chocolates, and equipments that were used in the pastry department. Most of the equipments were imported from Germany. Even though I did not have the chance to make the desserts, I learnt through observing. I also looked through the standard recipes for making different kind of desserts; the chefs explained to me about the temperature and the time for baking in the oven. At around 5pm, the chefs and staff members started to arrange the dishes in the restaurant. The hot trays were placed in the middle and the cold trays, and desserts were placed along the two sides. Read more…

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The maintenance and housekeeping departments are the two most injury prone areas in a hotel with the labor intensity, physical activity and training being the main reasons. Housekeeping staff on a daily basis clean 14-16 rooms and make up to 8000 movements during an eight hour shift. It is a physically demanding job which primarily involves making beds, cleaning rooms, bathtubs, sinks, fixtures removing stains and vacuuming. It is a profession highly prone to sprains and strains and hoteliers must cultivate work practices that prevent injuries from occurring. Read more…

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