We have all had jobs that make us better leaders in our industry.  Earning the respect from your team members doesn’t just happen, you need to work for it each and every day.  This has never been more real than when you work in a diverse union labor market.

Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth are commonly referred to as “The Seven Deadly Sins”. In the world of forensic accounting there is a somewhat similar collection of cautioning indicators called Red Flags. Unfortunately for us, the Red Flag list is not limited to seven “sins”. As you can imagine, for every hotel’s […]

Be bold in repurposing your hotel’s assets – from rooms to meeting space to kitchens – to keep your hotel in survival mode until post pandemic levels of demand for hotels and events return.

There is a reason why professional athletes practice so often. It isn’t that they don’t know how to play the sport they are being paid to play. The reason why professionals practice is so that they succeed the first time.  You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This same reasoning applies […]

What we have learned, is that we are all looking at the way hotels are staffed differently. Differently from both perspectives, the employer and the employee.

Swiss hospitality leverages short time working arrangements to avoid huge layoffs. It worked before in times of crisis and seems to be paying off in 2020. 

A few months ago, travel forecasts were optimistic, growing, carefree. Consider the following developments: New brands were being introduced at a never before seen pace (e.g., Hilton’s Tru and MOTTO, IHG’s Avid and VOVO) Existing brands were being upgraded, new companies were getting into the travel business (e.g., LVMH’s acquisition of Belmond and launch of […]

What Makes for Successful Crisis Management? Whether you are responding to a potential pandemic, a natural catastrophe or a terrorist threat the opportunity for success is driven by preparedness. By this we mean proactive planning, mock drills, learning from history, constant review, updating and never letting your guard down – you can’t make it up […]

When I decided to write this article, I picked up my laptop and headed to a neighborhood café to start my draft… Then I remembered what was going on… Back to the kitchen counter… These are truly unprecedented times. I wanted to share with you some thoughts I have around the potential unintended consequences connected […]

The restaurant industry is not dead.  It just became a temporary tragic victim within a global traumatic condition that threatens its very survival. There is a difference. There will be many restaurants that will end up closing permanently due to how they handle the overwhelming challenges now facing them and the industry.  However, there will […]