kennedy training network
How To Help Your Front Desk Colleagues Overcome “Compassion Fatigue”
Doug Kennedy | January 15, 2020
By Doug Kennedy As part of the prework I do before conducting on-site training workshops for front desk teams, I always look at the existing, in-house training standards and content. Nearly all programs cover the concepts of showing empathy, and especially at Forbes rated hotels, to establish authentic, emotional connections. Yet when I look at how colleagues are trained on how to deliver on these standards, I find that most managers are simply going over scripted welcome messages and reviewing interpersonal communications techniques at their meetings. It seems to me that most front office leaders underestimate just how challenging i...
Standing Out in This Era of “Silent Selling”: Six Ways Hotel Salespeople Can Use Video Email to Engage Prospects
Doug Kennedy | December 11, 2019
By Doug Kennedy It is eerily silent in most sales offices these days. Whereas in the past the halls echoed with telephone conversations between sales managers and group or function planners, these days the only sounds you’ll hear are the clicking of fingers on a computer keypad. Nowadays, most leads are arriving via various “silent” channels. These include direct website RFP’s, leads forwarded from regional brand offices, app notifications coming in from lead generation platforms such as CVENT, The Knot/Wedding Wire, or digital notifications from the local CVB or DMO. Likewise, most salespeople respond silently by emailing st...
Hotel Sales RFP’s Circa 2020: How to Be the Best, Not Just the First to Respond
Doug Kennedy | November 8, 2019
By Doug Kennedy When I speak with hotel sales leaders at my training workshops and conference presentations, and when I read interviews with them in hotel trade publications such as this one, it seems that most are buying-in to these three myths about hotel sales in the current era: The most important factor in closing more leads is to be the first to respond. The second key to success is having the coolest PDF or online brochure, with more pictures than everyone else. Planners who send digital inquiries do not want to talk or correspond; they only want to get the proposal they asked for. Let’s tackle these mistaken beliefs...
Remaining Relevant in the Age of Airbnb
Travel Outlook Hotel Reservations Call Center Services | October 17, 2019
By John Smallwood, CEO, Travel Outlook Help travelers identify with your brand on an emotional level Noted Harvard Business professor Theodore Levitt once said that “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want quarter-inch holes.” This expression gets to the heart of marketing and the desire not just to sell but to gain and foster a customer. Defining products or services as being defined by their practical use has since been seen as a critical feature in how advertisers go about selling. But in addition to their practical use, Levitt also wanted advertisers to focus on the customer and their needs, rather than just see them ...
Hoteliers of All Levels Can Benefit From Joining a Local Toastmasters International Club
Cathy Cook | October 11, 2019
By Cathy Cook When I started my management career at the Front Desk, I had no problems working side by side with my associates on the front lines taking care of our guests and putting on a show for my audience every day! But when it came to be standing up in front of my department and presenting an agenda or leading a meeting, I felt panicked and I would perspire and forget what I had to say. I knew I needed help in my presentation skills. Thankfully it was around that time that I found a non-profit organization called Toastmasters International, which I have been a member of for almost 18 years. Just recently, I achieved status as a Di...
Reinventing The Welcome: Finally, Self Check-In Has Been Done Right!
Doug Kennedy | October 10, 2019
By Doug Kennedy For decades now, some hoteliers and many hotel tech providers have been pushing hotel guests to embrace self check-in procedures. I first heard of this concept as a budding young entrepreneur floating my business plan for a hotel industry training company to the top minds in lodging. The year was 1989 and my proposed company name was Check-Inn Training. I remember one industry icon in particular who, upon seeing the name on my binder, said “Bad idea young man.” He proceeded to hand me a copy of an article from what was then called Hotel & Motel Management, in which a headline read “Front Desk Staffs To Be Replaced...
E.P.I.C Hospitality™ Training
Doug Kennedy | September 24, 2019
This is the first in a series of five train-the-trainer articles contributed by Doug Kennedy Most hoteliers I speak with clearly understand that hospitality and guest service excellence are more important than ever before in the history of the lodging industry. Everyone knows that “word of click” has long since replaced “word of mouth” and that the old adage that “an unhappy guest will tell 9 or 10 others” has turned into 900, 9,000, 90,000 or even more. Yet for the most part, the impact of hospitality on profits has been anecdotal. However, a recent survey caught my eye that provides empirical evidence to validate what eve...
Pro-Active Prospecting Is the Only Way Hotel Sales Staff Can Do Their Most Important Job: Fill in “Gap” Dates
Doug Kennedy | August 22, 2019
By Doug Kennedy In the current market, most hotels, resorts and other venues are experiencing a significant softening in group demand. However, this does not necessarily mean that hotel salespeople are fielding fewer inbound leads, but rather multiple leads are coming in for dates that are in peak demand for transient and for other group business. Here in the era of electronic RFP’s, where one piece of business generates a proposal request for 8, 10 or more properties, hotel salespeople are perhaps busier than ever simply keeping up with what often feels like “lead spam.” Unfortunately though, the time spent responding to electron...
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Breaking News
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The Guestbook CEO James Gancos Chosen to Join Expert Panel at HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference
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