AXIS Hospitality International

FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR DEEP POCKETS

DO YOU HAVE MONEY TO BURN? CALL A MARKET RESEARCH FIRM AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND ASK THEM TO PROVE YOU'RE RIGHT.

If you truly want to know whether it will work or not, ask a trusted friend to meet the researcher. That is the only way to get to the truth.

Let's face it...the developer wants to do it, the hotelier wants to run it, the banker wants to finance it and the city planner wants growth.

Where can we get some truth and conseqences? Where can one go to buy 'feasibility'? Is it a rare commodity or does everyone believe that everything is feasible? Are there no realists in our business or are we all dreamers?

I happen to be from the category of 'dreamers'.

However some of my butterflies have flown too close to the flame so I have learned from some mistakes. Some of them have been mine but many others have been the mistakes of others. That has inflicted in me a healthy dose of reality, sometimes disguised as cynicism!! Whatever you call it, it is the ability to weigh the dreams against the reality of life, market trends and gut feel. Women call it instinct. Men call it gut feel!

My wife's instinct works...........so does my gut feel.

But developers don't look for reality. They want a new project. Bankers don't want to deal with projects that are forecast to fail, they want to lend money. City planners are paid to plan projects that get built not for their pessimism.

The consequences of a poorly planned project are painful. Unexpected losses, lower profits, a soiled image and in the worst case, bancruptcy.

If by chance you want to be aware of what reality has in store for your project, contact [email protected]

THE LINK BETWEEN DESIGN AND HOSPITALITY

THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN.

More and more hotels and restaurants have their decors made by international designers.This make great sense has the local or even national design knowledge is often not what is needed for a high class establishments. The top designers will know about the future trends and will reconnise the beauty of local furniture or/art and then make an unique design accordingly.

In a world which become more and more visual, it isn’t really a surprise that style has taken such a place.

What is an interesting trend is the fashion world now focusing on the Luxury of travel as well

As the luxury of the destination.

Two strong exemples are Gianni Versace and Tag group and Hermes and Eurocopter, both have created an extreme luxury way of travel, with the first concentrating on private jets with beautifull interiors, leather sofas, cushions,lamps etc...and the second concentrating on the business world with luxurious shoppers with ample space, separation between pilots and passagers ,special materials for noise control, climatisation and of course Hermes famous way with leather.

The personnel to accompagny  such luxury is hard to accomodate as the “staff”who will fir such extreme will have to be “wealthy” themselves to be able to cope with the demands of this exclusive travelers.

When I mean “ wealthy” she/he will have to have had life experiences perhaps not in $ sense but in art, business,,,,,and will have to be on top of her mental and physique state as demands from billionnaires are huge, having done it myself. (from reading the Financial Times to be aware of the current arts auction to just ba able to have a conversation)

Also this mean working out, world knowledge, politic.

How much do people pay for this sort of staff is big bucks, between 40 000/70 000 euros per year is quite standard they often come from private butlers schools.

And to tell you the truth often  money is no subject as more than often money is trivial to them, family, safety, privacy, securtity and secrecy is more important to the billionnaires than money. But this is a parallel world than most of us don’t cross often.

Saying that so working for billionnaires is very interesting, as you are in close contact with them if you are interested and an enthousiast, you will learn about all sorts and about yourself, and you will be surprised that most billionnaires I have worked for knew the prices of things to the penny. I have to say I can’t say the same about our French politician.

Sandrine Urvois

Hospitality consultant

IS CUBA A POTENTIAL ASSET OR A LIABILITY

THE FUTURE OF CUBA IS BRIGHT BUT THINGS HAVE NOT CHANGED MUCH YET, BUT SHOULD THEY?

As a fan, aficionado, some would say a specialist in Cuban hospitality, I can unqualifyingly confirm that there are still enormous opportunities in Cuba now and for the foreseeable future but the novice should beware.......but get on a plane quickly.

The Bushes. The Clintons, The Castros.......no I am not a politician but there must be something in the air over the last 50 years because what goes around comes around. Would it not be great to put them at a dinner table or better yet, on a CNN debating panel with Ted Kennedy as the moderator?

There is something attractive about the thought of doing business in Cuba. The great news is that the best is still to come. The good is great now and unfortunately the bad is reserved for the locals.

Yes, there is great news for Cuba (and its neighbours) and this includes,

1. Cuba will become the fastest growing economy in the West in the next 7 years.
2. Their system does not work but they are working on improving it.....but at least they have a system!!
3. You are included in improving the system. Be non-American in your approach but American when you get established there! They love America.....just not the politics.
4. Their suffering or could I better describe it as 'tough times', will be rewarded.
5. The Floridian Cubans for whom I have enormous sympathy, are not seriously planning to return and will not influence the political future. They will of course influence the economic future.
6. Raoul, get out of the way. Your brother could not, for various reasons. If you have never experienced an airport welcome ramp in Havana when returning families lock in tearful embrace over carefully selected gifts after years of separation, you will never understand the real damage that has been done by both sides.
7. The electoral system works there. No problems that I know about with 'chads'. Cuba is supposedly Communist but I do not see it as such. I see it more as their own brand of Socialism. Sort of like the Canadian left on steroids! Poor comparison but I never claimed to be a politician.
8. Great leaders are in the wings. Albeit 'left wings! Watch out for the leaders currently behind Raoul. They are bright, eloquent, relatively young and well respected by the Cubans. And no, they will not, I believe allow the country to 'collapse' ..........a la USSR and Eastern Europe.
9. Now this is really ironic!! Cuba may be one of the last remaining places where Americans are actually truly liked. Not their politics but the people. This is an emotion that has been carefully crafted by Fidel over the years and for that I take off my hat. It would have been so easy to craft a national feeling of hatred. He did not choose that path.
10. Now if Hillary or Obama could just play their cards right, they could solve the whole US health issue in one easy deal that could mobilise the largest organised army of trained doctors, surgeons and healthcare workers and thereby fund the re-construction of the country along truly social lines.......quite aside from the many miracles gathering dust on the shelves of their highly advanced Bio-Chemical Research industry.

Now don't you wish you were Cuban in the next life?

For some more realistic suggestions on doing business in Cuba and within their system, contact [email protected]