AXIS Hospitality International

TOP 10 REASONS WHY RESORT DEVELOPMENTS FAIL TO DEVELOP?

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LOST BECAUSE THE DEVELOPER IS NOT AWARE OF THE FORMULA FOR SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT

Hundreds of projects waiting to happen, wrecked on the rocks of a dream, a great location, new potential sustainable employment for hundreds.....and the project stalls.

The Caribbean, Latin America, the Black Sea, the Maldives, Hawaii, Central America, SE Asia, Africa, the Middle East. Every region of the world wants to capitalise on the explosion in travel, the potential to profit from creative real-estate development and the appetite for g overnments to get on the tourism bandwagon.

The Developers of most stalled projects today blame their demise on the 2008/2009 credit crunch.

"It was the bank's fault". 

In a nutshell, it wasn't the bank's fault. It was the Developer's fault.

In a separate blog on this site, interested developers can learn what is needed to prepare a project for potential execution. There is a sequence to the actions that are necessary and if the developer gets them out of sequence, this is the first step taken in veering toward the rocks, a route that is expensive to correct and

from which the escape is extremely costly.

Here are some of the reasons why developers fail.

1. They are experienced in construction and are itching to get started ......and they do.
2. They are inexperienced developers and they listen to consultants....that need to be paid.
3. They hire an architect when all they need is a basic plan.......and they get full, expensive plans.
4. They complete a feasibility study before establishing what will be built.
5. They get a cheap feasibility study from a local consultant......... that must be re-done.
6. They have a great plan for land that they don't own or have optioned......... yet.
7. They create a construction budget instead of a development budget.............whoops.
8. They choose a hotel group and are flattered & encouraged by their enthusiasm.
9. They have no financial architect that ensures that financing can be secured .........& get a loan. 
10. They do not understand that development is actually a science.

Here are some of the questions that a Developer must ask and must stay around long enough to listen to the answer. The sequence of these events is CRITICAL. Not one can be left out or skipped.

1. What am I developing and am I experienced?
2. Do I own the land?
3. If not, can I secure it under an option?
4. Do I have an experienced team?
5. Do I know what each of them has to do?
6. Have we prepared a realistic, competitive Master Plan?
7. Is it financially feasible and are the valuations realistic....done by an independent consultant?
8. Do I have an LOI from one or more operators and brands?
9. Do we have all the financing committed?
10. ......If all the above points are ticked, start building. If not, go back to Step 1 & start again.

 

If you do not know if you have answered 'Yes' in error, check with a professional.

THE ONLY WAY FORWARD

PLAN - TEAM - CHECK - STUDY - FINANCE - BUILD

For more information on any of these points, contact [email protected]

HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATES ARE ENTERTAINERS............ without a script.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT HOSPITALITY IS ENTERTAINMENT

In its simplest form Hospitality is Improvisation personified when we Entertain. Friends and Acquaintances, Food, Drinks, Conversation & Memories.

When we entertain at home, we plan as much as we can in advance and are generally ready on time when the doorbell rings. The front driveway is swept, there is room to park, cobwebs have been cleaned from the front door, flowers in vases, hors d'oeuvres chilled, ice cubes fresh and a great selection of drinks are ready. The kids are smiling as are the adults.......proud in the knowledge that the floors have been swept, shelves dusted and furniture cleaned, lights adjusted and cushions puffed. Our stage is ready for the most important ingredient of the event, the conversation. 

From here on in, it is Improv in its purest form.

Conversation flows. Initially in twos as coats are removed and hung leading to more open conversations as things warm up. There is not a single moment of silence from our guests' arrival to their departure, our faces project our enjoyment of their presence and our conversation is warm, interesting and all-inclusive. Not the 'all-inclusive' that we have adopted in the resorts but a combination of experiences that are memorable, partly planned, ad hoc but definitely not scripted.

This Hospitality play has no scripts, no planned entry 'stage right', no drum rolls or cymbals crashing. It is 'improv' at its best.

Our hotels and resorts are no different. Putting all the corporate standards, procedures and branding aside, shutting ourselves out of the company politics, the hierarchy, the uniform, the shift that has just started or is almost over, we in the hospitality industry are all entertainers without a script. Front of house or back of house, we warmly welcome our visitors and our colleagues with the same genuine eye-to-eye contact, words of 'non-scripted' welcome, setting the stage for the experiences and pleasant surprises that we have in store. As we move through our series of stages, the entrance, the reception, the lobby, the elevator, the rooms corridor, multiple opportunities for un-scripted conversation exist and should be exploited. Introduction of Mr & Mrs Guest to Teresa the room attendant or Joe from Maintenance on the way to the room is just one of the ways that this entertainment experience can be amplified.......if Teresa and Joe realise they are a part of the show and engage in a creative way.

Conversely the back-of-house or more affectionately the heart-of-house is no different with similar opportunities for entertainment and interaction. Why should all our attention go toward our guests when our colleagues are as critical to our success as the paying guests. Managers, supervisors, owners are all equally part of this theatre, this play, this experience that we are selling. Creative thinking for the development of interesting storylines should not only be encouraged, it must be exploited, planned, researched but not scripted. 

This concept is fun. It must be fun. It is as rewarding for us as it should be for our guests. If done well, it will become the magnet that is needed to attract associates to our industry. Not necessarily just young associates but associates of all ages, all levels of society, those with talent and those whose talents can be developed further. Let's face it, all of us have the power to smile, to speak, to empathise, to communicate verbally or non verbally, to laugh, to sympathise, to empathise. 

Let us all put Entertainment back into Hospitality!

TRIAGING RESORT DEVELOPMENTS

RESUSCITATING RESORT PROJECTS FOR FINANCING.

Such a shame that so many great projects are gathering dust on the shelves of so many Developers and Landowners who are losing hope of them ever moving forward.

Billions of dollars of financeable projects sitting there waiting to be financed in various stages of completion and not going anywhere while the solutions are visible to the naked, experienced eye in a matter of hours.

We know because our eyes are naked and experienced and we conduct triages on resort developments.

They are not 'sick' or 'injured' due to malicious or wicked intentions, they are more often projects for which sequencing was not taken into account. Sequencing is not necessarily the phasing of the project although that is eventually an important factor. It is more about the sequencing of the planning that ultimately leads to financing. Too often, brains have been blown out by spending too much on the wrong things until the financing is in place.

They are almost dead in the mind of the developers because they have exhausted every avenue available to either find a partner or a lender without any luck. Some of the interested parties have encouraged the developer to spend additional monies to support the investment or loan only to go silent when the proof is not conclusive. They are injured in the minds of the investors or lenders because the details finalized do not line up with the aspirations of the project. 

There are thousands of details that go into Resort Development and the enthusiastic developer without experience may rush into the project surrounded by experts who approach the project with the best of intentions but without the development experience that would have rationed the consultants input only to the actual requirements for financing. The details should be dealt with in a sequence that includes the complete financing of the development's planning, execution and opening and, as a rule of thumb, not a penny should be spent that is not directly connected to financing.

Here are some of the more interesting but fairly frequent causes of sickness or injury in a resort project,

1. Land. Elaborate plans developed on land that is not yet owned.
2. Development Company 'team' made up of outside consultants only.
3. Single minded, inexperienced Developer with no capacity for listening.
4. Full design detail architectural plans developed without brand involvement or previous brand experience.
5. Budget for hard & soft costs only....... but none for development, financing or other expenses.
6. No plans for financing (equity & debt, sources and detailed uses....... and detailed timing of phases.
7. Feasibility or Valuation Study done by a local consultant unknown to the lending community.
8. Inexperienced team with limited or no experience in similar projects.
9. Business Plan completed by a specialist for another industry.
10. Glowing letters of worthless support from government officials.

As one of the Doctors in our Emergency Room at Axis Hospitality, this is typically how we 'triage the project' usually precipitated by a short e-mail call for assistance.

1. Telephone conversation about the project with the Principal Developer, elaborating on its status, their achievements and their perceived needs.
2. A review of all the available documentation (eg. plans, development company details, plans, budgets, operators etc)
3. Analysis of the actual status and determination of their immediate Planning needs.
4. Calculate the missing parts of the plan, determine the likelihood of success and the timing.
5. Discussion on recommendations and agreement on way forward.

Most resort developments that have either been injured or are comatose, can be resuscitated and most will not need to dilute the equity of the existing shareholders. 

For further information, email [email protected]

RESORT DEVELOPMENT IS ROCKET SCIENCE!

THE LAUNCH OF A LUXURY RESORT IS A SCIENCE.....AND POTENTIALLY A BLACK HOLE

Too many Developers have lost their fortunes from the belief that resort development is quite simple and all they need to do is design the resort, hook a hotel brand & operator and then get the financing.

Our company has the luxury (and privilege) of reviewing hundreds of project plans each year to determine whether they are investment-ready and financeable. The projects range from smaller projects of USD$30-$50 million up to larger projects that often anticipate from $1.5 to $2.0 billion. The sweet spot are those that are estimated in the $75-$150 million range that may well represent the first phase of the $1.5 billion projects. The hard ones are the mega-resorts..... or the small ones.

As reviewer of a projects' readiness to finance, readiness to work over a period of 20+ years,  we are in effect 'resort scientists'.

However hundreds of great projects are languishing on developers' shelves gathering dust. Why? Because it looks so easy. Get an architect and design your dream residential resort, get an operator and then find an investor. Quite easy really!!

Why? Because resort hotel development is not rocket science!! Rocket science is intricate detail, in-depth experience and careful timing. 

But resort development is also intricate detail, in-depth experience and careful timing. Why therefore would one try to build a resort without a resort scientist? You wouldn't build a rocket ship without a rocket scientist.

It really is sad!! So many people. So much money. So many dreams. All down deep black holes because they were not conceived properly, sequenced or even treated as a science.

Here are the Top Ten Red Flags in resort development that are committed around the globe.

1. Huge  project on land that is not owned by the Developer. No financial institution will ever lend or invest in a paper document developed for a project that will be built on a stranger's land. The title must be owned outright, zoned appropriately with environmental studies complete. 
2. Developer has no resort development experience. Lenders lend to experienced people, not projects. If the developer has experience in another business, this has value. If the developer has and/or will invest 10%-30% of the project's cost including the cost of the land, this will add value and strength.
3. Developer has no internal experienced team. Plans on external consultants only. The development company will need the internal experience to provide expert oversight of the project manager, the architect, the GC, the consultants, the operator.........and control the budget.
4. Well-advanced architectural drawings and artist renderings for which the architect was paid handsomely. Additional work possible only if he is paid more. Design only to the level where the project can be financed, no further. Once financed, the architect, engineers and consultants can take it to the next level.
5. Construction budget that omits all the development costs. A development model is a complex, detailed description of every aspect of the development and the operation that includes everything from a space plan for each square metre of the resort to the number and type of employees, their wage and benefits. Projected profits from development and operations need to be detailed and supported.
6. Feasibility Study done by a local 'expert'. The study must be current and be completed by a recognised, independent consultant company that in addition provides a valuation of the land/project As-Is and As-Completed. 
7. Enthusiasm from multiple resort operators/brands with not one cent invested or at-risk. It is relatively easy to be enthusiastically encouraged by the hotel company that is committed to grow their portfolio without investing. They will be quick to be enthusiastic but slow to commit before proof of feasibility and financing. Needs a valid LOI and business terms. Contract negotiation needs an experienced resort expert.
8. Expensive brochure describing the project for unknown investors, more suitable to guests. Spectacular photography and glowing texts describing a completed resort, details of an award-winning restaurant, tantalizing spa and treatment centres. Thousands of dollars wasted on script writers, photography and printers. Useless.
9. No formal plan for structuring the financing. Most developers have assumed that the detailed plan, artist renderings, the spectacular brochure and the one page revenue and profit expectations will be all that is needed to 'find me an investor'. Virtually none will have detailed sequencing of the budget plan with phasing. None will have realized that this is not a hotel resort, but is a residential resort with real-estate as its foundation. Some are looking to sell equity when all they need is a loan!!
10. Run out of money, now looking for experts to donate their time to fix & finance it. There are solutions for most projects that we review. For those that are investment-ready, financing can be facilitated by an investment bank without further cost. For those that need extra work, it can be done. However most have already run out of money. Some former multi-millionaires even now need grocery money.

The solutions to even the worst conceived resorts with the right potential take from 3-5 months. To plan it from scratch, we need a maximum of 6 months, 3-4 months to finance and 18-24 months to build.

Some of these projects need no more than a loan and can be debt-free before the resort is complete.

To discuss your plans, contact Axis Hospitality 

 

THE LACK OF DEFINITION OF FINE DINING...... WHERE YOU ARE ACTUALLY FINED FOR DINING!

RESTAURANTS OR DINING ROOMS, CAFES OR BISTROS. WHAT ARE WE THINKING ABOUT WHEN WE DESCRIBE OUR RESTAURANT AS 'FINE DINING'?

Do we really mean that the food is fine, the service is fine, the decor is fine or the china is fine? What does fine mean. Does it mean that the other outlet is not fine? 

In that great period after the end of the Second World War when air travel became more common and hotels were needed to accommodate the masses, all hotels started out with a Continental restaurant and a Coffee Shop. The inference was that only Europeans could cook but their art was never practiced at breakfast, hence the need for vaste expanses of formica counters and tables.......... and waitresses with bedroom slippers.

Continental was of course an outright lie but it was a great boast for the daily roast, typically roast beef but ranging round the farm yard from the chicken coup to the pig pen while the short order cooks in the Coffee Shop shovelled out eggs over easy with parsley and Club Sandwiches with packets of mayo & ketchup. Chefs with any type of an accent were gold. But a French accent was platinum, regardless of his career path to date!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/19/travel/chef-fools-diners-taste-test/

As time progressed through the fifties and sixties, our Continental Restaurants took on some character, most believing they were French.......the only acceptable cuisine of those decades and the word 'Chez' crept into our vocabulary. Canned snails and soup a l'ognon were matched with 'Cock O'Van' or Roast Beef au Jus.

Others made attempts at Italian.....a far easier cuisine to emulate where pasta could be enveloped with anything. Hardly Italian but what did the masses know.

The 70s and 80s saw the entrance of the Asian market, initially pioneered by the Japanese but later dominated by the Chinese. Chop Suey was all we knew in the West so that became the favourite Asian dish of choice.

Gradually our Coffee Shops became 'Casual'. Bedroom slippers were still de rigeur but a new vocabulary emerged. One where everyone needed to address everyone by their first name and wrote love notes on the bill in flourishing handwriting. Casual of course was to attract the customers who were averse or actually scared off by the maitre d' in a Tuxedo in the Continental 'Fine-Dining' Restaurant. We were all of a sudden becoming Californian, where the real revolution in American Cuisine was flourishing.

Enter the term 'fusion'. Not 'confusion' although that was an ingredient. Fusion became a culinary term for cuisines being married, combined, opposites attracting......con-Fusion was the order of the day as European and Asian, Mexican and American, Jewish and Italian combinations were born and surprisingly survived.

Fine Dining has however survived but has never really been defined, refined or become popular. Perhaps the latter outcome will see the demise of Fine Dining forever. It is of course stiff not casual, pretentious not welcoming, staid not comfortable, expensive not affordable and overdressed not appropriate.

It is of course where designers flourish and blow-out the proverbial pocketbooks of their client owners with their choices of SouthEast Asian silk wall coverings, Venetian crystal chandeliers, fine Irish linen tablecloths and Austrian & Hungarian crystal glassware. Fine French & Italian wines from long distances are stored poorly in basements & beer cellars and described in glowing terms on parchment menus with Argentinian leather covers. The menu choices are equally as discombobulated with French, Italian, English, American, Caribbean, Indian, Chinese and Malaysian jockeying for the attention of the diners being fined.

Why does this cacophony of products from abroad come together under the heading of 'Fine Dining'? What does any of this stuff have to do with eating well, great flavours, the art, colour and scent of great ingredients, the theatre of great combinations of regional ingredients and local customs served adroitly by hospitable locals.

Interesting that the opposite or Antonym for Fine......includes words that might be applied to the other Dining Outlet, and those include Repulsive, Unattractive, Unsophisticated, Drab, Inferior, Poor, Unfashionable, Cheap, Horrifying, Second Rate, Dull..............all of which are best represented by bedroom slippers!!

And synonyms for the word Fine include Beautiful, Elegant, Expensive, Fashionable, Attractive, Splendid, First-Class, Ornate, Five-Star and Gilt-Edged.........all of which are perhaps best represented by waiters in dinner jackets.

Now.......what is on the menu you may ask and at what price? Well this is where the fine really is!!!

 

TOP TEN RESORT DEVELOPMENT TRENDS & MYTHS

IT IS TRAGIC TO SEE INTELLIGENT BUSINESS EXPERTS THROW ALL CAUTION TO THE WIND AND BLOW THEIR BRAINS OUT WHEN DEVELOPING A RESORT.

Acting as we do as the first line of defence in a developer's quest for financing, we see the best and worst of the World's Developers and their very obvious blinders and blunders.

There are a couple of wonderful TV shows on the television in the Americas and Europe that deal with entrepreneurs pitching their projects to a panel of experts. Questions are asked and the entrepreneurs have but a few minutes to gain the interest from a panellist and obtain the investment directly.

We do similar work on behalf of an Investment Bank but we focus mainly on hotels & resorts. 

Here is a cynical look at the hard work of many an entrepreneur and where many of them seem to go askew.

1. Great Idea! Let's just do it! We have decided we have this great idea and we need your money to back our risk, no questions asked. Appealing to my sympathetic ear because I know resorts, the developer fails to realize that the investors & lenders want independent advice and proof from experts that the project will work.
2. Find me a partner, quick. Isn't it funny how developers look for partners when they really need a lender or they are looking for a lender when they really need a partner. Yes the Capital Stack is part of the financial architecture and it takes as much expertise to structure the Capital Stack as it does the Chimney Stack. Some owners & developers fail to realize that they don't need to give up valuable equity to get the financing. On many occasions we can structure the loans to preserve the equity.
3. Yup, we'll create our own brand. No need to pay those Big-Boys a ton of fees when all we need to do is create our own. We have this idea for a Spa and we have already designed the name and logos. The reality is that your brand will need to have name recognition in the geographical markets that feed your property..........plus 14 other critical components.
4. Hurry, the World Cup is coming in 2 years. The Prime Minister has asked us to hurry our plans along and build the hotel for the World Cup. It is coming in two years........for two weeks! Hotels & resorts have been built for the Olympics, a Convention, the Pan Am & Pan Asian games and countless other lousy excuses. They need to be planned for 2 decades of success, not 2 weeks, but why would the Prime Minister care?
5. Just sell it. A property ready for development has the plans bought and paid for, approvals in place, an operator ready to take it on and everything ready but he tells his Broker, 'sell it', not realizing that if all is ready, develop it and then sell it for a multiple of what he would sell it for now.... but why would the Broker care?
6. Need grocery money too! Know how to make a small fortune in the resort industry?Start with a large fortune!! Yes, many spend their whole fortune on architects, plans, approvals and glitz and then start looking for the financing but are so desperate that they need not only the $75 million but some extra for the groceries but why would the architect care?
7. I want it now, not in 3 months. Faced with the reality that it takes 3-4 months to source the financing and having spent three years already looking, there is no patience to take the 3-4 months necessary and do it properly.
8. My cousin did the Study & it works. So many developers do the projections and financial assumptions through close friends or family or even the village accountant not realizing that the capital sources will want to have a recent study done by an independent, recognized Consultant company and that the value of one done by someone close to the developer has zero credibility but why would the village accountant care.
9. What's wrong with 50 rooms & 2 restaurants? Do we really have to explain!!
10. Where's the budget? No sir, a Construction budget is not a development budget!! So many developers prepare a detailed construction and fit-out budget not realizing that a full development budget contains many other line items which will have to be covered. For us, this is a clear sign that we are dealing with students. 

I make my wife furious when I go to the Doctor and offer my own diagnosis!! I think this situation is somewhat similar. Allow the specialists the freedom of telling you if your property will live or die and listen very, very carefully. The fortune you lose may be your own.

Here then summarized are my TOP TEN TRENDS as Myths,

1. My ideas, your money and your risk.
2. Money is just money.
3. Creating a brand is simple stuff.
4. Special Events are profitable.
5. Sell low so others can benefit.
6. Spent it all. Nothing left to finish.
7. Patience is not needed for financing.
8. Independent consultants are credible.
9. Hotel restaurants make money.
10. Partial budgets are cheaper.

For any and all enquiries on financing of hotels and resorts, consult a specialist and make sure that you have all the financing before spending on anything.

For further information contact [email protected] or visit Axis Hotels & Resorts

 

FINANCING A HOTEL OR RESORT....FOR DUMMIES!

FINANCING A HOTEL SUCCESSFULLY IS LIKE COOKING A STEAK PERFECTLY.

It is quite simple. Timing, ingredients, the market and experience is critical......but success is buried in the touch, the feel and the presentation.

If you really know how to serve a steak right, you know how to buy it.....from the market, age it...... in the air, you know how to butcher it on the block, and you know how to deliver that perfect cut of well-measured meat to the range..... at the precise time that a customer will walk in and expect perfection.

No sweating. No deterioration. No overgrilling. Some time out for relaxing. Delivery!! Do not forget that the 'garniture' must be timed exquisitly to coincide with the delivery of its mate.

......and the fat. Must have some well placed fat. Marbling is critical, a nice term but it is fat. Many companies are cutting out the fat and becoming lean and mean. Not sure this is the right approach in all cases. In the service industry, a little fat is good. Fat is experience, character, taste and without it, the meat is dry, fibrous & boring.

Same as marble actually! A little marble in the lobby or bathroom is tasteful. Too much is overkill.

Timing, experience, calculation, planning, analysis. Patience, vigilence, careful recruitment, training, more training, mistakes, successes and then recognition.

It took me a lifetime to get the steak right. it has taken me a lifetime to get the hotel business right. Now we work on the development which typically stalls at the point of financing where seven or eight boxes need to be ticked before the starter pistol is triggered.

Here is how I see it.

These are my Top Ten Steps to financing, preparing, branding and opening  a sizzling hotel successfully or delivering a Steak similarly. Both with some marble but not too much.

1. The Land. The Steak is the Land. It must have the right credentials. The right cut, the right mix of lean, clean, fat, texture and maturity. Location is critical as is cost. And its no good if it is still owned by someone else.
2. The Plan. The Design or Master-plan is the Recipe or the Dining Experience. Except who uses a recipe for a steak? Meat alone is a bore. Land alone...ditto. Meat without potatoes for some or without bearnaise for others is almost inedible. Add some crisp, colourful vegetables, a 'jus' or deglazed pan juice and the violins start to be heard. A little vino in a special glass and the orchestra strikes up. A great steak in a poorly presented restaurant also loses value. Conversely, a well-chosen design architect will creatively develop the style, the impact, the creative edge and the character that will differentiate the product from its local competion and provide an opportunity for a resort to compete with a remote resort on a different Continent both catering to the same equidistant client. 
3. The Brand. The Branding is the Style, the address, the reputation,the image and the sizzle. Equate this to the right cut of meat that lends itself to either Raw as in Tartare, a Grilling, a Blackening, a Braising or a Stew. Defining the star category of the property and matching it to an appropriate brand will determine the level of investment necessary and the likely rate of return. 
4. The Team. The Rotissier or Grill Cook represents the Team. An experienced team represented by the farmer, the purchaser, the storeman, the butcher, the Chef, the Manager and the Service Delivery team. There are others and they are all integral to the successful delivery of that Steak. The Developer must produce a team of equally qualified, experienced specialists with prior track records in the industry. Architects, Engineers, Kitchen Designers, Marketers, Feasibility consultants, Contractors, Project Managers and all must function as a team.
5. The Financing. Seed Money is needed to get started for delivery of the Steak. The team must be paid, trained, motivated, the ingredients bought, stored, cared for, prepped and the customers identified, counted, marketed and the table laid. Without some skin in the game, the project will not get financed.
6. The Risks.Absence of risk is a critical piece of the puzzle. Bad refrigeration, overstocking inventories of meat, lack of impeccable hygiene, no grilling experience, all are risks by themselves. A project without similar key ingredients is an even larger risk....and so political stability, market demand, environmental tests, reliable valuations, credible feasibility by third party consultants, all pose levels of some risk which must be evaluated.
7. The Past Performance. Revenue & Expense History is a recap of the business success enjoyed by the Restaurant and its Partners. Without records of a couple of years of their business and tax returns of the Owners, no lender will finance against poor performance or skimpy developers. However if you have never sold a few steaks and had some money left over for replacing them, chances are you are on your own going forward.
8. The Checks & Balances. Restaurant cleanliness is a given, as is an environmental assessment on the land. No clean bill of health, no support from a lender. Market Feasibility........either way, no diners, no sales. Asset Value 'as-is' and 'as-planned'. Just a well prepared, well researched report by a 3rd party recognized independent consultant. 

With all boxes ticked, a project can be discreetly financed in a heartbeat. If you are missing a couple of those boxes and still need help, contact, [email protected]

 By the way, Steak photo from one of my favourite US Steakhouses, The Palm.

 

HERE WE GO AGAIN. MISMANAGEMENT OF A BRAND'S IMAGE.

REPOSITIONING A LUXURY/UPSCALE BRAND AGAIN. WHEN WILL THEY GET IT RIGHT?

Shooting oneself in the same foot twice causes what the French describe as a 'Blessure' or a wound. In this case it is being named 'Bleisure' which I must assume is a leisurely shot in the foot.

In November 2007, Pullman was re-launched from some of their less-inspiring Sofitel properties  ......... Quote   " Accor also plans to hive off 35 of the brand's less inspiring hotels into a new chain aimed mainly at business travellers, where they will trade under the Pullman name".

At that time I somewhat cynically blogged,

Now while everyone else is courting the Business Traveller, Accor has a different plan. They will focus on hiving off their business travellers into less-inspiring properties. That sounds like a really unusual strategy! It sure could grab the attention of the corporate travel planners because the last thing they need for their travelling workers is to be inspired while travelling.

And Pullman has a nice 1930s ring to it. These were the noisy wooden creaky carriages that squeaked between train stations before being sent to the scrapyard.......or were they? Maybe they have been saved for rejuvenation as tomorrow's answer to today's 'less inspired'.

Fast forward now to May 2013, 

At about the same time that everyone else is realising that a hotel lobby is a magnificent space to create comfortable people-watching areas, the great French hotel group have decided to furnish their Pullman Hotels with armchairs designed after train carriage seats. 

http://www.hotelsmag.com/Industry/News/Details/42336

Train carriage seats are not exactly what most people would describe as the epitome of comfort and one can only assume that they are hoping to make an historic connection to their past, Pullman. Or perhaps they got a good deal from the railway as the French Railway system seeks to turn their magnificent TGV train services into even greater luxury on wheels. Either way, furniture itself will not do it even if designed by
Christophe Pillet. People watching and social interaction in public spaces is a science, as once painstakingly explained to me by the great architect, John Portman, creator of the original hotel atrium.

And while I generously say that the French group have decided, it should not be forgotten that the capital cost of all changes to FF&E are born by the Owner. I stress all changes. However their Interim CEO, Yann Cailliere announced “Since Pullman is mainly operated in management contracts, most of the capex, if you talk about renovations, will be borne by the owners”.

"....most of the capex...will be borne by the owners' suggests that some of the capex will be borne by the operator. Cailliere went on to say, "Pullman hotel owners will primarily cover the renovation costs of the brand refresh'.

And while I do appreciate that a brand will underwrite the research & development costs of concept design and the design of such items as armchairs, tables and reception desks, this is relatively trivial compared to the capital costs that will be necessary by the owners.......100%.

All of this goes to show that the management of a brand's image is a delicate or should I say a scientific evolution of messages that must be carefully crafted and communicated.

One brand, five very poor public relations gaffes, as I see them,

• Launched originally on the basis of being 'less inspiring'.
• Launched as Business focused hotels & now expanding to include Leisure, albeit nothing that I could discern for leisure other than meeting room tables designed like poker tables .
• New furniture designs without the benefit of (perhaps) designer striking visuals.
• Coining a phrase of Bleisure......which can be misconstrued by anyone who speaks French.
• Lack of clarity on who actually pays for the improvement.

If not gaffes, perhaps they are slips that need not happen. Messages that must be carefully crafted and delivered through selected media by PR specialists working with a designated brand leader.

And as a missed opportunity, nothing on the pullman website.

FORECLOSURES FORECASTED, OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS....IF YOU LISTEN

RECENT FORECASTED HOTEL FORECLOSURES OFFERS HUGE OPPORTUNITIES TO THOSE OF US WHOSE BUSINESS IS TURNKEY TURNAROUNDS.

A recent example allowed us to conduct a brand analysis on an aging property, select from amongst ten brands, select three for a short list and deliver increased profits of $50 million GOP over ten years..........just with the choice of the Brand and a strategic re-positioning. Profits will more than double after the reno, but will quadruple if the expansion proceeds.

No it's not Rocket Science but who would build a rocket without a rocket scientist?

A launched hotel with the wrong engine going in the wrong direction will in fact cost as  much as the rocket fired in the wrong direction. It will never get there!

And yet time after time, developers make the decisions on the launch criteria without the Hospitality Scientist and the technicians that determine the direction.

Case Study Number One. A major chain operated hotel in the Caribbean was closed for a major $100 million renovation and re-opened under the same brand that had been there for +/- 40 years. It was opened as a new project and not re-positioned. It is a financial disaster and the owner is searching for ways to re-coup his losses.

Case Study Number Two. A major chain operated hotel in Africa faces a major $60 million renovation and will be re-launched under the same brand that has been there for +/- 40 years.

Ironically the same brand operates both hotels and in both cases, the hotels are government owned. In both cases, there is no intent to change the brand/operator. They are emotionally and historically tied to the brand where brothers, sisters, daughters and sons have graduated, been married, feted and celebrated for four decades.

Case Study Number Three. A major chain operated hotel in Asia plans a major $45 million renovation and will be re-positioned under a new, upmarket brand, shedding its' ties to the old one and will benefit as I have described in the title above, resulting in a project that will once again become to market leader.

This hotel is also government owned and was also emotionally and historically tied to the original brand where brothers, sisters, daughters and sons graduated, married, feted and celebrated for four decades. The difference was that the latter contacted the David McMillan Group and listened. They had agonised over the decision for a couple of years and made the courageous decision to contract an outsider to assist them through the analysis and the decision.

Case Study Number Four. A government owned, run-down, partially closed  independent hotel and convention centre in the Caribbean seeks a partner to invest, renovate, brand, re-launch, operate and maintain.........and wonders why there were no answers to their RFP.

All four Projects were referred to the David McMillan Group but only one, so far has listened and listened carefully. At times the terms I used were foreign, misunderstood and complicated to comprehend within the contexts of their worlds. But they listened, they learned and they made the decisions that were needed. They all now understand those terms and the science behind their use.

 Here are the fundamentals of our One Stop Shop 'Turnkey Turnarounds'

• Current Brand Position vs Ideal Brand position.
• Brand Options.
• Selection Criteria & Weighting.
• LOI & Business Terms.
• Scope of renovations required & preliminary costing.
• Brand scoring.
• Risk analysis.
• Decision.
• Final negotiations.
• Renovation Planning & Design.
• Construction & Fit-Out.
• Commissioning.
• Deficiency management.

It is interesting to note that the first four points are very often excluded from so many projects and yet they actually fuel the rocket that is expected to keep going for some 30 plus years.

HOSPITALITY & ENTERTAINMENT. NEXT PHASE - MALE FROLICKING?

IS THERE A BLURRING OF HOSPITALITY, ENTERTAINMENT AND RETAIL? THOSE THAT KNOW ME, KNOW THAT I THINK THERE IS AND I WELCOME IT.

Does the rumour that IKEA is implementing 'Play Rooms for Men' not spark some interest from those in the creative departments of Starwood, Marriott, IHG, Hilton and others? 

The news that IKEA introduced a Play Room for Men in one of their Australian outlets for Fathers' Day and may be extended and expanded as a concept, caught my attention as a potential idea for hotels looking for imaginative ways to attract clientele with methods other than alcohol, attractive female service staff and fitness clubs.

IKEA's Manland is set up with free hotdogs, pinball, foosball, video games and non-stop television sports to keep them busy while their wives shop.

Seems to me like a great method of socialising, networking and excercising while adding to the allure of keeping the guests in house and out-of-trouble for their entertainment and refreshments.

IKEA's ideas were prompted by the added benefit of freeing up the ladies to do some serious shopping while their 'better-half' male partners were kept amused and out of trouble.

And while the North American side of me smiles and sees opportunity, the Brit in me ('almost-a-'Euro') recoils at the thought of having to adapt to Americas' informality and drop my guard in front of total strangers. I however then have to imagine how the Asians might react and feel and was immediately reminded of the speed with which Asians took up the hugely embarrassing game of Karaoke. No problem on that side of the world!!

Colleagues of course immediately reminded me that hotels have spas, which for all intents and purposes are Play Rooms for Ladies.

“It will be interesting to see how it turns out.”

But now take a look at this one. It brought tears of joy to my eyes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=NLjuGPBusxs&vq=medium

REINVENTING HOSPITALITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

THE INDUSTRY IS ANCHORED IN THE 50s IN WHICH HOTELS ARE DESIGNED, BUILT AND RUN....... ONLY THE NEWCOMERS GET IT.

How fascinating that those that are inexperienced newcomers are succeeding in our industry while us veterans copy the sins of our past, 'ad infinitum'.

The challenge of imagining and running a hotel is less daunting than most people think. The complexities of food costs, yield management, accounts receivable and supply management are simple compared to the more complex challenges of defining the product. The definition of the product is where we most often fail and this is where the inexperienced amongst us shine.

In fact the product was defined in the 1950s and hasn't changed much since.  What might it look like in 2050?

Allow me a look back to the post WW2 era of the 1940s/1950s when Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inns and Conrad Hilton aka Paris Hilton's great grandad started their quest to define the needs of the post-war customer. And what came out of their development was largely the foundation of what we have today in countless brands across all six Continents (7 if you are in the USA).  They all include well defined spaces and contents, some larger, some better finished with varying degrees of the same services provided within those similar boring or so-predictable spaces.

They include a bedroom with 6-8 pieces of furniture, a bathroom with 3-5 pieces of furniture, a restaurant or two, a bar or two, a swimming pool, a spa (whatever that means) and other mundane basics.

What we failed to realize in those early days was that we were not in the business of guest rooms and restaurants, bars and the like, we were actually into a much more interesting service delivery system that incorporates 'lifestyle'.  What does that mean in the grand scheme of things?  I think it actually is more fundamental than that, it touches on but intermingles,

1. Deep sleep. Sublime Rest, complete relaxation and ultimate rejuvenation.
2. Replenishment. Healthy Sustenance, improved health & well being.
3. Rejuvenation. Stress reduction, social interaction & positive energy.
4. Amusement. Entertainment and attitude ajustment.

Given those more holistic descriptions of our basic function as hoteliers, I suspect that we would have advanced our approach to the bedroom and its contents, the bathroom and its' functions, eating and drinking, exercise and introspection all as it relates to those nouns, adjectives and adverbs above.

Does this make us more of a Clinic?  

Am I proposing that hotels are in fact overnight Healthcare?

What therefore differentiates us from a Hospital?

If we were entirely and completely devoted to delivering a rejuvenated, refreshed and energetic guest, would we be delivering a one-size-fits-all mattress, 1-2 soaps, shampoo, breakfast menu and lounge chair or would we be in partnership with sleep & relaxation experts, dieticians, stress doctors or dreamers who might be assisting us to re-invent our spaces and service delivery systems to exceed the limited demands of our un-imaginative clients who have been trained into the status-quo by a half-century of similar hotel products across all the major brands.

Imagine what a sound engineer could do with a television, a radio (or iPod) and a telephone in a space of 25-45 square metres, including a head-board, a bathroom and a shower? Something tells me that he could arouse our senses.

As we industry specialists go deeper and deeper into re-designing the old delivery system, newcomers to our industry are developing what we should have done which, in a nutshell, is to harness the imagination of everyone with the smallest trace of creativity,  spunk or theatrical talent and let it all out. 

In an earlier life, I had the great fortune to be given the task of reinventing hospitality under the banner of the great entertainment giants, Cirque du Soleil. Their plan was to develop their own theatrical complexes consisting of a theatre and hospitality.  It was given the working title of 'Complexe Cirque'. In very short order under the critical eyes of my collaborators, I was very quickly whisked into the stratosphere of their creative thinking on how hospitality would be delivered under the creative direction of Cirque du Soleil.  And while the project was at that time shelved, for all the right reasons, the dream lives on and will one day gather steam and be launched to the huge detriment of all those who insist on doing it as was done in the past. In the meantime, CDS has indeed moved into the arena of  'Lounges' which blur the line once again between entertainment, refreshment and lifestyle.

Imagine what a choreographer could do with our public spaces to create movement, amusement and fun with perhaps some schoolchildren on a fitness break.

What will our industry look like or consist of in 50 years? Will the hotel still be an extension of the 1950s prototype or will it have been re-invented. If so, who will do the re-inventing? Let's face it the only frenetic growth in the hotel industry is taking place today in Asia. But what are they doing? They are duplicating the brands and standards of those chains that have their roots in yesterday's standards.

With what parts of the village could a hotel merge? Do we truly need all those huge public spaces or can they be combined with other village uses?

Might a vertical high rise hotel be conceptualized in a horizontal fashion at a more human height and integrated in to the village?  Will soundproofing techniques in 2030 allow us to eliminate permanent walls to our rooms or public spaces and provide us with instant 'staging' options
depending on the needs and preferences of our guests for that day. Rooms or moveable partitions that morph into meeting rooms or apartments, 2 level homes or even a 10 room Corporate meeting centre with a show-kitchen for an evening Barbeque?

How will we compete with hotels in outer space? Never mind attract the staff!! 

http://davidmcmillangroup.typepad.com/consulting/2007/05/can_you_imagine.html

The days will have passed when we can get away with stale air, dusty broadloom and one standard mattress that lasts 6 years and occupied by some +/- 700 strangers. And then perhaps we will be a little bit more like a clinic or a hospital..........or maybe they will be a little bit more like a hotel, or a theatre..........or maybe there will be some convergence of all three.

Let's face it, it is not called Hotelity, it is called Hospitality!!

Imagine what an economist could do with the merging of health facilities with a hotel or resort and what might happen as spinoff benefits to both entities. And how about rolling in a school?

But what entity is going to kick that idea off? The Hotel Chains.........probably not because it is not their territory, it is the building owners who develop. The Ministries of Health...........probably not because they deal with health, not building innovation. The Ministries of Education.........probably not because they have no money.

Perhaps it needs to start in a small town or village where they need a hospital, a hotel and a school but can't do any.

Now all we need is a concept!! But let's make the next 50 years fun for Generation Y.

Y not!!

 

PS. My choice of photos are all US hospitals!!

 

BUSTING PARADIGMS IN ASIA

CONSTRUCTION OF A 15 STOREY HOTEL IN 6 DAYS SHOULD BE A LESSON FOR ALL OF US.

While many of us are figuring out how pizza is made and delivered to our hotel rooms before our room service waiters can deliver ice, the Chinese are breaking new barriers in the construction industry.

What will the Chinese accomplish next? This is a phenomenal development and a credit to their organisational and teamwork skills. No, it is more than a credit. This is miraculous. This is turning industry on its' head. This all but eliminates competition from all comers. This wipes out self-proclaimed Western superior business practices, democratic ideals, union rights, productivity and Western Management practices.

Small wonder they are top of the class. But what next? Can we see the day when there are no queues for anything? No line-ups to check in. No waits for a breakfast table ever. Instant room service delivery. Wars over in a day! Actually we have had that one already.

Perhaps it is a hoax?! Perhaps this is just another example of the government controlled press to scare the rest of us into getting out of the development industry, to refrain from pitching our skills for new developments, to step aside and let them control the global construction industry. 

Add to this their ability to finance all these projects and you have a good reason to pack up the old kit bag and head off to the beach.

It took them 15 years to construct the Forbidden City in the early, pre-computer 1400's,  but there are 980 buildings and there were 1 million workers. If you do some quick calculations, that is probably about the same pace meaning that about 65 buildings were completed each year, or one a week!!

How is this done? 

Does this mean the million workers are all working with their hands or do they, like us, have some highly educated, highly accomplished veteran layers in the mix? They must have the equivalent of presidents, vice-presidents, managers, directors and supervisors.............. or do they? 

To get a million workers, do they start with five million applications? Or do they start with 5 million people lined up and ready to work?

To get 300,000 managers, do they start with a million managers. Do they check their references? Do they have to line up? Do they feed them while they are in line? Are there enough toilets? Even if there were 100,000 Vice Presidents and 500,000 applications, I can not imagine my group lining up. Nor can I imagine my group putting up with Luke warm egg rolls or cold rice while they are waiting. This has to be a human resources nightmare, or is it? Maybe they do away with all the paperwork and put them to work with orders barked loudly and clearly and those that can not do it fast enough are replaced........no warnings, no written reports and no union objections. Are they all university graduates or did they just graduate from high-school? Or did they skip school altogether?

What makes it work so efficiently? Is no education an advantage? Is no Social Benefits a plus?

Just clear, concise instructions and a clear mandate. Deliver or else! No moaning, no groaning, no slacking or excuses, just straight hard work.

Makes me think about the huge labour shortage that we are suffering in the West. Actually not really a labour shortage, just a total absence of any native born people who can or are willing to work with their hands. Actually not exactly a shortage but a complete and utter vacuum created by a system that promises everyone a higher education and a flashy career as a director, a VP. No workers graduated with me or my son. No labourers at all. None, ZIP, ZERO!!

Last time I looked, managers and directors represented about 15% of the workforce. That leaves a hole of about 85%. What do educators think? Do they all still believe that their group of students will all graduate into management and that the workers will just come from abroad?

The time has come to re-think our processes, to re-work our models, to build-in some manual skills into the curriculum, to apply those strong young graduates to some of the work that is now done by immigrants. 

The time has come to re-think the model that coddles our youth, protects them from the harsh discipline that builds the militias, forms real leaders and trains them in a trade.

The time has come to examine our competitiveness and put in place some solid policies that will see some competition for the Chinese in the decades to come. Some changes that will guide my grandchildren toward a rewarding future, a meaningful job, an opportunity to work as part of a team in whatever he chooses to do. 

My advice to my grandson in the meantime?

1. Learn Mandarin, 
2. Do some manual labour and learn a trade,
3. See who is winning and then skate out in front.

Someone very kindly once described me as a 'Paradigm Buster'. In looking this up on Google now, it describes this in the following way,

PARADIGM BUSTING

Winning Big By Breaking The Rules

What better way to think of the winners in our industry today who all move forward by selectively breaking the rules................ and hats off to the Chinese for their winning way of building a hotel in less than a week.

For ideas on how to break your rules, contact [email protected]

 

LIFESTYLE BY TRIAL AND ERROR

WHEN WE GET OUR FIRST TASTE OF LUXURY, IT IS USUALLY IN A HOTEL.

The president of a luxury manufacturer of high-end linens once told me that most people get their first all-encompassing experience of luxury in a hotel.

He went on to explain that the purchaser of a Hermes scarf or a Louis Vuitton bag would experience the sensation of luxury but that it was a fleeting moment in time and hardly as sub-mersive an experience as in an overnight or weekend hotel stay when the full range of one's senses can be challenged, titillated and tempted.

Reading recently of an innovative hotel operator who displays fine local art throughout his hotel property all of which is for sale, I was reminded of my own thoughts surrounding similar opportunities that we have in the industry as purveyors of many luxury, or even everyday items. Here are some good examples, I think,

• Mattresses. Buying a mattress is a hugely complicated experience in which we are challenged to understand the amazing variety of hardnesses, coils, paddings and pillowtops. Why do we not become the testing ground for these mattress distributors where potential clients can try out various models and make their choices by spending quality time on the decision?
• Sheets and Towels. Thread counts, Egyptian cotton, satin, polyester or a mix. What is the difference in feel of a 500 thread count sheet to one of a mere 350 threads? What does a thirsty towel feel like? How long does it last?
• Pillows. Hard, soft, foam or feather......we already have pillow menus. How come this hotel is not a retail outlet associated with a supplier?
• Marble or granite vanities and shower enclosures. Sealed or not sealed, under-sink or over-sink. Why can I not purchase a Waldorf=Astoria bathroom?
• Faucets & Shower heads, sink stoppers and bidets, where are our limitations?
• Beverage glasses. I was privileged to experience a wine tasting co-hosted by Georg Riedel of Riedel Glassware www.riedel.com/ and was blown away by the huge difference in tastes when different grapes are experienced in different shapes of glassware. Are not an industry that can test-drive glass shapes, glass lips, stems and wash-ability.

Where do these concepts end? I am not sure that they do end. I believe that the hotel could be a testing ground for china, linen, glass and silver, drapery rods, wall coverings, paint, carpet, upholstery, wines, soap, shampoo, conditioners, beers, chairs, sofas. In fact anything that is quality.....it could be 5 Star, it could be 3 Star. Because who says 5 Star is luxury! It is luxury to a 4 Star guest but so is a 3 Star hotel to a 2 Star guest so there are arguments to be made that these test products can be tested up and down the spectrum.

To avoid the potential cacophonous appearance of multiple products in multiple colours and textures and the total loss of a unified look, these sample rooms and sample corridors would have to be coordinated by Interior Designers or Professional design groups and paid for by sponsorships and affiliations/partnerships designed to bring tested luxury to the masses.

I have always maintained a close connection between Hospitality and Design, Entertainment and Fashion but have only recently made the connection to retail. Suggest you also see my blog article at http://davidmcmillangroup.typepad.com/consulting/2010/01/hospitality-is-connected-with-entertainment-fashion-why-stop-there.html

Have a good night's sleep!!

THE DEMISE OF RESTAURANTS & BARS IN HOTELS?

IT HAD TO COME. THE DAY A HOTEL GROUP GAVE UP ON THAT UNPROFITABLE 'LOST LEADER', THE FOOD & BEVERAGE DEPARTMENT.

 The announcement by Hilton that they will test a new Business Area concept to replace the Lobby Bar is admission, albeit not surprising that we have failed to retain our edge in running restaurants, bistros and bars and now need to re-invent our basic product mix and maximise our huge, wasted public areas.

Having personally closed some 20-30 discoteques some 20 or so years ago with the full realisation that most business people would rather get a good night's sleep than join the kids on the pulsating dance floor, I can sympathize with Hilton's dilemma, and more particularly the pain of the hotel owners, in dealing with the huge losses created by these unprofitable, tired and cavernous public areas.

I was enthused by the Hyatt initiative that twinned their food outlet with a snappy deli style counter and takeout food area and have seen countless chains attempt to reinvent, restore, reno and retire their public spaces in favor of other weak concepts.

However all of these efforts are shots in the dark, weak efforts to make a little difference rather than large, coordinated community efforts to maximise the huge chunks of unused indoor (and outdoor) space in every community.

This trend leads me to imagine what they should have been in the first place. Here are some future options for development consideration. Future ways in which locals can benefit from this excellent space and create traffic, interaction and interest............sort of like what the airports have become but with more of a planned and changing theme.

• Specialty Retail (electronics, or fashion or fine foods, exotic automobiles)
• Shop Local (local produce, home-made food specialties, cheeses, local wines, tomatoes)
• Franchising (networking, short term rentals, interviews, sample rooms)
• Sports (fitness & health products, golf & tennis lessons, )
• Technical training (woodworking, auto mechanics, computer science)
• Product displays (electronics, computers, sports equipment, Home furnishings, real-estate)
• Wheels. (Motorcycle & scooter displays, bicycles, skate boards, in-line skates, surf boards)
• Music & Theatre. (Concerts & chorales, school plays, community art shows)
• Local artisans & Handicrafts (artwork, glass blowers, stained-glass etc)

All of this making it obvious to me that what is needed is the equivalent of a 'public space or community planner', or a person who can plan for the sale, rental and regular use of all these spaces on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis. A dynamic person (or company) who treats these areas like a staging area, an exhibition centre, an exciting place to visit or stay at, an interactive urban happening, a stage, a scene.

It is time to become creative, time to work with the other hotels, community centres, police & fire departments in the community to plan a destination around a theme.......imagine a cheese week in which all hotels and public buildings in town threw open their public areas to host a Cheese Festival, or a Garage Sale with shuttle service between the sites.  

This is the time to re-think our communities' public spaces and expose them to our existing visitors while creating reasons for others to visit our areas and meet the people.

This is a huge sponsorship opportunity waiting to happen.

WHAT IS A BANQUET CHAIR YOU ASK? IF YOU KNOW NOT, PLEASE ASK.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?  A MAJOR HOTEL GROUP STEPS OUT OF THE MOULD AND CHOOSES A CHAIR THAT DOES NOT WORK, IS NOT DESIGNED FOR BANQUETS OR MEETINGS AND IS NOT YET TESTED.

All in the name of re-inventing a brand, I find my client with over 3,000 chairs that will not work for all the functions that these all-purpose chairs must serve. How can I explain that this came from one of the largest hotel management companies in the world, a company that knows more about banquet chairs than God.

As I think about the functions of a banquet chair, I ask myself how a designer can use pure aesthetics to make this critical decision that has seen the design evolve over 30 or more years.

Here are the features of this office waiting room or cafeteria chair selected by this brand currently under 're-invention'.

• Tubular frame with plastic stoppers.
• Arms to require movement of the whole chair when entering or exiting either a banquet table or a schoolroom set-up.
• Faux leather material that ressembles plastic......but looks like leather.
• Limited seating due to wider sweep of arms. (reduction of capacity by 20%)
• Inappropriate for Theatre Style due to size. Watch for fingers trapped between the arms!
• Requires push back to exit chair.
• My arms do not have access to my Blackberry while seated.
• Not dressable.
• Can not hold a jacket unless you decide to sit on it.
• Dubious strength for those who wish to tilt backwards.
• No handle....requires 2 hands for lifting.

We call it a banquet chair but is a lot more than that! Think about it, think hard and long. It has been tweeked, re-invented, re-designed and re-upholstered. It is thrown, stacked,  and can be carried in groups of six, by most men and in groups of three by most women. Here is my list.

1. A stool for all sizes but actually a chair.
2. A coat hanger.
3. A three directional chair.
4. Fits ten around a round table.
5. Allows mounting and de-mounting without push-back
6. A frame with one handle to haul it, a frame to push from to relieve your weight, in long speeches.
7. Stacks ten high.
8. Re-upholsterable again and again.
9. Schoolroom seating in tight spaces.
10. Theatre seating with no lost space.
11. Allows access to hip-held Blackberry and wallet while seated.
12. Material that breathes during long sessions.
13. Fits children and the obese without embarrassment.

How then can one of the world's largest hotel groups select a chair that does not meet one of my criteria!! How is that possible. How can they hire a a designer that pays no attention to function at all. Allow me to elaborate. The design of our wonderful 'banquet chair' has evolved over the years.

1. I call it a stool but it is like a mini-stage. Only because it serves well to sit on facing left and right (sideways), straight ahead and even backwards with legs straddled, all without moving it from a its' original position.
2. It holds on to a jacket as a coathanger when needed or can be dressed with multiple colours for weddings and gala dinners.
3. Works for banquets, theatre style, schoolroom style and weddings.
4. Looks good for 8 around a table and is also good for 10.
5. Allows a sittee to leave or arrive during a tightly packed event without shuffling the chair back, sideways or around.
6. The handle at the high point allows lifting by staff with one hand, holding by a visitor chatting with a sittee and a frame that allows sit-ups to relieve lower extremeties during long speeches.
7. Designed with its' own cart to easily store and transport ten chairs (or more) at one time.
8. When the upholstery wears out, replace it. The frame lasts forever.
9. In tight spaces, the chair requires no push back to enter or exit.
10. Fit tightly together and can be inter-locked to form a rock solid line of seating.
11. Lean forward and retrieve a ringing phone off your hip without having to stand up.
12. Material that breathes allowing long sessions of comfort.

Incompetence comes at many levels and for this one I blame not the designer that obviously has no hospitality experience but has been given the authority and responsibility , I do not blame the brand, their interests lie in growth and growth alone. This is a leadership issue.

There are some things that are not broke and they do not need to be fixed.

But this poor decision will haunt this hotel's management team forever. They will never be able to replace all these poorly chosen chairs. they will buy more to replace the many that break. they will replace the torn plastic material with more plastic.They will adjust the capacity downwards of their banquet and meeting rooms and the owner will suffer profit potentials forever.

For a critique of your favorite piece of hotel furniture or for assistance in the selection of FF&E, contact [email protected]

And check out this Blog

http://www.ehow.com/how_5931360_choose-commercial-banquet-chairs.html

HOSPITALITY IS CONNECTED WITH ENTERTAINMENT & FASHION. WHY STOP THERE?

WHY DO WE NOT STEAL SOME GLAMOUR AND SOME PRESENTATION SKILLS FROM RETAIL.

Is it not a shame that we allow our public areas to drown in a sea of mediocrity? When so much of what we try and do is to WOW our public, to exceed their expectations. Why are our restaurants, our bars, our shops and our reception areas not dressed to tempt?

Hoteliers are generally great fans of colour, of taste, of shapes, of style and of art. As hoteliers, we are always on the lookout for ways to intrigue our clientele. Always looking for ways to please, to entertain, to amuse.

However, we are still operating in the dark ages when it comes to temptation and, I think that the retail trade can teach us a few tricks. What can we learn from them. Where are our shop windows? Who dresses them? Who designs them? Who is planning the presentations for the Fall, Spring and Winter? Who is in charge of Temptation?

The answer is no-one!!

There are exceptions but they are few and far between.

Why is it that the bed and bath shop in a hotel is a desk? 

Why is it that the fruits & vegetable shop in a hotel is a menu board?  

Why is it that the wine and spirits shop in a hotel is a cocktail list? 

Why is it that the Christmas celebrations for a hotel is a poster?

Why is a local tour of a special historic site just a folder?

Why is the wedding shop in a hotel an office?

Where are our shop windows? Oh, I know, we like those silk covered sofas and Chinese screens with ancient vases with oil paintings of faraway places. But we are tigers in a cage waiting to get our teeth on that guest's wallet. Why else do we have Yield Management and flashy sales departments and upselling?

All of us walk down a high street at some point in our lives, we stop, we look, we enjoy the presentations and we are sometimes tempted. The shop window is nothing more or less than a temptation. It is never static but it changes often, it is sometimes sparse, sometimes shocking, sometime amusing and sometimes roudy. It is pitched to the young, pitched to the mature, pitched to the singles and pitched to the families. It is however always a pitch!

The first few steps into a department store expose us all to the scents and beauty of perfume. Rarely are they displayed in sealed boxes and they always are available for trial. Rarely will one find a salesperson who is 
 less than perfectly coiffed, in fact the general appearance of those providing a welcome and a farewell are stunning.

Having the great fortune to work with the famous hotel architect John Portman years ago, I was fascinated to learn that hoteliers have but four minutes to make that great impression. In that first four minutes, either we grab him.....or lose him.

Most retailers do it in seconds! Some use visual, some use sound, some use scent and some use it all but none use nothing.

A hotel is a place where life imitates art, where dreams are realised, where lifestyle is portrayed. Brands take aim at types of customers. Brands are created to deliver dreams to those with room for more. We aspire to our favourite brands. We want them to excite us, to surprise us, to titillate us.

What is a 5 Star Hotel if it is not a 5 Star hotel for a 4 Star customer?

What is a 4 Star Hotel if it is not a 4 Star hotel for a 3 Star customer?

Am I a Five Star customer on the expense account during the week and a Four Star customer on weekends? I still enjoy the smell of fresh baked bread, sheets with an astronomical thread count and soft towels. 

The only natural conclusion is that there is always a progression forward. Four star customers become Five star customers. They expect more and we must deliver more. Exceeding their expectations is what we strive for. That's how we got into Entertainment. That's how we got into Fashion and that's how we need to get into Retail. 

This is where we gravitate from Four Seasons Hotels to Six Senses Hotels in which the local community and their products come to life in an explosion of temptations. 

Think about it.

WHERE THE HOTEL RADIO & ALARM CLOCK STUCK AROUND AND OUTLASTED THEIR USEFULNESS.

IS IT A POORLY DESIGNED RADIO OR AN ALARMING CLOCK, OR JUST A FLASHING BEACON IN THE NIGHT, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE ?

Before the intrusion of televisions and the multi media age where most if not all visitors travel with connections to all the world's radio stations, two or three electronic devices that also serve as alarm clocks and their full library of personal music, radios or as they were known then, wirelesses were a must. In fact a luxury. But that was then and this is now!

The radio, during the war was a lifeline. It was the news. It was our entertainment and it left huge gaps open to the senses and imagination which was an important ingredient if one wanted to listen to a play and make it into one's own personal cinema. If you wanted news, radio or the wireless, was it. It still is if you are in the car..........but in a hotel?!!!!

Then someone invented an alarm clock which placed the responsibility on the sleeper to turn it on and turn it off. If they missed their plane or their early morning appointment, tough luck.

Then some engineer decided to combine them so that they could fit on a hotel's bedside table.

However, other engineers were designing ways in which entertainment could be delivered via television, computers, Blackberries and Apples. Others were designing alarm systems which started with huge clocks with multiple levers for each 15' for telephone operators to record the wake-up calls which morphed into a 'gotcha' system where we could call you and later could prove that you fell asleep after our call was made.

Then other energy experts came along and figured out a way of turning off the power in your room while you were out, thereby sending all alarm clocks into the '1200' flashing mode. I might also add here that at around this time, they decided to hard-wire these contraptions to the power so that they can not be yanked from the wall when the alarm goes of at 4.30AM.

So now when you you check into a room, you have a choice.

1. Set the clock to the time of day so that it stops flashing. You do not need this function since you have a watch. It is there only in case you lost it.
2. Set the alarm to a time that is after your departure. This ensures that the 4.30AM alarm will be neutralised. The next guest can worry about the setting later.
3. Check that the radio button is not on AM, FM, ON, ALARM or REC. For this you will need a magnifying glass because they have perfected the downsizing of all the buttons.
4. In some models, the OFF button is separate from all other buttons, perhaps even on the side. In most models, the OFF is so close to the next one that it is impossible to know the truth.
5. Set the volume level to LOW because when it comes on, and it will, you do not want to have to deal with it in the dark and when you are half-asleep.

6. ..................I said you have a choice. If the above does not work, sever the cord with nail-clippers because in all likelihood, airport security confiscated your scissors or Swiss Army knife already.

Which brings me to my main point.

When will our industry put sufficient pressure on the electronics industry to organise the sound systems of the television, the radio, the telephones and our laptops so that a quality sound product is delivered to our hotel rooms and bathrooms?

Two three inch speakers in a flat screen TV, two two inch speakers in a plastic alarm clock radio and a hand held telephone do not match the setup of a typical customer's home system, let alone his kids.

And what is more important than quality entertainment time in a hotel room to a business or leisure traveller?

For more important advice on the real connection between Hospitality and Entertainment, contact [email protected]

OUR ANATOMY HAS HARDLY CHANGED IN A CENTURY

THE 'AHs' AND 'OOHs' IN THE BATHROOM AND OTHER UNSPEAKABLE THINGS BY THE DESIGNER CROWD.

We are an industry that likes to create AHs and OOs in all areas of our operations but this problem is an almost untouchable subject, but not here.

The desire-to-please is one quality that permeates our industry. Someone coined the phrase "exceeding your expectations" and that was well coined. We all wake up in the morning with the hope of another day when we might exceed the expectations of our guests. Creating that one 'touch', that one small uplifting experience when that experience is taken beyond where the visitor expected it to be.

And "beyond where he expected it to be" was also in the mind of the designer or the industrial engineer who crafted many of the pieces of furniture in today's hotel bathrooms.

THE ABODE

There are two critical parts to a toilet which must be well designed and work for and on behalf of two bodily functions, actually three if you count Spring Break. They consist of the seat, the receptacle and the flush action. All must respond to the needs demanded by these functions since 100% of our guests make use of these facilities since the dawn of mankind and the hotel industry. Where do the designers go wrong?

1. The seat. Men and women are made differently. You did not have to read this blog to learn that. There are seats for the male body and seats for the female body. The hotel seat can not choose one of these designs. Co-ed seats in a hotel are a must.
2. The receptacle. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that the landing area must have some relationship to the launch area. It also makes some sense that the landing area should probably display sufficient square inches of water to allow for marginal anatomical differences.
3. The flush. I understand the need to save water. I also understand that the world turns and so does the water in the toilet. Engineers however either have to speed up the pace of the world turning or figure out how to increase the flush efficiency ratio. Because 2 or 3 flushes does not help at all.

THE SINK

The important deliverables here are the ability to wash hands and faces, shave and nothing else that I am aware of, unless you count filling the coffee machine, or washing socks. The two critical components are the taps and the plug, or more elegantly re-named the faucets and the sink stopper in the 1900's. Where do the designers go wrong?

1. The Spout. The spouts are chosen for their beauty not their function. Huge spouts that appear to leap across the sink like 'gargoyles'. The result is one's inability to get access for the face to a sinkfull of water. The extended sink spout literally divides the sink into two smaller parts neither of which is large enough for an adult's face. They are OK for drying socks!
2. The Plug. The sink stopper is perhaps the single most inefficient part of every single hotel in the world. The seriousness of the 'trickle effect' has a direct relationship to the scarceness of water in that country ie. desert kingdoms have sink stoppers that in fact hasten the exit of water from a full sink and require a 'shavee' to keep the water running perpetually.

THE SHOWER

Initially designed to reduce the amount of wasted water used in a bath, the shower has evolved from its namesake outside where a short burst of gentle rain at the right temperature was deemed perfect and then evolved to something that resembles a carwash, but I digress. Here we cleanse everything from hair to toes where the important parts are the shower head, a soap & shampoo dish, the drain and the amount of free space. Where do the designers go wrong?

1. The Taps. The control valves are in the shower area so that temperature adjustment by the 'showeree' starts in a jetstream of cold water, or scalding hot water.
2. Showerheads, if not already mounted permanently at chest level, they are mounted on a sliding rod with no remaining possibility of fixing it higher than the navel. Experienced 'showereees' hold the showerhead between the knees while soaping. This method has been around for years .............and never worked.
3. Soap & Shampoo dishes, where they exist, are designed for things other than soap and shampoo. Neither remain as one would want.
4. Space. Showers in baths with shower curtains that inspired Saran Wrap are not showers or tubs. New hotels still build these monstrocities. I call them 'shubs'.

THE BATH

The tub as it was known was very good in the old days because there was more time to fill it, more time to enjoy it and this was before Blackberrys or iPhones were invented. A place to dream and relax, far from the chaos outside and a spot to submerge everything, even the two thumbs needed for the phone. The critical functions, waterpressure to fill it quickly, the size and shape and perhaps some candlelight, music or a view. Where do the designers go wrong?

1. Tub size. Most tubs are made for small guests and therefore one is unable to submerge chest and knees simultaneously. Therefore a bath at 105 degrees in an airconditioned room results in either cold knees or a cold chest or both.
2. Faucet position. Faucets do not make good headrests.
3. Drain position. Bathplugs do not make good seats.
4. The landscape. The view from the tub is guaranteed to uncover shortcomings from the construction phase of the hotel, regardless of the hotel's age or Star level.

THE BIDET

I am not sure about this item. As a Brit, I find that there is nothing left to focus on after I have been through the other items in the bathroom but someone came up with another way of washing something and they must have had an awful time because they called it a a B-Day. The French disguised the name but the Americans then connected that to the financial crisis as a B Debt. Our 3 year old son who grew up living in hotels used it as a drinking water fountain. Where do the designers go wrong?

1. The Tap. There have been several attempts at determining where the water should be launched from. These have oscillated from the area of the plug in a vertical stream upwards, preferred by my son, to a jet stream that is diagonally projected........towards the sink area, and is finally more appropriately aimed downwards from the faucets.
2. The Function. Obviously the designers have not yet figured out either what the bidets are really for. However, the industrial designers had other plans.

The designers tossed the basic functions to the wind...............oh that reminds me of another item.

THE EXTRACTOR FAN

There are three versions but most good one ones resemble a helicopter in both sound and power and the really good ones have an On and Off switch.

1. The on/off switch. Most electricians do not leave us an option. If you are in the bathroom, the air around you should be removed. I am unsure whether the interior designer had a say in this decision. The guest generally does not.
2. The sound. A spouse who needs to use the facilities in the night without disturbing their mate needs to remember the location of the bathroom furniture the evening before so that all functions can be performed in the darkness and without the sound of that dreaded helicopter. 

All of this to say that a Five Star bathroom's basic functions must eventually be identical to those of a Two Star bathroom because our anatomy has not changed substantially since we stood up. How many more centuries are we going to allow the manufacturers to re-invent the industrial design of these pieces? This must stop!!

These people are getting it so wrong, I almost think they are the same gang that are designing the hotel radios/alarm clocks so that no-one can figure them out.......but that's for another day.

Do not contact the [email protected]  for anything to do with this rant!

HILTON & STARWOOD FIGHTING OVER BOUTIQUE HOTEL SECRETS!!

NOW THAT THE SECRET IS OUT, THERE IS A SCIENCE TO CREATING HOTELS THAT HAVE A BOUTIQUE FEEL. WHY WOULD MARRIOTT HIRE SCHRAEGER?

It does take time and effort to create that special feel but why would Hilton and Starwood fight over the same two guys when there are hundreds of thousands of employees who are ripe to change them all into boutiques!

It does not surprise me that the big hotel groups would treat the development of their own Boutique Brands as just another 'brand'. That's the easy way out. Hire a couple of  gregarious innovators to reinvent our industry and then bottle it. What does surprise me is that they do not realise that this missing creative link in their existing brands is the one serious illness that has been so contagious that everything has become boringly standardised.

Here are my Top Ten, (actually Twelve) Secrets for a Boutique Hotel.

There are some basic principals that are critical to the establishment of a hotel as a 'boutique' hotel. Here are my rules for Artful Living at that special hotel.

1. A residential scale and elegant feel has to be created so that it does not feel or look like a hotel.
2. No-name. Sorry Hilton and Starwood, you must leave the brand names at home. And Marriott, the brand name Edition for your Schraeger inspired boutiques does not fit this criteria.
3. Hi design. Yes, every nook and cranny needs to be thought through. Every seat has to be sat in 'virtually' to anticipate the vista in the planning stage. Every door and window peered through, each picture viewed from all angles and all materials that come in touch with skin must be real.
4. Voluminous amenites. Not just soap, shampoo and shower caps, we are talking amenities like limos to the office, personalised marmalades, exotic honeys and fragrant teas with fruit baskets in the hallways.
5. Elite and personalised. Elite means elegant, haute, top-drawer and special. Personalised means anti-snob, sincere and warm and in your preferred room.
6. Cozy and Sophisticated. Cozy is cottage-like and sophisticated is Ralph Lauren paint but neither of them stop there.
7. A hotel created around the bar. Now there's a concept!
8. Private Club feel. Leather, quiet conversation, social and very personal.
9. Life as it might be in the Design and Fashion magazines.
10. Unique elevators, small and exquisite.
11. Staff personalities. Yes, excentric, outgoing, gregarious and non-conformist. In on his/her weekend to greet you or invite you home.
12. Hand made, not mass-produced. This goes not just for the furnishings and fixtures but also for the food, the drinks, the wine list and the paper.

And, if one thinks back to the origin of the term 'Boutique', it refers to a small shop selling one-of-a kind items usually from artisans. It means top quality, high priced and unique. It also means no standardisation like, "How may I direct your call?"

It can not mean standardised, name-brand or mass produced. It will never be cookie-cutter simple or rolled out from White Plains, Washington or Bethesda.

Maybe it should just be left to the non-hoteliers to do or, heaven forbid, let loose the creative instincts of our people. Now that's something that Generation Y can warm to!!

For some really innovative advice on introducing some unusual 'boutique touches' to your property, contact [email protected]

 

NEW LIFESTYLE BRANDS.....DO THEY SNUB THEIR SISTERS?

NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED IN THE LIFESTYLE GENRE.

Are these new products not just an excuse to have another outlet in the same block as their sister hotel? Are their sister hotel brands truly without style or life? Do they truly want to steal all their market share?

I recognise that some of the brands may have smarted a bit when non-hoteliers entered the market and knocked the ball out of the field. I recognise that many of us thought it was more important to take away the plate from the right, serve from the left and ensure clean fingernails I recognise that some of the brands centralised their design, their finishes, their service standards and that dreaded "where can I direct your call?". It all seemed so natural to assume that none of their employees had any style or originality.

Enter from 'right stage'....... the boutiques with their one-offs, their titilating touches, their recognition of all the senses, their empowered employees. Enter the show business crowd with their actors, directors, costumiers and amusement focus. Creative delegators, leaders who inspired their troops to entertain, create and have fun.

Enter from 'left stage' our guests who never noticed we took plates from the right, served from the left or who could not wait for us to finish the telephone greeting. They were also dressed in black, like the right stage crowd, animated, fun-loving business men and women either on business or not.

The origin of this standardisation excercise goes back in my opinion to the late 40s and 50s when automobile traffic and airlines started to move the millions of 'war-deprived' families far and wide. They had not travelled much and were looking for familiar and consistent surroundings. The Holiday Inn and Hilton chains were born and expanded. Consistency and standardisation was appreciated. Other brands followed and there was little between them.

When these same travellers looked for more variety, these same brands changed their 'hamburgers' for 'couscous' and 'Continental menus' and there was momentary satisfaction. Then this more educated traveller started to get more adventurous and started to look for authenticity and a more genuine foreign experience. There will still be those that think they get Paris or Italy in Las Vegas but the true world travellers will still seek the genuine article.

There was a time when the hotel chain leaders would encourage ingenuity provided by local management. They were times when creativity could be expressed in the local language and culture. I remember fondly the days when we, as managers of Hyatt International Hotels were encouraged to encorporate the "Touches of Hyatt" into our operations. This provided the colour and the character to the hotel experience and allowed local artists and farmers to see their products proudly displayed or used in innovative ways as part of a local 5 Star experience.

However, the time has not come to relegate all of the fun to the 'boutique' brands. This industry is an entertainment industry with a full and unlimited license to create fun, life and style through and with our employees so that the full benefit of a visit to a neighbourhood is appreciated to its fullest by all our visitors.

For another (perhaps more rational) approach to this subject, click on, http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2007/04/hotel_lawyer_the_new_lifestyle.html

Here are some of the words used in another totally unrelated announcement of a new lifestyle brand.......

"set to revolutionise the modern hotel ethos by providing guests with a more sensuous, flirtatious and personable experience seasoned with an enhanced WOW factor! "......"Each hotel will be unique with its own signature scent, music and atmosphere; yet will be harmonious with our brand name. XX Hotel will symbolise the future of the modern hotel experience, an experience that heightens the senses and allows our guests to lose themselves and feel right at home".

OK.....sounds good to me. But would my wife be comfortable with my choice of this brand for my next business trip? I'll let you know later, if I survive the suggestion.

For more on how your hotel can enhance its life and style, contact [email protected]

'TURN-KEY' DEVELOPMENT IN AN ERA WHEN KEYS NO LONGER 'TURN'.

HAS DESIGN BUILD SEEN ITS' DAY IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY?

Has Turn-Key been exagerated for too long? Does 'Clef en Main' truly deliver the goods. We no longer believe that selling services can replace the need to produce and deliver a working product. And when producing a product, that product must function profitably, functionally and for a tested period of time when one can see the results.

For this reason, David McMillan Consulting is now linked to the huge, full service Engineering company , Genivar with over 3,000 engineers and specialists in over 80 offices worldwide.

Recently marking 50 years in the hotel industry, McMillan, in conjunction with Genivar has decided to reinvent the process to provide cutting edge hospitality development and re-development expertise to developers with the promise of success.

It has been rewarding to observe the evolution of the hospitality consulting industry over the years and to see it mature and change from 'accounting and audit' services to 'hospitality real-estate business strategists who deliver a functioning product.

Conceptualise & Deliver is a the new approach to Design & Build.  It is in some respects similar to the Taj Mahal. Intricate detailing and extraordinary delivery.

Design and Build is best associated with Turn-Key, an out-of-date method of turning a key on to the tumblers in a lock until the bolt slides away and the door creaks open. Design & Build for an industry which requires innovation, creativity, change & drama is a combination that has seen its day. In the same way as iron and steel numbered keys and numbered key tags weighing half a pound have been replaced by 1/2 ounce anonymous plastic cards, so have the huge audit & accounting consultancies staffed by graduate hospitality students been replaced by agile, creative business engineers.

Conceptualise & Deliver is a method in which all systems are activated in an instant but only for the right customer, when the stars are aligned and the sliver of plastic is programmed and the well-oiled machinery is in-place. This is the new Consulting method where a full range of expertise envelopes those already in place. Where the Design & Build is prefaced by research, imagineering, customising & communitising and then followed by launch, run-in, consolidation and asset management.

Where a project is warmed-up, trained, tweaked, tested and then run again. This asset-management period is a one to three year period when financial and market consolidation takes place.

This is the time when the key, such as it is, can be thrown away because the product has been launched and the baby is fit.

For more information on Conceptualise & Deliver, contact Genivar at +1 (416) 504-6800, Extension 238

 

WHERE GETTING IN THE CLOSET IS HARDER THAN COMING OUT!

MY WALK IN CLOSET IN A SUPERBLY DESIGNED JUNIOR SUITE WAS A GREAT SURPRISE.THIS INTERNATIONAL FIVE STAR HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS' ART, DESIGN AND PANACHE.

Little did  I know that my three shirts took up all the space in a walk-in closet and my suit, coat, ties and trousers would have to stay in the suitcase.

My first impression was that there were two bathrooms. That is certainly the amenity of the future. 

I was not disappointed to find out that this extra space was a 9' X 6' walk in closet with ceiling to floor, wall to wall mirrored panels.

I was immensely disappointed to find out that the Interior Designer forgot to communicate with the operator before finalising the design.

Of the nine feet of mirrored panels, only half were actually doors of which there were two.

Behind the first door, much like a game-show host, I swung it open to find a safe on top of three drawers. There was no hanging space. There was a clothes brush. However no clothes to brush in this section.

Behind the second door there was a clothes rack alright.............however, we are now down to about 18" and not all those eighteen inches are for my hanging clothes.

• About 8.5" are taken up with an ironing board and iron!!
• Another 5" are taken up by two healthy hangers occupied by two fresh bathrobes.
• That leaves 4.5" for my clothes.
• And nothing for my wife, had she been travelling with me.......or for whoever was going to wear that second bathrobe.

Ironically I am there to meet with the Brand Operator whose job it is to convince me and my client that the Technical Services that their company offers is designed to avoid any and all such small overlooked details that make our industry the equivalent of rocket science.

For a review of your plans for a renovation or a new project, contact [email protected]

KUDOS TO EMBASSY SUITES HOTELS FOR THINKING FOR THE GUEST

HOW REFRESHING TO LEARN OF A 'HIP CASUAL' RESTAURANT THAT IS WELL THOUGHT THROUGH.

On far too many occasions I have been scathingly critical of my industry colleagues who have failed, in my opinion to fully think through a new concept.

Kudos therefore to Embassy Suites Hotels' new concept "Flying Spoons" that I think has absolutely and unqualifyingly nailed it.

Part European-style cafe and part American coffeehouse, this new creation seems to cater to what their customers would want if they knew what to ask for, which they generally don't.

Here is my take on the key components.

• Open from 5AM to 1AM.
• In the hotel Lobby.
• Integrated into Breakfast and Manager's Reception.
• Social environment.
• Fornasetti dinner plates... a design statement.
• Easily accessible electrical/computer ports.
• Comfortable casual furniture.
• Varied seating to include,
  • bar height/transactional seating,
  • restaurant seating,
  • wing back chairs,
  • ottomans with a famous verse from the Declaration of Independence.
• Innovative menu choices,
  • fresh soups,
  • salads,
  • gourmet sandwiches,
  • salmon, scallops and lobster enchiladas,
  • rotating desserts and pastries.

This is a concept which recognises the existence of outside restaurants, acknowledges the need for social interaction, real comfort, convenience, road warrior necessities, small, frequent appetites, almost round the clock needs and the feeling of a really comfortable family room at home.

This is also a facility that would be equally as feasible and welcome in an upscale, city centre property where some of my colleagues still promote tea & finger sandwiches in sofas that are easy to fall into and virtually impossible to get out of with not a single, accessible electrical outlet in sight.

Now if we could just get some of these babies into the airports, life on the road might become a little more bearable.

Come to think of it they are there already but only for the Business & First Class passengers......... which sort of proves my point!!

A HOTEL IS A PLACE WHERE TOILET PAPER HOLDERS ARE MOUNTED BEHIND THE USER

WE WERE NOT HAPPY WITH SINK STOPPERS THAT DON'T...... OR NIPPLE HIGH SHOWER HEADS... AND SLIPPERY PANTS CLOTHES HANGERS

Now we have come up with a new one!  Toilet paper holders that are hung where no human hands can reach.

It is one amusing thing after another.  First they teach the maids to fold the first toilet sheet into the shape of a rocket. Now they have taught the installer to find the one place in the bathroom where it is physically unreachable.

The sequel to this will be that someone will introduce a swivelling toilet seat.

  PUUUHLEASE, gimme a break. Enough already!

We have been designing and redesigning bathrooms for centuries. Can't we figure out some basic principles of design that really work, that are user-friendly and that everyone follows? Let's face it, a two-star customer is not that different from a five-star customer when in the bathroom and their needs are more or less similar.

Here are my Top Ten Rules for hotel bathroom design.

1. Double sink. You can give me 3 sinks in the bathroom but please give me one where the sink stopper works.
2. Showed height. Mount the shower head at a level of 80" from the floor beneath. Gravity will do the rest, I promise you.
3. Readable Shampoo Bottle. Please increase the font size on the shampoo bottle. I know the name of the hotel where I am staying. I don't care what brand it is.....just make the product readable without having to find my reading glasses or install my contact lenses.
4. Toilet holder location. Place the toilet paper holder within reach and eyesight of the user. Please refrain from shaping the first sheet into rockets.......!
5. Shower temperature Controls. Showers that require running to get the right temperature should not be aimed at the user.....or the open shower door......or the towel rack.
6. Tubular Hairdryers. Hairdryers designed by a plumber are useless......even if they have concertina mirrors and electrical plugs that fit every known electrical appliance even if it was built in Kabul.
7. Soap size. One ounce soap bars wrapped in two ounce paper wrappers are a joke.
8. Re-Use the towels. I do not mind using the same towel again tonight......just wash it and bring it back!
9. Bathrobe size. Most of your customers do not have 32" waists or less. Your bathrobes therefore resemble hospital gowns on most of us........make them larger.
10. Toiletseat design. Toilet seats are manufactured differently for males and females. Unless you only deal with ladies, choose a seat that works for both.

And for my 11th........If the shower is in the bath, ensure that the floor is not rounded. If it is, the 'showeree' will be facing in the wrong direction and can not turn around. A well rounded bath will mean that the 'showeree' is standing on his own foot. This is OK for storks but not for most of us that have appointments in 43'.

For comments on your design plans, contact [email protected]

REPOSITIONING ANALYSIS PARALYSIS....NOW NEW & IMPROVED!

HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE REINVENT A HOTEL BRAND?

Are we never satisfied with a great product? Do we always have to find a 'new and improved' version? Can we not build in 'perpetual improvement' into the brand in the first place?

I have never been in the retail business so do not know whether my dishwasher soap needed to be reinvented every year or so. Apparently it does, otherwise the 'new and improved' phrase would not appear every day on the shelves and in the newspapers  promoting this newly concocted product.

In automobiles, it scares me. Why did they have to throw out every part that was 'new and improved' in my model purchased last year. Was it faulty? Did they screw up that badly? *

InterContinental, the brand leaders in our franchising industry, not so much for their InterContinental name but for their Holiday Inn brand, has announced  a new brand re-launch of the basic HI brand. Not the HI Select, not the HI Sunspree, not the HI Express, just the HI.

It caught my eye because they went through that twice before when they wanted to filter out some of the measly franchisors who did not keep up their product quality.....and reward others. Some were bleeding their properties and thence the brand.....a new sweep was called for and a new brand extension, Crowne Plaza and then Holiday Inn Select were born and those with the old green sign and no moniker were left in the dust.... or were they?

Can we see the day when Four Seasons introduces Five Seasons or Three Seasons? I doubt it. Or will Marriott subsegment a Ritz Carlton in suburbia to a Carlton Inn or a small boutique city centre property to an Auberge Ritz....I also doubt that! Although using Barry Sternlicht's keen eye for signage economy with his brilliant "W" projects, perhaps an "AR" might be a first step for Auberge Ritz?!!! Actually, it has a nice relaxing ring to it..............AAAAARRRRRR.

Or perhaps Marriott's base brand could sub-segment and Alberghi Marrio's would hit the streets in Little Italy city sections around the world with specialty Sports Bar combos called RRiots.

Then why does the mother of them all keep having to spin off what are now know as Holiday Outs. In fact a brand was born from that piece of corporate surgery in the early 90s when they went through the same excercise and ended up mailing the franchise fees to a competitor. New signage for the loyal owners, new standards created by a new wave of MBAs and their new brand managers, such a waste of money when all it takes is brand discipline, agility and teeth.

What is brand discipline you may well ask? What will it take to build a brand that has stability, consistency, standards that are not standard.....and built in quality? It is an unrelenting focus on guaranteeing the quality of the FF & E, the services, the F&B and guest loyalty/satisfaction. This is needed by both the franchisor and the franchisee. Put another way...it is needed by the licensor and the client........and therin lies the rub.

Does the licensor have enough 'chutzpah' to eliminate a client just for the sake of some worn carpet, some sagging mattresses, dated bathrooms or faded drapes? Or is it easier to provide that loyal client with a waiver for renos that are then deployed to next ....or future years........and keep the revenue stream coming.

Will it take another pendulum swing where franchisors become managers again, and franchisees are disenfranchised? Will the owners of the brands need to recognise that standards are not delegatable by written agreements nor can they be policed by company negotiators.

I think it should but it won't.

I believe that the management of a brand is a very personal thing, not open to diverse interpretations nor financial difficulties. It is a strong statement of a position. A powerful statement of style......not something that gradually deteriorates and then needs to be re-named. That is a cop-out. A total departure from the basic principles of the brand which were established in good faith.

It is however the way our industry works. The day that each hotel opens is the best day of the rest of its life. From that point on, its carpets and mattresses start to wear, its' sheets and drapes gather dust and grime and the youthful staff each take one day closer to retirement.

As long however as there are new names to throw at sub-standard generators of franchise fees, there will always be a new name for those that excel. It is just not fair for those that toe the line and those enthusiastic employees of all ages who try to make up for the shortfalls of the owner or franchisor.

"Quality is never an accident......................it is always the result of calculated effort."

See also "New & Improved, Oh Really?"

http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2006/01/27/new-and-improved-oh-really.aspx

If you are in need of franchise advice, contact [email protected]

* Actually I drive a Lexus so do not have to buy a new car every year. They just build in perpetual improvement..... so whenever I am ready, I know they will be.

WHERE'S YOUR DOWNTOWN?

EVERY RESORT OR HOTEL NEEDS ONE OR TWO "DOWNTOWN" SPOTS. WHERE A COUPLE OR A SINGLE TRAVELLER CAN FEEL AT THE CENTRE OF THINGS EVEN IF COMPLETELY ALONE.

If your manager does not know where his "Downtown" is, maybe he doesn't know he should have one. It is that little piece of space where small groups of people gravitate when your occupancy is low.

In a resort, there needs to be a spot in the pool area or at the beach. In a city hotel,  the lobby, the bar and the restaurants all need a favourite and comfortable spot, the best spot in the house........when you are alone or with only a few people.... you still feel 'at home'.

Too many developers, operators and designers make snap decisions on layouts without giving extraordinary attention to the details of the small spaces where their customers may spend hours. Where the consolidated impressions of many clients will be formed.

At the end of the day at the poolside, the sun is setting and the shadows are lengthening, most of the bathers have left for the day and a few stragglers remain, giggling, cajoling. A new arrival wanders out to see the pool area. He would sit down and pass some time if there was a spot from where he might observe the area. If there is not, he is lost. He will go elsewhere, he is a lost customer, perhaps forever.

That 'downtown' spot would probably be the spot where the first guest would settle in the morning. A favourite spot that would immediately brand the area as populated. It could be a chaise at poolside, a stool in the bar or a booth in the restaurant. It would be from this carefuully designed spot that the crowds would expand outwards, but if they didn't, the guests would feel comfortable, at ease and completely at home.

Do I speak of a talent for space planning that hospitality people should have? Do I speak of a skill that is critical to their success?

The answer to both questions is Yes!

It is the ability to think through carefully the impression that you will give to the customer who frequents your hotel in the off season, in a quiet period, a down-time. It is the recognition that one needs to give to the fact that 100% of your facilities will not be used 100% of the time. It is the recognition that at those times, one needs to be triply conscious of the ambience that is lost when the space is devoid of or lacking people.

This kind of natural thinking must be second nature to a hotelier, a restaurateur, an owner and our designers. They must be able to sit in every seat in their restaurant, bar and lobby, even if only sitting there virtually. They need to see what their customers see, feel what their customers feel, smell what their customers smell and touch what their customers touch.

And this they must do, whether they are busy........ and particularly if they are not.

Back in the early days when 'Four Seasons' was 'Inn on the Park' and the real and only Four Seasons was a motor hotel in the seedy Jarvis St district of Toronto, I had been hired as GM of the soon-to-be first purpose-built Four Seasons in the world.

Where and on what did I spend the first months of my great times at Four Seasons? The time was spent designing each restaurant table, centimetre by centimetre, the width, the length, the thickness and the height. The flower pot, the marmalade pot, the sugar, the creamer, all had to be measured and their movements anticipated. We 'sat' in each seat and anticipated the view, the waiters' traffic patterns and the face contact with other clients.

It is not an accident that Four Seasons is the ultimate in quality & service, they designed it that way.

"Quality is never an accident,

It is always the result of calculated effort."

For assistance in locating your 'downtown', contact [email protected]