AXIS Hospitality International

FIND ME THE BEST GOLF TERRAIN IN CUBA

A PIECE OF LAND THAT WILL BE AN EQUAL TO 'PEBBLE BEACH' OR BETTER.

Convinced of the probability that Cuba probably possessed the topography to create another Pebble Beach or better, a well established golf course designer approached David McMillan to pave the way for a discovery tour whose goal was to determine where this was and to set in motion the steps to secure the land and prepare the agreements before the Embargo was lifted.

The Cuban system however is based on Socialist principles and the development of golf courses was at that time managed or administered by one of the five major hotel companies that formed one branch of the Ministry of Tourism. In their wisdom, this company had put together a masterplan for the development of golf throughout this massive & spectacular island.

Being very familiar with many of the key players in tourism and hospitality, David McMillan proceeded to open the doors for the exploratory trip while diplomatically pointing out that the top golf courses in the world were in fact masterpieces of natural landscapes overlaid with imaginative and expert visions by architects using a minimum of landscaping. This was a difficult concept to accept under a Socialist system which goes under the belief that 'if we say it goes there, it goes there, regardless of whether you think it is right or not".

After careful structuring of the specifications for the Cubans, they quickly concluded that our needs fit snugly on to their masterplan, the trips were scheduled, the helicopters and connector flights booked and five of the best known golf gods were whisked around the country for a their investigative trip.

Although disappointing that the Cubans' masterplan for golf included no candidate that would become a  match for Pebble Beach, the trip concluded with a side trip on the final morning of departure to an area which may one day be destined to become a major tour stop on the PGA. Tour.

Photos Courtesy of the real Pebble Beach.

For more information or to obtain McMillan's Cuba CV,

Contact [email protected]

TO BARTER OR NOT TO BARTER

MY OWNER NEVER HAS ENOUGH CAPITAL FOR THE THINGS WE NEED.

A common cry from most managers is that too many important capital projects get denied arbitrarily by the Owner.

A common cry from most Franchisors is that some owners bleed their properties and don't keep them up to franchise standards, resulting in eroding market share and reduced profits.

A common cry from Owners is that the Hoteliers think they all have deep pockets.

LET'S GET CREATIVE!

It is surely time to get creative and instead of using Cash for Capital Projects, use what all hoteliers have in their off-season, vacant rooms and leverage the value of those rooms to the benefit of the Owner.

Here is an idea of the value of those vacant rooms,

Hotel size        200 rooms

Occupancy     65%

ADR                   $100............ but the Barter company will give you say $70.00

Barter Value  $ 70.00 on 35% vacancy.......represents $1.8 million per year.  Over 5 years, the $1.8 million a year represents $9 million and that represents an amount that should get most people's attention and in my opinion is well worth investigating even if one only considers the use of one-third.

Assuming that the "Concept" of leveraging these empty rooms that have been built, furnished, equipped, heated (or cooled) and maintained is agreeable to your Owner, you now only have to deal with your Financial Controller and the Government Taxman and decide on the exact amount.

See also this article on "Turning Vacancy into Profits" by Lisa Baum of PricewaterhouseCoopers at,

Download Vac_profit.pdf

If you are interested in leveraging your inventory, contact [email protected]

INCREASE TRAFFIC FROM THE USA

SALES IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. IT IS TIRING AND TAKES MUCH EFFORT.

Is it perhaps another one of those jobs that Americans don't want anymore or have we messed up the process? If knowing the product is critical to selling effectively, how is it supposed to work now? Does it all happen on-line?

If you are 4 or 5 Star and a special destination outside of the USA. If you want more upscale business from the USA. If you deserve more visitors who are not looking for a Corporate Rate or the cheapest rate guaranteed.  If you and your owner are fed up with the lacksadaisical approach that your chain company takes to the sales effort, consider this.

If you are a member of a branded US Chain of hotels or Consortium, you know that you are not receiving focused sales effort from them as a destination. You are one of many in the chain or group and in spite of the high profile sales offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, they are not actively selling your destination. That is the job of Marketing or the DMO.  What they are doing is attracting people who are going to your area already to stay at their brand. They have created 'acceptable' and indeed 'attractive' concepts or  addresses for people who have decided to visit your area or who have to visit your area.

They are going there anyway.

If you are amongst these chain affiliates, you know that their sales efforts on your behalf is minimal at best. Sure, if an agent or corporate travel rep mentions the name of your destination during a sales call, he or she will indeed promote your property. The likelihood however of  he or she knowing the hotel, its location, its uniqueness, its attraction is virtually zero.

You have also perhaps been in the position of planning for sales trips from your hotel during the Budget and Business Planning process only to be told by your Chain supervisor to cancel that expense, it is the responsibility of the Regional Sales Office. That is a natural response from the Corporate Office. How can they justify the owner paying sales trip expenses when the Owner is paying management fees, sales & marketing contributions, reservation contributions, frequent stay contributions, regional marketing contributions..............and then paying for his own employees to go to the USA to do the job anyway?

Consider also that your chain may also have developed other sister brands in your area. How does an owner feel about the 20 year chain affiliation contract he signed to give him the edge over Hotel X when Hotel X is then branded as a sister brand of yours. Same reservation centre, different number, conflicting inter-brand sales responsibilities, conflicting marketing duties, same brand owner.

And to add insult to injury, all your clients that you and your sales team sold make their reservations through the 1 800 Brand number for which your owner then pays the brand for the reservation, the franchise fee, the management fee, the frequent stay plus the extra miles for the deal through the credit card! And on top of that, the Chain then claims that the reservations system delivers 35%!

If you are interested to contract your own US based sales executive who represents a maximum of 40 destinations that he knows personally  making a perpetual sales swing through the best, upscale travel communities in the USA and Canada, click here to see an invitation that is open for a small number of unusual destinations.

Download elitekit_typepad.ppt

If you are interested to contract these services  to your location so that it is known, understood and appreciated and might like to pay for it with barter, ie. off season room nights,

Contact [email protected]

BLAME IT ON THEM BUT BE PREPARED TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHTS.

MANAGING A GREAT HOTEL OPENING IS PURE INSTINCT PLUS PERFECT TIMING.

Anyone who has had the fortune to effectively and seemlessly open a hotel or resort successfully knows that instinct, luck and timing play an integral part. Once those three things have come together a couple of times, you then add in experience.

However, no two openings are alike.

What do we mean by instinct? There are five big 'characters' that have a major role in the opening and all of them at one time or another, or even at the same time, think they are in charge or at least act as if they were. We speak of the Project Manager, the Owner, the General Contractor, the Chain and the Architect. By virtue of their nature, these are not usually team players. As time goes by and the opening day approaches, the Manager has the responsibility to gradually assume or seize the reins from all five, without them feeling it. This is not done by a memo, an announcement, a confrontation or a screaming match.......it is done very gradually by instinct.

It is in fact done by walking around.

What do we mean by timing? There are six major drivers in the decision as to the Opening Day and they include the Owner, the General Contractor, the Banker, the Convention organiser or Tour Operator and the Project Manager all of whom demand that the property opens before it is completely ready or even complete.  And the Manager's task is to calculate the best date for the opening several weeks (or even months) in advance because there is some million dollars a week at risk and perhaps several tens of thousands a month in addition if middle management and marketing start too early.

Oh indeed, the reasons for opening seem to make sense!

1. The Owner wants to get the business going and to star at the fabulous Opening Party planned by his wife & start making money.
2. The General Contractor wants to pull his workmen, transfer utilities costs to the operation and get on to the next project.
3. The Banker wants to kick-start the Mortgage.
4. The Project Manager wants to avoid late penalties.
5. The Chain wants to start earning fees.

And when most is done and the five major drivers have gone home, the Manager is left to explain,

1. Why does the hotel not make money like the Feasibility Study indicates?
2. Why are maintenance costs so high?
3. Why the Pre-Opening Expenses for training went an extra week?
4. Why the half a million dollar Opening Party did not bring in business?
5. Why does employee morale go down after an opening?

For more information or assistance in an opening, contact [email protected]

HOSPITALITY & ENTERTAINMENT

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL REINVENTS HOSPITALITY

The idea of a world-class destination conceptualised, built and operated by world renowned Cirque du Soleil was too good an opportunity to pass up and so, in late 2001, I joined their ranks to head up this sector as Vice President Complexes, Hotels, Spas and Restaurants

Already several years into the creative process, the team was enormous, highly talented  and the extraordinary concepts were indescribable. In fact the product would have revolutionised our industry.

With plans and partners already beckoning from Hong Kong and London to Los Angeles and New York, the plan was to replicate the Show process of developing the product in Montreal, perfecting it first and then exporting it from there. Added to these great cities, financiers were also lining up and jostling in Barcelona, Toronto, San Diego, Tokyo and Las Vegas.

The roots for most of the brilliant major ideas and concepts were those of the Cirque's Founder, Guy Laliberte who, in my opinion was light years ahead of other leaders in the hospitality industry.

In the absence of a Strategic Plan, a Plan was needed. Things were moving at too rapid a pace and expenses were spiralling. Perhaps contrary to the process of developing and producing a show, the Plan was completed in a conventional fashion by a conventional group of consultants in a conventional way.......and crashed, unread.

Contrary to the opinions of some, the Pilot Project in Montreal was pursued with the idea that we would then perfect the concept and then develop the new destinations in the five or so top city resorts in the world. Not an easy task when the financial rationale for a conventional hotel In Montreal was doubtful.

The dreams and concepts were sketched, the storyboards written, the architects and stage managers added,  refined and perfected as discussions took place on the land and the financing, all of which was to be provided 'by others', a customary approach by those with the creative rights.

The decision to abandon the project was a natural one and fully justified at that time by the following factors,

1. Montreal was too small for a project of this magnitude.
2. An internal Cirque plan that focused all divisions on the core business of 'creative content' only.
3. The Montreal project was not being financed in a conventional way.
4. The change in Quebec's government & the loss of continuity in financing by the public sector.
5. The enormous 'order sheet' of core business show projects that took priority.

The link between hospitality and entertainment is a real opportunity that is only gradually being realised. The fundamental basics that Cirque du Soleil's founder, Guy Laliberte was demanding of his team in the development of these projects were bright, simple, ageless, flexible, theatrical and interactive. No-one has yet come close to creating anything like the products that we were creating and the millions who enjoy his shows will have to wait a little longer for the conditions to be right, which they were..........but not in Montreal.

The lessons that I learned from this superb experience in a terrific company are best described as follows,

1. In developing a plan, never lose site of the audience.
2. In creating a new product, listen to absolutely everyone.
3. Hospitality is changing but not fast enough.
4. Creators of successful businesses have what it takes in any business.
5. There are some projects that should be stopped or delayed for good reasons.
6. The link between hospitality and entertainment must never be overlooked.

The world will have to wait for Cirque du Soleil's first hospitality destination but, mark my words, when it comes, don't quibble over the rate and make your reservation fast.

For further information on this project, contact Cirque du Soleil.

For hospitality assistance, contact [email protected]

All Inclusive Resorts and the local community.

SUSTAINABLE CODE FOR ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORTS

I recently prepared a list of the top 10 Global Trends which included the prediction that 'all inclusive resorts' were not sustainable.  This is a prediction or an observation that comes from personally observing the changes in the markets, the new approach of the new generation and the concerns and actions of the resorts themselves. Specifically, this was the text in the Trends.

All inclusive is not sustainable. Community integration will drive future destinations to ensure resorts are community-inclusive and local attraction-inclusive, and not foreign cultural bubbles.

A very good friend for whom I have a lot of respect and who has enormous experience in this area took issue with my point and, as a result, I started to think of ways in which these 'cultural bubbles' could in fact reverse the impression that many are not truly integrated with the community and that their guests are virtually captive within these compounds.

From this challenge came the idea for a 'sustainable code for all-inclusives' which should I believe, be developed by the operators, their employees together with leaders and members of their community.

This might entail the development of a 10 or 20 point plan to demonstrate that the local community is trul and openly included,

1. All artists from this community have an opportunity to sell thair art and handicrafts in this hotel. Guests are invited to participate as Jury Members of the selection committee.
2. All entertainment is created from this community. Auditions for new acts are held monthly. Guests are welcome!
3. The local Mayor and his Council are invited regularly for a social opportunity to meet some guests and management.
4. Guests can make arrangements to teach a class in kindergarten or school.
5. Every year this hotel hires local residents without experience and teaches them a trade.
6. By arrangement, some of our employees will volunteer to take you on a walking tour of their village.
7. Local restaurants are sometimes included in this hotel's dine-around-plan.
8. Every year this hotel sends one or more local employees to another one of our resorts for their first experience working away from home.
9. All fruits,  vegetables and fresh food items are grown and produced in the local community, when possible.The value each year is approximately $XX
10. Most of the artwork in this resort are done by local artists and/or local children. The value is approximately $XX.
11. etc etc

This is not a subject that has been ignored. In fact some small operators can learn from the big ones and there is more to be gained from sharing this information than hiding it. This is not a product that is peculiar to the Caribbean and Mexico, the concept has expanded everywhere.

Some good work and analysis has been done in this area and here is an example that is worth reviewing,

Download sandals_presentation.pdf

From this you can see that this is a subject which has been touched on before. Perhaps it needs a combined approach from the major operators who are active in this segment. It would be a great shame to see the term 'all-inclusive' gain the early reputation of  'timeshare' which took years to reverse. This is a great opportunity for this important and growing segment of the market to work together on an aggressive counter attack.

Perhaps my comment was a slight exageration, perhaps not. It is a subject that should be addressed and perhaps even fits well into the UNWTO's Tourism Satellite Account http://www.tourism-intelligence.com/case17.htm  and Community Based Tourism. See http://www.tourism-intelligence.com/case03.htm

If you would like to contribute items to this list or on this subject, kindly submit them to, [email protected]

THIS INDUSTRY IS FUN.

JUST SOME OF THE THINGS WE DO.

• Profit Engineering or Break-even Analysis
  Have never forgotten this lesson Q(P-V)=F+ Profit desired..... which has helped me re-build restaurant profits, re-position failing assets and energise supervisors, staff and management. Works for the cornerstore as well. It's fun too!
• Should you develop....or not!
  Too many projects go forward with support from those who will benefit without risk. The fortune that you save may be your own.
• Review Product Improvement Plan (PIP)
  Review PIP and determine where the plan is too rich. Suggest where waivers could be negotiated. These 'must-dos' and in fact negotiable and are more like 'should-do", but not always. Safety is never negotiated,
• Design Resolutions
  Off the Cuff resolutions that have saved 'big-time'.....from a beach solution on a rocky coastline, an innovative new design for a banquet dish to a carnival menu for a travelling circus.
• Creating USPs or Product Enhancement
  To compete in today's global marketplace, the product needs to offer something unique, different or special. Allow me to add some value to your product.
• Chain Selection
  Assist an owner to choose the right brand or chain or confirm that an existing brand is effective. This varies from city to city and resort to resort.
• New Hotel & Resort Development (incl. Timeshare)
  Assist a landowner, developer, investor to assemble the right ingredients and the process for a hotel/resort project and execute, if necessary.
• International Network Connections
  Assist a company or individual make the right contacts for business.
• Summarise International Issues in Hospitality
  For hotel and restaurant associations or hospitality media that need simple explanations of the issues the industry faces.
• Speaker Moderator or Panellist
  Can moderate a panel, speak on industry issues, act as panellist on issues as far ranging as employee shortages, International Standards, International Classification, New Development, Brand positioning, Entertainment and Hospitality.
• Project Feasibility check
  Sanity check the feasibility study and ascertain the likelihood for accuracy. A simple or complex analysis of the financial projections.
• Operational support for a Hotel or Resort Opening
  Provide on-site, hands-on assistance and/or advice for opening a hotel or resort.
• Analyse Chain/Brand Performance
  Assess the performance of a management company or a chain with a view to identifying key areas of focus for the hotel or resort.
• Evaluate management's performance
  Analyse the status of the asset and determine what is being done well and what needs to be improved.

For more information, contact [email protected]

WHEN DEVELOPERS SHOULD 'FORGET ABOUT IT'.

THE CASE TO BE MADE FOR NOT DOING THE PROJECT.

The Project often starts with a great idea, a magificent plot of land or beach,  a new concept or an enormous ego.

The momentum grows as colleagues, governments, architects,  engineers, construction groups,  chains and brands climb on board and enthusiastically support the Project.

Part of the Project is financed and the momentum grows.

Consultants are hired and Market and Feasibility studies support the idea of the visionary.

The numbers support the pretty pictures.

Why is it that so many of these projects fail financially for the first and second owner? There are several answers to this question which include,

1. Enthusiasm and support initially comes principally from those who would benefit but with little at risk.
2. Consultants for market & feasibility studies generally conclude in favour of the client's opinion.
3. Projects sometimes start before the final financing is concluded. The last dollar is the hardest to find.
4. Pre-Opening Expenses and Starting losses are not properly financed, if at all.
5. Owners overlook that they do not generally represent a typical client but insist on using their personal tastes.

Developers that allow for the process to reach the point of 'go/no go' may save a fortune compared to those whose beliefs are so strong that there is no exit.

David McMillan has been lucky enough to have had the following experiences,

1. To open and operate hotels that have enjoyed enormous & surprising success.
2. To operate hotels that are poorly conceived and should not have been built.
3. To take a poorly performing property and turn it around.
4. To re-conceptualise hotels & resort facilities.
5. To participate in potential projects that were not built for good reasons.

I have also had the pleasure of advising several potential investors that their project is marginal or high risk from a business perspective.  The decision to 'go-no go' is then theirs.

Fo further information, contact [email protected]

10 GLOBAL TRENDS....by global giant E & Y and then mine!

ERNST & YOUNG'S 10 GLOBAL MACRO TRENDS.......VERSUS MINE

It was interesting......no, disappointing ....to see Ernst & Young's 10 Global Macro Hospitality Trends released earlier this week apparently contributed by their representatives from Asia (actually Japan), Australia, Europe (actually Germany), India, Caribbean (actually Miami), Latin America (actually Miami) the Middle East (actually UAE) and Russia.

These are not Global Trends, they are observations from one perspective.

Here are their Top Ten.

1. Supply playing Catch-up.
2. Luxury Brands...in the Fast Lane.
3. Increased Construction costs.
4. Creative control of Operating Costs.
5. Capital global.
6. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
7. Transaction Environment
8. Private Equity - non-Traditional
9. Condo hotels' growing pains
10. Disaster resiliency

To my way of thinking, they appear very much like USA-centric thoughts rather than Macro Global Trends and it appears as if their foreign representatives had little to contribute.

THE TOP TEN FROM THE DAVID MCMILLAN GROUP

Here are the Top Ten Global factors that will drive the trends in hospitality from my point of view,

1. Labour & Skills shortages. Will reach 10 million in 5-7 years and will result in hotel & restaurants closing, exploding labour rates, global employee passports and aggressive retention of mature workers. The current shortage is currently at about 2 million.
2. Chinese dominate tourism. All major destinations will become China-friendly quickly and ownerships will adopt Chinese partners to attract patronage, Mandarin will be taught in Western schools. Operators are scrambling to manage now.
3. Mixed Use . The combination of transit, residential, fractional, full-service, limited service and 5 Star/2 Star will drive development. The result....free hotels built by the neighbours.
4. Destinations created in wilderness. New money creates destinations anywhere and old destinations will have to get creative (see # 5).  If you have no islands, create them. There is now a direct link between Hospitality & Entertainment. Competition is exploding for everyone relying on foreign markets.
5. Creative Reinvention. Prisons and incinerators are game for interesting transit and destination properties. Schools, universities, hospitals & churches may follow.The opportunities for re-thinking every position abound from home-office or airport check in to receptionsts making beds & serving drinks.
6. Global Interference International Organisations will implement standards, regulatory rules and consumer 'wishes' as technology facilitates global governments. Most is driven by developing countries & consumer groups and the industry is mostly indifferent (see # 10).
7. All inclusive is not sustainable. Community integration will drive future destinations to ensure resorts are community-inclusive and local attraction-inclusive, and not foreign cultural bubbles.
8. Cookie-Cutter products in the decline. With a possible bow to a brief period of Fortune Cookie-Cutter Chines-isms, innovative new products and technology is encouraging differences, not standardisation.
9. Industry losing focus on Hospitality  The industry is specialising and moving to Real Estate and owners' Exit Strategies and they are no longer 20-25 years. Leaders are rarely coming from the industry and owners and brand operators have completely different interests.
10. Chain Ownership. Publicly owned chains' interests are vastly different from owner operated private firms. Employees of public companies have different interests to those owners whose hotels and employees are family.

The next 10 are just as relevant as the first 10.

For more information, contact [email protected]

MANAGEMENT ONLY

FOR HOTEL & RESORT MANAGEMENT GROUPS, THIS IS WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU.

Chain Selection. If you wish to attract a chain to your project or need help in selecting which one would be best, we suggest that you consult a specialist.

Design Resolutions. Even as the concept is in the development phase, consider  a quick consult. Before you put your plan to bed with the architect, consider a fast review of some of the key areas for success.

Creating USPs & Enhancing the Product. It is never too late to innovate, to differentiate your product from your competition. More often than not, it can be done for little or no cost at all.

Project Feasibility. It is strange that all projects can be made to be feasible, particularly if the developer or 'manager' has enthusiasm. If you can stand to hear the truth, consider a review of that study. May not change your mind but may ensure that you are prepared.

Operational Support for Opening. So much to do and so little time and we need some short term common sense and help for the manager .

Product Improvement Plan Review. Is the chain or brand dictating a PIP that is too rich for reality? Allow us to review the plan and tell you where we believe waivers can be attained.

Contact me for additional services at [email protected]

DEVELOPERS OR POTENTIAL DEVELOPERS ONLY

IF YOU ARE DEVELOPING A HOTEL OR RESORT PROJECT OR THINKING ABOUT IT, THIS IS WHAT I MIGHT DO FOR YOU.

Chain Selection. If you wish to attract a chain to your project or need help in selecting which one would be best, we suggest that you consult a specialist.

New Development Process. If you have never developed a hotel or resort project and would like to start, start on the right foot. Most do not and jeopardise their potential for success by starting with some incorrect assumptions.

Design Resolutions. Even as the concept is in the development phase, consider  a quick consult. Before you put your plan to bed with the architect, consider a fast review of some of the key areas for success.

Creating USPs & Enhancing the Product. It is never too late to innovate, to differentiate your product from your competition. More often than not, it can be done for little or no cost at all.

Project Feasibility. It is strange that all projects can be made to be feasible, particularly if the developer has enthusiasm. If you can stand to hear the truth, consider a review of that study. May not change your mind but may ensure that you are prepared.

Operational Support for Opening. So much to do and so little time and we need some short term common sense and help for the manager or owner.

Product Improvement Plan Review. Is the chain or brand dictating a PIP that is too rich for reality? Allow us to review the plan and negotiate where we believe waivers can be attained.

Contact me for additional services at [email protected]

OWNERS OR POTENTIAL OWNERS ONLY

IF YOU OWN A HOTEL OR RESORT, THIS IS WHAT I MIGHT DO FOR YOU

Design Resolutions. Even as the concept is in the development phase, consider  a quick consult. Before you put your plan to bed with the architect, consider a fast review of some of the key areas for success.

Creating USPs & Enhancing the Product. It is never too late to innovate, to differentiate your product from your competition. More often than not, it can be done for little or no cost at all.

Project Feasibility. It is strange that all projects can be made to be feasible, particularly if the developer has enthusiasm. If you can stand to hear the truth, consider a review of that study. May not change your mind but may ensure that you are prepared.

Operational Support for Opening. So much to do and so little time and we need some short term common sense and help for the manager or owner.

Performance Review of Chain. From time to time, it is prudent and cost effective to review the actual performance of a brand. Conditions change during a 15-30 year term and some of the promises are forgotten.

Performance Review of Management Company. Periodically, the management company needs to be reviewed to ensure that that there is value being added.  Can a third party ask the questions that need to be asked?

Product Improvement Plan Review. Is the chain or brand dictating a PIP that is too rich for reality? Allow us to review the plan and negotiate where we believe waivers can be attained.

Contact me for additional services at [email protected]

WE CAN'T MOVE NOW, THE KIDS ARE STILL IN SCHOOL

IS MOVING DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR A MISTAKE?

We need to get some anecdotes on the challenge that many of us face when we are asked to move to a different location during the school year, or even during Junior or Senior years. Have you been moved and struggled with the 'agony' that the kids will encounter by leaving their friends and being forced to find new ones in another locale?

Have you turned down a great job because of the kids? Have you agonised over a move you made during the school year?

Have you and the kids overcome a mid-year move and made the best of it, benefitted, bloomed and flourished? What did you benefit from? What difference did you notice in the child, if any?

Have you regretted turning down a move 'because of the kids'?

What are the benefits of a multi-school career for the kids? To have friends all over the globe might not be a hindrance in this global world. In fact there might well be advantages.....if so, what are they?

What is the likelihood of a community of second graders being whole and together when they enter high school or college? Are newcomers excluded?

With SKYPE, EMail and video phones, can grandparents and friends stay in touch like never before? Or is 'face-time' so critical?  Does quality face-time with grandma and grandpa improve when it happens annually or semi-annually rather than daily or weekly? Do relations between Mum/Dad and the kids improve when they land in a strange place, alone to start again?

Beware of Alcoholics, Insomniacs and the Obese, they are going to get you!!

WATCH OUT, MY GOLF SWING 'SLICE' IS NOT MY FAULT

If an alcoholic orders a drink in a bar or restaurant, who is to be held responsible for his poor or declining health?

The World Health Organisation is reviewing the answer to this question and the answer will likely take the alcoholic off the hook, or more specifically focus some responsibility on the hospitality industry itself.

How far will the WHO take this responsibility? Here are the potential culprits,

1. The Server
2. The Bartender
3. The Bar Manager
4. The Restaurant Manager
5. The Hotel Manager
6. The Distillery, Brewery or Vintner

Taking this a step further, who will an Insomniac blame if he can not sleep in the hotel bed? Here are the potential culprits and chances are that if the WHO does not respond to the pleas of the sleepless, the International Standards Organisation will.

1. The Maid
2. The Floor supervisor
3. The Housekeeper
4. The Receptionist
5. The Hotel Manager
6. The Bed Manufacturer
7. The Bed Sheet Mill
8. The Pillowmaker

The Obese and Allergenics are already working on the major restaurant chains probably gaining some encouragement from the Non-Smokers who seem to be winning their battle.

Where does all this end or are we just beginning? Can all of us at the end of the day find someone else to blame for our shortcomings?  Let me imagine who I might blame for my golf slice?

1. The Golf Pro
2. The Golf Club Manager
3. The Club Manufacturer
4. The Ball Manufacturer
5. The Tee Maker
6. The Golf Glove Maker
7. The Golf Course Architect