Drizin, M. Turnover - An Enhanced Process in Selection, Hospitality Upgrade, Summer 2006, 42-44 Available at http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=12
In this article, the author first puts forward the reasons of employee turnover in hospitality organizations and how the hiring process should be.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for waiters and waitresses, food preparation workers, maids and housekeeping cleaners, customer service representatives and retail salespeople will grow by nearly 18 percent over the next decade, higher than the 15 percent projected increase across all industry sectors. During this same time, new workers will naturally move to the higher paying jobs, even though the demand for low-skilled service workers will jump substantially due to increases in the elderly population. More demand, less supply.
Secondly, the author thinks the hiring process is very important. Companies should use technology in order to automate the process. Picture this: a candidate visits your Web site and notices there are current job openings. After reading about the qualifications, she completes an online job application. Because the application contains "vetting questions", an immediate decision is made to pass her to the next step, an assessment battery that combines a personality test from one supplier and skills-based test from another. As scoring on these assessments is done immediately, predetermined selection decision rules dictate that the applicant can now schedule an appointment with the hiring manager.
I think this article summarizes the need of automation in the hiring process. He thinks technology should play the leading role in terms of employee selection. As he stated in the article,
"Why would you ever want to hire a sure fire?".
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Top 10 Fallacies About Distribution
Caryl, H., Chicke, F. The Top 10 Fallacies About Distribution, Hospitality Upgrade, Spring 2006, 30-32 Available at http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=64
In this article, the author puts forward the fallacies about the travel distribution industry.
Those are as follows:Fallacy No. 1–The consumer will purchase how and where I want them to
Although this seems hard to believe, there are still suppliers and intermediaries who believe this to be true. They are myopic in their approach to customers and do not believe the power has shifted to the consumer, nor do they understand the rule that this fact plays in their future distribution success.
Customers choose the channel and the vehicle used to purchase travel. They vote with their wallets.
Fallacy No. 2–If distribution costs come in line, the industry will be healthy
Distribution is a portion of marketing, and marketing is a key cost component for suppliers, but other costs (like labor and capital) have a much greater impact on the bottom line, as does top-line revenue.
In many sectors of the industry, pricing and yield management functions are flawed. Suppliers are shifting distribution to lower cost channels, but are getting less for their product on average as a result of the focus on price as the channel differentiator.
Distribution cost control can help the P&L, but it does not ensure the health of any industry.
Fallacy No. 3–Revenue is king
All revenue is not good revenue. As you operate on a P&L basis, if your costs constantly exceed your revenue, you will eventually fail. That is why rate offer assessments and cost assessments are so important to decisions about what business to take at your hotel and what channels to maximize in the process.
Top line growth may appear beneficial, but cost (versus revenue) and displacement of more profitable business as part of the success equation cannot be denied. Profitability is king, long live the king.
Fallacy No. 4–A customer is a customer is a customer
Customers come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Once you think you know your customer, they change behavior (and channels) without notice. Sometimes it is a shift due to a change in purpose of the trip, who they are traveling with or who they are working for.
Segmentation of your customers, as well as channels, and understanding their purchasing behavior are important steps toward establishing a rational multichannel distribution strategy. The long-term value of a customer and incidental revenues gained from that customer are important in making overall decisions about pricing strategies. All customers are not equal.
Fallacy No. 5–Technology is a business driver
Technology may be an enabler, but it is not a driver (unless you are a technology company). Technology should support the business needs versus drive how business is done and how customers are serviced.
Your business should seek out the best solution based on your needs or those of your customers. However, new technology offerings should not overly influence your business strategy.
Create your strategy, then obtain technology solutions as part of your operating plan to facilitate the implementation of your strategy.
Fallacy No. 6–Business travelers will pay whatever we charge
It has been proven that businesses are indeed price sensitive. They can and will shift their travel spending or even eliminate it altogether if the price is too high. Hotels must be willing to take risk on price, but they must also consider how far they can push the envelop before they risk losing the business.
With the price transparency that the Internet facilitates, business travelers are finding the rates that are clearly intended for the leisure/occasional traveler. This historically has dramatically eroded supplier revenues – in many cases, savings in booking fees and commission pales loss in revenues. Thus price integrity and congruent strategies, with all segments and channels, has become the mantra.
Fallacy No. 7–GDSs (and travel agents) are dinosaurs
GDSs and travel agents may be part of the travel distribution heritage, but they are not extinct. If the longevity of the dinosaur is any indication, both the GDSs and travel agents will be with us for some time to come.
Although challenged by the hyper-growth of the Internet and the shirt of business to new players and channels, each are utilizing the Internet in new and unforeseen ways to expand their businesses. Those who are smart businesses, led by visionaries, will be with us for many years in the future.
Fallacy No. 8–Build it and they will come
Although this phrase is normally attributed to technology vendors, it can be applied to almost any business. A key problem with many new products and services is that market research isn’t completed in advance. Additionally, the business model and/or the market penetration process is not well thought out or well executed.
Customer acquisition does not necessarily follow a decision to shift (or even eliminate) channels. It certainly isn’t automatic.
Fallacy No. 9–Going direct is always the cheapest channel
Many businesses do not consider all of their costs when making this assumption. All overhead costs must be included, not just booking fees. This includes human resource, as well as development costs.
Direct distribution may offer lesser costs than some other channels, but if customers desire to purchase via these other channels, it may not be the cheapest route – especially if you lose the revenue and the customer altogether.
Fallacy No. 10 – The travel agency channel is the first one I should eliminate
Though this has not been the trend for hotel companies, by observing the airline model we can see that this does not always pay off in huge dividends. The agency channel can be a cost-effective channel and can produce higher average revenue per booking than many other channels.
Analysis of your revenues and your costs for this channel are essential, if you sell higher priced or margin products and services through this channel than you are able to on your own Web site, then you may be losing more in revenue than you are gaining in the reduction of booking fees and commissions. You may be gaining more revenue from these channels, after costs are subtracted, then you do from your most profitable merchant model agreements.I think this article is a good guide for hospitality providers in terms of what is really wrong or right.
In this article, the author puts forward the fallacies about the travel distribution industry.
Those are as follows:Fallacy No. 1–The consumer will purchase how and where I want them to
Although this seems hard to believe, there are still suppliers and intermediaries who believe this to be true. They are myopic in their approach to customers and do not believe the power has shifted to the consumer, nor do they understand the rule that this fact plays in their future distribution success.
Customers choose the channel and the vehicle used to purchase travel. They vote with their wallets.
Fallacy No. 2–If distribution costs come in line, the industry will be healthy
Distribution is a portion of marketing, and marketing is a key cost component for suppliers, but other costs (like labor and capital) have a much greater impact on the bottom line, as does top-line revenue.
In many sectors of the industry, pricing and yield management functions are flawed. Suppliers are shifting distribution to lower cost channels, but are getting less for their product on average as a result of the focus on price as the channel differentiator.
Distribution cost control can help the P&L, but it does not ensure the health of any industry.
Fallacy No. 3–Revenue is king
All revenue is not good revenue. As you operate on a P&L basis, if your costs constantly exceed your revenue, you will eventually fail. That is why rate offer assessments and cost assessments are so important to decisions about what business to take at your hotel and what channels to maximize in the process.
Top line growth may appear beneficial, but cost (versus revenue) and displacement of more profitable business as part of the success equation cannot be denied. Profitability is king, long live the king.
Fallacy No. 4–A customer is a customer is a customer
Customers come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Once you think you know your customer, they change behavior (and channels) without notice. Sometimes it is a shift due to a change in purpose of the trip, who they are traveling with or who they are working for.
Segmentation of your customers, as well as channels, and understanding their purchasing behavior are important steps toward establishing a rational multichannel distribution strategy. The long-term value of a customer and incidental revenues gained from that customer are important in making overall decisions about pricing strategies. All customers are not equal.
Fallacy No. 5–Technology is a business driver
Technology may be an enabler, but it is not a driver (unless you are a technology company). Technology should support the business needs versus drive how business is done and how customers are serviced.
Your business should seek out the best solution based on your needs or those of your customers. However, new technology offerings should not overly influence your business strategy.
Create your strategy, then obtain technology solutions as part of your operating plan to facilitate the implementation of your strategy.
Fallacy No. 6–Business travelers will pay whatever we charge
It has been proven that businesses are indeed price sensitive. They can and will shift their travel spending or even eliminate it altogether if the price is too high. Hotels must be willing to take risk on price, but they must also consider how far they can push the envelop before they risk losing the business.
With the price transparency that the Internet facilitates, business travelers are finding the rates that are clearly intended for the leisure/occasional traveler. This historically has dramatically eroded supplier revenues – in many cases, savings in booking fees and commission pales loss in revenues. Thus price integrity and congruent strategies, with all segments and channels, has become the mantra.
Fallacy No. 7–GDSs (and travel agents) are dinosaurs
GDSs and travel agents may be part of the travel distribution heritage, but they are not extinct. If the longevity of the dinosaur is any indication, both the GDSs and travel agents will be with us for some time to come.
Although challenged by the hyper-growth of the Internet and the shirt of business to new players and channels, each are utilizing the Internet in new and unforeseen ways to expand their businesses. Those who are smart businesses, led by visionaries, will be with us for many years in the future.
Fallacy No. 8–Build it and they will come
Although this phrase is normally attributed to technology vendors, it can be applied to almost any business. A key problem with many new products and services is that market research isn’t completed in advance. Additionally, the business model and/or the market penetration process is not well thought out or well executed.
Customer acquisition does not necessarily follow a decision to shift (or even eliminate) channels. It certainly isn’t automatic.
Fallacy No. 9–Going direct is always the cheapest channel
Many businesses do not consider all of their costs when making this assumption. All overhead costs must be included, not just booking fees. This includes human resource, as well as development costs.
Direct distribution may offer lesser costs than some other channels, but if customers desire to purchase via these other channels, it may not be the cheapest route – especially if you lose the revenue and the customer altogether.
Fallacy No. 10 – The travel agency channel is the first one I should eliminate
Though this has not been the trend for hotel companies, by observing the airline model we can see that this does not always pay off in huge dividends. The agency channel can be a cost-effective channel and can produce higher average revenue per booking than many other channels.
Analysis of your revenues and your costs for this channel are essential, if you sell higher priced or margin products and services through this channel than you are able to on your own Web site, then you may be losing more in revenue than you are gaining in the reduction of booking fees and commissions. You may be gaining more revenue from these channels, after costs are subtracted, then you do from your most profitable merchant model agreements.I think this article is a good guide for hospitality providers in terms of what is really wrong or right.
Monday, September 15, 2008
What Makes a Good Hotel Web Site Good?
Haley, Mark G. What Makes a Good Hotel Web Site Good?, Hospitality Upgrade, Spring 2007, 54 Available at http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=90
In this article, the author tries to convey what kind of functionalities a hotel website should include. He thinks that these functionalities are key factors for the revenue production of a particular hotel.
Other than that, he also points out the importance of search engine optimization for the hotel websites and gives us a list of recommendations for the optimization as follows:
• Give the search engines something to find and index.
• Include keywords that people should expect to find your hotel by searching on.
• Write page titles according to the content.
• Limit the use of Flash and other rich media to accents rather than foundations.
• Code the navigation elements (menu items) in HTML text (good) rather than in graphic images (bad)?
• Seek out inbound links, but be jealous with outbound ones.
• Use internal links embedded in the copy to help the search engines know what the linked-to pages are about.
I think this article is a good start for people who are not literate enough in web technologies. The author lists the key purposes of a hotel website as follows:
• To create incremental revenue through direct online booking or stimulating direct offline booking
• To project the hotel brand identity and value proposition to the traveling public and press on the Internet
• To provide information about the property to enhance the guest’s stay
• To provide a vehicle for a continued dialog with guests and potential guests
He also talks about what is needed for a good website in terms of functionality such as what to have's and what not to have's in the website. However, he doesnt depict how a websites' look and feel should be. I think that would be better even for people without web-development knowledge. If the aim is professionals, then a more detailed and technical article on the specifics of desing and database issues should be put on the table.
In this article, the author tries to convey what kind of functionalities a hotel website should include. He thinks that these functionalities are key factors for the revenue production of a particular hotel.
Other than that, he also points out the importance of search engine optimization for the hotel websites and gives us a list of recommendations for the optimization as follows:
• Give the search engines something to find and index.
• Include keywords that people should expect to find your hotel by searching on.
• Write page titles according to the content.
• Limit the use of Flash and other rich media to accents rather than foundations.
• Code the navigation elements (menu items) in HTML text (good) rather than in graphic images (bad)?
• Seek out inbound links, but be jealous with outbound ones.
• Use internal links embedded in the copy to help the search engines know what the linked-to pages are about.
I think this article is a good start for people who are not literate enough in web technologies. The author lists the key purposes of a hotel website as follows:
• To create incremental revenue through direct online booking or stimulating direct offline booking
• To project the hotel brand identity and value proposition to the traveling public and press on the Internet
• To provide information about the property to enhance the guest’s stay
• To provide a vehicle for a continued dialog with guests and potential guests
He also talks about what is needed for a good website in terms of functionality such as what to have's and what not to have's in the website. However, he doesnt depict how a websites' look and feel should be. I think that would be better even for people without web-development knowledge. If the aim is professionals, then a more detailed and technical article on the specifics of desing and database issues should be put on the table.
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