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Articles by Dean Minett
From HR to VR: A New Era of Training - By Amanda Charreton Original
Imagine putting on a headset and suddenly finding yourself behind the front desk attending to a guest in need or behind the scenes in the kitchen setting up the perfect tray for room service delivery. Even though virtual reality (VR) first made its name in the gaming industry, this technology has become increasingly popular in different sectors like medicine and the military.
Interactive Design: Engaging the Guest's Imagination
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The age-old debate : 4Hoteliers
For many years it was believed that a lease provided owners/developers with a combination of security and surety and they could happily put a known brand in place and then just stand back and watch the money flow. Lenders preferred them as it gave them consistent earnings no matter the economic environment, and there were usually generous provisions for the tenant to upgrade the hotel/serviced apartment on a regular basis.
Hotels v Airbnb – A Moment of Truth : 4Hoteliers
It is strange to see then that we have now come full circle, with hotels sheltering the needy by way of quarantine. Or is it? When Airbnb first began in 2007, few people would have predicted their success. Hotels were initially very dismissive of their impact – after all, how could this upstart home-share business disrupt hundreds of years of hotel tradition? Airbnb’s original slogan was “AirBed&Breakfast – Forget Hotels” and it seems that quite a number of people did.
Marketing & Revenue Management: Understanding What Customers Value
The following are terms of a legal agreement ("Agreement") between you and HotelExecutive. By accessing, browsing and/or otherwise using this web site, HotelExecutive, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by these terms and conditions, and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. export and re-export control laws and regulations. If you do not agree to all of these terms and conditions, you may not access, browse and/or use HotelExecutive.
Will Hotels Become Travel Agents
I also highlighted the impact of Airbnb’s experiences portal which provides a number of extras that guests could book when confirming their stay and asked whether hotels had an opportunity to tap into these needs. At the time the original article was written, there was ongoing concern about how to compete with Airbnb and other home-stay products as well as how to compete with the twin OTA behemoths of Expedia and Priceline.
Highly Anticipated Hotel Openings for 2020 : 4Hoteliers
Airbnb entered the mainstream and transformed the way we think about commercial hospitality; Instagram took over as the most important social media channel for hotels, increasing the value of memorable scenes and experiences for guests; Uber transformed the taxi industry and of course OTAs have grown into uncontrollable behemoths.
In a Sea of Hotel Brands, How Will Yours Stand Out? : 4Hoteliers
They provided a way of navigating (literally) uncharted waters or a way of returning to a favourite land. At a time when travellers are saturated with choices, getting your hotel to stand out in a sea of competitors is a challenge. First you have new hotel brands sprouting up like dandelions. These projects are backed by shrewd investors, driven by savvy marketing teams, and (not surprisingly) unabashed in their quest to take up oxygen. I’m talking about brands like Standard, Artyzen and HIP.
Solving the Equation of a Good Nightâs Sleep : 4Hoteliers
In a way, though, hoteliers and physicists have a similar goal: To take a complicated set of phenomena and find simple solutions that broadly apply. An equation like E = mc2 is ground-breaking not because it is complex and specialised, but because it is simple and universal. These days, there are plenty of things about hotel management that seem complex and specialised.
The Challenge of Work-Life Balance for Hoteliers : 4Hoteliers
But is the push for work-life balance, including in the hospitality industry, really about millennial preferences? Or is it about developing a clearer view of operational success? The answer, of course, is both. As the hospitality industry expands, hotel managers can’t afford to be passive in the quest for top talent. The bright stars we need won’t show up unless we strive to make hospitality careers more attractive.
Is Dealing with Difficult Staff Really That Difficult? : 4Hoteliers
In a business comprised of countless tasks and a variety of roles, there are many examples of difficult employee behaviour. The hotel manager has to balance mediation, motivation, and disciplinary action in order to root out these problems without perpetuating them – and as those of us with industry experience know, it’s easier said than done. But let’s not make things more complex than they really are.
The Highs and Lows of Social Media for Hotels : 4Hoteliers
The issue appears more around the lack of control that hoteliers now have. In the old days, an unhappy guest would be spoken with or written to, with the ability to (generally) resolve the issue in a rational, an under-the-radar manner. Now though, anybody with a grievance can take to the airways and announce their unhappiness with no filters. Similarly, if you had wanted to reach your customers, you did so through traditional advertisements and direct mail.
A Famous Restaurant Has Become a Hotel Chain : 4Hoteliers
There are hotels built into breweries, hotels built for cycling enthusiasts, hotels whose common areas function like co-working spaces. There are hotels with pop-up shops and art galleries. There are hotels with fitness amenities to rival your local gym. It should come as no surprise that non-hotel brands are exploring the hotel space. It’s perfectly advantageous to be a trusted brand with an established loyalty program and decades of experience, but a fresh face also has its advantages.
Hotel Asset Managers Explained : 4Hoteliers
The changing face of travel opens up new horizons to the public and it allows hoteliers to create new types of guest experiences in both new and established markets. And it draws sharper lines between hotel ownership, branding, and management. Hotel operators, for example, have been around a long time – but as the competition heats up, the way owners and operators work together has to become more focused.
Hotel Managers Should Care More About Their Health : 4Hoteliers
Focussing on one’s health is generally a good thing though; who can deny that greater attention to health and wellness will lead to a higher quality of life? What we’re seeing in business, though – including hotel management – is that health is more than a personal issue. It’s a key driver of performance. That’s why nutrition, exercise, and relaxation amenities are becoming more common in the corporate world.
Are Hotel Guests the Next OTA? : 4Hoteliers
In fact, limited options are part of what make travel agents more appealing today. We’ve seen what it’s like to have endless options online, and we know that it leads to a phenomenon called “analysis paralysis” in some people. Old-school travel agencies were also like web sites in that they told you which hotels were good, and which hotels weren’t. This kind of information wasn’t widely available – you had to read magazines, or talk to a neighbour, or see a TV commercial, or go to a travel agent.
How to Manage Upwards : 4Hoteliers
There are relationships with suppliers, OTAs, and sometimes with consultants. And of course, there are the guests, whose experiences at your hotel will ultimately define its performance. Navigating these diverse relationships is an integral part of hotel management, and it’s one of the things I used to love about the job. But one of the questions I often get asked by up-and-coming hoteliers is how to manage upwards.
Hoteliers Should Take Note : 4Hoteliers
They were community hubs and learning centres, where people of all backgrounds could gather in the spirit of knowledge. They were important, built around a specific commodity: the paper book. These days, if you want to learn how to build a flower bed, there are endless instructional videos on YouTube. If cave paintings have piqued your interest, you can stream a sleek documentary.
Management Tips for a Gender-Diverse Workforce : 4Hoteliers
The accessibility of air travel has a lot to do with this, as does a growing appetite for travel in densely-populated countries like India and China. We can also point to the internet – the fact that information is freely available – and the fact that yesterday’s reservation at a bricks-and-mortar travel agent can now be made whilst feeding ducks at the park. The blogosphere has further expanded the global travel industry.
To Become a Great Hotel Manager, You Need Creativity and Vision : 4Hoteliers
It would have been fun to be the manager at Dukes Hotel in London when the writer Ian Fleming sat down at the bar and coined the phrase ‘shaken, not stirred’ – or at the Hotel Chelsea in the New York during the 1960s, when a never-ending list of famous guests came and went through the doors. The hotel world is full of great stories, but today is the most stimulating time to have a career in the industry. I can think of many reasons for this, including that the world is smaller and more connected.
Ethical Issues Have More Power to Topple Hotel Brands : 4Hoteliers
Restaurants too have offered places where goods or money could be exchanged for food and drink in the company of others. It is part of our social DNA to congregate with others and share our experiences. Since the first inn began to operate however, changes have occurred. Buildings became safer, more soundproof and warmer, beds moved from stone to straw to mattresses and staff have moved from gruff hosts to service experience experts.
Automation is Going to Affect Hotels : 4Hoteliers
We use voice commands and artificial intelligence to navigate the internet. Self-driving cars, while far from perfect, are currently in circulation as are delivery drones. Automatic vacuum cleaners are roving carpets all over the world as homeowners put their feet up with beverage in hand.
Ways to Improve Food & Beverage : 4Hoteliers
Whilst the answer is complex and nuanced (if not highly-subjective), the rising importance of food and beverage cannot be ignored. Consider the recent sale of King Street Wharf, a popular dining strip on Sydney’s waterfront. The 99-year lease sold in early 2019 for a staggering AUD$125.5m, due in large part to the fact that F&B is enjoying a high rate of growth in annual spending compared to other retail categories.
Are They Worth the Money? : 4Hoteliers
Perhaps the most interesting firsts, at least for the moment, is the forthcoming Svart hotel in Norway, a dream-like circular property with views to a majestic fjord. Set to open in 2022, Svart is being billed as the first “energy positive” hotel.
Mistakes Hotel Managers Are Making with Their Employees : 4Hoteliers
A hotel product though, is more than just a collection of physical materials – it also contains a strong service element, is part of a community, and occupies a conceptual or “branding” place in the hospitality landscape. Supply chain modelling for a hotel product must therefore include a careful study of the human element – namely hotel employees, whose work directly impacts the satisfaction of guests, and whose turnover rates are infamously high compared to many other industries.
3 Mistakes Hotel Managers Are Making with Their Employees
In other industries such as logistics or manufacturing, supply chain management (SCM) is the method of controlling the different elements which come together to make up a particular product. First coined in the 1980s, SCM came to represent a more efficient way to manage all aspects of manufacturing, ensuring that there was consistency and aligned outcomes for all the components. Can this be applied to hotels?
The New Face of Australian Hospitality : 4Hoteliers
More people are interested in visiting our shores, and those who make the journey are willing to spend more. This positive outlook, coupled with warnings that existing hotel stock in Australia would be inadequate, has led to a frenzy of new hotel projects. The numbers here are equally impressive, but graphs and growth charts get old after a while. The Australian tourism boom is becoming a reality, and many of the hotels built to meet projected needs are beginning to open their doors.
Hyatt is Upping the Ante on Wellness : 4Hoteliers
If these kinds of numbers are true, they aren’t easy to wave off. For all the wellness trends that come and go (and there are a lot of them), it looks like the industry is a force to be reckoned with over the long term. So what’s behind it? Is it all about the products, services and exercise regimes? Or does the meteoric growth of the wellness industry speak to a shift in values? Hotels can help us answer that question. Why? Hotels hold a mirror to the lifestyle values embodied by guests.
How Far Will Automated Housekeeping Really Go? : 4Hoteliers
Now, obviously cleaning one’s home is not the same type of experience as cleaning a series of hotel rooms in a single day. Most hotel housekeeping staff would tell you that the objective of cleaning has less to do with ‘feeling happiness in that environment’ and more to do with re-setting each room to a high professional standard within a pretty tight time schedule. Mistakes can be costly. There are inspections, and guest reviews are powerful.
Luxury Airport Hotels are Coming : 4Hoteliers
This is good news for the hotel business, since all of those travellers have to stay somewhere. But let’s be honest: The bigger the pie gets, the fiercer the competition will be. Just look at the frenetic pace with which new hotel service models and design concepts are being brought to market. Look at the explosion of hotel stock in cities like Melbourne, where 2,249 new rooms (representing a 5% increasing in the city’s total supply) are set to open in 2019 alone.
Closing the Gaps in Hotel Housekeeping : 4Hoteliers
People want to know what goes on behind the scenes of such a seemingly straightforward profession. They want to know how far off the rails previous guests have gone. Above all, they want to know if rooms are as clean as they’re supposed to be. Those of us who make a career out of managing hotels are fascinated by housekeeping for another reason: The massive difference it makes to the bottom line.
Hotel Stays to Remember : 4Hoteliers
Perhaps the property used to be mansion, or a historic landmark, or a stable. Perhaps the location is everything. When your windows open out over a quaint little street in Paris, for instance, a leaky faucet is easier to forgive. Some of the best romantic experiences have a rustic and unexpected quality about them, and the right quirks can add charm. Today’s experience-hunting and Instagram-happy culture demands more than chilled champagne and roses – that’s the reality.
Why Hotel Bathroom Design is a Big Deal : 4Hoteliers
Service also had an important influence on the tone and content of a review, while location was less of a factor – namely because guests often have an idea of the hotel’s location before they book. One of the many other interesting finds from this study (which analysed nearly 95,000 reviews for various Preferred Hotels properties across three booking platforms) is the prevalence of the word “bathroom” in negative reviews.
Why Hotels Should Help Guests Connect with Nature : 4Hoteliers
If something matters to people on an ‘everyday’ level, it will find its way into the hotel ecosystem sooner rather than later. Today’s word of the week is “biophilia” – or more specifically, biophilic design. I believe we can safely add these words to our vocabulary, and that their relevance to hotel design will only grow in years to come. The term “biophilia” was coined by a German-born psychologist named Erich Fromm.
Reinventing the Hotel as a Meeting of Worlds : 4Hoteliers
A good hotel is a place where stories converge. It’s a gateway to - and a reflection of - the community in which it operates. As the writer Joan Didion puts it: “Great hotels have always been social ideas, flawless mirrors to the particular societies they service.” One of the reasons Airbnb succeeded in shaking up the hotel world was that it brought a new social dimension to hospitality. All of a sudden, you didn’t need a shared building where travellers stayed in separate rooms.
Here’s Why : 4Hoteliers
It’s no surprise that strangers should interact in confined spaces whilst in transit from one location to another. Travel has a romance about it, a certain intrigue that puts conversations in motion. Everyone has a story – where they’re coming from, where they’re going, and what they seek along the way. And, whilst a lot of holiday romances don’t translate back in real life (did you see Up in the Air?), there are no doubt some that do stand the test of time.
Should Your Hotel Embrace a More Informal Service Model? : 4Hoteliers
The global travel business is surging, competition is fierce, and the rise of Airbnb and the travelling millennial has changed the way we think about delivering hotel product. Gone are the days when aspects of the guest experience went unquestioned. No service, amenity or design is safe from the relentless drumbeat of reinvention. The concept of luxury has been especially vulnerable to scrutiny.
A Productive Combination? : 4Hoteliers
It’s natural that marketable ideas should be mimicked and reproduced until they seem like common practice – but there are always a few brands who push the envelope, to the point where previously separate ideas are welded together. Case in point: A few hotel brands are moving fully into the coworking space, while retaining an integrated hotel offering on-site. A coworking space, for those who may need a refresher, is a shared office space for independent professionals, entrepreneurs and networkers.
Is Experience a Good Thing? : 4Hoteliers
In fact, those who come through proper education channels are better prepared for the jobs we need to fill because they are invested in a hospitality career. This means we can reasonably expect to keep them around longer. But there is a major problem with this thinking: Namely that tens of thousands of new hotel rooms are coming to market in the next two years and we are just not training enough students to fill the jobs that will become available.
Three Modern Anchors of Hotel Success (And some old ones, too) : 4Hoteliers
The only way to deliver a consistently great product is to be deeply established in principles and protocols. A great hotel is a strong part of community, has a sense of identity, and delivers consistently across all touchpoints of the guest experience, from the booking portals to the bed sheets. On the other hand, the hospitality industry has reached a point where every assumption is being questioned.
Micro Hotels and Reconfigurable Rooms : 4Hoteliers
Of course, the opportunity for reinvention is not really confined to a particular date on the calendar or even just to personal resolutions. In the past two decades we’ve seen a massive shift toward flexibility in work environments, reconfigurable goods and services, and the prioritisation of experiences over things. Few industries have embodied or driven these changes like hospitality has – but for hoteliers, the process of reinvention is a double-edged sword.
Will Hotels Become Travel Agents? : 4Hoteliers
We’ve been hearing, specifically, that hotels need to get serious about selling ancillaries. AirBnb sparked fresh discussion around this issue when it unveiled the “experiences” arm of its booking portal in 2017. It was a natural progression in which the company’s experience-centric hospitality model expanded to include curated activities. The company also introduced restaurant reservations that year, and is still mulling over the construction of a proprietary flight-booking engine.
What Hotel Chains Are Learning from Industry Disruptors and You Can Too : 4Hoteliers
As it stands, all they’ve done (aside from creating billion dollar brands) is open the door. They’ve shown the world that hotels and hospitality can be reimagined. It should come as no surprise that some of the biggest and most innovative hotel groups are doing a whole lot of emulating or re-imagining themselves.
Bookings Took a Sharp When Travel Reservations Went Digital : 4Hoteliers
As more and more properties came online, the options seemed limitless. But how were people supposed to sort through the possibilities and make timely decisions? Was Netscape really the best way to survey the landscape and make the best booking decisions? What about putting your credit card details into so many “independent” booking portals? How could you know that your sensitive information was safe? The brilliance of the early OTA was that they delivered timely answers to these questions.
Why We Need to Build Trust in Hospitality as a Real Career Choice : 4Hoteliers
With tourist arrivals shattering records in Australia, you could do worse than a career in hospitality: If you’re the right kind of person, there might just be nothing better. I was, and still am that kind of person. When I took my first job in a hotel, I immediately thrived on the guests, stories, and problem-solving at the heart of the industry. I’ve played many different roles in hotels since then, and the passion has never abated. Yes, the hours can be long and unpredictable.
3 New Hotel Concepts Worth a Look : 4Hoteliers
Is the Australian hotel industry ready for what’s coming? The foreseeable future will bring more international tourists and increased tourist spending and in some cities, whilst the number of hotel rooms being developed is thought to be excessive, the rapid development of new stock is being outpaced by projected industry growth. But it’s not just a question of having enough rooms to look after all these guests; there is a demand for notable guest experiences with innovations that matter to people.
Testing the Wisdom of Traditional Check-in/Check-out Times : 4Hoteliers
'The rules of capitalisation are so unfair to words in the middle of a sentence' said the writer John Green: A novelist like that – or anyone who deals with written language all day long – may indeed grow frustrated with the constraints of punctuation, however on the other hand, the rules of a sentence are what make it work and without a clear beginning and a clear ending, everything falls apart. Likewise, this thinking has defined the rules of when guests can arrive and depart from a hotel.
Here’s What it Means : 4Hoteliers
And just like that, 'museum hotels' are a part of the hospitality lexicon. Given the recent flurry of experimentation across our industry, this should come as no surprise and at times, it seems like hotel developers are clutching at straws to find the next novel idea. But the more we learn about 21c (the brand credited with inventing the museum hotel) the more substance this idea appears to have.
How Hotel Rewards are Changing : 4Hoteliers
What you might not know is that the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program was among Marriott’s top reasons for chasing the deal. Marriott already had a popular loyalty program (55 million members), but SPG was known to be popular with young business travellers. The program’s 23 million members were loyal to the brand, travelled frequently, and were often willing to pay more. For Marriott, acquiring these customers was arguably as important as acquiring Starwood’s hotel infrastructure.
What the New Pilot Hotels Got Right : 4Hoteliers
By 2011, the building had been acquired by Marcy Holthus, the founder of Pilot hotels. Holthus then gutted and re-imagined as a boutique luxury hotel with only twelve guest rooms. Pilot is brazen about the luxury and exclusivity on offer here. The original features of the property are, of course, meticulously preserved and highlighted, with strong modern elements mixed in.
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