Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Are We Really that Geographically Challenged?

It happened again last week...and, unfortunately, it happened again to Bermuda.

A recent news report confused Bermuda with another island that starts with the same letter in a story about Caribbean crime, erroneously stating that Bermuda suffered through 131 murders last year.

The actual number? Zero, making Bermuda one of the safest island destinations in the world. And, by the way, Bermuda isn't even in the Caribbean.

Being mistaken for another island stung Bermuda over two years ago when people confused it with Barbuda, which was devastated by Hurricane Irma. Resorts on Bermuda reported over 3,000 cancelations by consumers that were absolutely sure that what they heard about Barbuda was, in fact, Bermuda. One resort manager reported that, when he tried to explain that Bermuda was 1,000 miles away, consumers would try to argue with him, saying "Don't lie to me. I know what I saw on TV."

Sigh...

Is it Me?

Or, is it increasingly impossible to find housekeepers to work their magic in America's hotels (don't answer...I know it's the latter).

I've been on the road on this merry-go-round of a gig for over 20 years. And, I've never experienced what I encountered in two of my recent business trips. Ever.

In the first episode, I came back to my room after a day of stakeholder interviews and Focus Groups to find my hotel room door propped wide open with a wooden wedge. One could only imagine how long that situation had gone on...but, certainly, by 6pm, it had been hours. I called the front desk to ask WTF? The operator lazily asked if anything was missing from my room. When I responded that I didn't think so, he said, "well, we're good then," and hung up. Really.

Then, the other day, I returned from another set of stakeholder interviews in another town to find that my room hadn't been made up. Hey, it happens. But, what was strange was that the towel, which I had purposefully hung on the shower curtain bar to do my part in saving the planet, was gone. So, not only was the room not made up, but housekeeping entered my room and ignored my request to save the environment in what appears was the only attempt they made to refresh my room. Odd, to say the least.

Here's hoping these mysterious occurrences don't come in threes...and that 2020 sees no more of these peculiar vexings.

You Can Check in Anytime You Like

Alas, the Night Man in the Eagles' classic "Hotel California" said that to a guest over 40 years ago...and it's just becoming a thing.

We've all been there, especially those of us that red-eye or fly internationally. But, even those of us that hit town at Noon have had to wait until the obligatory 3pm check-in time at most hotels. And, of course, short-staffed hotels are increasingly missing that mark.

But a movement has begun in the smaller, upscale, independent hotel groups around the world to allow customers, upon room availability, to check-in at any time of the day or night. While it could become an additional revenue stream, several of the hotels interviewed for a recent Skift article maintain the move is an opportunity to build loyalty among clients that have many choices in where they lay their head.

And, implementation is deceptively simple. Rather than having a morning and an afternoon crew to clean and prep rooms, these ingenious hotels are scheduling housekeepers on an hourly-rotating schedule.

Brilliant...and it only took 40 years.

Death to Stir Sticks*

The global Plastics crisis is just being recognized by the citizens inhabiting this planet. But, while 80% of Hilton's guests claim to care about that brand's environmental footprint, a Skift study found that only 53% would be willing to pay extra to ensure sustainable hotel practices. And, that's a challenge, as plastics make housekeeping faster and easier. There is no simple answer, as simple as the problem at hand may be.

But plastic straws? Please. Especially for those of us that consume our drinks straight. I totally get a straw or swizzle for a mixed drink.* But, bourbon on the rocks? Why wouldn't management encourage servers to consider whether a drink needs to be served with a stick? It would save them money plus suggest a modicum of environmental concern.

I gotta give serious props to Delta for eliminating straws in favor of bio-degradable bamboo stir sticks on their flights. For all the travel companies that say they plan to address plastics in 2021 or 2023, Delta has proven that a world travel brand can do it much faster...if they take the issue seriously.

Sadly though, I now get a bamboo stick in most of my Woodfords. So, there's still work to do.

Skift has made the Plastics crisis a focus of its reporting and analysis. It's a long read...but worth your time and consideration.

 

Room Service

You'd think that with the advent of fairly ubiquitous food delivery services (at least in tier one and two cities) that hotels would respond by reducing their pricing and fees to stay competitive. Apparently, one hotel in Chicago doesn't think so.

Giving some air to a recent Facebook rant from our friend Peter Greenberg:

 I was at the W in Chicago and ordered a small 10-inch pizza from room service. That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I expected to pay more for room service. That’s not surprising. I know what a pizza on the street costs. And a pizza delivered to my room should cost more. I get it.

Now let’s look at the bill that arrived with the pizza 38 minutes after the order was placed.

The 10-inch pizza was already a whopping $27. But we’re just getting started.

The hotel then charges me a $7 delivery charge, and then… a nearly 22% “in room delivery,” $6 charge.

This is followed by… sales tax, not just on the overpriced pizza itself, but on the service charges, and that came to $4.59.

And now…not the total, but the SUBTOTAL! It’s $44.53 for a small 10-inch pizza!

But we’re still not done…there was a space left (in case we were totally delusional and wanted to add more to our bill) for GRATUITY.

A GRATUITY? They wanted a tip? Ok…here’s MY tip — not for them, but for YOU.

First, insist on full disclosure from any hotel for ALL the charges it will attempt to hit you with before you order room service.

And second, my advice for hotels: it’s bad enough that this receipt represents a total gouge on guests, but if you still want to blatantly overcharge guests for room service, then at the very least don’t add to the insult by leaving an open space for “gratuity.”

By comparison, a phone order to Dominos for a larger 14-inch, SIX cheese pizza, WITH delivery, costs less than $20. And it got here two minutes faster!

 

Workforce Development

For Destination Marketing Organizations that are evolving into community development agencies, the concept of workforce development is often a struggle. We know that our tourism partners are wrestling to secure workers (one of Madison's top restaurants just closed with the owner saying that the lack of workforce was a key driver in the decision). But, how do we respond?

Hyatt has created a program called RiseHY ("rise high") that seeks to bring out-of-school, out-of-work young people into the Hyatt workforce. And, today, nearly 1,300 “Opportunity Youth” have integrated into the Hyatt world. But, not without some interesting lessons learned along the way. Like showing up to work on time is often most difficult for these individuals, in part because people have complicated living arrangements and uneven access to transportation. 

Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said: “There are many things you can be proud of in life, but few things provide as much inspiration and hope for the future as watching one of these young people come into the workforce and achieve success.”

Motivational words for us all.

 

Everything Comes Back Around

A number of years ago, tired and late, I pulled up in front of my hotel in Wildwood NJ and let out a long sigh. It was a decidedly '60s hotel, the kind with keys (not cards) and room doors opening to the outside balcony. Not what I was expecting from the client who made the reservation.

Which was a good thing...because I was blown away as I walked into the lobby by the attention to detail the owners had exercised as they made this '60s hotel a '60s hotel. Black and white checkerboard tile floors, a jukebox, formica chairs and period lighting put a big smile on my face. Which broadened when I got to my room and found a lava lamp.

And, that's where the Howard Johnson brand has announced it's going with its remaining hotels...back to the '60s.

“Say ‘HoJo’ and people can’t help but to smile as they think back on the memories they’ve made with us over the decades,” said Clem Bence, the brand’s vice president of operations. He promises a "playful" re-design to evoke the nostalgia gene in everyone who remembers the iconic orange roofline, family road trips and fried clams.

Howard Johnson has committed $40 million to the mid-century redesign. It'll be worth every penny.

Can We Just Say It?

A recent article in Travel Weekly cites tourism providers and experts claiming that Mexico's current Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year is because of an over-supply of hotel rooms and Sargassum. And, while these two forces are never good, they could be mitigated by a well-financed and strategic marketing effort from the country's Tourism Board.

Which, of course, no longer really exists...as its previous $300 million budget has been reassigned to develop rail service on the Yucatan Penninsula. Tourism promotion is now, apparently, being handled by Mexico's Embassies around the world (can you say incoherent?).

And, now most (not all) of the country is seeing significant declines in occupancy and revenues. I get that Sargassum sucks. But, I gotta call it like I see it. Without a strong invitation to visit, Mexico will continue to suffer.

Sadly.

 

The Way it Should Be

A great article in Skift yesterday (and, who knew their mission was to keep the travel industry accountable?) on how IHG is pledging to not only do away with plastic straws but eliminate those mini-bottles of shampoo, conditioner and lotion in favor of bulk-size, refillable dispensers.

Best part of the story: IHG CEO Keith Barr says it's not pressure from governments that encouraged the move...the real pressure coming from guests.

“Governments collectively haven’t taken significant action in this space,” Barr told Skift. “The reality is our colleagues and our customers expect us to take a leadership position on things like waste.” 

And, ain't that the way it should be. Hell yeah.

What Took Us All So Long?

Sometimes, we are so consumed with the job at hand that we can't see the opportunity before us. Sometimes we get comfortable with the "norm" of how business has always been done. And, that's when innovation is an orphan.

My alma mater DMO, Destination Madison is starting to pick up some serious industry buzz for its recent roll-out of a concept that is deceptively simple. One that sort of paraphrases Simon Sinek's "Start with Why" to "Start with the Customer."

The Destination Madison Team took the time to break down the challenges faced by today's meeting and event professional. And, juggling contract upon contract from each of the hotels they planned to use certainly floated to the top as one of a planner's biggest pain points.

How to solve the dilemma? Design one contract for all the hotels in the city the planner intends to use.

They call it "One City. One Contract."

It's One brilliant idea. 

Kudos to Deb, John and the Team that makes those of us that call Madison home so proud...