Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

A Cautionary Tale

This isn't the story of a clueless Destination Marketing Organization. Indeed, two of their six Directors within the past decade have gone on to work at the State Tourism level, one as Director of the State's Tourism Association. So, it's not that they haven't been blessed with experienced talent.

Rather, this is the story of a careless DMO Board that, according to a just settled lawsuit, passed over an experienced Number 2 to install an individual with no apparent experience in the hospitality and travel industry as its new CEO. The lawsuit claimed the reason for the hire was that he was Black and she was White. In the filing, the Board was accused of saying that, since the town is predominantly Black, the DMO should be headed by someone who is Black.

The story gets more convoluted...and you can follow the rabbit hole if you choose. But suffice to say the Board ultimately hired the Number 2 as interim when the original hire split after less than half a year...while the lawsuit was in play.

But, here's the true cautionary tale: The company that issued the Directors & Officers insurance has alerted the local agent that they are dropping the DMO...and the local agent told the Board that he's having a hard time finding another company that will touch them, if they don't stop making "stupid decisions." When the Board President shot back that "it hasn't been proven nowhere," the agent said, "All right, that's what I needed to hear. Y'all need to get (your insurance) from somewhere else." And he walked out of the meeting.

Losing D&O Insurance is significantly more troubling than settling a discrimination lawsuit which, of course, is troubling enough. Because now, with no insurance, who is gonna wanna serve on that Board?

There are consequences to everything...and some really hurt.

 

 

A Missed Opportunity?

Every time I slide into a rental car and find that the satellite radio feed hasn't been activated, I shake my head, thinking of all the potential subscribers SiriusXM is forfeiting by not giving the service away to rental car companies. Just think (I think to myself) of all the people who have decided they won't pay for radio who might be convinced to subscribe if they had a few hours to experience the vastness of genres that are unavailable on terrestrial radio. It wouldn't cost SiriusXM anything to do it. Thus, the ROI could be substantial.

After reading this article on HotelManagement.net, I began to think the same thing about hotels and the way they serve up the availability of streaming services. Oh, you can find HBO on most in-room channel lists...but the other streaming services expect guests to enter their subscription information to stream their content. Again, why? And, no...I'm not entering my user name and password on a hotel TV, no matter how secure I'm told it is.

I ended up subscribing to HBO years ago when I got hooked on The Sopranos after watching a few episodes in hotel rooms. Never would have if I hadn't gotten that taste. So why don't the other streaming services offer their content free to hotels. I mean, really...one in-room episode of Poker Face would cause me to subscribe to Peacock in an instant.

Opportunity lost. Every night. Every room.

Looking at it Through the Customer's Eyes

Trying to find the dock for a Water Taxi to get us to dinner...and the address provided is not recognized by GPS. And there's no signage at the nearest parking lot. Sure, the locals know where to go...but how many first-time visitors miss their reservations because nobody in management of this otherwise sensational experience thought about how a potential first-time customer (who will likely rip them on Social Media) could possibly locate an impossibly difficult to find dock. Have you tried to find your business using GPS (and on all the platforms)? As Todd Rundgren famously said on Something/Anything, "you might be surprised."

Or the web platform that chose to update the skins of all its users without warning and inadvertently caused at least some of us (and I'm guessing more) to have their interface become unreadable? We open a "support" ticket, get a rapid response...and then are told, "looks good on our end." Yeah, because they're all using big screens while the majority of our users are on laptop and mobile. When shown screen shots of how it's not OK, they go radio silent for two days. Hey...we get it. You fucked up and don't know how to fix it. But, an automated, "we know you're still out there" response each day would be nice so we don't start searching for another host because we think you don't care (which I just had, minutes before they finally acknowledged their mistake).

In every enterprise, there needs to be a person responsible for these kinds of missteps. I'm not saying it's a full-time job (though it may well be). But somebody needs to be on the case, everyday, focused on how new and existing customers can revel in your customer care...and be, as Guy Kawasaki once said, "Thunder Lizard Evangelists."

 

Nuts!

As the Southwest Airlines meltdown played out over the holidays, I went searching for a book in my library that I likely hadn't touched in 20 years. Nuts! (by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg) tells the fascinating saga of Southwest's initial fight for life and ultimate emergence as a dominant player in the airline world. And, they did it by breaking all the rules.

What caused me to pull the book for a skim was an open letter from a veteran Southwest pilot that explained that early leadership of the company was based on operational optimization. Things changed when accountants took over from founder Herb Kelleher.

What also apparently changed was the unwavering focus Herb had on placing employees first. One of my favorite stories about the Southwest Airlines culture was that you'd never find the then 60-something CEO in his office on the day before Thanksgiving (one of the busiest travel days of the year) because he would be on the tarmac at Love's Field slinging luggage with the baggage handlers. That's leadership.

Though the book is approaching its 30th anniversary, Nuts! is worth your time...because Herb's vision and leadership was timeless.

If Everyone Cared

We close each year of blog posts with a plea for the coming year. From hunger to inhumanity and the environment to runaway government, we've been sharing these songs since 2006.

There are those moments in which songs mysteriously shuffle forward, as if there is an invisible force directing your next move...and that happened yesterday in the shower, listening to my new waterproof bluetooth speaker. I had pretty much decided on a track earlier in the week...but shifted gears upon hearing a song I certainly hadn't expected to fill the room.

This year, it's our wish for the world to care from Nickelback.

And as we lie beneath the stars,
We realize how small we are.
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be.

Imagine, indeed. 

Best wishes for a caring New Year....and we look forward to catching up on the other side.

Oooops

Destinations International has been a shining light in opposing the weaponization of boycotts against travel to make a political statement. While the fiscal pain the boycotting state or city inflicts on another can be substantial...it doesn't take into consideration the pain and loss that is also inflicted on hospitality workers (many that may agree with the boycotter's position...but need to score a regular paycheck to survive).

So, it's not with a bit of irony that we see California Governor Gavin Newsom vacation with his family in a State that his State has said is verboten for State-funded travel because Montana's politics don't jibe with California's. Of course, his trip is personal and not funded by the State (though there is some question of who is paying his security detail).

Hey...I couldn't be more pleased that the Governor is spending his money in a State that really needs visitors this year. But, can we stop with the political grandstanding that hurts visitor economies and the people that most need a paycheck?

And, if not for them, because this will always come around and bite you in the butt during the next campaign.

Elvis Has Left the Building

By now, you've no doubt heard that the organization that manages the Elvis brand has issued a stop order on Vegas Wedding Chapels and performers that do impressions of the King in their work. In a world where Elvis is increasingly irrelevant, one wonders how this keeps the brand alive...other than extracting revenue from businesses and gig workers. As one chapel manager said, "We believe the Las Vegas wedding industry has helped keep Elvis relevant for a whole generation of people."

But...what would this mean for events like Tupelo's Elvis Festival, which seems to have avoided a similar cease and desist order. A Youth Day there began after seeing an uptick in Elvis interest among younger generations. "We wanted to do that event because we were noticing a lot of younger kids and a younger demographic becoming interested in Elvis," said the coordinator. "Maybe one day they will become Elvis tribute artists," he said.

Yeah...but they won't work in Vegas.

The Flight from Hell

It really doesn't matter the airline or the airport. These things happen...but rather than shrugging them off as a result of the great resignation, there are a myriad of learning moments in my last 18 hours. 

Boarding at 9:30 pm for a 10pm flight home last evening, we waited in our seats until Midnight for maintenance to finally give up on trying to fix a mechanical issue which, let's face it, they had to know about before we boarded. When the ground crew called it, passengers were told to deplane and the gate agents would direct us to next steps (which most of us assumed was a new plane, as the flight crew gave no indication of timing out).

Instead, once off the plane, we were told we would all get vouchers for local hotels and the flight would be rescheduled for the next morning. The airline assigned me a nearby Radisson. My barely English-conversant cabbie took me to the Renaissance, trying desperately to convince me they were one-in-the same. When I finally arrived at the Radisson, I was told that, despite having a confirmed room, they were full...and I was directed to another hotel in the ownership's chain down the street. When I (and three other newly united companions) walked through the doors, we faced a check-in line at least 50 deep at 1am.

A sole desk agent was desperately trying to process us (whether she called management to report her dire situation or whether her management just didn't give a shit is unknown)...but her lack of training resulted in each check-in taking, on average, 5 minutes. The four of us analyzed her process from afar and designed a different process that would have cut the time in half. But not wanting to offend this sadly abandoned individual and lose a chance at a room to her potential ire at being redirected, we suffered with the rest of our new clan, finally scoring our rooms at 3:30am.

Up at 6 to get to the airport 2 hours before the rescheduled flight, I checked with the exterior gate agents to confirm that my existing boarding pass was still valid (as we were told by gate agents when we headed to our respective hotels). Hell no, he laughed...go see the agent inside. The agent inside confirmed that notion...but couldn't produce a new boarding pass, finally reproducing my existing ticket and telling me I should be good to go, but I couldn't go through TSA pre; I'd have to go through the absolutely inexcusable shitshow of general TSA. 

As I reached my gate with 10 minutes to spare, my overnight posse gave me that WTF look and said they breezed through TSApre with last night's boarding passes. Perfect, I thought. Just perfect.

We board...and then wait an hour until the airline can find a pilot. Again...why board us when you know there is an issue that is likely out of your control?

At every possible point in the process, the airline failed. As we finally prepared for take-off, I thought, "what else could go wrong?" And then resigned myself to my fate.

Clearly, as I write this, that didn't happen...but it was an 18 hours I never want to again endure. But, at the same time, two truths emerged.

People are assholes, as I saw countless passengers berate airline personnel (even the co-pilot), as if this was their fault. Because, it is not...it is the fault of management that didn't prepare them for this moment.

And the second? In the big picture, I met new people, shared interesting stories and learned a ton about how much we all need to examine our protocols. Like, airlines should call flights earlier than Midnight...because their passengers' options become increasingly limited as the night progresses. Screw where your planes need to be in the morning. When it takes longer than 20 minutes to solve a problem, move on, in the name of your customers. In the end, as I stood in line for my hotel room for over 2 hours, it would have made more sense to stay at the airport. But, once TSA shut down for the night, I couldn't go back.

And, if you're going to guarantee a confirmed room, be sure that room actually exists. A far better understanding of how hotels work would be beneficial. Airlines rarely bump reserved passengers without some compensation. Hotels do it all the time. Airlines need to understand that they speak a different language when dealing with their hotel "partners." This post never would have happened if I had gotten to my "confirmed" hotel and been to bed by 1.

Just saying.

That's All You Got?

OK...full disclosure (and for regular readers, no surprise), I thought the City of Duluth's decision to sideline their award-winning DMO for an out-of-market ad agency was beyond boneheaded. And, I'll admit that I may not reside in the destination's target market (though I like hip, urban destinations with a vibrant culinary and nightlife culture and I have a fair amount of discretionary money to spend on my weekend getaways, live just a few hours away and have loved my previous days and nights in Duluth). 

All that said, all I'm getting served up in my Facebook feed over the past month are sponsored posts with this image (click to enlarge) and the words: "From the world-famous to local favorites, discover what makes Duluth so special. You’ll get it when you get here." Only this image. Only these words....which virtually any destination could utilize (and do). 

Hammocks? That's all you got? That's unique? That's gonna make me book a visit?

Madam Mayor? When you intimated that you wanted an edgier approach to community marketing as you shredded your DMO, is this what you had in mind?

Because, we need to have a serious conversation about what "edgy" means.

Just sayin...

Can You Get Your Offers Straight?

Last Summer, the Chicago Tribune offered me online access to their content for a buck a month (or something like that). I knew that at the end of three months, they'd jack me to $15.99/month...which is where I am, questioning the true value. 

But, last week, I received two e-mails from the Trib within the same minute. One asked me to "come back" for 25 cents a week for 6 months. The other asked me to come back for $1 for 6 months (click to enlarge image).

Of course, when we called to ask if we could get the deal being offered, we were told no...that we were already a subscriber. But, errr, you asked us to come back.

And we are also being asked to trust the journalism of a newspaper that can't figure out the most basic tenets of customer service.

I get that newspapers are struggling...but, really?