Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - (Page 4) H&MM February 2009 | HotelWorldNetwork.com 4 News & Analysis INDUSTRY COVERAGE “There are times when, frankly, it’s really about defending the brand or property.” CARYN KBOUDI, OMNI SPECIAL REPORT: SECURITY AND SAFETY Crisis situations call for clear communication plans By Jennifer Kovacs SENIOR EDITOR Dealing with the media during a crisis Patrick McCrummen, VP of communications and marketing for the American Red Cross, offered these tips on handling media attention when your hotel becomes involved in a crisis: Bad news always leads. Be more open with reporters; appearing defensive under criticism fails. It is not the job of reporters to carry your message to the public; you must do that. Push good news when you can; build a bank of positive impressions. National Report–Hotel crises can come in a variety of forms, from a hurricane heading toward a property to local media uncovering dirty drinking glasses in guestrooms. Most recently, we all witnessed one of devastating reach on Nov. 26, 2008, when the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and the Oberoi-Trident hotels in Mumbai, India, came under siege by terrorists, leaving dozens of hotel staff members and guests among the more than 160 people who were killed. For three days, the eyes of the world were focused on the city, where hotel employees played a vital role in protecting guests during the attack and communicating with the outside. And while many crises are unavoidable, and most often far less tragic than what was seen months ago, the best solution to resolving whatever may arise is to already have a plan in place for myriad scenarios, as well as open lines of communication to accomplish that plan. Experts on the topic offered advice on how to do just that during the webinar “Curbing Crisis Through Effective Communication” that was held last fall and Kboudi OMNI HOTELS hosted by the American PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AMY WITEK Hotel & Lodging Assn.’s Commutions do occur, we can answer nications Committee. them promptly and thoroughly,” Caryn Kboudi, VP of corpoKboudi said. rate communications for Omni Have a plan Hotels, summed up three broad Because a crisis at a hotel can range categories of crises hotels may face: from a civil demonstration to a internal occurrences, incidents and corporate merger, let alone those natural disasters. And often, when that garner even more national or any form of crisis occurs, a hotel Maragakis worldwide attention, it’s important may find itself not only reacting to ACCOR NA to have individual response plans it, but also dealing with the immein place, said James Cunningham, corpodiate watch of the public eye. “There are times when, frankly, it’s re- rate director of loss prevention and safety for ally about defending the brand or defend- Interstate Hotels & Resorts. “It’s important we develop a crisis coming the property. … It’s really our job to not only deal with the communications of it, munication plan to define what a crisis is to but what the company is doing from a pre- your company,” Cunningham said. After defining what is likely to occur at paredness standpoint, so when the ques- specific properties, whether it is hurricanes in Florida or wildfires in California, Cunningham said it’s vital to communicate to employees the steps that must be followed to address those situations. Janice Butler Maragakis, VP of corporate and crisis communications for Accor North See Crisis | page 36 ONLINE ARTICLE: Editorial director Paul Heney details the lessons learned during hurricane season at three New Orleans hotels. Visit www. HotelWorldNetwork.com/neworleans. ONLINE ALIS COVERAGE: For complete coverage of The Americas Lodging Investment Summit, including general session news and the latest updates from Best Western International, Wyndham Worldwide, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Hilton Hotels Corp.—including information on Hilton’s new brand, Home2 Suites—visit www.HotelWorldNetwork. com/alis. Staff management is key for smaller budgets By Chris Crowell ASSOCIATE EDITOR National Report–Much has been written about the recession— lending has halted, occupancy is down and rates are being cut. But what’s going on at the actual hotels? Despite all the gloom and doom, hotels still need to operate and provide the optimum level of service on a smaller budget. For a hotel to stay alive in today’s environment, it is up to its GM to take stock of every daily task and streamline operations. One of the most crucial areas of attention is staff. If handled properly, a good, hardworking staff can give a hotel the chance to see an economic upswing. Allan L. Reagan, managing director of AR Hotels and owner of the Wyndham Austin (Texas), started to prepare for the recession in July 2008. Instead of making a few cost-saving staff cuts early on, he invested more in his employees by cross training them. “So, we’re reducing head count through attrition, but training the others to do multiple jobs, trying hard not to reduce their hours,” Reagan said. “We don’t want to reduce the quality of the guest experience.” Jobs that lend easily to cross training are laundry, shuttle van driving, maintenance in common areas, washing dishes and busing tables, he said. It may be prudent for smaller hotels to go without a concierge, according to David Prentiss, GM of Homewood Suites ChicagoDowntown. The front desk staff could be trained to serve that role—but Prentiss said to be sure the smaller, multi-tasking staff isn’t spread too thin. “You can’t shoot yourself in the foot,” Prentiss said. “If you’re a hotel that has 15 desk clerks on, and you can go to 12 or 13, you’ve reduced significant dollars. If you have two and lose one, you just reduced 50 percent of your staff.” “It requires our managers to manage,” Reagan said. “If they just managed and deployed people in the same way, have one person stand here and there, this would absolutely fall apart.” Reagan said it is better to have a smaller, balanced staff that receives a 40-hour workweek than a slightly bigger, more niche-oriented staff that gets a 32-hour workweek. The labor costs are equal, but employees may be more motivated. Analyzing staff in this way can produce a benefit to the hotel’s operations, regardless of financial times. When taking a good look at her hotel’s expenses, Angela Greer, GM of the Radisson Hotel Bloomington (Minn.) by Mall of America, noticed a few staff positions that were “luxuries.” The cuts she made weren’t due to the See Staff | page 38 http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com/neworleans http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com/neworleans http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com/alis http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com/alis http://www.HotelWorldNetwork.com/alis
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 Contents Staff Management is Key for Smaller Budgets Perspective Guests Expect More from Green Programs Sales Clinic Legally Speaking HotelWorld Update Consultant's Corner Trends & Stats Laundry Investing Requires Return to Fundamentals Limited-Service Hotel-Chains Energy Management Ice Machines Broadband Marketplace Ad/Editorial Index Checking Out Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 (Page 1) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 (Page 2) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Staff Management is Key for Smaller Budgets (Page 4) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Staff Management is Key for Smaller Budgets (Page 5) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Perspective (Page 6) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Perspective (Page 7) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Guests Expect More from Green Programs (Page 8) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Guests Expect More from Green Programs (Page 9) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Sales Clinic (Page 10) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Sales Clinic (Page 11) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Legally Speaking (Page 12) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Legally Speaking (Page 13) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - HotelWorld Update (Page 14) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - HotelWorld Update (Page 15) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Consultant's Corner (Page 16) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Consultant's Corner (Page 17) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Trends & Stats (Page 18) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Trends & Stats (Page 19) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Laundry (Page 20) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Laundry (Page 21) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Laundry (Page 22) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Laundry (Page 23) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Investing Requires Return to Fundamentals (Page 24) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Investing Requires Return to Fundamentals (Page 25) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Limited-Service Hotel-Chains (Page 26) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Limited-Service Hotel-Chains (Page 27) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Limited-Service Hotel-Chains (Page 28) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Limited-Service Hotel-Chains (Page 29) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Energy Management (Page 30) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Energy Management (Page 31) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ice Machines (Page 32) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ice Machines (Page 33) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Broadband (Page 34) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Broadband (Page 35) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Broadband (Page 36) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Broadband (Page 37) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Marketplace (Page 38) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 39) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 40) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 41) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 42) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 43) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 44) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 45) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Checking Out (Page 46) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Checking Out (Page 47) Hotel & Motel Management - February 2009 - Checking Out (Page 48)
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