I'm here at the Barnes & Noble on 46th Street & 5th Avenue waiting for Jonathan Tisch to start his presentation on Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough. Had a chance to speak with him a few minutes before the program started and understand that the rest of the Blog Book Tour is going very well. I heard some of the podcasts yesterday and they sound great. (There's great story on one of the podcasts about him staying at the old Four Seasons hotel in SF about 12 years ago and while at dinner with the GM, he commented that the hotel was great, but he had no shampoo in his room. When he got back to his room, the bed was covered in shampoo bottles. His point, have a sense of humor when facing a customer service problem!) Make sure you check out all of the participating blogs as they all have great content and approach the idea of consumer experiences from different POV's.
This morning is my first chance to hear Mr. Tisch speak aboout the book and I'm very excited. What's great about this format is that it's not too big of a audience, as it's a much more intimate space. That allows for the audience to participate in the presentation instead of just listening.
Jonathan started his presentation to talk briefly about his first book, The Power of We. Talking about the need to have great partners, including with competitors and government. Also talked about how you can focus on doing well and making money. It's OK to want to be successful, but you must also take responsibility for those around you.
Loews Corporation started with one property and they now do about $22B in revenue. The more things change, the more the stay the same. Human touch hasn't changed and that's what makes business successful. While the hotel business has changed, the business of hotel is the same as it was at the very beginning.
What's the real point of differentiation today? That's the whole point of Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough The basic attributes of hotel are all the same. The difference is the partnership with his co-workers to create great experiences for their guests.
The Learning Channel approached him to be part of a new program where they took CEO's and put them back on the front lines. He showed a great video of his experience working in the hotel -- I'll see if I can get a copy for the blog. It gave him a completely renewed respect for the work that goes into the hotel. One thing that was important was his understanding of what tools they have to give to employees to get their jobs done.
Jon, you have to find the joy in everything you do. Sarah, his housekeeping manager. One of management's key task is to help the staff find the joy.
Guest made eye contact with staff in elevator wearing suits, but would not make eye contact with him, since he was in a banquet uniform.
When you create mass customization for your guests, you allow them to feel like they are getting an individual experience. People want to know that they're important to your business.
Some key areas for business:
Only 18% of 44 million visitors to NYC were international, but I think he said they accounted for 40+% of revenue. Important to bring foreign visitors to the US. We need to find ways to promote the US as a place to visit. When people visit the US and go home, they say they have a better understanding a America and Americans. They offered to bring assets of travel & tourism industry to Homeland Security, so when people come to the US, they get a better first experience.
His next topic was on creativity. This is an opportunity for smaller companies to compete with larger companies. Showed another video of Jon in drag interviewing people in South Beach in order to compete with a number of much larger hotel companies. They won the business! He also talked about that taking risks is another way to compete against larger companies.
One of the questions was about keeping employees engaged and commited. They look for people who have hospitality in their blood. Everyone who wants a job must take a test to make sure they have the desire to be of service. There also has to be complete buy in from everyone across the company. Once a year, all management work in front line positions to understand how their department should run.
It's all about the recovery. Mistakes will be made, but how you handle it will determine if people stay with your company.
It was a great presentation with an engaged audience and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to attend.
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