Hotel & Motel Management - October 1, 2007 - (Page 52)

52 News H&MM October 1, 2007 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Trainer communication Continued from page 4 swallow, attendees said. “Sometimes people don’t leave the company, they leave the manager,” said Heather Runje, advisor, human resources-recruitment and learning for The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (British Columbia). “The relationship with the manager had the biggest impact in our company’s survey,” said Brenda Helps, v.p. of human resources and organizational development for Miraval Resort. That means ﬁnding a solution to help retention is important, but not at the expense of upsetting the entire organization, attendees said. The sessions were part of an early August conference that attracted more than 370 human resources and training professionals. During general sessions, keynote speaker Brian Biro had attendees break through one-inch boards to illustrate how to break through barriers in their own lives and live a richer, more effective life. Harry Paul, author of “Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results,” coached attendees on how to incorporate fun at work and improve productivity and performance. In addition, the presidents’ panel included Cameron Mitchell of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Robert Dann of CSM Lodging, Frank Sbordone of Peter Piper Pizza, Paul Astbury of Ocean Reef Club, Greg Lippert of Mazzio’s Corp., Nick Vojnovic of Beef ‘O’Brady’s and John T.A. Vanderslice of Miraval Resort. But it was the breakout sessions Managers need to be ﬂexible with their employees, according to Teri Fox, senior v.p. of operations for Microtel Inns & Suites. News Briefs Cushman & Wakeﬁeld, completed its acquisition of real-estate investment banking specialist Sonnenblick Goldman. The new company, named Cushman & Wakeﬁeld Sonnenblick Goldman, will provide highly specialized debt structuring, mortgage banking, equity raising, brokerage and associated advisory services to realestate owners, investors and developers. Maria Ramos, training and development manager at the Hilton Los Angeles/University City, discusses key training issues at the Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers conference in Tucson, Ariz. ALL PHOTOS H&MM | JEFF HIGLEY where hotel trainers swapped ideas and information. Jeff Wilhoit, training manager for Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo., captured the group’s attention when he explained the property’s Big Cedar Buddy program. The program pairs new employees with existing employees to make the transition to work smoother. They are identiﬁed by wearing ﬁr-tree pins. Wilhoit said the point is to give new employees someone to talk to or eat lunch with from the start. “If they don’t make contact with someone on the ﬁrst day, they may not come back the second or third day,” Wilhoit said. “That ﬁrst week is so critical to make them feel welcome.” The program lasts for about three weeks, although employees form friendships that can last for years, he said. Getting buy-in from the management ranks is important in all training programs. Teri Fox, senior v.p. of operations for Microtel Inns & Suites, said that’s how brands and properties can have employees take ownership of positive atmospheres, and that’s one reason the brand has won six consecutive J.D. Power & Associates customer satisfaction awards. “It’s our housekeepers and our property level people who win it,” she said. “We get to keep the trophy in the ofﬁce because there’s not enough to go around, but the property-level employees are who make it happen.” Fox said it is important for managers to be ﬂexible. “We encourage ﬂex time for housekeepers,” she said. “We teach general managers to have a ﬂexible schedule. Do all housekeepers need to descend on a property at once? If someone needs to drop off their kids and can’t get to work until 8:30, then we should be that ﬂexible.” Erin Herenden Hill, resort operations, training manager for Pebble Beach Co., said an interdepartment mentoring program at the 2,500-acre California property has paid huge dividends in allowing employees to learn about other job functions. “Communication about the property is important,” Helps said. “One thing people get upset about is when they don’t know about the new spa offerings or things like that.” Wilhoit said the big problem with NETMA (nobody ever tells me anything) is that it hurts employee morale. Attendees said two days is the overall consensus for company training, although the amount of time represented in the session varied from ﬁve hours to two days. The franchisee-corporate relationship can sometimes get tense, but when it comes to moving quality people to different levels–and sometimes between a franchised outlet and a corporate property– it’s best to take the best ideas from both sides of the fence, attendees said. jhigley@questex.com In the ﬁrst half of 2007, InterContinental Hotels Group increased its global pipeline by more than 29,000 guestrooms, expanding its total number of rooms to more than 187,000, an increase of 19 percent since the start of 2007. The Americas region leads pipeline growth. As of June 30, the region has 119,370 guestrooms, representing room growth of 13 percent since January. The Professional Culinary Institute of the Silicon Valley located in Campbell, Calif., opened a School of Hospitality Management. Students can earn an associates degree in hospitality management. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide launched StarwoodPro and StarwoodPro.com. The program offers business tools online, including information on deals, rates and booking, for travel agents. Hilton Hotels Corp. announced that its Hampton brand opened nine Hampton Inn hotels and 10 Hampton Inn & Suites properties in the months of July and August. All of the openings are franchised, newconstruction hotels. Compiled by Stephanie Ricca, sricca@questex.com CIRCLE NO. 104 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.ambath.com http://StarwoodPro.com http://www.ambath.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - October 1, 2007

Hotel & Motel Management - October 1, 2007 Contents Independents Rely on Guest Feedback Models Showcase Aloft, Element Brands Trainers Emphasize Communication, Cooperation Perspective At Your Risk Satisfaction Trends Sales Clinic Energy Star Update HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Dressing Walls in 'Green' Music Programming Provides a Sound Solution Remote Check-In/Out for Leisure Travelers Q&A: Western U.S. Pipeline Softgoods - Beds and Bedding Transactions A Cause Célèbre Awards People on the Move Events Cleaning and Maintenance Solutions Marketplace Ad/Editorial Index Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - October 1, 2007

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