New Breed of Hotel Sales Associates Lacking Curiosity?
Maybe it�s Not a Generational Thing
By David M. Brudney, ISHC, July 2006
I wrote an article a few years back critical of limited service front desk personnel (�Front Desk Fails to Catch America�s Hospitality Spirit�) and received so much reader feedback that I was compelled to do a follow up piece. The original piece angered more than a few front desk associates (and some of their supervisors as well!) and many were quick to write that my criticism was very unfair and that I had little to no appreciation for the job challenges and lack of support. But this time (�Generation X Hotel Sales Associates: All Important Curiosity Factor Missing?�) I heard no rebuttal arguments at all from Gen X (or Gen Y or even any Millenials - - those born since 1980) which made me wonder two things: 1) none of them read the article or 2) those that did dismissed it as nonsense or prejudice. I would love to hear from more of you. Feedback from the New Generation A brand new hotel Sales associate wrote: �Your article was really insightful as I am new to the Sales world (only two months into it). I am starting to develop a new territory that has not been touched which has been a bit overwhelming as there are so many avenues to go. I was starting to get a bit frazzled as I thought I was going into so many different directions not knowing if I was heading down the right path. But your article really was enlightening. Thank you for giving me some insight as I move forward in my Sales career.�Sample: Other Readers had to Say A hospitality public relations veteran: �You got right back to the basics and I hope that particularly, the younger readers will assimilate it and learn.�Availability of instant information impacts curiosity A hotel owner and operator: �It�s more than just a lack of curiosity. It�s a lack of passion.�So, is it a lack of curiosity? Passion? An over-dependency on the Internet for �instant information�? Or is it more of a non-generational issue? Is it more a case whereby all of us have become so conditioned to search the Internet for anything we need to know that we have forgotten the valuable life and career lessons from trainers and mentors? What do you think? Do we spend so much time �Googling� and e-mailing that we have no time left to observe the best Sales professionals with years of empirical knowledge and successful track records? A concern to those of us who have made the hospitality Sales profession our life�s work and to all who care about its future, is that an entire new generation of hotel Sales associates will miss an opportunity to learn and master their craft. True, we are in a recovery mode now, but let us not forget that good times never last. When tough times return, you can be sure that owners and asset managers will focus again on the day-to-day performance and skill levels of the unit Sales teams. © copyright 2006
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David M. Brudney, ISHC, Principal
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