news Archives - Cayuga Hospitality Consultants

Aug 21

The Challenges Restaurants Face in Going Green and What to Do

In the fast changing dynamics of the restaurant industry today, the mission of food service entrepreneurs is going through a significant transformation. Not only is there more pressure than ever to deliver a high quality consistent product in a hospitable and attentive atmosphere, operators have begun to realize they have a greater responsibility to give back to their local community and in particular become proactive stewards of our precious environment.

Over the past decade, the call to adopt restaurant sustainable practices has continued to grow. These practices in many cases have become integral parts of the restaurants vision and contribution to their community. In particular, there’s been a significant increase in an understanding of strategies restaurants could utilize in the areas of energy and water efficiency, the use of low or non-toxic cleaning and pest control products and the utilization of waste management practices to counter the enormous waste that occurs in restaurant operations. These strategies have often proven to also be a profit bonus to operators who use them intelligently.

Innovative technologies in the area of monitoring waste have become as easy to use as pressing a few buttons on a smart phone. Chefs have become more motivated to come up with creative uses for once thrown away product. Local governments and utility companies have provided financial and equipment incentives to restaurant operators who agree to install energy or water efficient equipment or incorporate other sustainable practices. Surveys have shown that the consumer looks more favorably upon restaurants who promote green practices. (Effects of Restaurant Green Practices, Jeong and Jang, 2010).

In addition it has been found, that a business that adopts sustainable practices is more likely to retain staff and have staff operate at a higher level of productivity. So with all this positive reinforcement to go green, why is it that restaurants have been so slow as an industry to more fully incorporate green practices in their day to day operations?

There are several key reasons for restaurants resisting restaurant sustainable practices. For one, most small independent restaurant operators are overwhelmed with the day to day pressures of running their businesses. To them, the impact of an overdue produce bill, a sudden drop in brunch business or a sump pump seizing up and dying are all problems that appear much more tangible and immediate.

Those challenges are much easier to grasp than the impact of buying energy efficient equipment and seeing savings over time or noticing the impact of non-toxic cleaning chemicals or good waste management practices over time. Most operators tend to think in terms of short term solutions to short term problems. Cash flow is invariably a constant daily issue that influences what an operator thinks about as they go through their day.

Secondly, there is a common misconception that restaurant sustainable practices cost more. This is often due to a lack of understanding. Again, that understanding takes time which most operators never seem to have and the tangible results from that understanding are not as immediate as the other issues they face.

Thirdly, sustainable practices don’t appear to be what their core restaurant business is supposed to be about which to many of them is just serving good consistent food in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.

So given the above scenario, how do green organizations looking to make significant inroads into the restaurant sustainable practices break through these challenges? For the past 5 years, the Green Hospitality Initiative (GHI), a project funded by the EPA to the New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, has faced this issue in attempting to educate and train operators in sustainable green practices. Here are three conclusions that have been reached as potential roadmaps to achieving success:

The owner and driving force behind the business needs to believe that green practices are a key part of the business model and purpose of the restaurant and not just a side project. They need to see the value and importance of operating sustainably and commit to it over the long term. Education, consumer demand and the growing awareness of green practices can help support that change in operator thinking.
If the belief is there on the part of the operator, they need to have the ability and commitment to instill that belief throughout the culture of the restaurant. Through educating and training staff and hiring people who already have beliefs in sustainable practices, the culture and actions of the restaurant will begin to reflect these values.
There needs to be a go to green advocate in the restaurant who essentially has green practices as part of their job description. It would be up to them to continually show how green strategies could be used for the benefit of the restaurant and introduce new techniques and technology to the operation. They would be the catalyst to helping overcome the daily challenges mentioned above that press upon all restaurant operators.

The transformation of the restaurant business model to incorporate sustainable practices has not and will not be an easy one. Momentum has been building over this past decade but it is clear much more needs to happen. It is up to committed green organizations and forward thinking restaurant operators to lead the way and demonstrate that it is possible and highly beneficial to the restaurant and community to adopt a more sustainable way of operating a food business.

About the Author:

Alan is a 30 year operator of high volume restaurants, in which he has managed all facets of the business. In his consulting practice, he has worked with many clients to create and establish their concepts. In addition, Alan has worked on assignments to develop food products for market such as protein bars, cookies and brownies. He has also directed 7 EPA grants to train operators in Green sustainable practices. His experience and expertise has led to him develop a well regarded expert witness practice. He has created an extensive network of industry professional who he works with on a regular basis. Throughout his career, Alan has supported the success of entrepreneurs through executive coaching and training. For the past 10 years, Alan also has taught at the Institute for Culinary Education in NYC and at NYIT where he has taught all aspects of the restaurant business. His students have opened fast casual restaurants, cafes, bakeries and fine dining operations.

Aug 20

Concentrating on Restaurant Expense Loss

Restaurant Expense Loss reviews variances between money that is currently unsystematically expensed on product, services, or equipment and the amount expensed upon a review and implementation of practical methods of spending behavior. Expense Loss occurs when behavior is disorganized and money is expensed without regard to the benefits of considering alternatives, along with possible long term repercussions of your decisions.

If you are in any business you are expensing money on equipment, maintenance, repairs, sell-able product, food and beverage, fertilizer, chemicals, water, oil, electricity, and other material goods. Expense Loss occurs for many reasons and often because staff, manager, or owner is busy concentrating on building and running the business and the payment of invoices and doing business as usual becomes routine without a thought to other options. Failure to maintain a constant review and evaluation of expenses will always have a negative effect on profits and result in what I coined as, Expense Loss. I have included ten examples of Expense Loss along with solutions in the coming pages. An evaluation of operations helps alert you to the risks to your business solvency by determining areas causing such risk. With a proper assessment the results can provide a program for reducing and minimizing Expense Loss, and offers improved profits going forward. This is achieved without reducing internal service or product quality, and delivers a higher return on both.

While payroll can be a big contributor to Expense Loss I suggest keeping scheduling and the costs associated with this as a separate review process, for reasons that are manifold. Payroll is a fluctuating cost that can produce more profits even when high, and destroy profits even when low. Managing payroll is not like other costs that can be evaluated by reviewing invoices or comparing costs across a sample of goods or proposals, or by changing simple processes. There is much more to payroll costs than just reducing them. Alongside payroll is competency of each individual, the affect change has on product, service, cleanliness, and other factors, and to evaluate payroll costs properly the ability of each individual versus their performance, return benefits, and other factors must also must be part of the analysis. Therefore, I always recommend keeping this a separate review process.

People have said the following for as long as I can remember, “Get the customers in the door and expenses take care of themselves”. From my perspective if you are more diligent with your expenses your chances of succeeding greatly improve, however a change in mind set may be necessary for this to occur. Even if you are managing a successful business and you are earning good profits there are always overlooked opportunities, and if you think you have achieved all you can, look again. I have met with business owners telling me they are running a tight ship and at the same moment I am observing a 12 count alcohol pour at their bar, or a plate of served food that has an obvious cost close to or higher than the menu price, or signing an invoice for a product delivery that is out back and not inspected upon arrival. Also look to see if an employee has a higher amount of voids over all other employees, as this may be a red flag. Looking at all operations, food and beverage, pool, golf, tennis, facility management, receiving, repair and maintenance, and the accounting department, there are Expense Loss variances to be improved across all departments.

We all want the best price and quality product when we make purchases, but most locations are not doing everything they can to meet this goal, and certainly not across all departments. Very common responses to my encounters are; not having enough time, not having the knowledge, this is the way we have always done it, or I use the same companies to make my job easier. These are all excuses that will shorten the lifespan of your company.

Try and argue that it does not make any sense to learn new ways of lowering expenses. If you think about it, you could certainly have someone randomly watch over expenses if the results were continually positive. Having a weekly or bi-monthly review should be an acceptable method to consider, and a great way to maintain cost versus results on a long range plan. No one likes to spend money without assurance, although the carelessness that occurs in many business operations is much more devastating than spending money on someone to help you. Having a professional review your business can offer long term results, as long as the evaluation turns up a scenario of positive changes(s) that offer the return of the professional’s expenses, and an ongoing additional profit to the business going forward. A solid evaluation will provide a positive result because there are always ways to improve. Additionally, a proper evaluation should be performed by someone not associated directly with the business. Family members helping to run the business are great, but an outsider evaluating operations offers an impartial assessment with an open mind to differences that can be rewarding.

If you could take all of your expenses for the month, every month, and reduce them by three percent across departments, the decision to have someone evaluate your business is made easier. Most businesses achieve this modest result without any difficulty, and I have evidenced much greater results with only a little effort. On $30,000 of purchases per month (product, equipment repairs, and maintenance cost reductions) or procedures that reduce waste (receiving, storage, and inventory) this translates to $10,800/year in additional profits when achieving a 3% Expense Loss reduction.

Stop paying for something just because you have been handed an invoice, told an amount, or this is how you learned how to operate. Every dollar that you do not spend on expenses is profits, because if you did not spend it, the money is still in your bank account.

Here are some examples of where Expense Loss can occur, with an example solution on each topic. A short list, but it provides a range of what businesses encounter and some of the reasons why they may have burdening costs or even fail over time. A proper evaluation and training is always the best method for results.

Equipment Expense Loss
Equipment breaks down and a quick call to the mainstay vendor for repairs to get this off your mind. Not including emergencies, an immediate acceptance on costs, therefore not taking the time to research the part(s) and labor to determine if there is an alternative option. In many cases the invoice for repairs is received one to three months after the work is performed, hindering your recollection of what transpired.
Reducing Equipment Expense Loss
Take the time to evaluate the reasons for the breakdown before you call for repairs, ie: preventative maintenance or staff not keeping equipment clean, obstruction from other equipment or airflow, abuse, review of maintenance vendor performance over time. Review internal training procedures to determine if repair can be performed in house. Check if equipment remains under warranty. Request signatures and an invoice at the time the repair is made. Initiate an internal and external Repair & Maintenance Log to support repair or replacement decisions, and to document the occurrence.
Delivery Expense Loss
Deliveries are not properly received, weights not verified, product not opened and checked, and signatures and shorts or variances not provided on receiving invoice, therefore you are unable to determine if you are losing money on the product you purchased, who checked it in, or what was ordered actually arrived. If you are not following effective receiving procedures, you will experience significant Expense Loss.
Reducing Delivery Expense Loss
Have a verifiable receiving procedure on all goods. Open all boxes and containers, count and weigh all products, record all deficiencies directly on the invoice. Maintain a significant communication practice between receiving and accounts payable, and build a reliable set of procedures that communicate damage, shorts, and other variances to reduce and eliminate costly accounts payable processing.
Food Purchase Expense Loss
Individual cuts of protein are purchased for portion control (steaks, fish, & chicken) and the quoted or purchased price per lb. is used in the menu price calculation creating a miscalculation in the figures.
Reducing Food Purchase Expense Loss
Calculate cuts of protein using individual product cost extensions off invoice divided by number of portions received to achieve actual portion cost. Using quoted price per pound results in an incorrect price per piece assumption because the weights of each portion vary slightly.
Cooking Yields Expense Loss
Cooking yields are not taken into account when calculating menu costs for items that are cooked in their bulk weights and portioned after cooking. ie: Prime Rib, Roast Sirloin, and Roast Turkey as examples. This is especially true for caterers, and cuts of meat with the fat cover in place, or when the bones are removed.
Reducing Cooking Yields Expense Loss
Dividing uncooked bulk weight into purchase price or using the quoted price per pound delivers a false assumption of cost. Weigh bulk product before and after cooking for recording yields (the yield is the variance between the uncooked weight and the cooked weight) and apply to purchase costs for correct cost analysis. A 20lb Prime Rib can lose 10%-15% or more in its’ initial weight during cooking, thus delivering less portions than anticipated if assumed using the full bulk raw weight. Over time an average assumption can be used in forecasting costs.
Low Menu Price Expense Loss
A menu price on an item is too low because you did not assume all costs, so you are not earning the amount of profit expected. This is not about loss leaders and pricing decided specifically for specials or on purpose, however if you create arbitrary menu pricing the results are always undesirable.
Reducing Low Menu Price Expense Loss
Evaluate all ingredients into the menu mix by weight, yield or portion, and current price. Maintain an ongoing review of pricing fluctuations in ingredient costs and adjust menu costs and prices accordingly. Adjust for substitution of ingredients into menu mix with unavailable product, as this can have negative effects on results if not accounted for.
High Menu Price Expense Loss
A menu price on an item is too high, or is not selling, and you are experiencing product spoilage.
Reducing High Expense Loss
Evaluate why a product may not be selling to determine price adjustment or removal off menu. Change recipe based on customer requests to revive the item.
Same Vendor Expense Loss
There is a practice to use the same vendor for a particular product, piece of equipment, chemicals or fertilizer, a service or goods, or due to proprietary reasons, and you do not question their price, or you have never researched market pricing for the product, goods, or service.
Reducing Same Vendor Expense Loss
Initiate procedures for price evaluations on all products, goods, and services from competitive vendors, and associated or like businesses. Evaluate further when the need to purchase a specific product, good, or service from only one vendor due to quality or specialty needs of the item, and/or if available elsewhere ask for price reduction and maintain same vendor relationship. While I support consistency in vendor relationships, the association must be equally beneficial.
Warranty Expense Loss
A repair is paid for without realizing there remains a warranty on the equipment.
Reducing Warranty Expense Loss
Review internal procedures for tracking the accounting of equipment under warranty. Initiate an internal and external Repair & Maintenance Log. Review and determine why the vendor did not alert you to this information.
Inventory Expense Loss
Inventory is not immediately stored or kept under lock and key with limitations and accountability on access.
Reducing Inventory Expense Loss
Immediately remedy inventory control issues when product remains at receiving for too long, is not refrigerated, locked up or guarded, and initiate space allocation and the placement of caging and security measures if available. Being carefree about your inventory translates into early spoilage, breakage, theft, improper HACCP, and can violate Health Department Regulations.
Oil Heating Expense Loss
You purchase heating oil from the same company that services your boiler. This is common, and while most vendors are reliable and honest, this is a red flag. Heating equipment can be adjusted to burn more fuel than necessary, and running but poorly maintained is not good either.
Reducing Oil Heating Expense Loss
Verify nozzle size on oil burners is within manufacturer specs. Have an independent evaluation of your equipment performed to check that nozzles, pumps, pressure and pressure reducing valves, expansion tank, heat exchanger, and all other parts are operating as required. (An outside review allows confidence in a decision to continue using same company for both).

If you are having any similar circumstances, or would like someone to come in and train your team in improved Expense Loss practices, reach out to me. I am in the New York region, but I will travel to your location if you are serious about improving your profits.

About the Author:

Jim is president of Lopolito Hospitality Consultants and a veteran of the restaurant, country club and catering industries offering expert operational review, club management consulting, foodservice training, and team development. His consulting services include his proprietary “Expense Loss Review” program. The ELR program reviews variances between money that is currently unsystematically expensed on product, services, or equipment and the amount expensed upon our review and implementation of practical methods of spending behavior. Jim has worked in virtually every position in foodservice, from executive chef to general manager in restaurants, country clubs, and catering in well-known organizations throughout New York. His background includes 12 years in restaurants, 19 years in private clubs, and 10 years in high-end catering and concert production.

Jun 30

Is Your Hotel Sales Training a Train Wreck?

**Is Your Hotel Sales Training a Train Wreck?**

Hotel sales training is important, and as Ben Franklin quoted, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” I’m a lifelong veteran in the hotel industry, and over time, I’ve seen that not all hotel owners see training and development as an investment in their business. Some of the best hotel companies I’ve worked for invested in this training, but the inferior hotel groups did not. They saw this investment in training as an expense. Those hotel groups are what as I refer to as a train wreck.

There are many questions that we have to ask to try and determine why some hotel companies look at knowledge as an investment and others look at it as an expense. While it might be impossible to come up with the answers to all of these questions, I do have some ideas for why when dealing with hotel marketing, some companies look toward hotel sales training and others do not.

Why is it that many owners/executives in our industry do not invest in hotel front desk training and developing their team?
Is it that they have invested in training courses in the past, yet were unable to measure the ROI?
Could it be that they strictly rely on the property brand to train their staff? Do they think this training from the brand is automatic, sufficient, or thorough?
Do property owners think that their general manager will train the staff? Is their general manager an expert in all areas of the field? Do they have the time and/or take the time to train?
Does an owner think that the hiring practices of his/her general manager is so streamlined and perfected that the staff being onboarded are already fully trained to sell?
Is the owner so Nano-focused on the NOI that he/she doesn’t want to invest in hotel front desk training programs?

In my experience, whenever I would join a new organization or when somebody new joined my organization, it was always refreshing to hear and implement new ideas. Many of us have our own life experiences and track records that influenced our success or failure rates.

Bringing in outside influences to train a staff can help you increase revenue. Even if you have had some training to help with hotel marketing, a third party company can bring knowledge that isn’t well known amongst hotel owners and employees. Nobody knows it all, and every hotel in existence have areas in which they could improve upon. A consulting firm can also help because the staff will often be more receptive and open to learning when a topic is taught from an outside professional in the field.

Not only will the hotel staff learn specific new skills, but teaching them knowledge will motivate them and make them feel valued. When you invest in your employees, they can feel that. There simply are not enough of the great hotel companies out there that invest in their employees. Unfortunately, a lack of investment leaves revenue on the table that could be gathered from successful hotel marketing that goes beyond the status quo.

For example, let’s say your guest service agents are trained on a sales lead generation program. This program has a proven track record of digging up new leads for your sales team and general manager to follow up on. In turn, this should convert more travelers to your property. You invest $3,500 into this training program, and your ADR is $100. Once you sell an incremental 35 guest rooms, you have your investment back. Any additional room revenue generated from the program is your ROI. Keeping these goals and measuring the improvement is important, and it can really help fill your hotel.

If you are a hotel group that is thinking about investing in training, my advice is to go for it. Give it a try with an outside training program. Many are low cost, and you can see the results by measuring improvement and setting goals. Hold the consultant you have hired accountable of those results, and soon enough, your hotel’s revenue will increase from hotel sales training.

About the Author:

Jun 27

Case Study: Restaurant Profitability in an Established Operation

A Case Study: Increasing Restaurant Profitability in an Established Operation

This is a summarized version of the restaurant profitability case study. The full Case Study is available at: www.LopolitoHospitalityConsultants.com

Restaurant One – For financial and business confidentiality the actual business name has been replaced in this study.

Assignment Outline:
Restaurant One in Orange County New York desired improved restaurant profitability, as well as Front-of-House (FOH) services to their customers and an understanding and possible improvement of the other perceived deficiencies. Restaurant One offers both a casual dining room and sports bar dining atmosphere with a separate banquet room for parties. Hours of operation occur all 7 days with lunch and dinner service, and there is an abundance of local competition and variety of cultural food styles in the area. Lopo lito Hospitality Consultants was asked to review the location and to assess how to improve service and increase profitability.

Introduction:
The review of Restaurant One, by the restaurant & bar consultants, began in February 2017 where initial observations exhibited numerous neglected core efficiencies causing unreliable service and a negative effect on bar and restaurant profitability.

There was a consistent absence of immediate attention to the customer upon their arrival, followed by a common showing to the table and throwing down menus. This was followed by a service standard of simply taking orders and delivering product with no special steps to create an elevated customer experience. There were compounding service issues with regular and similarly made errors on food and beverage orders that were distressing customers, as well as, FOH and BOH effectiveness. In addition to the FOH training needs that were apparent, issues distressing profits included evidence of severe over pouring with occasional under pours of alcohol, Call brands poured when Well brands were charged, inexperienced wait staff mixing their own alcoholic beverages for their tables, frequent food and bar item returns, no inventory taking procedures, arbitrary menu price practices instead of formula based, lack of training in secondary floor managers, and there was a neglect to parking needs affecting diners coming to the location especially during parties, and this was additionally burdened with employees taking up guests parking spots.

Case Observations Presentation:

The general manager was never trained in essential skills like inventory management, COGS, menu engineering, and is unfamiliar with the percentages that are necessary to understand cost evaluations.
There were no employee position descriptions in place, onboarding or training programs.
Wait staff make their own drinks for their tables resulting in poor quality. Call brands are being poured when Well brands are charged, there is no recipe consistency.
Upon our initial review we performed a short audit of alcohol cost percentages by reviewing of invoices and sales during the same time period. These first month results are as follows;
1. Bottled wine pouring percentages were at 45%-63%.
2. Wine by the glass pouring percentages were at 24% to 44% on paper, however most wines by the glass were being over poured so these results were estimated lower than actual.
3. Alcohol pouring cost percentages were at 40%. d) Beer pouring cost percentages on bottled and tap combined were estimated at 35%.

LHC Management and Outcome:

Position responsibilities were formulated and LHC wrote a guide for each of the four segments; Front Desk, Runners, Bussers, and Wait Staff. Training to each segment progressed.
Meetings with the general manager began in March to train in inventory and COGS management.
Inventory training with the General Manager included the creation of their first inventory spreadsheet, understanding FIFO & COGS, and evaluation and calculations of alcohol pouring cost percentages.
To address the inconsistent drink making, over pouring, and other cost issues, LHC designed a 4 hour comprehensive alcohol pour training program for all wait staff and bartenders to attend.
June 2017 presented a second full month of strong inventory and COGS results for pouring cost assumptions resulting in the following.
1. Wine combined COGS is $3,119 on $14,381 revenue for a 21.7% cost to sales (down 7.3% from May)
2. Bottled & Tap Beer combined COGS is $5,981 on $21,510 revenue for a 27.8% cost to sales (down 2.2% from May) c) Alcohol COGS is $5,080 on $22,447 revenue for a 22.6% cost to sales (down 10.4% from May)

Discussion:

This case was coordinated over a 9 month term, February 2017 to October 2017. The initial project concerns by the owner was training of the FOH staff in better service standards and perhaps the idea that no inventory taking was affecting profits.

Conclusion:
A discussion of financials in October 2017 offered an average increase to restaurant profitability of $3,000 per month over the term beginning June 2017 through September 2017. If maintained, the resulting outcome for 2018 has a minimum expected 2% increase in annual profit, or $36,000 additional profits based on $1.8 million revenue.

Follow –Up:
A follow-up call was made to the manager at 3 months following the completion of this project. Here are the results of this conversation.

Q: LHC introduced and trained staff in drink making and how to use the recipe books LHC created for the bars. We also introduced and trained to use the jiggers. Are the bar books and jiggers being used?
A: Yes, continually used, especially by new staff working with the recipes. Also, we do not push the few seasoned bartenders to use the jiggers when very busy, but all wait staff use them continuously. Customers have become accustomed to the jiggers.

Q: LHC introduced a comprehensive program of training with materials for bartenders, wait staff, bussers, and runners. How well has this program continued?
A: Staff is performing better with fewer mistakes. Drinks are more consistent for us with the bar recipe books LHC designed. We have a number of new employees that recently started, and they will receive the position descriptions. Fewer mistakes are occurring with orders though.

Q: Have you reviewed financial with the owner regarding profits?
A: Yes, while I have not seen the recent reports myself, the overall talk is profits are better and are continually getting better since LHC program implementations.

Meet the Author:

Jim Lopolito Jim is president of Lopolito Hospitality Consultants and a veteran of the restaurant, country club and catering industries offering expert operational review, club management consulting, foodservice training, and team development. His consulting services include his proprietary “Expense Loss Review” program. The ELR program reviews variances between money that is currently unsystematically expensed on product, services, or equipment and the amount expensed upon our review and implementation of practical methods of spending behavior. Jim has worked in virtually every position in foodservice, from executive chef to general manager in restaurants, country clubs, and catering in well-known organizations throughout New York. His background includes 12 years in restaurants, 19 years in private clubs, and 10 years in high-end catering and concert production.

Apr 11

What the Millennial told me about Hotels…Dude!

The other day my daughter got married. She is a millennial; her younger sister is a millennial; her older two sisters are Gen X’rs. I, personally, am a Boomer, as is my lovely wife. Given those facts, I am qualified to 1) comment on living with five women the better part of my life, and 2) share some insight on firsthand knowledge of Millennials mindset and how that is causing my beloved hotel industry to lose their collective minds.

You see, sales and marketing is not just about setting and meeting cold call quotas, defining room night and RevPAR goals, working on rate parities and exacting revenue management strategies. None of those will work if you don’t understand your customer.

When it comes to marketing to millennial hotel guests, first we need to review some data, that frankly, may be surprising, even to those who have parsed it with a hospitality fine tooth comb:

From The Brookings Institution:

Millennials are the most educated generation in history.
33% of Millennial men are college educated, 39% of women are…
Largest % Millennial cities in the U.S., Boston, Madison, San Jose, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Harford, New York, Raleigh, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Denver.
Minneapolis –St. Paul and Denver have larger shares of Millennials than Seattle and Austin.
And a comment from the study about just where Millennials live: “They also appear to be attracted to metros with more vibrant arts and culture scenes…and employed in areas where a large share of the workforce is employed in music, arts, writing, design, media, high tech and entertainment occupations.”

Duh.

From the L.A. Times, some insight on millennial travelers:

“Some surprising insights from their survey of millennials, when the specter of Airbnb looms…” for all trips:
- 35% prefer ‘upscale and luxury hotels’
- 33% prefer camping
- 23% short-term rentals or condo’s
- 70% prefer booking on a travel website, of those,
- 47% Book direct with a hotel or airline
- 23% book with a “real life” agent.
The less human interaction, the better. (We text, we don’t talk…)
When I am checking in, a kiosk is fine, or better yet, let me open the room door with my phone. “I am sure all your hotel front desk people are nice, but I know my mission, and who I want to talk to.”

And, from Malcolm Harris’ book: “Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials”:

‘Most educated generation, with very little payoff…’ Millennials carry the most burden of the nation’s $1.4 trillion, (with a T), student loan debt.
Millennials unemployment rate is double the national average.
Millennials earn 20% less than Generation X.
Millennials face a higher level of diagnosed depression than any other generation.

Oh yeah, and the historic backdrop behind your smug derision of my peculiar social media focus was; Columbine, 9/11, AIDS, the largest divorce rate in history, and the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

So, get off my back, I need to Snap a happy-dog-faced-selfie-for-my-sanity.

OK, well, here is my highly unscientific research. Millennials are really smart. Millennials are more focused on what matters in life. Millennials will pay a lot of money for real, meaningful experience. Millennials plan like crazy for things that matter. Typically, millennials will do everything in life, later than we did, like: buy a home, get married, financially plan, have a baby—until those things are “just so” and lined up logically with an engaged life, milestones can wait.

Millennials work their xxx off when inspired, when something matters, when they are engaged and not derided. They are quirky. They have tattoos. And nose rings, and stuff like that. They are sweet and sentimental when you dive below the surface. They are anxious about the planet. Half my daughter’s closest High School friends joined the Peace Corps. They don’t get racism. They are spiritual, but don’t go to church. They do Yoga. They have class.

So, what about the knee-jerk, data-driven, hyper-focus of the lodging industry? You mean the Moxy-Tru-TRYP-Aloft-EMC2-Red-Virgin-Canopy-Centric-Boutique-Lifestyle-Authentic juggernaut?

Yeah, that.

To the hotel industry; a couple of anecdotes; When I told my daughters that Marriott was taking the desks out of Full-Service hotel rooms, (since corrected), they said, “What do they think we do, sit on the bed and text all day?! We need a place to work!” And when presented with an unnamed new “brand” of hotel with them in mind, a Millennial said; “Look, if I wanted to live in a dorm room, I’d go back to college, and frankly, I don’t just sidle up to anybody in a giant romper room with garish colors and a lot of electrical outlets…”

And, finally back to the wedding. We held our social events in my new favorite hotel in Detroit, “The Foundation”; 100-year-old firehouse, 100 rooms, dramatic F&B open kitchen space, another mind-blowing Aparium conversion. These Millennials paid north of $200 dollars a night and loved it. The staff was authentic, friendly, down to earth, with perfection in cocktails, food, and service. They also had pride, and tattoos, and nose rings and gorgeous hair.

As a hotel sales and marketing consultant, I ask, “What defines a great hotel for any generation?” Genuine humility in service, impeccable cleanliness, creative thoughtful design, authentic knowledge of your neighborhood, and the guest, who is the purpose of our enterprise, our livelihood, and why we love hotels.

About the Author:

Haydn Kramer is expert in sales & marketing and sales management. From “on the ground” direct sales with Residence Inn by Marriott to an Executive VP of Sales, Haydn has experienced a range of sales assignments across many brands and all lodging tiers. He was a pivotal member of Marriott’s “Sales 2000” task force that reinvented Marriott’s approach to “Sales” worldwide. Haydn was also entrusted with directing first “Large Market Sales Team,” which cross-sold all Marriott’s brands for the first time. He is disciplined and forgets no details, but is known to have fun while helping teams achieve sales success. He is an expert in the sales call process, true sales persistence, and the new advent of Social Media as a critical part of any effective hotel sales platform. He has consulted for Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and several boutique, independent luxury properties across the United States.

Mar 30

Take Your Guest Reservations Back Offline

Remember 20+ years ago, when your hotel guests could only book direct via phone, your brand’s 1-800 number, the brand website and your own website. Ahhhh…The good old days when you got to keep 100% of the rate. (Except when a Travel Agent booked for the guest and then you simply had to a pay a bargain 10% commission.)

Then, the OTA’s came into the picture around 1996-97 claiming anywhere from 15-30% commissions.

Allow me to run through the brief history of how the marriage or shall I say dysfunctional marriage between hoteliers and OTA’s has transpired. In my many years of hotel sales and marketing experience, I have personally observed this landscape change and continually transform.

In the beginning, I remember being a Front Office Manager and being fined by my brand franchisor for violations of lowest rate guarantee. It was a learning curve as we Hoteliers were trying to navigate around this new technology of its time. Rate Parity Policies and its related processes have certainly become more streamlined. Online Travel Agencies have come and gone, yet most have been merged to form a few powerhouses.

There is really no need to look back on additional historic points as to how we arrived on the scene today; both OTA’s and Hotels are here to stay. The real question is how we can co-exist and how can we as hoteliers drive more guests to book direct which is our most profitable booking channel. The OTA’s of the world are becoming ever so much more clever at grabbing the attention of the guests we eventually host. OTA Loyalty programs are just one example. Another would be the Millions of Dollars spent on advertising to lure our potential guests into using their services.

One strategy that absolutely confuses consumers is Google AdWords Campaigns that populate an OTA over a Branded Website. Here is one example: A guest googles “Brand X in City Y” and a listing pulls up in the #1 spot. They proceed to call the 1-800 attached, or book direct online thinking they are working directly with the property when in fact they are booking through an OTA.

In my hotel operations experience, I have seen this happening several times each week. Guests will swear that they called the hotel direct and booked their room. Now why can’t they cancel with the hotel directly? Why did they not get the specific room type they thought they would get?

There are three specific strategies that I think we as Hoteliers should implement in order to pull our guests back offline and back to booking with us direct:

Re-train our front desk staff or reservation agents to become more inquisitive when speaking with an incoming caller. Prior to calling your hotel, a guest has most likely been searching various OTA’s regarding your hotel and some are online at the time they call your hotel. With specific training, your agents can book those guests right then and there and avoid a customer booking on an OTA.
We need to advocate that our National and International Brands run a joint and entire industry campaign to educate consumers as to the benefits and pitfalls of booking with an OTA versus Booking Direct. A campaign that is not brand specific, yet more of like a Public Service Announcement in form. Note, I did say there are some benefits for some consumers with booking with an OTA. i.e. convenience of booking hotel, air and car is one of them.
Continue to educate our customers who booked on an OTA, that upon their return visit to book direct. Inform them that they can get the best rate by calling direct and they also have more control over reservation changes and/or cancellations.

The relationship that we as Hoteliers and OTA’s have isn’t the perfect marriage made in heaven, but we can make the best of it by taking even a small percentage of our guests back Offline and back to booking with us direct. It is time that us hoteliers put more money back into our own pockets! Figure out how many rooms you should dedicate to OTA’s.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us!

About the Author:

Jay Hartz, CHA is Owner of Next Generation Revenue Per Available Room, LLC which is a sales and marketing Training and Consulting Firm. He has a proven track record in Sales & Marketing with his main focus on direct sales training and development, social media platforms, leveraging technology, and customized marketing plans.

Mar 30

Obstacles in Restaurant Performance and the Transition of Responsibility

Obstacles can be a significant constraint to restaurant performance and can create reasons for employees to resign, customers to leave, and profits to diminish, with owners and managers contrarily disregarding the constant remedy opportunities employees offer them. Although my focus of profession is hospitality consulting, the fact of the matter is that obstacles are in every company. It does not matter the type of business you own or manage, as obstacles are present and can even hinder your culture if they are not recognized as limiting the service abilities of your staff.

Obstacles can be anything, but in restaurant performance they can be preparation limitations in a poorly designed kitchen, a coffee machine that has only one working heating element, an ice machine that continually breaks down, or a walk-in refrigerator that has no room to even walk in. Add them all up in your business and then look at performance issues.

These common types of obstacles prevent employees from being effective in their role to the owner or manager, but are not always considered when an employee is being charged with poor performance. The obstacles that are occurring in your business may transition to interference’s against your employees, conceivably resulting in a complaining employee, poor service, and unhappy customers.

Time after time the expectations we place on employees are jammed by obstacles that encumber their role in service. In almost all instances the burden of poor service falls on the employee when in fact the owner or manager can be directly at fault for these instances. How often has an employee informed an employer that a door causing concern needs fixing, or there is not enough silverware in stock to accommodate a party, or shelving is not sufficient to properly manage inventory, or a piece of equipment is in disrepair but everyone must use it. Many employers just say deal with it, and go on with their misunderstanding of why their business has slowed, or staff has left. Address these circumstances and perhaps a different outcome can prevail.

My contentions that employers do not consider conditions that may prevent an employee from performing to the level of expectations is real and common, and in my view a direct reflection on the performance of the manager or owner. When employees decide to leave for reasons like poor working conditions, management must consider the obstacles in their business that if addressed, could have prevented these failures. Eliminating obstacles that directly affect employee performance can result in better service, gratified staff, and reduced turnover.

Solutions to obstacle are not always easy, and there is generally a monetary value to result an obstacle. However, when your business thrives on service and you have areas in your shop that are preventing your team in their performance, fixing obstacles becomes more valuable to your bottom line then the commonplace action of inaction.

Today I want you to walk through your business and observe, and accordingly, ask a question to your employee’s specific to what is preventing them from doing their work. If you can, really pay attention to what you see or hear, and perhaps fix your obstacles. While this may not be the only reason for restaurant performance issues, it goes a long way with employee appreciation.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!

About the Author:

Mar 12

Why Do You Need a Hotel Quality Assurance Audit?

Why Hire a Hotel Quality Assurance Consultant?

The first question is why? Why do we need a Hotel Quality Assurance Audit? Don’t we know how our hotel operation is performing? Our customers complete our guest satisfaction reviews and we compile the data. We speak to our customers every day and they aren’t shy about telling us what works and what doesn’t. TripAdvisor and other social media sites provide us with daily feedback.

All this is true, but it isn’t always a good idea to grade your own paper – especially if you want the real answer. Often guest satisfaction reviews, social media posts and direct customer feedback is like listening to the loud voices and missing the overall opinion.

Customers who fill in your surveys or take the time to give you direct feedback are often the customers who had a particularly bad or good experience. Of course this allows you to address a specific customer issue, solve a problem and/or reward your staff for a job well done. But are you really getting the feedback you need from your everyday customer?

An objective, non-biased third party perspective will provide the candor you need to take your operation to the next level. Or the competitive environment is changing and you need to adapt. Or you may be launching a new product or service and you want to focus on specific issues.

A hotel quality assurance audit will provide a wealth of information you may only be guessing at or it may simply confirm your direction. Yes, there is a cost involved, but if you are truly open to candid feedback and willing to put the effort into the follow up it is worth the investment. Just remember it is your responsibility to use the information and get the return.

Determining Who To Hire to Perform Your Hotel Quality Audit

The next question is who? Who does this kind of work and how much will it cost me. If you Google hotel quality assurance audits you will get a list of providers who all have glowing things to say about themselves – “mystery shopping data delivers hotel operations with precise feedback”, “customer experience measurement that helps you identify and measure the moments of truth”, “we will be your eyes and ears to ensure your service delivery matches your brand promise”, “a concise audit consisting of over 1000 touch points”, and so forth.

These services provide an objective point in time front of house guest perspective that is typically data focused. You have the responsibility to analyze the data, develop appropriate action plans and execute your plan – similar to what you do every day, but now you have additional data. The typical price range for a one-time inspection of this type of service is from approximately $600 to $1800 depending on the size and complexity of your operation. However, the real value of this service is in frequent inspections that allow you to measure progress over time against an established baseline.

If the thought of analyzing data from over 1000 touch points seems a little daunting, there are also services that are conducted by hotel industry professionals that provide both a front of house guest perspective and a back of house employee perspective. In addition to the quality assurance review, these services typically include an operations analysis of your property’s operations strengths and opportunities, probable root cause and recommended solutions. In other words, rather than provide a data-focused checklist that requires your analysis, these services take it a step further assisting with the analysis and defining solutions.

This is possible because a hotel industry professional is conducting the review and analysis rather than “Joe Guest” completing the Mystery Shopping Checklist. Obviously, this alternative is more expensive and pricing is dependent on the size and complexity of your operation and the scope of the review you agree to. Pricing can be more reasonable if you agree up front to contract with the firm to assist you with the ongoing execution of your improvement plan.

Thoroughly confused? It isn’t really as complicated as it may sound. A little time on the various provider websites and some phone calls will clear things up. Most providers will want to thoroughly qualify your needs and expectations before proposing a service and pricing. The services are typically customizable and providers have an interest in delivering what you want the first time in hopes of developing a longer term relationship. The key is to determine what works best for your property and your current situation.

If you’re considering hiring a hotel quality audit consultant, contact Cayuga Hospitality Consultants today. We can answer any questions that you may have!

About the Author:

Chuck Kelley is a Partner with Cayuga Hospitality Consultants a network of independent consultants specializing in hospitality/lodging. He spent 32 years with Marriott International, beginning as an Assistant Restaurant Manager and worked his way up to Executive Vice President responsible for Marriott’s Caribbean/Latin America Region. Along the way he held positions as Director of Restaurants, Director of Marketing, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, General Manager and Country Manager Australia. A graduate of the University of Hawaii, with a BS in Travel and Tourism Management. He is an active member of the Baptist Health South International Advisory Board and previously served as Chairman of the Caribbean Hotel and Airline Forum for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. He served with distinction in the US Army in Vietnam having earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for valor in combat.

Mar 05

Brush & Co. Lodging Notes and Random Thoughts – March 2018

March is certainly coming in like a lion – weather “events”across the nation – although here in South Florida we seem to be enjoying an early Spring.

Hopefully your positive expectations for 2018 will be fulfilled – and surpassed – and you will find a real pot o’gold!

More From The Not-Quite-Crystal-Clear Ball

” U.S. Hotel Industry to Sustain Modest Growth in 2018” according to Zacks Equity Research as reported in Zacks.com. Consistent with the projections from STR, CBRE and PwC, the article indicates that “Despite the prevailing challenges such as unfavorable government policies, uncertainty in specific markets and RevPAR pressure, economic fundamentals appear strong enough to support modest growth in the hotel space in the short-to-medium term, and without any additional stimulus.”

Hotstats.com reports for ” January 2018: RevPAR Grows But Profit Slips for Hotels in the USA“. Profit per room dropped by 0.5% in spite of an increase in revenues as RevPAR grew by 0.6 percent due to increases in both occupancy and ADR.

” CBRE: Supply Growth to Peak in 2018” as reported in Hotel Business. In the recently released March 2018 edition of Hotel Horizons, CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research “is forecasting the net addition of approximately 101,000 rooms to the U.S. lodging supply inventory during 2018, an increase of 2% over 2017 average annual daily supply. This is the largest number of new rooms to enter the market since the 130,000 rooms that came on in 2009.”

Lodging Econometrics in an article in Hotel Business on the ” U.S. Hotel construction Pipeline – Present & Future ” says that 975 hotels/116,838 rooms opened in 2017, a supply growth rate of 2.3% and estimates that 1,145 projects/130,209 rooms will open in 2018, a supply growth rate of 2.5% and an increase of 17% in the number of projects. Upper Midscale hotels represent 47% of the pipeline while Upscale represents another 32%.

” Nationalism is a threat to hotel industry says Marriott’s CEO “. In an interview with BBC journalist Tanya Beckett backstage at IHIF in Berlin, Arne Sorenson, referencing the Brexit vote, Donald Trump’s election and a swing in opinion against immigration in many countries, said: “The risk for us in the travel business is that even though travel is different than immigration, if people aren’t careful about the way they talk about it, they seem to be the same issue.”

Suzanne R. Mellen, Senior Managing Director and Practice Leader of HVS Consulting and Valuation, article ” Impact of Countervailing Forces on Hotel Values and Cap Rates “indicates that “After more than five years of relative stability, new factors are at play in the hotel investment market that will affect hotel capitalization rates and values in a changing economic landscape. Hotel sales transaction activity declined in 2017, while cap rates continue to rise modestly, and hotel values held stable. The outlook for 2018, while uncertain because of the changing political and economic landscape, is more positive than a year ago due to the tax reform’s favorable treatment of commercial real estate and a more optimistic business environment.”

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Canada’s largest alternative asset manager (and the 2014 buyer of Thayer Lodging Group, Inc. which makes it a player in the hospitality industry) said in an article in Bloomberg – ” Brookfield Selling Assets to Build War Chest for Next Downturn” – that “We see no signs of underlying economic issues, despite the U.S. economy being nine years into this expansion. While this economic cycle shows no immediate signs of ending, it is clearly in its mid- to later-stages of an elongated expansion, and so we are being cautious, preparing for less robust times.” Cause for caution includes equity markets hitting record highs, government bonds historically expensive, corporate and high-yield spreads at record lows, and “bitcoinmania” taking hold, creating a market capitalization of $500 billion with “as far as we can tell, zero intrinsic value.”

_______________________

Branding/Un-branding/Collecting

Hotel Owners and Brands need to work together, but it’s not always a happy combination. A lot depends on who holds the most “cards” in any relationship. An article based on comments at the IHIF in Berlin entitled ” Hotel owners increase demands on brands ” is a look at current thinking. “As costs increase and the price of assets rise, brands must work with owners to increase efficiency and productivity. And while hotel owners remained committed to the global flags, they are still insisting on more transparency and greater emphasis on the contribution of F&B and non-rooms income.”

Brand Finance’s annual report on the most valuable hotel brands “Hotels 50 2018” lists Hilton as the most valuable hotel brand, but down 24% from last year while Marriott is listed second but up 8% while Hyatt, at third, dropped 13%. Top 5 largest positive changes in value include Jinjiang (+71%), Quality (+54%), Melia (+52%), Comfort Inn (+41%) and SpringHill (+40%). The bottom 5 value changes are: Hilton (-24%), Crown (-26%), Novotel (-26%), Four Points (-35%) and Sheraton (-50%). “The report goes on to also rank the 10 “Strongest” brands

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is now Radisson Hotel Group and John Kidd, the new CEO says “Carlson has a different future now as Radisson Hotel Group ” as reported in Hotel Management. At the same time Hotel Business reports that ” Radisson Ups the Ante With New Collection, Loyalty Refresh “. The Radisson Collection – which replaces “Quorvus Collection” – is “a premium collection of hotels in landmark locations” bringing together “the most distinctive hotels in the Radisson Hotel Group portfolio, with 14 hotels confirmed to join the collection following the launch” this summer. This collection joins the “Luxury Collection” (Starwood/Marriott), “Autograph Collection” (Marriott), “Ascend Collection” (Choice), Curio (a Collection by Hilton), and, I assume, forthcoming “collections” from all brands that don’t yet have one.

Collections are an attempt by chains to bring into the fold properties that really don’t fit their prototypes for existing brands. The other approach for some unique properties means going “independent” and associating with groups such as Preferred Hotels. Jena Tesse Fox reports in Hotel Management that ” Deflagged hotels a boon for Preferred Hotels & Resorts“. Growing numbers of independents are “a sign of the growing strength and acceptance of independent hotels by the traveling public, and their appeal to owners” according to Philipp Weghmann, EVP of Europe for Preferred.

HotelNewsNow in an article by Sean McCracken says “Independent hotels enjoying a strong transaction market” as more and more traditional lenders and hotel investors view them as viable and perhaps even desirable targets. Data from STR shows 125 independent properties were sold in the U.S. in 2017, including the $515 million Pacific Beach Hotel Waikiki (839 rooms at over $600,000 per room). On a per room basis was the 80-room Hotel Yountville at $1.2 million per key. “Through the course of the year, independent hotels should for an average per-room price of $202,000, which as more than the average for branded upper-upscale properties ($190,000) but less than half that seen for luxury branded hotels ($423,000)

_______________________

Airbnb

Airbnb continues to morph. Skift report that “ Airbnb is Set to Launch a New Tier of Select Properties “. Airbnb Select is a program in which selected hosts with high ratings and reviews can be part of a curated collection of listings that undergo an inspection and professional photography process as long as they meet a lengthy checklist of requirements for particular amenities and safety features. The listings will show up more prominently and they may be able to raise their rates.

Getting closer to being hotels???? Another change – ” Airbnb does the inevitable: Invites more hotels to platform “. As reported in an article in Hotels, Airbnb’s announced independent-minded hotels that meet standards can list their rooms on the Airbnb platform. Add this to last year’s article in Skift “ Airbnb Experiments with Hotel-like Concept Outside Orlando “. Airbnd will partner with a real estate developer on an apartment building – “Niido powered by Airbnb” – that will allow residents to share their apartment for up to 180 days each year.

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This n’ That

As an industry, tourism in its many forms uses a large number of immigrant workers, some are illegal whether the employer knows it or not but most are currently legal under one form or another. Many of the legal workers may lose their status as TPS (Temporary Protected Status) is being revoked for some. There are currently 300,000 foreign nationals with the largest numbers from El Salvador (195,000), Honduras (57,000) and Haiti (55,000). The Center for Migration Studies of New York estimates 81 percent of the over 32,000 Haitians with TPS in Florida are in the state’s workforce and may need to be replaced. There is already upward pressure on wages and replacing the lowest level employees will only get more difficult/costly.

The AHLEF has launched a pilot program to offer degree programs that employees for ten hotel companies participating will be able to pursue higher education at no cost to the employee – certainly a “benefit” for many. I was originally drawn into the teaching by one of my college professors who was building a program to allow current industry employees to work toward their Bachelor’s degree while still working full time. Classes were held in various hotels here in South Florida and the hotel got a complimentary class for one by providing a classroom. I hope that the AHLEF program succeeds and grows.

The telephone department has already lost its status as a line item on the P&L summary and recently Robert Mandelbaum, Director of Research Information Services for CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research has penned an article “Other Operated Departments Become Even More Minor” He points out that guests’ use of their own devices has resulted (between 2010 and 2016) in a decline in revenues from both telecommunications and movie rentals of over 50 percent while profits dropped by over 60 percent. Guest laundry and valet revenue has declined by over 14 percent while profits dropped over 40 percent.

Most of us believe that the hospitality industry is a great place to work and Fortune magazine has listed the best companies to work for. “Five Hotel Companies Among Fortunre’s 100 Best Companies to Work For“ include Kimpton, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and Four Seasons. In another grouping “Five Hotel Companies Among Fast Company’s Most Innovative“. Top Ten results for Graduate Hotels (Travel), Best Western (augmented reality/virtual reality), Marriott (design), Hilton (wellness), and Equinox Hotels (wellness). There does seem to be a list for everyone.

The prolific hospitality industry pundit Stanley Turkel has written the 192^ndinstallment of his series “Nobody Asked Me, But . . . No. 192; Hotel History: The Negro Motorist Green Book” which was published from 1936 through 1966. The article, in Hotel Online, explained that it enabled the black traveler to travel when “faced (with) a swamp of Jim Crow laws and racist attitudes which made travel difficult and sometimes dangerous.” I remember speaking with an older (older than me at least) gentleman who recalled (with embarrassment) a time in the 1950’s when as manager of a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Savannah, he was required to refuse service to a black couple. It is not that long ago.

Brush & Company – Lodging Industry Consultants

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About the Author:

As President of Brush & Company since 1993, he has provided a variety of services to all facets of the hospitality industry, with a focus on hotel and resort operations. Mr. Brush has the education and recognized expertise to provide high-quality, principal-involved consulting services, including hotel market surveys, operational diagnostics, comprehensive property reviews, litigation support, independent impact surveys, and asset management. Scott Brush has spend over 45 years in hotel operations and consultancy from General Manager of mid-market, full-service hotels to home office overview of the Navy Lodge program to consulting in both a large firm structure as well as the individual approach of Brush & Company. Scott is a graduate (B.S.) of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and the graduate program of Durham University Business School in England (M.Sc.).

Mar 01

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants Announces New Services Division – Hotel Quality Assurance and Hotel Operations Analysis

With each of our consulting professionals possessing an average of 30 years of hands-on experience, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants excels in providing owners, operators and lenders expert insight and guidance through its new Hotel Quality Assurance and Hotel Operations Analysis programs.

The first question many will ask is simply “why do I need this type of service,” and the answer is for several reasons. You may think you gather all the customer satisfaction data from your internal surveys, from TripAdvisor and other social media. However, this information can be less than objective as the respondents may have personal reasons for completing the surveys or commenting in the public eye.

In addition, new competition may have recently entered the market, if so, the competitive environment has changed and you need an objective opinion on how this may have changed your position. You may be launching a new product or service and need a quick read on how it is perceived. And perhaps most importantly, the Hotel Operations Analysis will provide a professional opinion on service delivery from an employee or back of house perspective – something a standard quality assurance audit does not include.

Most Hotel Quality Assurance audits are performed using a standardized checklist and completed by hired hands often with little or no actual hotel experience. A guest centric view can be helpful, but operator results are presented in data format and usually just for public areas and guest rooms.

Using experienced hotel operations professionals in a mystery shopper role measures the entire landscape of customer service, employee performance, organizational perspectives, cleanliness, operational evaluation and post-stay engagement.

Cayuga’s Hotel Operations Analysis goes beyond a simple worksheet account of a single visit, our consultant’s focus identifies not just front-end issues and successes, it also explores back-end root causes to challenges and strategizes a plan to help owners and operators fix their breakdowns in service and facilities.

Division chair, Chuck Kelley, noted that, “A number of the calls that I receive looking for hotel operations evaluations are from owners and operators seeking help in figuring out what to do with a traditional data based report.” From there he determined that a void existed in the market, and working with several of the Cayuga Consultants created this new division that he says, “Offers an expert and thorough front- and back-of-house assessment, and also qualified recommendations that will make a difference.”

With a Cayuga Hospitality Consultant’s Hotel Quality Assurance findings report and Hotel Operations Analysis, our professionals complete their assignment with a webinar for clients to review their findings and recommendations and assist with developing next steps to promote sustainable improvement.

Cayuga’s consultants have performed in executive roles in all tiers within the hotel industry from select service to luxury full service. Every Hotel Quality Assurance and Hotel Operations Analysis assignment is tailored to meet the unique needs of each hotel and managed to work within a client’s specific budget requirements.

For more information on H otel Quality Assurance and Hotel Operations Analysis or to present your complex challenge requiring an expert hospitality consultant or team of professionals, contact Chuck Kelley HERE or call 866.386.4020.

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Obstacles in Restaurant Performance and the Transition of Responsibility

Obstacles in Restaurant Performance and the Transition of Responsibility

Why Do You Need a Hotel Quality Assurance Audit?

Why Hire a Hotel Quality Assurance Consultant?

Determining Who To Hire to Perform Your Hotel Quality Audit

Brush & Co. Lodging Notes and Random Thoughts – March 2018

More From The Not-Quite-Crystal-Clear Ball

Branding/Un-branding/Collecting

Airbnb

This n’ That

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants Announces New Services Division – Hotel Quality Assurance and Hotel Operations Analysis

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