It is common knowledge and an undisputed fact that general managers at almost any size hotel could take over the sales efforts for that hotel and have the occupancy and RevPAR near the capacity level within just a few weeks.

Well, "almost" common knowledge and probably highly disputable ……………

Having been in both operations and sales at different points in our careers, Howard Feiertag and I appreciate the value and contributions of each.

Here is a chance for General Managers to examine the other perspective. You are invited to take this little test (without looking at the answers)

Take a chance and think about your responses:

1. List your hotel’s top 10 accounts, by individual and company name
2. How many in-house guests did you personally talk with this past week? (more than the good morning type of greeting)
3. How many regular guests did you call on the phone last week to say “thank you for using our hotel’s services and asking if there is anything we can do better?”
4. How many local community activities did you personally attend the past week as your hotel’s official representative?
5. How many outside sales calls did you make with the sales manager last week? If you do not have a sales manager, how many calls did you make alone?
6. What did you do between 11:30 am and 12:30 PM last Wednesday?
7. When did you personally last review sales files and call reports?
8. When was the last sales department/team meeting? Were you there?
9. When was the last time you personally called on the phone a guest who returned a comment card? (positive or negative comments)
10. How many hours did sales staff spend last week in non-productive sales activities?

1. Every General Managers should know the top 10. Contacts that the General Managers has may be different from others on staff, but regular networking (at least once per month per client) pays HUGE dividends.
2. Every General Managers should visit with at least five registered guests weekly, at morning coffee, at checkout, the restaurant, the pool, etc. These guests are prime candidates for repeat business or positive word of mouth promotion for your hotel, at virtually no cost.  
3. Again, five is a workable, meaningful number for phoning regular guests.
4. The General Managers is the CEO of your hotel.  Every organization, be it the Chamber of Commerce or the Kiwanis, welcomes and values the CEO.  Involved CEOs are often a hotel’s best sales person.
5. With no sales staff, a General Managers must make 3-5 calls per day on average to maintain, not gain ground.  With a sales team, 8-10 calls per week can make a difference.
6. If a full service hotel, an effective General Managers will use this busy time of day to tour the restaurants, visit the kitchen, and perhaps pour coffee in a banquet, which will shock and definitely please most meeting attendees.  If a rooms-only hotel, the General Managers should be having at least two business lunches per week.  That is what your competitors are doing. 
7. This one is not an open and shut case, as there are so many variables. Regular review of sales files is an acceptable answer, but this should be at least weekly, with personal follow-up with the sales manager.  
8. Sales meetings should be before 8:30 am or after 5 PM to avoid prime contact and selling time.  Successful teams value General Managers who attend, offer support and occasional input.
9. The very small percentage of guests who take the time to tell what went well or wrong need to be TREASURED as resources by General Managers. These people are the heart of word-of-mouth promotion. Call as many as you can – it will be worth it!
10. You know the answer to this one has to be that we have sales staff selling, not going to the bank, to the post office or the bakery. If we are going to steal market share, we need to be selling, not making change.

What are you going to do differently tomorrow? 
 

Feel free to share an idea for a column at johnjhogan@yahoo.com anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements …………. 
And remember – we all need a regular dose of common sense.
 

Autographed copies of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD – a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES can be obtained from THE ROOMS CHRONICLE www.roomschronicle.com and other industry sources. 

All rights reserved by John Hogan and this column may be included in an upcoming book on hotel management.   The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication

John Hogan, a career hotelier and educator, is frequently invited to participate at franchise meetings, management company and hospitality association industry events.  He is a successful senior executive with a record of accomplishment in leading hospitality industry organizations at multiple levels, with demonstrated competencies as a strong leader, relationship builder, problem solver and mentor. He conducts mystery-shopping reviews of quality in operations and marketing, including repositioning of hotels.

Expertise and Research Interest
• Sales Management and training
• Turn-around and revenue management
• Professional Development & Customer Service
• Hospitality Leadership and Executive Education
• Making Cultural Diversity Real
• Accreditation & Developing Academic Hospitality programs

He writes weekly columns for a number of global online services and has published more than 400 articles & columns on the hotel industry.  He co-authored (with Howard Feiertag, CHA CMP) LESSONS FROM THE FIELD – a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES, which is available from info@smartbizzonline.com, ROOMS CHRONICLE www.roomschronicle.com  and other industry sources.  He resides in Phoenix, Arizona and expects to publish in 2009 his 2nd book based on his dissertation – The Top 100 People of All Time Who Most Dramatically Affected the Hotel Industry.

Hogan’s professional experience includes over 35 years in hotel operations, food & beverage, sales & marketing, training, management development and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis, including service as Senior Vice President of Operations in a specialty hotel brand for six years.

He holds a number of industry certifications (CHA, CHE, MHS, ACI) and is a past recipient of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Pearson Award for Excellence in Lodging Journalism, as well as operational and marketing awards from international brands.  He has served as President of both city and state hotel associations.

John’s background includes teaching college level courses as an adjunct professor at three different colleges and universities over a 20-year period, while managing with Sheraton, Hilton, Omni and independent hotels.  He was the principal in an independent training & consulting group for more than 12 years serving associations, management groups, convention & visitors’ bureaus, academic institutions and as an expert witness.  He joined Best Western International in spring of 2000, where over the next 8 years he created and developed a blended learning system as the Director of Education & Cultural Diversity for the world’s largest hotel chain. 

He has served on several industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity and as brand liaison to the NAACP and the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association with his long-term involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program.  He has conducted an estimated 3,200 workshops and classes in his career. 

Service to the Industry and Hospitality Education includes working with the Educational Institute Certification Commission of the AH&LA, the Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute, the AH&LA Multicultural Advisory Council, the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration, the Commission for Accreditation on Hospitality Management Programs, the AH&LA and AAHOA Education and Training Committees, the Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (CHRIE), the International Hotel Show and the Certified Hotel Owner program for the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association.
 

Dr. John Hogan, CHA MHS CHE
johnjhogan@yahoo.com