By Lily Lin, MBA, Ph.D:. Martin Rinck is the President, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide. Currently, he oversees 99 hotels in Asia Pacific but he has an ambitious plan to increase the number of hotels to more than 300 in the next five years. The fact that his career is on the fast-track should not come as a surprise. Although he is concerned that he is not very good at achieving work-life balance, the reality is that he is extremely passionate about his work and it is obvious that he thoroughly enjoys what he does.
Four Exceptional Work Habits That Can Backfire
By Vivian Giang: Becoming a true leader requires an incredible amount of self-awareness. It involves knowing when to eliminate behaviors that are no longer working, even if they worked in the past.
Minibar Blues
The hotel minibar, the last refuge of many a tired, emotional business traveller, is supposedly in its twilight years. Though minibar prices have always been high, hotel companies have always maintained that the fridges are actually a loss leader.
Why On Hold Messages Hurt Your Hotel Business
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng: You know the deal. You call a restaurant or a hotel and are immediately put on hold, often before you get an opportunity to speak to an operator. Annoying at best, but quite understandable given the peaks and valleys in call rate and recognizing that telephone staff has its limits.
Service at Indian Hotels: From Surreal to Heavenly
By Andrea: I had just sat down to eat my breakfast when a member of the housekeeping team approached me. He was getting very insistent, hissing through his teeth, standing in front of me with his broom and making little sweeping motions at my feet. I had to move. The fact that I was still eating my breakfast was irrelevant. His job was sweeping the hotel, and I was in the way. Customers aren't part of his job. Welcome to the rather surreal world of the Indian hotel.
Permission to Say No? Permission Denied
By Jim Hartigan: While a hotel general manager with Embassy Suites in the mid 1990’s, I established a philosophy at the hotel whereby “the only person in the hotel permitted to say ‘no’ to a guest request is me – the general manager – and I won’t ever do so.” As such, I implored my team to “find a way to say yes” to every guest request because if the guest escalated his/her request to the hotel general manager (me), there was a very high likelihood (100% chance in fact) that the request would be granted. I shared with my staff that I wanted to support them in every way and as long as they found a way to say “yes” to guest requests, I could.
Six Habits of Remarkably Likable People
By Jeff Haden: They're charming. They're genuine. And they can make an entire room full of people smile.
As Las Vegas Evolves, Boutique Hotels Gain
By Alison Gregor: In the last two decades, Las Vegas has become synonymous with colossal hotels where checking out can take longer than a leisurely lunch. But a new lodging prototype is coming to town: the branded boutique hotel, which is typically small and intimate, offering patrons more personalized service.
Breakfast with Michael Shepherd of the London Hilton
Andreas Augustin spoke with Michael Shepherd on 17 April 2013, the 50th anniversary of the London Hilton (on Park Lane).
Food Sourcing for Restaurants
By Shail Barot: An interesting find in a survey done by NRA was that more than 7 out of 10 consumers said they would be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers locally produced menu items, and more than 6 out of 10 said locally sourced menus are a key attribute for choosing a restaurant. My objective for this article is to inform and educate our readers and restaurant owners, on how local sourcing can be adapted for restaurants.
