Newsletter - February 12, 2002

FATHER OF HILTON HOTELS CREATES A POWERFUL “NEW” SERVICE

Budapest Business Journal  -  Presented here is one of the most powerful lessons of customer loyalty. It’s from a man who was arguably the father of hotel hospitality: Conrad Hilton.

The lesson is from the book The New Art of Selling by Elmer Letterman, published in 1957. This is a story about providing service beyond the normal thought process. This is about the philosophy “Just because we don’t have anymore, doesn’t mean the customer’s need goes away.” Here is the story without an edit. (Obviously, it’s taking place in the late 1940s.)

One man who created a sale by creating a service. One of the most overworked words in salesmanship is “service.” I would like to remove it from applying to those regular attentions which any sensible salesman gives to his customers. Service, to my mind, should mean a unique new tailor-made extra contribution made to a customer’s welfare beyond mere routine follow-through.

When Conrad Hilton took over The Palmer House in Chicago, all hotels were crowded in the wartime rush for accommodations. Travelers found themselves roomless and frustrated. Hilton saw it day-after-day in the familiar sign: “Sorry! No rooms today without reservations.” It got on his nerves. That word “sorry!” stuck in his crop. It was weak and it looked insincere. Suppose he were a traveler who just arrived in the city looking for a room in The Palmer House. He could feel his own gorge rise.

It was not long before that sign was down. In place of it, he set up accommodation desks with hotel representatives at them ready to help a stranded traveler find a room in another hotel. They did not always succeed in their quest, but there was no doubt in the mind of the guests that The Palmer House sincerely wanted to help him. It stood the hotel in good stead when later days brought about a situation in which there were more rooms than guests.

A second source of irritation in those overcrowded days was the delay often experienced by a guest with a reservation who arrived only to be told that his room was occupied until 3.00 checking out time. Instead of leaving him stranded, Hilton set up facilities in the hotel where he could take a shower and shave immediately and have any messages telephoned to him.

The customer came for a definite product. In the nature of things, he could not be given that product. The problem presented, therefore, was to retain his goodwill while being unable to satisfy his specific demand. Hilton did this by a series of unique and ingenious new combinations of old ideas.

There was nothing new about the idea of trying a second hotel when you couldn’t get into the hotel of your choice. There was something decidedly new, particularly in that period of competition, about one hotel going out of its way to find a room for a guest in another hotel. It gave a new dimension to the word “Guests” as applied to the hotel business. What Hilton was virtually saying was this. Any man who comes to The Palmer House first is, by that act, making himself our guest and we will take care of him as an individual would take care of a guest at his house.

If we can’t accommodate him, we will get one of the neighbors to do it and even when he stays in the neighbor’s house, he will recognize that he is still our guest. He is our guest even though we are temporarily forced to put him in another hotel.

With the same ingenuity, he said to himself: “If a man comes with a reservation and can’t get his room, he gets sore. From his point of view, he has a right to get sore, but why does he want that room at once? Because he wants to be able to get any messages and because he wants to attend to certain personal needs. I can’t give him all the room he desires, but I can give him some room.” This was the fresh look and a solution that created a new service in the midst of the pressures of an extraordinarily harassed time.

This was a new service created within the framework of the hotel business and having definitely a hotel flavor. Yet, it went beyond the limitations of mere institutional gesture. It combined personal attention with professional practice ingeniously. It was creative within the techniques of its own operation, a fact that took from it any air of artificiality, yet left an impression of sincere truthfulness.

Well, what can we learn from this extract? On the one hand, you couldn’t blame anybody who’s a regular employee for saying, “We’re sold out right now. We don’t have any more. We’re out of stock with that item right now.” And the customer says, “Oh, rats,” and goes away.

But the other hand says FULFILL THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS NO MATTER WHAT.
My challenge to you is to take ownership control of the problems that come your way. If you take ownership of the problem, then you take ownership of the customer. If you try to delight customers in every way (even when you think you can’t), you will become a long-term winner. If you let them go away, someone else is sure to take care of them that day – and for days beyond.

Opportunities often show up disguised as problems – it’s all in how you view them. And the cool part is – The choice is yours.

The challenge for you is to think of what other ways you can respond or react other than saying – we’re sold out, we’re out of stock, we don’t carry that, we’re not taking any more reservations, that sale ended yesterday.

Just because you can’t fill the need, does not mean the need goes away – it just means someone else gets to fill it. Big mistake.

Reported by Jeffrey Gitomer, Budapest Business Journal

SRS-WORLDHOTELS - NEW MEMBER HOTELS

The New Year Starts Strong with Nine New Members in January

In the first two weeks of 2002, nine new hotels throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. joined
SRS-WORLDHOTELS, one of the world's leading global reservations, marketing and sales organizations.

New Hotels in Asia

SRS-WORLDHOTELS' newest additions in Asia include The Presidential Plaza Beijing. This brand new hotel joins SRS-WORLDHOTELS' luxury collection and is located in the banking and financial district of western Beijing, close to government ministries, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and the Hi-Tech industrial basin. It comprises over 500 rooms and suites on 16 levels and is lavishly furnished in an elegant European boutique style and is set to become one of the Chinese capital's most exclusive properties.

Further south in Indonesia, SRS WORLDHOTELS welcomes two new Deluxe Collection properties, the Bali Hilton International and the Patra Surabaya Hilton International.

The Bali Hilton International is located in the heart of Nusa Dua, a secluded yet luxurious resort development in the South of Bali overlooking the Indian Ocean. The luxurious resort resembles a Balinese water palace in all its grandeur and features stone sculptures, resplendent fountains and stunning lagoons.

The Patra Surabaya Hilton international, a true oasis in the city of Surabaya, offers low-rise resort style accommodation with 120 rooms and four self-contained villas that are surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens. Relaxation and leisure facilities reflect the spaciousness of the hotel grounds while golf enthusiasts have direct access to the Yani Golf Course - the first 18-hole course ever built in Surabaya.

New Hotel in the US

With the addition of the Godwin Hotel in Hartford, Connecticut, SRS-WORLDHOTELS guests now have 49 member properties to choose from within the U.S. The Godwin is the only hotel in Connecticut to occupy a building that has been designated an historic monument. It offers an ideal city-center location and 125 rooms, each of which is decorated in a European style that combines classic and modern elements.

New Hotels in Europe

In Greece, the Porto Sani Village a luxury-class vacation hotel, has joined SRS-WORLDHOTELS' Deluxe Collection. Located in Kassandra/Chalkidiki, it is part of the renowned Sani Beach Holiday Resort, and offers 103 rooms, all of which include a balcony or terrace. Apart from a comprehensive selection of spa treatments, the Porto Sani Village offers its guests tennis courts, a diving center and a wide array of watersports in the vicinity. Guests can also participate in Jeep safaris and hiking excursions.

New members in Barcelona and Madrid have considerably increased SRS-WORLDHOTELS' presence in Spain's most significant Spanish economic and business hubs. The Hotel Adler in Madrid is a member of the Deluxe Collection. It is located near the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Gallery, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and the exclusive boutiques of Serrano Street. The hotel's 45 rooms are decorated to reflect a charming 19th-century atmosphere, without forgoing modern comforts.

In Barcelona's Calle Bertrán, the Hotel Mitre is ideally located for visitors to all significant points of interest within the city's Ciudad Condal. This Comfort Collection hotel offers 57 rooms decorated in a pleasant array of warm colors.

SRS-WORLDHOTELS also welcomes a new member in the south of France to its First Class Collection. The Avignon Grand Hotel, a 132-room property located near the center of the town of Avignon, combines Provencal and Mediterranean elements. Guests enjoy access to a swimming pool and a private library. The Avignon Grand Hotel brings SRS-WORLDHOTELS' French portfolio to 19.

The new member hotel Bastion increases SRS-WORLDHOTELS' presence in Norway to seven properties. Bastion is situated within the heart of Oslo's historic district, a short walk from the finest shopping areas and museums. A member of the First Class Collection, it offers 99 rooms that exude an atmosphere of individual, classic elegance.

Currently, SRS-WORLDHOTELS has more than 400 member hotels in its portfolio, representing over 70,000 rooms in 65 countries and 250 destinations worldwide. It is the only hotel marketing and representation group with three distinct membership categories: the exclusive Deluxe Collection, the First Class Collection and the Comfort Collection. SRS-WORDLHOTELS' Asia/Pacific operation has grown dramatically to 20 staff in four offices around the region and the company has over 50 properties in Asia/Pacific.

Visit http://www.srs-worldhotels.com or contact regge@srs-worldhotels.com  for more information.

PATA NEWS

Latest update on what’s news at PATA

THREE AWARDS AT ITB

Two awards will be presented jointly by Business Traveller Germany and the PATA Europe Division during ITB on March 19 at the PATA Germany Chapter luncheon. The Vasco Da Gama European Personality of the Year Award will go to Ms. Annelie Moog, Managing Director of Indochina Services-Thailand, who has contributed to the promotion of travel to the PATA region from Europe with her dedication and professionalism. 

The Vasco Da Gama Company of the Year Award will be presented to the Macau Government Tourist Office to recognise the outstanding work the MGTO has carried out over many years in the promotion and development of tourism to the PATA region from Europe. A third award, the annual Sri Budoyo Travel Magazine Award, will be presented to Voyages d'Affaires, a French travel magazine with a circulation of 60,000. Managing Director Mr. Christian de Romanet and journalist Mr. Luc Citrinot will receive the award, which is presented in memory of the late PATA Life Member Sri Budoyo, a pioneer of the Association.

50TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Did you miss the golden jubilee PATA Annual Conference in 2001? Order your copy of the Conference proceedings today. Included are the welcome address by Malaysia's Prime Minister, The Hon. Dato Seri Dr. Mahatir Mohamad, "PATA's Proud Past" by Ambassador L.W. "Bill" Lane, "The Dynamics of Choice in Air Travel" by Boeing's Mr. Seddik Belyamani and more than a dozen other informational and topical speeches. Visit www.pata.org to order or contact publications@pata.th.com.

REGISTER NOW FOR MAXIMUM NETWORKING

Register before March 1 to make the most of the PATA Annual Conference networking benefits: your name and on-site contact details will be included in the official delegate roster/working papers. Information about delegates who register after March 1 will be printed in an addendum roster only. Visit www.pata.org for registration forms, airline discounts, programme information and pre- and post-Conference tour options. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: conference@pata.th.com.

BID TO SAVE OUR HERITAGE

The PATA Foundation is seeking donations of tourism products with a retail value in excess of US$300. Delegates at the 51st PATA Annual Conference in New Delhi, April 14-18, will bid for these items in PATA’S 12th annual silent auction. All funds raised will be used to support local projects aimed at protecting Pacific Asia’s environment and cultural heritage, particularly where it interfaces with tourism. 

Products can be in the form of travel arrangements such as airline and cruise tickets, hotel stays, tour packages, car rentals, sightseeing and gift items such as artwork, handicrafts, merchandise, jewelry, and so on. Other travel-related services including advertising space and consultation services are also welcome. For a list of guidelines for donations, please e-mail Ms. Leslie Detter: leslie@pata.org.

FROM THE GOOD NEWS FILES

* Palau's exotic "Three Coconut Island" was featured on a Yahoo.com television commercial which aired during Super Bowl Sunday.

* Brisbane Marketing reported that the city's hotel occupancies soared by seven percent in January, defying the predicted tourism downturn. The growth was attributed to promotional efforts such as Brisbane Marketing’s "City on Sale" and the Queensland government’s "Make Time" campaigns.

PATA STRATEGIC INFORMATION CENTRE WORLDWATCH

* According to the International Air Transport Association, total traffic (passengers plus freight) in 2001 fell by nearly six percent, against a total capacity decrease of less than one percent. For the year, international passenger traffic declined four percent, the first decline since 1991 (the Gulf War). 2001 was only the second year since World War II that international passenger traffic contracted.

* According to the Airports Council International's September 2001 results from over 700 airports worldwide, passenger traffic for the month slipped 15 percent, cargo 20 percent, and aircraft movements 15 percent compared with September 2000. 

* The 2002 World Travel Market will be held at ExCeL (Exhibition Centre London), November 11-14, the city’s newest purpose-built exhibition centre.

* KLM has upgraded self-service check-in facilities at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. The six kiosks have been replaced with 10 newly designed "e.service centres."

REGENT JAKARTA BEGINS FLOOD RECOVERY

TravelWeeklyEast Report  -  The Regent Jakarta is mopping up the damage and eyeing a late second quarter re-opening after dramatic flooding forced its closure.

Floods have hit much of Jakarta and Central Java since early February. In a "recovery note" to TravelWeekly East, executive assistant manager Tom Roelens said on the night of the most severe flooding, the hotel was running at nearly 60 percent occupancy, or 263 guests. Each was evacuated, and the hotel was officially closed to guests at 2:30pm February 2.

"Currently, an Emergency Action Team is working around the clock to pump the water out of the lower levels. It is estimated that it will take seven more days to completely remove the water. Sixty thousand cubic meters of water fills this space."

The senior management team, owners and the Four Seasons management group were assessing the damage and developing a re-opening plan, said Roelens.

The water level peaked at the first landing of the Regent Ballroom staircase, he said. Among areas of the hotel completely submerged were the 990sqm ballroom, the banquet kitchen, health club, salon and clinic, plus a number of hotel offices and staff rooms. In addition, two levels of the car park are completely submerged, with 13 cars and 10 motorbikes belonging to guests and staff still under water. 

MEETINGS BOOM FOR SYDNEY

TravelWeeklyEast  -  High yield business tourism is a mainstay of the Australian tourism industry, according to Sydney Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCVB) managing director Jon Hutchison, with the latest findings into convention delegate spending highlighting the immense economic impact of the convention industry.

The results of the fifth Sydney Convention Delegate Study by the SCVB, showed international convention delegates to Sydney last year spent A$749 (US$383) per day, over nine times more than other international tourists.

The study showed significant increases in total spending in areas such as domestic air travel (up 87 percent), shopping (up 21 percent), tours (up 78 percent), accommodation (up 7 percent) and restaurants (up 10 percent).

"As a result of the global economic slowdown, international tourists are spending less, however this study shows visitors attracted by conventions are defying this trend and continue to spend at high levels," said Hutchison.

The 2001 study draws on responses from 3,024 delegates surveyed at 14 conventions held in Sydney. 

N.J. HOTEL MYSTERY

Associated Press - A mysterious illness killed one woman attending a weekend convention and sent seven others to hospitals, but health officials said today they didn't think anyone else who didn't already have symptoms would get sick.

The woman died early today at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-Cherry Hill. She had a viral, flu-like illness for about two days before becoming seriously ill Saturday night, said David V. Condoluci, chief of infectious diseases for Kennedy Health System.

Joanne Hemstreet, 45, of Kingston, Mass., was attending a national sales convention at the Cherry Hill Hilton with about 500 other employees of Cendant Mortgage.

"We do not know the exact cause of her demise," Condoluci said at a news conference outside the hospital in this Philadelphia suburb. "This looks like possibly a case of pneumococcal pneumonia," worsened by a subsequent, aggressive bacterial infection.

Health officials had worried the outbreak was caused by meningococcus, anthrax or Legionnaires' disease, but Condoluci said none of those appeared to be involved.

Results of an autopsy on Hemstreet and preliminary test results on the seven people admitted to the hospital should be available Monday.

Condoluci said hotel guests who did not have close contact with Hemstreet and had not shown any symptoms such as fever, chills, sore throat and general weakness were unlikely to get sick.

One man and six women were taken to the hospital early today after also developing a viral, flu-like illness, Condoluci said. Their symptoms included fever, chills, sore throat and general weakness, and two had pneumonia.

None was in critical condition. None was known to have been in close contact with Hemstreet.

They were given antibiotics and admitted for further treatment and observation as a precaution.

About 80 other people who might have had contact with Hemstreet had gone to the hospital's emergency room for evaluation, hospital spokeswoman Nicole Pensiero said.

The hotel was quarantined for several hours early in the day, but the restriction was lifted before noon.