Who are the most important people to your business? You might say your employees or you might say customers. I believe that your employees are, because without them, you won’t have any customers.

So why do so many organizations employ people in customer service jobs who shouldn’t be dealing with customers?

I was running some customer service training events recently for people in the hospitality industry. Like all of my events, I encourage interaction with the participants. I encourage them to ask questions, make statements and even disagree with me.

I never pick on individuals but rather address my questions to the whole group.

However, I was surprised at the number of people at these seminars who had such poor communication skills. So many of them were shy, introverted, and couldn’t look me in the eye. Even on a break they were unable to even chat with me.

I really have to ask, ‘Who employed these people in a customer service job? A job that requires people who can communicate with the customer. People who are warm and friendly. Who make the customer feel at ease and want to return to the business, buy more of the product or service and say positive things to other people.

Were these participants nice people? Of course they were. Do I want them to lose their job? Of course I don’t. But if you want more customers and more sales, then employing “nice” people isn’t the way to do it.

Warm and friendly — yes! Good listeners — yes! Assertive — yes! Persuasive — yes!

Find other jobs in your organization for the nice people to do, but don’t put them in front of customers.

 By Alan Fairweather

Who’s up for a trip on the Hyperloop?

If $20 and a half hour trip got you from LA to San Francisco would you jump on the Hyperloop?

On Monday, LA billionaire, Elon Musk, revealed the design for Hyperloop, his grand USD $6 billion high-speed, solar-powered transit system.

Travellers enter aluminium pods mounted by skis either to their feet or to their cars. The pods, mounted above the ground on columns 50 to 100 yards apart, travel through steel tubes, reaching speeds of up to 800mph and travelling on a cushion of air.

The space-age capsules are designed to hold 28 people and Musk says the line would travel at speeds of up to 760 miles per hour and have the feel of an airliner or, ‘like getting a ride on Space Mountain at Disneyland.’

Stay tuned – Musk, whose credentials include revolutionising the online payment business and transforming spaceflight missions for NASA, says he may build a prototype to prove the concept, but in the meantime, his revolutionary plan has been published and he welcomes any input on improvements!

Follow progress on Twitter @elonmusk.

Important: The survey is not done on Skift readers, but general U.S. internet adult population, though Google Consumer Surveys.

This week we asked consumers a somewhat retro and existential question: “Have you used a travel agent to plan a leisure trip in the past year?” The answer won’t come as a surprise to most of the world — except maybe travel agents — but the one-sidedness of the response surely shocked us. Almost 90 percent of them said no, and variation for various demographic factors across United States is minor, if at all.

Some background is needed here: We asked about leisure brick-and-mortar travel agents, not business/corporate travel, and not about online travel agents (the OTA, the so-called booking sites like Priceline, Expedia and others).

And that’s not to say travel agents are completely going away, or are even blind to this existential crisis: many of them are morphing into specialized agents, focused on niches such as luxury travel, adventure travel, offbeat travel, or focus on sectors such as cruises only. Some of them are positioning themselves as travel concierges with digital planning and booking and extra handholding services to guide the consumers.

But the big picture is clear: travel agents and their boosters need to realize the decline curve, learn how to manage it, and transition into ancillary and niche businesses, maybe even in conjunction with the larger online players.

This single-question survey was administered to the U.S. internet population from Aug 8-Aug 11, through Google Consumer Surveys, with 1505 responses. The methodology is explained here.

Takeaway: Well, do we have to spell it out?

Takeaway: Small surprise here that the millennial generation seems to be slightly more open to using travel agents, perhaps overwhelmed by online choices, though the sample size on that is small and margin of error high.

Takeaway: Pretty even spread of answers across continental U.S.

Takeaway: Rural America has a slightly more charitable view on using travel agents, though only tiny bit more.

Takeaway: Richer Americans may be using travel agents more, presumably to book more luxury, escorted tours and trips.

Everyone has heard the expression: “Location, Location, Location”. A restaurant's site selection is as crucial to its success as great food and service. However, many restaurants that open in “great locations”, fail because they don’t adjust their business model to the particularities of that location. 

Choosing a location involves more than picking a place and signing a lease. Your location selection will influence many parts of your business plans and operations.

It is highly recommended to work with a licensed real estate broker who knows your local market. They will best be able to guide you to appropriate properties, and to negotiate the best possible deal on your behalf; be patient as this process takes time.  If you already have a certain location in mind, you shouldn’t become too attached until you know it meets your needs.

Before you create a business plan, write a menu, or dash off to the bank to apply for a loan, here are 4 essential elements of a location to consider:

Population Base/ Demographics – There need to be enough people who live or work in, or pass through, the area on a regular basis to keep your restaurant busy.  The population base and the different types of traffic will dictate some of your operating procedures.  For example, if you are in a thriving downtown commercial area, you might only open for breakfast and lunch but close for dinner, as there is not enough foot traffic to stay open. Your location, and its demographics, may influence your menu design, as well.

To analyze the population base of a particular area fully, you can commission a site study. A reputable local real estate broker or the local chamber of commerce can also provide some of this basic information.

Financial Realities – Rent is usually your largest fixed expense, and you will probably have significant capital investment to prepare the space to be operational, therefore your business plan must account for covering and recuperating these expenses.  In building your business plan, you will have to budget several scenarios to determine how many guests you will have to serve, at a specific check average to be profitable at a given rent; you will also need to determine if the plan is sustainable over time, to meet your financial obligations.

Accessibility – There is a reason that major restaurant chains are often located near main intersections or highway and freeway exits. Most successful restaurants, whether in urban or suburban areas, are easy to find.  Your restaurant should be street-facing and not tucked away in a building or set back.

How your customers get to you is also a consideration. A parking lot, easy public or street parking, and nearby public transit all improve accessibility; alternately you might offer valet service. The bottom line is that your customers need to be able to find you, and should be able to get to you - make it easy for them!

Operational Needs – A space that does not immediately accommodate your operational needs is not a bad space, it may in fact be a very good space; it just changes your financial calculations. A few examples of items that can affect the capital investment or the targeted cash flow of your business:  Many office buildings do not allow cooking in the attached retail spaces, as they do not want smells permeating the building; if they do allow it, you may have to build out proper ventilation.   Ensure the space is ADA compliant, and meets local public safety codes; if it is not, you will have to alter the space to adhere to regulations. The zoning of a location is vital; some municipalities may limit sidewalk or outside seating, or may not issue liquor licenses if you are located near a school or house of worship.

Do your due diligence. By understanding each of these elements, and how they may affect your business plan, you can better choose the right location for your new restaurant.

This was by Noelle Ifshin, a noted restaurant consultant.

The third world, and I use that term after a lot of though, often sells things and bad things at that. Tonga Health has done a great job of getting this to air after being recognised as the fattest, or up there, community on the planet. This would do well in NZ.

Good work!

And well done Tonga!!

Who is right? This from APNZ

An argument over a $5 fee has cost a Wellington motor lodge almost $12,000 and censure for wrongful dismissal.

The Employment Relations Authority has found Marina Motor Lodge in Porirua was unjustified in dismissing receptionist Christine Campbell following the dispute in May last year.

The authority heard how the argument between Ms Campbell and motel owner Carol Fearon was sparked by a disagreement over a newly introduced $5 service fee.

The fee was to be charged to customers who wanted food delivered from a local restaurant. It was to be paid to the motel worker who picked up the food from the restaurant if they used their own car.

On May 22 last year, Ms Campbell took restaurant orders from two separate customers who worked for the same company.

It was the first time she had implemented the fee, so she used her initiative to charge only $5, or $2.50 per customer, because she made only one trip to collect the meals.

Almost a week later, Ms Fearon approached Ms Campbell about the transaction and said she had no right to charge a lesser fee.

The argument became heated, with neither party prepared to back down.

Ms Campbell threatened to leave, handing Ms Fearon the keys and attempting to pay her $5 for the undercharging.

Ms Fearon responded that she did not want the money but she did want Ms Campbell to leave, and if she didn't leave straight away, Ms Fearon would call the police.

Ms Campbell became contrary and said "go on then" - which Ms Fearon did.

Police spoke on the phone to Ms Campbell, who told them she was on her way out. Police did not attend.

Ms Fearon later organised a disciplinary meeting at which she raised the undercharging and the argument with Ms Campbell.

She also put forward allegations Ms Campbell had altered the motels' booking and payment sheets, leading to $92 in cash being unaccounted for.

At the end of the meeting, Ms Fearon dismissed Ms Campbell by handing her a letter she had prepared earlier.

Employment Relations Authority member Greg Wood found Ms Campbell's dismissal was unjustified, noting her decision on the fee was not blameworthy and she was not given reasonable opportunity to respond to the paperwork allegations.

He said it was not dignified for either party to have got into an argument, but Ms Fearon was more to blame as the instigator of the conversation, particularly because she called the police, which was not necessary.

However, he reduced compensation to Ms Campbell for her own contribution to the "unpleasant" incident, noting her "slightly sarcastic encouragement" to Ms Fearon to ring police.

"Clearly Ms Fearon and Ms Campbell were upset, but neither did themselves any credit over this incident," Mr Wood said.

He ordered the company pay Ms Campbell almost $12,000, including $6656 in lost wages, $2800 in compensation and $2500 in costs.

By L. Aruna Dhir - Ehotelier

Hoteliering is an exciting business with never a dull moment on either side of the continuum, running from good to bad. Hotels are, truly, a line of business on steroids. They never sleep, they never take leaves. There are no summer offs or Christmas breaks; in fact some of the traditional festive times when the entire world seems to shut down are the peak season time for hotels. War or peace, bad or robust economy, change in the country’s government, change in the hotel chain’s ownership or management — hotels never seem to close down. Even under bombings or terror strike, hotels manage to spring back into action in no time.

With such frenetic activity at play, driven by people of all creed, caste, colour, culture; hotels become hotbeds of frayed nerves, sharp tempers, low immunity, people short-circuiting driven maniacally by high expectations and forever-burning fire in the belly to deliver and over-deliver.

Hence, it is but natural that we as hoteliers are prone to committing some of the Cardinal sins; all in a day’s work.

These thoughts are meant to guide us back on the track of righteousness and nudge us into fair play. The little reminder (borrowed from the Bible and Dante’s The Divine Comedy) at the end of each sin is intended to serve as an instant deterrent. Here follow, in alphabetical order, the seven deadly sins that we can consciously or subconsciously commit and stand the risk of being accused of:

1.    Envy

Hotels are a kind of show business. More than a lot of other professions, Hotels urge us to look closely at our own Image management. Because we represent brands and deal with a certain profile of guests, it becomes imperative for us to present our best to the world. We must be kitted out in the finest threads, often branded. We cannot afford to have a strand of hair out of place. Those limbs that shake all those hands and do all that walking around must have been neatly attended to. Not just the shoes, even the teeth should be regularly polished. You get the drift, don’t you!

In such an environment, comparisons become easy. So and so is carrying a giant LV Tote, has acquired the latest iPhone, is driving fancy wheels, has been holidaying in the most luxurious places, is sporting a Hermes tie… our place of work brings in several opportunities for us to turn into varying shades of green.

Besides the outward disposition, the work culture is such that we are given to one-upmanship, tussle for position and prominence and deeply embedded sense of competition — inter-teams, intra-departments, with sister hotels, with other chains. And therein, get the seeds of envy sown in intelligent, hard-working people who, otherwise, have honourable intentions.

A colleague gets sent for the WTM in London or ILTM in Cannes, yes Cannes — every time. A certain Guest Relations Manager is allowed to sign off at the unbelievable hour of 5 PM every day, only because she is proximal to the head honcho. The peer’s appraisal is shades better than ours; which means that he or she is up for a higher raise and a fatter pay packet. The PR Director is the apple of the GM’s eyes and seems to have it somewhat easy. The expatriate colleague, fresh off the boat, received a warmer orientation and welcoming than you did and his list of perks have stuff that you cannot even ask the Management for. There are a million occasions in hotels that can turn you into a green-eyed monster; should you not be watching that mind of yours and not letting your conscience and good sense to rule over unwanted thoughts and emotions that steal a passage into the deeper recesses of your head.

The scriptures define ‘envy’ as wanting to have what someone has, a desire for others’ traits, status, abilities or situation; and liken it to jealousy.

Wouldn’t it be better if we focused on bettering our own selves by admiring the good in others, by getting inspired rather than vehemently grudging others’ of whatever we are after!

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be put in freezing water. Dante’s diktat — “Your eyes will be sewn shut with wire because you have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.”

2.    Gluttony

I have seen some hotelier friends go berserk at events — internal or external. They will reach out for the finest single malt, the most expensive cigars; top their plates with caviar or oysters or whatever else has fancied them as if the world was going to end tomorrow. I have seen hotel colleagues run massive entertainment bills because it was all going to be paid for by their official expense accounts. I have seen these very same people be mindful of their personal finances and how they spend their hard earned money.

There was this PR predecessor at a certain hotel I worked for, who was known to invite her husband to almost all her official dinners. This way, not only did her husband get to network with a great set of contacts; there was also no need for anybody to prepare dinner at home. How did I find out? Her overdone malpractice became a joke with the journalist friends, some of whom recounted the story to others and it got onto the spin of whispers on the informal circuit.

Not just hoteliers, the larger world too, seems to want more of everything – more money, more promotions, more rewards, more fun, more attention, more fame, more glory, more happiness, more free time, more trips……the list of wants is endless.

And then, there are the typical three villains we have studied about in our Psychology classes. We all, from the time we are toddlers, seem to pine for more power, leadership and control – seat of most of the trouble in the history of mankind. So, we come to work in the haloed precincts of our marble and metal edifices and splatter around our gluttonous need to gain more power, be a lot more in control of things than we are hired for and send out bad energy that spin balls into an overly negative atmosphere at work. This sense of acute selfishness cuts us off from others and makes others skeptical of us, creating a feeling of distrust, disharmony and disengagement.

Gluttony stems from complete lack of self-control and can have serious ramifications when one just must address this self-indulgent state of hunger any which way he can. The more serious outcomes can be embezzlement, cheating, misappropriating funds and putting business to sizeable risk.

If we didn’t have this innate desire to consume more than what we actually require, not just life in hotels but life in general and the world at large would be a much better place and we would not be heading slowly but surely towards our own extinction.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be force-fed rats, toads and snakes. Dante’s Diktat — Gluttons are “forced to lie in a vile slush produced by ceaseless foul, icy rain.”

3.    Greed

Mentored by envy and fuelled by gluttony, Greed, indeed is, the wounded heel of Achilles in all of us. We just seem so unsatiated, regardless of what we achieve and all that we earn — be it praise or profit, rest or riches, material gains or momentary pleasures.

While a lot of us get slayed by this dragon of greed that raises its ugly head within us, in some degree or other, I have had one outstanding example in my recent professional past. The Colleague seemed to have this endless pit of greed which he was enslaved to and had to fill it by hook or by crook. It was sad to see him want more and more of everything. He wanted to be the highest earning, even among peers. He would unabashedly put others in bad light or steal credit so as to let the strobes shine on him. When we all were given Company cars, he wanted his to be in a different shade and with a sunroof. From thinnest laptops, latest gizmos to clocking maximum frequent flier miles, the man was ravenous about everything.

But almost all of us fall prey to this, at some point or another. It could be our greed for praise and recognition. We may covet that position, regardless of the value we are capable of bringing to it. We could be avaricious about the troika of pay, promotion, perquisites. In fact, Company benefits have become a dirty word, just because our sense of greed overpowers the humaneness and professionalism in us that should, instead, guide most of our actions.

Our inclination to feed the excessiveness fuelled by our selfish greed forces us to disregard our personal and Company values.

The good thing, whether we like it or not, and whether we wish it or not, is that life and work both teach us that contentment is a far better thing to abide by. Now, it is up to us whether we want that lesson to be pleasant or harsh.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be boiled alive in oil. Dante’s Diktat — You’ll be “bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.”

4.    Lust

Just because we work in an industry that works through the day and the night does not mean that we consider it a place where ALL our basic needs be met and desires be fulfilled.

We lust for money, we lust after power and fame, and we crave carnal pleasures. That is human nature – as we’ve all come to learn and live. But then, we have also learned to live within the realm of ethics and virtue that stand tall between being lawful and illegal; grossly improper in conduct or within propriety.

Hotels present enough opportunities and have several hidden nooks and private spaces which propel secret rendezvous. Then, the work environment and hours are such that many love stories can blossom into a walk up to the altar. And that is kind of nice and fascinating about the industry.

What we have reservations against is one-sided lust or emotion driven by desire to gain out of it or control someone or harm another or just as a past time when energies should go into productivity and honest output.

Several office romances have grown up into wedded bliss. Some spouses have continued working together in the same establishment; others have worked out different arrangements. But it all has been a wholesome outcome. And that is what is sought. We must remember that romantic emotion is rational and thought over, while lust is insane, unbridled and irrational.

I have seen flushed faces staring back from quiet Ballroom stairways. I have unwittingly caught red-handed passion-stealers on guest floors. Back of the house Duty Manager’s Desk, abandoned work stations, under-lit hallways, even unoccupied guest rooms have been breeding areas for those bitten by the love / lust bug. I have personally warded off interest from an overly keen boss, a colleague with a glad eye, as also an over-friendly guest. Lust is not uncommon in hotels; like in a lot of other places.

What is strongly objected to; is when lust at work takes the nasty forms of sexual harassment and sexual favours for promotions, job security and preferential treatment. Further a lustful relationship at work is unethical, it is against corporate mission, vision and goals and clouds good judgement on part of the workers involved. It eats into productive time and useful energy that would otherwise be put to decent work. It leads to gross misuse of office resources. Behaviour such as this puts a blotch on your reputation and credentials and hinders your growth and development. Lust and similar inordinate behaviour make you unprofessional and shave off years of hard work gone into assiduously building up a personal brand. 

Not just the above mentioned connotation; lust for money, success, power is based on an unreal, unethical premise that will not serve you in the long run. There are enough examples of stalwarts and superstars who have fallen into the abyss of shame, ignominy and anonymity; and they have found it difficult to embark on the scaling up once again.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be smothered, not in kisses, but in fire and brimstone. Dante’s Diktat — You’ll be forced to walk within flames to purge yourself of lustful thoughts and feelings. And then blown back and forth by the terrible, hurricane-like winds of a violent storm (symbolic of your own lack of self-control), without rest.

5.    Pride

We all our guilty of this; in small doses or big dollops! The organisations we work for are one of the biggest reasons for creating a sense of false pride in us. The fault lies with us as the lines between these mega brands we represent and our own selves get blurred so much so that we think we are the Brand. Custodians, Ambassadors, Representatives yes; but we are not THE brand in its sense of opulence, luxury, fame and reputation. Yet, we hear the commonly uttered chant, “Don’t you know I am so and so from XYZ.” Do we take a minute to reflect on the fact centered on what will become of us if the XYZ is removed from our calling cards? If we were to view the reality for what it is, we would be a lot humbler and shorn off affectations.

We are proud about the companies that have hired us, the designations we can boast about, the flashy lifestyle that those roles have bequeathed on us, the associates and affiliations the company has brought closer to us. Did you notice, I said ‘about’ and not ‘of?’

This arrogance, vanity and sense of self-importance is the cause of our undoing. All sacred writings known to man define Pride as “an excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise.”

Pride is the worst sin that destroys all our senses — it blinds us from seeing what is right and fair, it shuts our ears from voices of reason, it disrupts our thinking, it makes us ravenous for more false adulation and flattery, it steals the kindness and compassion from our hearts and minds and it makes us utter such awfully damned things about ourselves that continue to haunt us all along our personal and professional journey.

Pride makes us paint a distorted, unrealistic image of ourselves as superior workers, better than the rest. It throws a spanner in our learning process and stunts our mental growth.

People with Pride as against people who are proud of their work, their skills and their workplace (and there is a marked distinction between the two) are usually disdainful of others, are destructive of the team spirit and are sheer killjoys to work with. They enjoy bringing in fear psychosis into the environment they dwell in and are parasitic in their equations, always wanting to gain more out of others unrealistically and disproportionately — be it recognition, rewards, riches. People with arrogant pride step on others to prop themselves up, are myopic in thinking as they wear blinkers of pomposity, excel in alienating others, imprison themselves in their constricted castles of conceit and erode the healthy work environment with their pronounced negative effect. People afflicted with hubris are so greatly self-centered and have an intense love for the self that they fail to see beyond themselves. Hence, they fail to acknowledge the good deeds and good work of others. The worst sinner is a grossly proud and supercilious boss as he or she stomps out all good energy and from him flow harmful traits of fear, flattery, wasteful fawning, falsification and fantasy that is as far removed from reality, rectitude and efficiency as anything can be.

What is mindboggling is the fact that pride stems from low self-esteem, a complete disregard of the status quo and outright rejection of others and their sound opinion. It is said in the Bible, “Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.” And Pride has the propensity to bring about the downfall of the ‘prideful’ individual and destruction of the workplace in which such people fester. Dante defined Pride as "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour." Extrapolate this to the work environment and see the quantum of venom and viciousness it unleashes.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be broken on the wheel. Dante’s Diktat — You’ll be “forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on your backs to induce feelings of humility.”  

6.    Sloth

There was this Banquet Operations Manager in one of the hotels I worked for, who had created quite the reputation for himself. If the gent was missing from action in the post lunch hour, we all knew where he would be. Often, the Manager was startled back into action from his afternoon siesta which he stole in his bunker tucked away in the lockers and brought back to an urgent meeting in a laughably dishevelled condition which led to a lot of titters, winks and nudges.

At another hotel, there was this Human Resources Director who became a butt of inside jokes for the afternoon power naps that he just had to take. I remember getting into his shoes during the course of a certain Food Festival for promoting which I had to entertain my media friends for elaborate lunches and dinners. Getting back to the work station post these soporific lunches was quite a painful task. But the difference lies in periodic or situational vs. the habitual; the latter being a point of serious concern.

There are lazy people by nature and bearing and there are people who get slow for a certain period of time on account of immense work pressure that threatens to keep them on their toes for time that stretches well beyond the witching hour. We know that operational staff in hotels come under the latter category — Rooms, Housekeeping, Kitchens, F&B — our mates from these departments keep the hotel buzzing through the day and night. Regardless of the shift, feeling not so bright and up and about at all times is absolutely excusable and cannot be slotted under sloth.

We are talking of those of us who are in the habit of delivering their shoddy, unproductive best on account of an inherent behavioural pattern of being slow, tardy, lazy and lackadaisical. We are also talking of those times, when the best of us are hit by the wave of languid inertia and shameful indolence that eats into our office time, office reserves and supplies, our fecundity, the Company’s bottom line, our reputation and that value that we bring to the table. Sacred books also view Sloth as the ‘failure to utilize one’s talents and gifts.’

Sloth conjoined with its close cousin ‘procrastination’ works towards sending your output to the outpost of leisure & lethargy and your mind to a suspended state of vacation.

Lazy workers and slackers can easily be accused of theft at the workplace – they steal company’s precious time and destroy the day’s propensity to produce. They are destroyers — they eat into Company’s market share and profits by their sheer non-deliverability. They are seasoned annihilators — they kill drive, company morale, customer trust and satisfaction and above all, their own potential and opportunities.

If we are not slothful workers by nature and inherent personality, then we all our aware of several ways to shake us off the stupor and supineness. A drink of water, a brisk walk around the hotel, a quick conversation with another colleague, a little 'me time' of music or reading, a spot of meditation, a spurt of office calisthenics or stretches – all are known to bring the gush of energy back into us. For those whose CV should have sloth mentioned somewhere amidst similar other strengths (err weaknesses) must be sent for mental training, behavioural coaching and must be reprised of the Company mission and goals. If all this fails, then either they should not be hired or relieved very quickly.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be thrown into snake pits. Dante’s Diktat — You’ll be made to “run continuously at top speed.”

7.    Wrath

Machines don’t talk back to us or argue. Machines don’t swear at us. We can kick the sides of machines should they fail to perform to our expectation. Try that with people and you put yourself in the dock for being reprimanded, red-marked or thrown out of your job, depending on the seriousness of your crime.

But hotels, being a people business, give us any number of occasions to lose our shirt. Then these awesome places of work go ahead and give us more reasons, such that we do not wish to put back on the darned piece of clothing.

The Boss is mean and vicious, the subordinates slimy and snarky and the peers downright cut throat and caustic — reasons more than enough to make us see red and get vindictive. Other members of the team refuse to see our point of view, our POV is not even considered or heard at forums, our good ideas are mercilessly squashed. In the official quagmire, we deal with people who are smarter than us or less endowed — either ways it gets our pulse racing — angry that we are not as good or exasperated on having to deal with the low brows.

The superior rides roughshod over our esteem and endeavours, the associate aims at snatching away, ever so indiscreetly, the credit due to us; and the junior snakes up to gain a firm footing on the ladder at our expense. Life at work can be so unfair and it is our birth right to be angry about it. Right!! But the real deal is; we cannot afford to be angry. The better rationale is, we should not be angry and should attempt at winning over the raging sense of wrath into productive channeling; as this negative emotion is known to harm more and help much less.

With hotels lending a million permutations and combinations to equations and activities, it is not unusual for them to be wrought with elevated tempers. I have witnessed the Executive Chef bellowing out in full steam over his Kitchen underlings. One such colleague showed this aspect of his personality to me and the accompanying TV crew, all because he was excessively stressed over a big Food Festival, the opening night of which was not going his way.

I have sat within ear shot of a red-faced General Manager as he threatened to take the pants off the Director of Materials because the man was not managing to get some consignments into the hotel on time for a mega launch. Another time, the same General Manager with the same hot-headedness lost it on the Financial Controller so bad that we thought he would get up and punch the guy in the face — in the Morning Briefing, with all of us Excom around!

A Managing Director with one of the world’s leading hotel chains recounts an incident when he worked in the Chef’s kitchen as an entrant into the industry. He noted with disbelief how the enraged Chef would chuck ladles of curry onto the facing wall just to vent.

Such heightened drama comes easily to those who have a lot under their hats and belts. Working in overly stressed condition often brings this downside in our demeanour.

While, in all the examples above, the managers have had sound reason to be irrational with their temper but it is never a good thing to lose it publicly. In times such as this, no matter what or who is the trigger, it makes sense to count to ten or hundred and bite your lip in time.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment — In Hell – You'll be dismembered alive. Dante’s Diktat — “The wrathful will fight each other on the surface, and the sullen lie gurgling beneath the water, withdrawn into a black sulkiness which can find no joy in God or man or the universe.”

The non-believers and agnostics amongst us will, no doubt, be disbelieving about the ‘punishment in hell’ blocks. But even the most rational of us will agree that heaven and hell exist here and now. At the workplace, punishment can take the form of soiled reputation, defamation, legal suits, blacklisting, losing one’s job or position right up to rendering oneself completely un-hire-able.

While we all can be accused of being guilty of all or some of these sins to varying degrees, our effort must be to seek penance by our noble thoughts and wise actions. We must aim to rise above the bar and attempt to not commit any of these sins, at least consciously — both at work and in life!

This is a really good article on staff and loyalty.

First things first: Where employees are concerned, loyalty has nothing to do with blind obedience, or unthinking devotion, or length of tenure.

Surprised? Think of it this way. Which employee displays greater loyalty?

    The employee who has been with you for ten years and in that time has learned to do just enough to fly, unseen, under the performance issues radar, or
    The employee who has been with you for 18 months and believes in where you're going, how you want to get there — and proves it every day by her actions

Of course experience is important, but given the choice I'll take the employee behind door #2 every time.

At HubSpot we're fortunate to have hundreds of extremely loyal employees. We're working hard to create a culture that recognizes and rewards true loyalty. We still have a long ways to go, but you can see our "work in progress" in our Culture Code slide deck.

Truly loyal employees are not just committed to helping their companies succeed; their loyalty is also displayed in other ways, some of them surprising.

1. They display loyalty through integrity.

Many people assume loyalty is proven through obedience: Often unthinking and unquestioning, even when a request or directive falls into a gray area or, worse, is unethical or illegal.

An employee who consistently seeks to do the right thing is not just following a personal credo - she's also looking out for your long-term interests. You may see her as disloyal today... but in time you'll realize that she displayed the highest form of loyalty by helping you avoid missing the "do the right thing" forest for the "do it right now" trees.

2. They generate discussions others will not.

Many employees hesitate to voice their opinions or feelings in a group setting. Some even hesitate to voice their opinions in private.

An employee once asked me a question about a new initiative. After the meeting I pulled him aside and said, "Why did you ask about our new pricing strategy? You know what we're doing - you were part of the planning." He said, "I do, but a lot of other people don't, and they're hesitant to ask since they aren't directly affected. I thought it would help if they could hear what you're thinking and what we're planning."

Loyal employees have a great feel for the issues and concerns of the people around them, and they ask the questions or raise the important issues when others won't. They know, for the company to succeed, that you need to know what employees are thinking... and that employees need to know what you are thinking.

3. They praise their peers.

Truly loyal employees care: About the company, about its customers, about its mission... they feel they're working for something greater than just themselves. So they appreciate when another employee does something great because that means the company is fulfilling its mission.

Employees that praise and recognize others, especially when it's not their job to do so, don't just display great interpersonal skills. (When you do something well, praise from your boss feels great... but it's also, at least generally speaking, expected. At least it should be. Praise from a peer feels awesome, especially when you respect that person.)

By praising others, they show they care.

Caring forms the basis of loyalty.

4. They dissent and disagree

Every great company fosters debate and disagreement. Every great leader wants employees to question, to deliberate, and to push back. Weighing the positives and negatives of a decision, sharing conflicting opinions, playing devil's advocate... disagreement is healthy. It's stimulating. It leads to better decisions.

Loyal employees share their opinions, even when they know you may not initially appreciate those opinions, because they want the company to be better tomorrow than it is today. And they'll occasionally take stands against a point of view or decision.

5. They support in public.

After a decision is made, loyal employees get behind that decision even if they privately disagree. And they don't just pay the decision lip service; they support the decision as if it were their own - because when you're loyal, every decision is, ultimately, your own.

When they disagree, some employees (the not so loyal ones), whether passively or actively, try to show that a decision they disagreed with was in fact wrong.

A truly loyal employee puts aside his feelings and actively tries to make every decision the right decision - instead of willing it to fail so they can prove themselves right.

6. They tell you what you least want to hear.

The Inverse Rule of Candor states that the greater the difference in "rank," the less likely an employee will be to openly take a different 's decision, but he is almost totally unlikely to tell his boss's boss's boss that he disagrees with his decision.

If you're the CEO, that means your direct reports may pull you aside for an open, forthright chat... but few other employees ever will.

Truly loyal employees know that what you least want to hear may be what you - and by extension your company - most need to hear: That an initiative won't work, that a decision-making process is flawed, that a mistake has been made... truly loyal employees realize that while you may not like what you hear, ultimately you want to hear it because what matters most is doing what is best for your employees, your customers, and your company.

Well-intended silence can be a good sign of loyalty; speaking up, especially when it's awkward or even painful to do so, can be the best sign.

7. They leave when they need to leave.

If you can't tell by now, a truly loyal employee is almost always a sensational employee. Often, they're your best employees - so the last thing you want is for them to leave.

Yet sometimes they do: For a different lifestyle, for a better opportunity, for a chance to move to a different industry, or simply to take what they've learned and start their own company.

When it's time, they tell you it's time to leave - and they help you prepare to fill the hole they create.

You? You're disappointed but you wish them well. For a time, even if only for a few years, they put your company's interests ahead of their own...

...and now it's your turn to do the same for them. Of course, you can always make your most convincing arguments to encourage them to stay (hey, you're loyal too!) - but if it doesn't work out, the right thing to do is to return their loyalty, wish them well and help them continue to stay awesome.

Voted one of the most influential business ideas ever presented in the Harvard Business Review the Balanced Scorecard enjoys global popularity. There are some management tools that seem to have enduring appeal and the Balanced Scorecard, or BSC for short, is one of those. Over the past 20 years it has seen adoption rates soar. At the same time I have to say that as a tool the BSC is still widely misunderstood and misused by managers.

I have developed over 1,000 scorecards for clients from across the globe including many blue chip companies, government organisations as well as small and medium size corporations. Based on that experience I believe that the BSC is one of the most powerful management tools ever invented. However, I also think that the majority of scorecards in use today are not only useless but often dangerously counter-productive. So let’s once and for all look at what a good BSC is and the key pitfalls to avoid.

A BSC is a strategy execution tool that, at the most basic level, helps companies to:

1. Clarify strategy - articulate and communicate their business priorities and objectives
2. Monitor progress - measure to what extent the priorities and strategic objectives are being delivered
3. Define and manage action plans – ensure activities and initiatives are in place to deliver the priorities and strategic objectives.

I often use a shipping analogy to explain the importance. Just think of an old fashioned Viking ship that has rowing crews along each side. The first thing we need for a successful voyage is a plan. The captain and crew would map out the sailing route detailing how they will sail from their departure port to their destination, outlining the key milestones along the journey. The second thing they need are navigation instruments that help them understand where they are on their journey. These are especially important once the ship has left the harbour and is sailing in the open ocean. Without reliable navigation they would be completely lost. Finally they need to ensure the rowing crew takes the appropriate actions to move the boat forward in a coordinated manner and adjust course when needed.

Exactly the same applies to companies. They need a map of where they want to go and how they intent to get there. They need performance indicators to understand how well they are doing against their plan. And finally they need to manage the initiatives, projects and action plans that will help them achieve their plan. The BSC has been designed to do exactly that and contains the following three distinctive components:

1. The first and most important component of a BSC is a so-called ‘Strategy Map’ that visually maps the key strategic objectives of a company on a single page (a bit like the sailing route in my shipping example). A Strategy Map shows the overall destination as well as they key objectives and priorities a company must deliver along the way. The strategic objectives are usually mapped along four perspectives, which support each other (see below):

• Financial Perspective – outlining the financial objectives
• Customer Perspective – outlining the objectives related to customers and the market
• Internal Process Perspective – outlining the internal business process objectives
• Learning and Growth Perspective – outlining the objectives related to employees, culture and information system

Mapping out how the objectives in each perspective support each other is one of the big benefits of a Strategy Map. Instead of listing strategic objectives in a seemingly unrelated manner, the Strategy Map depicts how each objective supports others and how they all help to reach the ultimate destination.

2. The second component of a BSC are Key Performance Indicators that allow companies to measure and monitor progress against their most important strategic objectives (outlined in their Strategy Map). Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs for short, are the vital navigation instruments for managers. Each KPI needs to be defined well and include targets or benchmarks.

3. The third component of a BSC is an Action Plan that ensures the right projects, programmes or initiatives are in place to deliver each of the strategic objectives on the Strategy Map.

If all three of these components (Strategy Map, KPIs and Action Plan) are in place then a BSC can transform an organisation. For me it is the No 1 strategy execution tool because it allows organisation to depict and communicate their strategic plan in a very simple and graphical way as well as monitor and manage the delivery of the plan.

So why are so many of the scorecards in use today not as effective as they could be? The reasons for this are that companies take short cuts or forget vital components when developing their own BSC. Here are some of the key pitfalls I see in practice:

1. Not having buy-in and understanding of the tool across the company before you implement it.
2. Starting the BSC development with metrics and KPIs instead of the strategy. Measures cannot be relevant if they are not firmly based on the strategic objectives. The Strategy Map is the first and most important component of any BSC, KPIs follow once the strategy is clear.
3. Using the generic strategy map as a template you simply populate or copying a strategy map from another company. A strategy map has to be a unique representation of your company’s strategic objectives at this point in time. It has to be developed with close senior executive engagement and represent the distinctive challenges of your company.
4. Not revising and refreshing the Strategy Map, KPIs or Action Plans. We all know that your company’s priorities shift over time and therefore the Strategy Map, KPIs and Action Plans have to reflect that.
5. Only using oversimplified KPIs to track progress. It is important that the KPIs help to track your strategic objectives but instead of developing the most relevant KPIs companies often chose the ones that are most easy to measure or the ones everyone else seems to be tracking. More effort has to go into developing truly relevant and meaningful KPIs.
6. Not having an Action Plan linked to the BSC. A strategy without a plan to deliver it will always remain a trip to fairly land!

As always, I am interested to hear from you and your experiences and thoughts. Do you work in a company that uses a scorecard well or are you among the many that experience the effects of sub-optimal scorecards? Is there anything you would add? Any stories to share?Please do so.

I was booking into a hotel recently. Well my client was doing the booking I was standing back just watching what was going on behind the reception desk.

There were five young ladies and one young man behind the desk, and I was watching them going about their business.

Efficient – yes. Warm and friendly – no way!

It looked like my client was being interrogated rather than being welcomed as a valued client.

I was watching one of the receptionists dealing with a slightly irate customer at the end of the desk. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she was obviously not saying much if anything.

But her body language was communicating loud and clear, ‘I don’t know what to do here. I don’t like the way this man is speaking to me and I wish he would go away.’  She had no idea how to deal with a difficult customer.

This is a good hotel. I had a great room; it was quiet and cool with a comfortable bed. I had an excellent breakfast. My room was next to the spa and fabulous swimming pools. But I’ve stayed in hotels like this all over the world, and I’m sure there are similar hotels I could choose from in the city I was in.

When I checked out, I was asked to wait while they checked the room. The receptionist’s demeanor gave me the distinct impression that she thought I had the bath towels and the TV in my suitcase.

So what would make me decide to come back to this hotel – nothing. The only differentiating factor between this and any other hotel is the people, and of course, they didn’t do it for me.

When customers are asked what they want from the organizations they do business with, one of the first things they say is – ‘warm and friendly responses.’

Last week I was checking out of a hotel in Singapore; no waiting for a room check there. The last words I heard from the receptionist with a lovely smile were, ‘Thank you for staying in our hotel Mr. Fairweather, I hope you’ll come back again. And of course with that ringing in my ears, there’s a good chance I will.

It’s not enough nowadays just to supply a product or service efficiently. It’s how the people in the business communicate with the customer that’ll decide whether they come back and recommend to other people. And of course, in the hospitality industry, that is absolutely vital.

The majority of people are warm and friendly; they just have to be trained, allowed and encouraged to demonstrate that to the customer.

This by Alan Fairweather - Ehotelier

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=4817190041530" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0"></iframe>

We want to hire more people like this. Looks after himself really well.

The Russell Birdman Festival this last weekend did the trick if the trick was to get people into the twin towns of Russll and Paihia, in the Bay of Islands, Northland. 

From when we arrived on Friday midday, there was a throng of people milling around the tourist shops, and sitting and eating and drinking in almost 'sun' of the winterless north. The towns are about 2 and a half hours north of Auckland, and July the 19th to the 21st is right in the heart of off season.

The Birdman Festival is a few years old and is now a very smoothly run series of events which are co-ordinated  by the locals. Everything from the 'Drag Race', an hilarious dash down the main street by at least twenty 'ladies' who must complete tasks such as downing a frozen Marguerita to jumping around in sacks, to the Birdman Rally on the Saturday afternoon, are designed to bring a smile to the faces of the hundreds people who line the streets.

The 26 Elvis's who made the way alomg the mainstreet prior to the main event.

There were 17 Birdmen who eventually made the jump into the waters off Russell Pier. True to form, there were dolphins swimming around just before the start.

So the moral of the story is if you plan something well and just do it, it will evolve into something that can attract some business to your destination and you can also have some fun doing it.

The Winners are here

The Russell Birdam Festival is on the weekend and the weather is looking good. Too often the 'winterless north' gets really wet at this time of the year and it can be a weekend of wild weather.

The Festival was the brainchild of a couple of locals a few years ago and was borne over a few beers. The objective was to have some fun during the Winter and to maybe generate incremental revenue streams by attracting some out of towners - maybe!

Well the Festival is now firmly established on the Winter calendar and has gone from strength to strength. There is a full program held over three days and it does attarct out of towners. Here is the website http://bit.ly/16Homif

And here is the program:

Online bookings for online travel agents, airlines, hotel, and car rental services have reached an all-time high, setting up this summer to be a record-breaking travel season.  This latest Adobe Digital Index report, which looked at 51.5 billion visits, reveals overall trends that illustrate the movement toward booking travel online and provides insight into the seasonality of online reservations.

Both direct and indirect bookings show double-digit improvement: car rental sites are experiencing the highest bookings growth at 17.4% year-over-year (YoY) and online travel agents second highest at 13.5%.

The percentage of return shoppers, a metric which is generally equated with greater revenue per visitor and lower marketing acquisition costs, is up 1% and steadily improving, likely as a result of increased use of targeted marketing campaigns.

Tablet average booking value is up nearly 10% YoY and yield an average well over $600 per transaction.

It’s going to be a hot summer for online travel.

Based on an analysis of more than 150 mobile and global travel (airline, hotel, travel agency, car rental, cruise line and casino) websites from January of 2009 to April of 2013, online bookings to these travel sites typically peak in mid-July with the U.S. based companies expected to hit $54 billion in Q3, a 10.7% increase over last year. Q4, which typically sees a decline in bookings, is expected to also maintain an 8 to 10% YoY growth rate. The Q4 falloff comes from the hotel and car rental segments; however, airline bookings peak in October as road warriors return home and holiday plans are booked farther in advance.

Online bookings to these travel sites are expected to peak in mid-July with the U.S.- based companies expected to hit $54 billion, a 10.7% increase over last year, in the pivotal third quarter.  The trend also demonstrates a decline in bookings in Q4 which is also a busy travel season.  The fall-off comes from the hotel and car rental segments; however, airline bookings peak in October as road warriors return home and holiday plans are booked farther in advance.

Car rental sites are leading the pack. Travelers are becoming more loyal.

Current trends indicate that car rental websites will see the largest year-over-year growth at nearly 20%.  All categories will see growth rates in the double digits except for the airline category which is already the leader in overall online bookings.  The trends indicate that money is moving from offline booking methods to online, but not all of the new bookings are going to online travel agents.

Online travel sites are receiving an influx of new customers and gaining momentum in loyalty.

Previous Adobe Digital Index return shoppers analysis in the retail sector highlights the enormous impact of return visitors to each site’s bottom line: a 1% increase in return visitors equates to an additional $39 million in additional revenue per site on average. Improvements to the site’s proportion of return visitors also reduce marketing acquisition costs.  As more travel sites adopt new digital marketing technologies, which can specifically target content and marketing to existing customers, the trends indicate that they are making good progress in bringing back more return shoppers.

Booking via tablets rising quickly

Tablets drive 7.5% of all bookings and have become a major factor for this industry, but not all sites have become good at servicing them.  An analysis of the distribution of tablet bookings across all sites, indicated by the width of the shaded areas, demonstrates a widening gap between the sites that have optimized for tablet versus those that have not.

As usage climbs, so does the amount of money spent per booking.  Average booking value from tablets has increased nearly 10% since last year to $636 per booking on average.

Page views per tablet visitor and time spent per visit from tablet sites have declined over time.  This may indicate that customers are generally finding it easier to get to the content they need or more likely that they are quick to leave a site which has not been tablet-optimized.

Onward and upward

Increasing demand and the continued shift from offline to online travel bookings continue to drive a surprising amount of new opportunity since the current shift still only represents a fraction of the $600 billion industry. Additionally, new online business models and an improved economy may shift transaction volume toward direct channels in the coming years. Travel sites are among the leaders in capitalizing on innovations in personalization, targeting and optimization marketing technologies and the results appear to be paying off.  There is always more work to do, especially around the increasingly complex array of mobile interaction points.  Many sites haven’t begun to deal with smartphones or tablets and are now faced with minis, Kindle Fire and SmartTVs.  The industry will be in constant evolution and will continue to surprise and delight personal and business travelers alike as they take advantage of innovative new approaches to selling and servicing our travel needs.

About The Authors

Tamara Gaffney is senior marketing manager for Adobe Digital Index, which publishes research on digital marketing based on the analysis of anonymous, aggregated data from over 5,000 companies worldwide that use Adobe Marketing Cloud. Contributor Jason Price is EVP at HeBS Digital, the hospitality industry’s leading full-service digital technology and marketing firm (www.HeBSDigital.com)

Sovereignty not a bargaining chip

Monday, July 15, 2013 - 12:19

Editor's Comment, by Pesi Fonua

While Tonga's sovereignty and its right to make its own decisions is undeniable, but the wisdom of those decisions, surely, must be in harmony with our neighbours and the rest of the Western world that we are a part of.

Sovereignty is a sensitive issue and to wield it as a bargaining chip in an inter-dependent world does not look very good.

Tonga's confrontational reaction to advice from one of its closest and most-trusted friends, New Zealand – usually one of the first countries to offer a helping hand whenever we are in desperate need, came as a surprise, and is a reverse of the old saying “Tonga the Friendly Islands is a friend of all and an enemy of none”.

The issue of New Zealand withholding $10.5 million in tourism development funding, because Tonga has accepted a Chinese-made MA60 aircraft, that neither New Zealand nor the USA and other international aviation authorities have certified, has highlighted a trend among developing countries to accept new friends and to forget dear old friends.

To break this friendship code at this point of time could be very risky, as we Tongans are increasingly relying on our friends for jobs, and for tourists to revive our economy.

The MA60 aircraft safety certification issue is Tonga's problem.

Why doesn't Tonga transparently confirm from the Chinese manufacturer that they have fixed all the problems that have given the MA aircraft its poor safety record?

Tonga should also call on expert New Zealand and USA aviation engineers to have a look at this aircraft, and tell us what they think is wrong with it. The New Zealand's government's concern is not only for our own safety but also for their own nationals who will be visiting Tonga as tourists.

If we are counting on Chinese tourists coming to Tonga, replacing New Zealand, American and others whose advice bothers us, then we had better think again, because Chinese tourists will not come here in greater numbers just because we have a Chinese made aircraft.

The New Zealand Foreign Affairs has expressed concern over the aircraft, which Tonga's Minister responsible for Civil Aviation Hon. Samiu Vaipulu has said that Tonga will certify itself, in order to start operating the domestic inter-island service as soon as the plane is insured.

The fact that more than 50% of tourists who visit Tonga annually are from New Zealand, justifies the reaction by the New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Murray McCully in withholding a $10.5 million grant for tourism development in Tonga, because he does not want those tourists to put their life at risk by flying on an aircraft that has a history of malfunctions and crashes. He pointed out that certification is a matter for experts and not an area where politicians should be dictating the play.

The Tonga government's confrontational reaction to Murray McCully's decision by telling him to go and talk to the Chinese and that Tonga, a sovereign state, will certify the aircraft and allow it to fly, does not sound very accommodating.

The government should not forget that it is surviving on pledges of almost T$200 million of National Budget support from its friends and neighbors during the current financial year, and that it will need to hold out its hand for more next year.

On the other hand, the issue of Tonga's sovereignty was raised during the budget debate because 61% of Tonga's external debt is to repay its loans from the Exim Bank of China.

Since its inception in the 1950s, the restaurant industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries and amongst the highest revenue churners. Over the past few years a trend was noticed. 90% of the restaurants were individual, whereas 80% were stand-alone owing to tight working schedules, the shift from housewives to workingwomen in turn increasing a family's disposable incomes. The NRA’s (National Restaurant Association) total estimated sales for the Country’s 1.5 million restaurants are anticipated to grow by 20-25%from Rs. 43,000 crores, by the year 2015, which has a ratio of ownership being 70:30, individual and chains, respectively.

However, in the recent years, the Restaurant Industry has faced numerous market challenges such as rise in consumer health concerns, high employee turnover and an aggressive competitive environment. The restaurant industry is in the midst of a revolution which day by day witnesses an increase in  the risks and challenges we face, thus stressing on the dire importance for a solution to counter all these obstacles.  This article highlights the hidden risks and underlying dimensions that Restaurant owners face while operating a restaurant and it also provides for safeguarding measures to mitigate such risks. 

Challenges for restaurants

Running a Restaurant is a risk prone business. Proper assessment of risks and applying safeguarding measures are requisites to generate growth from this business. Some of the key risks faced by the restaurant business and the related safeguard measures are enumerated in the table below:

Do’s and Don’ts for successfully running a Restaurant

As Bill Gates rightly put it  “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Keeping in tandem with the saying I have listed a few Do’s and Don’ts for our members as well as Managers and employees that work at restaurants. There are always a few ‘old school’ employees or owners who will not pay heed or abide to the do's and don’ts as they would feel that it would standardize them and they believe that the restaurant industry is known to treat each customer as a different individual.

Don’ts

• Do not let any guest enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.
• Do not walk up to the table and interrupt a conversation between the guests.
• Do not touch cutlery or glassware with bare hands. Always use a serviette.
• Do not ignore a table if it doesn’t fall under your section.
• Do not stop customers from taking pictures of their food. Blogging is a great way to promote your restaurant.
• Do not have very few menus for guests and avoid ‘grabbing’ menus from one table and placing it on another.

Do’s

• If a guest is waiting for a table, do offer a free snack or a glass of water.
• Do make sure the server is trained to always announce his/her name at the table.
• Do interact with guests and ask them how was their meal and if they have any suggestions, make a note and follow it up.
• Do alert your customer about any taxes before they place their order.
• Do memorize your menu and give suggestions when asked.
• Do make sure the Restaurant and its surroundings are always clean and free of pests.

The Bottom Line

As stressed in this article time an again the importance of An effective Risk Management strategy and its symbiotic relationship in business sustenance is of great importance  for the hotel industry. The success of a Restaurant business is dependent on how well its operational risks are identified and the effectiveness of the strategies to mitigate or reduce the impact of such risks. This article is a representation to help facilitate an understanding of the relationship between the current competitive restaurant environment and the risks associated along with providing practical solutions.

Last year Tonga hardly got a mention in retail advertising and it was way off the track for wholesalers to offer much of anything Tonga. Now this year things have changed. Firstly whenever there are adverts featuring South Pacific offerings, there is a good chance that Tonga will be featured. Why is this, and why the sea-change over last year, or previous years?

Firstly, New Zealand Aid last year promised a large chunk of Aid to Tonga in an effort to bolster the resurgence of the industry. The two opposing sides of the Tonga tourism industry - the government organisation which was the official tourism body and the TTA or the (Tonga Tourism Association) who was the unofficial organisation compaosed of private industry (who had little faith in the official government body), had made up and agreed to come together under the Kingdon of Tonga brand.

Once joined, they had in the first hand invested in a digital campaign that brought very interesting and encouraging results over the winter last year, primarily through yahoo digital. This was the launching pad for a broad based campaign in May and June of this year that targetted consumers through billboards, 23 in metropolitan Auckland, and a campaign of 15 and 30 second advertisements under the "its true" brand.

Tonga had never really featured in retail travel in New Zealand because no one had ever really bothered to go to the trade and say "hey, we dont have plush resorts like everyone else, but we do have a lot to offer the tourist and good honest accommodations."  They had had the odd roadshow in NZ and had spent a few dollars with cocktail parties for a few retailers in places like Hamilton, Tauranga and Auckland, but nothing really 'hand on heart' seriously pushing product and services.

The departure surveys that have been going on for a few years definitely show that apart from a few who were looking for 5 star product, the acceptance level amongst travellers is really very good. If you want dacquiri go to Denerau, dont go to Tonga. But if you want a really enjoyable holiday that enables you to do things that are different, then Tonga is definitely worth the trip.

Over the past year there has been a concerted effort to put Tonga on the map. Activities like swimming with whales or just watching whales, and getting to places that are white and sandy but dont have a big resort close by, are starting to appeal to a wider audience. The travel trade in New Zealand now features much more product than ever before.

Now the travel wholesalers are featuring Tonga and the departure figures from NZ show that the year to May has produced 10% more visitors than the previous year. That is 18,380 visitors which is early days if you compare that with Fiji at over 100,000 per annum or the Cook Islands at 71,000.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next twelve months.

This shows how easy it is to organise and hold a wedding celebration on an offshore destination.

http://bit.ly/1325GY5

Check out the video from TVNZ last night.

Some businesses are good at representing themselves in the media. The simple truth is, creative self-promotion seems to come naturally to some people. For these lucky individuals, there is little need to hire PR representation. But unfortunately, this is not a talent everyone has. While you may be a genius at running a successful hotel, publicizing that facility is in most cases, probably
best left to the experts.

The facts are clear, if you think you might need a PR representative, you probably do. And although the idea of hiring a representative or agency may be scary, the reality is that if you make the right choice, you stand to gain a lot in the way of quality media attention. But this is something that should be given serious consideration. Read over the suggestions provided to help you in making decisions about PR representation.

Can PR representation transform your business?

Know What You Want
This may sound silly, but knowing what you want or expect from the PR representative is actually very important. For instance, it could be that you want and expect more stays at your hotel, or your expectations could be simply that you want more visits to your website. Determining your expectations will make it possible to clearly discuss and define goals when working with the representative. This ensures you and the PR rep will be on the same page.

Match the Representative to Your Needs
This may be an instance when size matters. That is, a larger PR agency may tend to cater to large corporations and therefore to large hotel chains. On the other hand, a smaller firm or a boutique PR agency may do a fantastic job of representing a local hotel.
Always do your research. This includes asking for references from both past and present clients as well as doing online investigations into the representative's or agency's online reputation.

Specialization Please
If possible, the representative should have experience in working with hotels. This will ensure he/she has expertise in creating captivating travel-related
announcements. Rather than learning from scratch while working on your PR project, the representative or agency will be building on ideas used in successful projects from the past.

Connections
Don't be hesitant to ask about the PR's connections with relevant media outlets. This should include everything from print editors to those in other outlets, including broadcast and online media. The idea of having professional PR representation is getting media attention for your hotel in a big way!

Budget Concerns
One of the most important considerations related to PR representation focuses on your budget. This is a point that needs to be explored early on in the
process, long before you actually choose a PR representative/agency. Some representatives charge a retainer fee that is payable on a yearly, quarterly, or even a monthly basis. With these plans, you are required to pay for the service, even if little or no results are evident.
Other PR agencies and representatives have payment schedules set up on an hourly basis. Depending on how much or how often you plan to utilize the services, this type of plan may be ideal, or it could be very expensive. That is, if you only use PR assistance on a limited basis, perhaps to develop special releases each year, this kind of plan could save you money. But if you use the services of a PR representative on a regular basis, this type of plan can be costly.

Getting Media Mention: Do You Need a PR Representative?
Also be sure to read the fine print of any contract you sign. Some agencies and PR reps charge bonus fees for each media placement secured through their efforts. It's usually the fine print that causes the problems!

Final Thoughts
Most hotels can benefit from the expertise of quality PR representation. However, many things should be considered before hiring a PR firm/representative. Besides considering the needs of your business, it is important to learn all you can about the PR agency.
The bottom line is, if you choose wisely, you will find a PR rep can help your hotel gain quality media mention. That attention can make the difference between your hotel merely surviving and it truly thriving!

Get a load of this! The sound must be awesome and the thrust must be huge: