Bio Link
Douglas Kennedy, founder and President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc, based in Hollywood, FL, has been a fixture on the hotel and lodging industry’s conference circuit for over two decades, having spoken at hundreds of association, brand, and management company conferences. It is estimated that over 10,000 others have participated in training workshops and seminars he has presented personally throughout North America and in places like Sao Paulo, Singapore, Kaula Lumpur, Moscow and Sophia, Bulgaria. Besides his private training programs and conference presentations, each month thousands of hoteliers worldwide read his monthly articles in publications such as Hotel World Network, HotelMarketing.com, eHotelier, Hotel-Online, Hotel News Resource, and 4Hoteliers.
On the road to Bend, OR, Dulles Airport, Bethesda, MD, Chico and Redding, CA, and Klamath Falls, OR, February, 2012
The next day I conducted training for the team of the Hotel Oxford in Bend. Readers of my blog and my monthly hotel training articles might recall that I've written about this hotel in the past many times. This visit did not disappoint as their team once again delivered genuine hospitality excellence throughout my stay. Not only was the service incredibly authentic and genuine, but during this visit I was reminded of how wonderful the "physical product" of the hotel itself, accommodations, and f&b presentations were. Best of all I got some great new guest services excellence stories to tell, such as how the staff has special, locally made acoustic guitars placed in the room for certain repeat guests; for another guest who lives in the Southern USA climate, they store her snow boots and Winter attire between stays and have it placed in her room. Here is a picture of me with the two groups that day:
As a training provider, I always enjoy working with clients who are really engaged in the process and so it was great to work with the corporate team from Thayer to fine tune the program content and agenda to get the maximum results. As a guest I also really enjoyed staying at their hotels, which offered extremely comfortable accommodations and dining outlets. As a training presenter, I was especially impressed by their meetings space, which had all the latest in technology with their "Executive Meeting Center" concept. I felt like I was presenting at a conference center as everything was perfect, from the lighting to the seating to the coffee breaks.
Below are pictures; the first two are pictures of me with the guest services team at the Hyatt Dulles Airport and the second two are from the Doubletree Hotel Bethesda.
Thanks to the short travel time, I was back home by 5pm on Thursday and there was Cathy my wife picking me up to go to dinner to start the weekend early.
On Monday I was back on the road for my final trip of the year, which was to be my final three days of training for the Oxford Hotel Group's launch of our front desk sales and mystery shopping program. Although I've never been one to sleep on planes, with all this month's travel I started to get good at it and before long I was arriving in the beautiful small city of Chico, CA. It was once again a welcoming experience at the Oxford Suites located there, and since I had an afternoon left I set-up shop to work in my room again. Little did I know at the time that located very close to the hotel was the headquarters and brewery for the Sierra Nevada brewing company, which has always been one of my favorite brews. Instead of doing their tour I was stuck on email as usual.
The next day flew by as I conducted two more training workshops for the Oxford Hotel Chico. Here's my picture with the groups that day:
After the training was complete that day I was off for a short drive up to Redding, CA, where I was to train the next day at the Oxford Suites Redding. Upon arriving I noticed that there was a vibrant and lively crowd at the evening reception; soon I was made aware that the hotel had been hosting a local National Guard unit for the past several days. The unit members had recently completed their training and had been spending the last few nights with their families and children. It was very touching to observe their children swimming happily in the pool, while wives and husbands said their goodbyes to their military spouses, who were gone by 7am when I went down for breakfast. I paused to think how fortunate I am to have these brave Americans protecting freedom so far away. Any self-pity I had for being away from my own children and wife was completely erased.
The next day I got to spend training two more groups of wonderful participants. Here are my pictures with the groups with day:
After the training finished, I was headed off to the last stop on my tour of the Oxford Hotel Group's properties. Once again they made my travels very easy by having one of their Regional Op's director's fly down on the company plane to attend my training and then to travel with me to the town of Klamath Falls, OR, where I was to conduct the training for the Cimarron Inn. Although this is one of their legacy properties, and the only one which is limited service, it was one of the best limited service stays I've had in along time. The accommodations were very comfortable and the hospitality was excellent. Here's my picture with my group that day:
After the training I flew out to SFO, where I could catch an early AM flight home. And before long I was landing back at home base in FLL. How wonderful it was to see on the other side of security my children and family. I even got a hug from my 14 year old daughter in public. It was a very special moment especially thinking about those mom's and dad's whom I'd seen in uniform preparing for their long journey.
On The Road to New York City, Annapolis, Washington State, and Oregon
Having been home for Christmas and New Years and enjoying some downtime with Cathy and the kids I felt restored and ready for what was certain to be a busy month of travel, especially considering the month of January can be a time of very long delays. But as the month rolled out, I felt very grateful to have had about the best weather ever for each leg of my January journeys.
First up was an easy trip to New York on non-stop Delta flights, which made it seem like a bus ride. I had not been to the Delta terminal at Laguardia in some time now and was pleasantly surprised to find it completely renovated and very pleasant. Great airport food.
I soon in a cab and on the way to the Park South Hotel, where I was to conduct a reservations sales training program for the team at Park South and its sister hotel, The Strand. It was wonderful to be back in The City again, and although it had been in the mid-teens the day prior this day was sunny and bright. I even snapped a camera pick of The Chrysler Building, which is the view right outside the front door.
Soon after arrival I was meeting with my long time friend and client Dan Snepp, who is VP of Revenue/Distribution for Atlantic Stars Hotels, the parent company that owns and operates these two wonderful NY properties. I liked staying at The Park South as it felt like a quiet neighborhood area, yet that evening for dinner it was only a short walk over to see The Strand, which is their contemporary new hotel. I snapped a great picture of the Empire State Building which was right there to send back home to my son, who was quite impressed for a 12 year old. Soon Dan and I were enjoying one of the most memorable dining experiences I can recall on the road right there at The Strand's own restaurant, The Strand American Bistro.
The next day I conducted two workshops for the front desk, sales and reservations staff. It was really fun to spend the day with their staff of the two hotels. I was once again impressed with the longevity of their staff, as many of them had worked for the company for over 5 or even ten years. It was also a very professional group with tons of experience, yet everyone participated actively and made my job easy. Here's a picture of me with the two groups that day:
After a weekend at home the road was calling once again, but this time I was especially eager as this was to be the week we launched a company-wide program for the Oxford Hotel Group. I had met Kim Baney, their Vice President, several years ago at a conference and we had kept in touch periodically. Then two years ago I was asked to do a full-day train-the-trainer program for their Manager's Conference near the home office in Bend, OR. At that time I had met Susie Rossi, their Corporate Director of Revenue Management, who had just started the very day of my presentation.
Having reconnected last Fall it was exciting to hear of the goals they had set and achieved to take their revenue and distribution management processes to the next level. Now it was time for them to focus on optimizing revenue at the front desk.
Thankfully once again the weather cooperated perfect and my travel angels must have been doing their job, as this engagement was to involve significant travel to reach all 17 of the OHG locations. I started the week training at their Oxford Inn and Oxford Suites properties in Silverdale, WA located just south of Seattle.
Upon arrival in my room I got my first sign that I was going to be well taken care of during my entire stay, as there was a personalized note from the General Manager along with a dish of small ultra-tasty cream puffs and a bowl of melted chocolate for dipping. So much for my New Years resolution at that point. That night the home office team including Susie and Troy took the GM and I out to dinner and I was very happy to find that everyone was a sports fan, as it was the night of the National Championship. During the evening I must have made the mention that wherever I go, especially in the Pacific Northwest, I always enjoy sampling local micro brewery beers. From that point on the word got out and for every Oxford property I have checked in to I was greeted with a note that there were local brews awaiting in the mini-fridge.
Thankfully with the time change the game ended early and I got plenty of sleep since the next day was the kick-off of the first of 14 days of training for the Oxford Hotel Group. Thankfully the frontline associates of the Silverdale properties made it easy as they were very interactive and not at all intimidated with the number of managers sitting in to see the first program. Here is a picture of me with my groups that day:
After training, it was time for a road trip but thankfully Troy their Regional Director of Operations was doing the driving and I even had time to do Skype video calls with the kids from the car. I also got to talk with my wife Cathy to get the update on some bad news we had that day; our little kitty, who is named Little Kitty, had disappeared early that morning having snuck out through a tear in a screen over one of our garage vents. Although we live on a quiet street we are not far from busy suburban roads and could not help but think the worst as she has always been an indoor cat.
The next day I did the training at the Oxord Hotel in Yakima, WA and again another great group. The morning class, like many on this engagement, included two night auditors who had just worked all night. Yet they were very cooperative and participated throughout. Here's my picture with the groups that day:
To get to the next and last stop for the week, which was to train the two Oxford Suites properties in the Spokane, WA, would have required either another long drive. Instead Kim Baney had arranged for their corporate pilot to fly me out of the private airport in Yakima, along with the rest of the home office team. Here's a slightly re-touched picture of the plane:
My third and final day of training also turned out to be a great day, as I had to enthusiastic groups once again. I was quickly learning that this was a hotel company that delivered on its promises as the frontline staff was once again top notch. Here's my picture with the groups that day.
In case you didn't notice, there were a lot of Denver Broncos fans that day who had to do a picture in tribute to their star quarterback:
After three cities in three days it was great to have some down-time in my super comfortable room at the Oxford Suites right in the heart of downtown Spokane. The next day my flights home were uneventful, and best of all I was greeted at the airport by my wife Cathy and son. He was so far taking the news about Little Kitty being missing pretty well but was clearly holding out hope. As for myself, I still believed that Saturday would be the day that maybe a working person finally had a day off to take her to a vet to scan for her pet chip. But the day passed with no calls. Adam persisted to believe and put up even more missing cat posters throughout the neighborhood. But the day came and went and no Little Kitty was to be found. Yet the very next morning, right when Adam came into the room to wake me up, we heard a familiar meowing in the garage. Little Kitty had returned through the very hole she had snuck out of. The kids were thrilled as were we.
Next up was to be an easy day of travel to train at the Oxford Suites in Pismo Beach, CA. I had even planned ahead with an early flight and was seeing myself jogging on the beach there in the Big Sur area of California, having a Noon arrival time. Yet when I checked my cell phone in the morning there was a message that my outbound flight had been delayed by 90 minutes. There was still hope for that jog, as my new arrival time was to be around 2:30pm. Then at the airport all of us passengers who were waiting received a cell phone notification at the same time that the flight was pushed back another 4 hours! My new arrival time was to be 10pm! I took it well and was happy that I would at least make it to do the training. Perhaps this optimism helped in some way, as when I landed in Phoenix I noticed another flight about to depart to an alternative airport. Although it was about 90 minutes in a rental car, I still arrived by 8:30pm and managed to get a full night's rest. For the next two days I had a really fun time training the teams at the Oxford Suites in Pismo Beach and then in Lancaster, CA. Here are pictures of me with my groups those days:
Now as much as my flight delay had been an inconvenience, when I started watching the weather I felt very fortunate as the cities in Washington State the week prior were this week getting slammed with a really bad storm; for the Seattle area, one of the worst in over 50 years! Yet the weather in this part of California was in the 70's during the day.
Next up on my schedule was a nearby engagement, as OHG had planned around my previous commitment to be a guest speaker at the GM/Management conference for the Viceroy Hotel Group. It was only a relatively short drive of 2 hours and in the still-early evening I was arriving to the Viceroy Hotel in Palm Springs, CA. I was immediately welcomed by a valet/bellman right at the curb and from then on I stepped into the restive luxury of this chic urban resort environment. It had been a long day so I had some excellent dinner from room service and then after a power walk in the cool but not cold desert air I drifted off to a good night's sleep.
The next day I got to sit-in as the leaders of Viceroy Hotels announced their newest plans for growth and acquisition of properties and new projects. It was great to meet all of the on-site contacts that we have been working with for the last few months as their mystery shopping program has been expanded, as well as the corporate offices leaders. The food was amazing and that alone was worth a blog entry. The only bad part is that I forgot to even take pictures of that part of my January travels.
After my short afternoon presentation I returned to my room and was thankful to have the afternoon to catch up on my correspondence and office work. The wake up call came very early and soon I was flying home again for the weekend.
Next up was my last long trip of the month, this time to train the OHG properties in Jantzen/Gladestone, Hermiston, Pendelton, and finally to Boise. Training by day and traveling by night is never easy, but I have to say the OHG executives once again made it super easy by making all my flight arrangements on regional air carriers or by flying me around themselves. To talk in detail about all of the great people I met, fabulous meals I had, and also the kind notes, amenities, and everywhere I went a fridge full of micro brewed beer would result in my longest blog entry ever. So I will just a a big "Thank You" to everyone involved. Here are pictures of me with the groups that week:
Below is a picture from the training in Janzen for the Janzen/Gladstone properties:
Here is the team at the Oxford Suites in Hermiston:
Here I am with the groups from the Oxford Suites in Pendelton:
Here I am with the groups on the last day of training at the Oxford Suites in Boise, ID
On Friday night I was glad to once again have a second night in the same hotel room, and it was easy to fall asleep early and get ready for my flight home. Again this whole week the weather had been nearly perfect for traveling, and I was very thankful that the planes were all on time as waiting at the airport was Cathy and both kids this time. We had a full weekend at home and the next week even started with an office day, my first in over three weeks. I was happy to see familiar faces at work and felt especially blessed that they run on auto-pilot when I am not around.
It felt great to look back at a successful month, but since Monday was still January I had one more trip left on the agenda. Tuesday morning I was back at the airport but this time for a short non-stop to National Airport, and a short drive to the Annapolis Marriott where I was to kick-off the first in a series of training programs for the properties owned and/or managed by the Thayer Hotel Group. Again the weather was perfect and it almost felt like Spring as I made the short drive to and then through the beautiful historic town of Annapolis, to the Marriott right on the waterfront. There I was greeted by the General Manager Colleen and also the corporate office contact Sarah and Amal their Guest Services Manager. We had a wonderful lunch at their in-house restaurant Pusser's Caribbean Grill. At lunch I go the news that it was easier for them to have the entire staff attend my first workshop which was to start that evening at 5pm, so I was going to be able to sleep late the next morning. The hours flew by and soon enough we were starting the workshop on the subject of upselling at registration. There were many corporate office staff and managers, in fact more than the frontline associates in attendance. This could have been intimidating for some participants but not this group, which included some really fun personalities and people. The corporate level staff and managers turned out to be really fun participants too and the time flew by. Here is a picture of me with the group that night:
On The Road To Orlando, Dallas, South Beach Miami, Lakeville, PA, and Annapolis, MD
After these two back-to-back trips I was once again back in town, and thanks to that I live close enough to my next two clients on the schedule, I was home for two weeks. The first week was mostly an office week of catch-up. The second week was one I had blocked out a long time ago, which was the week of the Middle School Band concerts on Monday and Tuesday, and my son Adam’s performance in the holiday play put on by his performing arts school. On Monday and Tuesday I reported dutifully as a band-parent volunteer to help their band teacher get the 90+ beginning band students from 3 periods organized into the semblance of a symphonic band. I can tell you I learned a lot that day from Ms. Weiss and the other parent-volunteers. I spent most of the two days serving as the enforcer of time-out sentences and reminding band students how they have to “bring it” every day. After that I felt like my job of running a hotel industry training company was an easy job for sure. Here’s a picture of my kids at their band concert:
After the band concert Tuesday night I headed down to South Beach Miami, which although it was only a 35 minute drive, was where I wanted to be sleeping over to make sure I was ready for another day of training on Wednesday morning. What a great day it was training the front desk, reservations, and sales department teams of the South Seas Resort and the Avalon Hotel South Beach. I have to say honestly that I was pleasantly surprised at how especially interested and engaged the group was that day, since sometimes the labor market in South Beach Miami can be somewhat transient and generally not too interested in the hospitality industry as a career choice. Yet I found myself training a group of about 10 people, most of which had at least 5 or 10 years of experience working in their current positions. It was very energizing. Here’s a picture of me with the group that day:
By Friday night and for most of the weekend I found myself in the madness of Christmas shopping at the local malls and stores, getting ready for the big day now only 10 days away. Good thing Cathy was back in town to help, and we got all of the gifts purchased or ordered online on just two days. Sunday night I was back in a rental car headed for a relatively short drive to The Peabody Orlando, where I was to conduct training for their PBX/Communications Department, which like so many traditional PBX/Telephone Operators departments is taking on a new role as the “storefront window” to the hotel. I also conducted a half-day workshop for the newly hired reservations sales agents at the Peabody Hotels call center, which is based in Orlando. As always it was an extremely welcoming reception at The Peabody, just as most every guest receives. Everything was enjoyable, from the food and beverage I enjoyed at their new bar called ROCKS, to the two classes I facilitated the next day. Here’s my picture with the afternoon group:
As the day ended, I was right on time to turn in my one-way rental car at the Orlando Airport, and to take my flight to Scranton, PA, where another rental car was waiting for me to drive about an hour to back to another visit at The Cove Haven Resorts in central PA. This being my third visit, I knew upon arrival I would have a lighted fireplace, my own private indoor pool in my suite, and other amenities. But best of all I knew I would be working with one of the best call center teams in the business, lead by one of the very best call center directors I have ever known, Mary Ann Olver, who’s incredible energy and enthusiasm is mirrored by her staff. Due to my very very late arrival, Mary Ann even had arranged for my workshops to start a little later the next day, at 11am and when I finished training that same night at 10pm I felt like the goals for 2011 had been accomplished. Next day it was just a half-day workshop left, and I knew the participants would be into it and easy to work with. Thanks once again to the dual travel angels that I carry on each shoulder, I was once again blessed with great weather (considering) and road conditions as I faced a 4 hour drive to Annapolis, MD for my final business trip of the year. The purpose was to visit the headquarters office of Thayer Hospitality Management for a pre-training consultation with the asset managers who have engaged KTN to present a customized training on the topic of front desk upselling for the coming year 2012.
They were very personable, warm, and accommodating, and the meeting even ended a little early since we were all efficient and prepared. Soon enough I was back onboard my favorite airline – Delta – headed home for over two weeks to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, to the welcoming arms of Cathy my wife and with the kids soon to arrive to our house the next day from their mom’s house for our Christmas Holidays. On the flight I felt the adrenaline level drop, and my mind moved to a more meditative and restive state to take a break for a while with family and to remember why we as business travelers do all that we do, which is to provide for the ones at home. I was thankful in my heart to have been blessed with such a “busy” Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, and thankful for all of the many clients that made 2011 a prosperous year and allowed for the kids to have their Christmas wish lists be fulfilled.
On The Road To Kiev, Ukraine, November, 2011
After such an wonderful experience conducting the HIT (Sales Directors) Club conference presentation and two-day workshop in Moscow for the hotels in Moscow, there was just enough time for fond farewells. Soon, Anton Matveev from Big Tree and I headed on to the SVO airport for our short flight to Kiev, Ukraine, where I was to present the same two-day management training workshop, but this time to a private client, which was Premier International Hotel Management.
Being unfamiliar with the language, I was glad to have Anton along to lead the way and we were able to take the metro subway train and then an express train directly to the airport. We had just enough time to stop along the way for a great dinner at one of Anton’s favorite stops.
Soon enough we were on board our flight to Kiev. The airline service was excellent on board the Aerosvit Airlines and they even gave us a sandwich on such a short flight. As a tourist to Ukraine, I appreciated that a visa was not required for US Citizens, and I also appreciated that the hotel had a car service waiting for us as the hour was getting late, even with a two hour time change back in time. Although there were many transportation options, it was especially nice to be greeted by a driver from the hotel at which we were staying.
Upon entering the lobby of the Premier Palace I could instantly see why my colleague Anton had said many times that this was one of his favorite hotels of all time. The architecture itself was stunning, as it is replicated much of the same style of the original hotel that been destroyed and later reconstructed. Here’s a picture of the outside:
Upon entering the lobby it was clear the designers had created an atmosphere of gracious elegance but without gaudy opulence of so many ultra-luxury hotels. The staff was very welcoming, even at the late hour, and soon enough I was entering a very comfortable guest room and ready for a good night’s sleep.
My morning began while enjoying one of the most extensive breakfast buffets I have ever experienced as a guest, and there were choices for people of all cultures and dietetic needs. Best of all was the amazing views out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the entire skyline of Kiev, which I must say is a beautiful site to see. The morning sun was brightly reflecting off of the domes of the Orthodox Churches skyscraper windows. Here’s a picture from that morning:
After breakfast it was time to start the two-day workshop, which was attended by a diverse mix of managers from Premier Hotels and Accord Hotels, which is their mid-scale brand. We had several GM’s, Directors of Sales & Marketing, Corporate Sales Managers, Revenue and Marketing managers and even a management trainee. Most impressive for me was that Iryna Sidletska, the General Director of Premier International (essentially their President,) was there to welcome the group and to introduce our program. Not only did she stop by, but she participated for much of the first day’s training and all of the second day’s class (which was on a Saturday), despite her busy agenda. I was also impressed that the CEO also attended much of the workshop, also giving up his Saturday to be there to show support.
What a great two days of training it was. They were very interactive and had many great questions, comments, and contributions to the agenda. The time seemed to fly by and by the end of the second day I felt that I now had many new friends in Ukraine and know that I will definitely return one day, and will most definitely have to plan on some leisure time to see this wonderful city. Here is a picture of me with the group at the end of the last day:
After many heartfelt goodbyes with this very special group of participants, it finally hit me that my five straight days of training was completed, and even better, since it was Saturday night there was no need to check email. After a quick call home on Skype, my colleague and now good friend Anton and I headed out to explore Kiev. We had a brisk walk and an enjoyable bite to eat, and then headed to what Anton says is one of his favorite spots, which was perfect for me as hearing live music is one of my favorite weekend pastimes. Anton it turns out is a big time rock and roll fan, and we both used to play in rock bands and still sometimes play guitars, so we were both enjoying the live band’s renditions of many famous songs. I will always remember this occasion when I hear Pink Floyd’s Shine On Your Crazy Diamond at any point in my future.
On the final morning Anton personally made sure I was all set with my flight before saying goodbye and himself heading home to his own family. As much as I had enjoyed the journey, my thoughts soon returned to my wife and children, especially my son Adam who was adamant that he would be awake when I got home at 1am after my 24 hours of travel. Although he didn’t manage to stay up that late, he did make sure to run into our bedroom to greet me with enthusiasm very early the next morning. Despite the lack of sleep it was easy to wake up to such enthusiasm and I was eager to share my many fond memories of my journey to Moscow and Kiev.
On The Road to Moscow, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine, November, 2011
Above is my picture with the participants
in the two-day certification workshop in Moscow, Russia
Sponsored By Big Tree Hospitality Training
Once again my business alliance partner and friend Andrei Malyshev was there to greet me at the arrival exit which was such a welcome gesture after such a long journey. It was nice to arrive at the new SVO airport terminal which my Delta Airlines flight arrived at was very impressive from both the architecture and beauty of the design, as well as how convenient it was and presented such a welcoming first impression.
Later in the week they also took me for a special dinner to a familiar restaurant for me, the Hard Rock Cafe. Here is a picture of me with Anton, Andrei, and their lovely wives. Behind us is an original uniform worn by one of the members of "The Monkees" band:
Although I would have been excited to have been the guest speaker for this hotel sales club regardless of what member hotel was the host, it was particularly interesting for me that the location was the Ritz-Carlton Moscow which is only a very short distance from The Kremlin, Red Square, and The National Museum of Russia. I had seen this hotel from the distance during my previous visits, when Anton and Andrei walked me through the Red Square and a brief tour of the local area hotels.
What a memorable experience it was to enter the lobby of this hotel that has hosted so many dignitaries. I was especially impressed that at the top of the escalator was the General Manager, who was personally greeting the guests as they arrived for their meetings.
Therefore I was humbly honored to have been so warmly welcomed by the participants, who seemed genuinely engaged in my training topics and overall presentation whether they were experienced long-term veterans of our industry or those who were discovering their career paths.
I definitely have to say that I believe a major advantage to my presentation's success was that the HIT Club had arranged for one of their regular attendees, Lada Samodumskaya, who is the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Moscow, to co-present with me and to help interpret the concepts I was advancing to the local area market.
On The Road to Park City, UT and Sunriver, OR, October, 2011
On The Road to Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, UT
Although I have always enjoyed my previous visits to Park City over the years, this one was especially enjoyable for several reasons. For one, it was the most absolutely perfect Fall day, with sunny, crisp and mild weather to greet me, and I always like Park City as it seems to be the shortest drive from a major airport to any ski resort I can think off offhand. Within 45 minutes of arriving at SLC airport I was already walking into the beautiful lobby of the historic Stein Eriksen lodge. The staff was very welcoming at the desk, and I was there early enough to walk the resort grounds and snap some pics of the bright yellow Aspen trees displaying their full colors, contrasting with the wiser and deep green evergreens in the distance. What a beautiful guest room awaited me. Not only a full kitchen and luxury décor, but also my own private balcony with a hot tub that I actually used! I also especially enjoyed how nice the restaurant and bar staff were to me, as a single dining patron, and I had a great time getting to know them. Below is a picture of the fireplace mantel in the original lobby, along with picture of the ski slopes from my balcony.
The next day I was to train the reservations and front desk team of this five star, five diamond classic resort. What an enjoyable day! Everyone seemed really into it, which makes us trainers’ jobs so much easier. Berkely Tollman, their Revenue Manager, was a great host and we had a nice dinner afterwards talking about our families and getting to know each other. Here is a picture of some of the participants doing one of my favorite training games, followed by a group shot of us in front of the resort after the training:
On the road to Sunriver, OR
Soon enough I was back on a plane for my third and last trip of the month, headed to Sunriver, OR to conduct an area-wide reservations sales training workshop that owners of several of the vacation rental companies in the area had organized. Since Central Oregon is about as far away as you can from Ft. Lauderdale on the Continental US, it is always a bit of a journey to get there. I usually almost always have excellent luck when I travel, thanks to the travel angels that ride on each shoulder, but this time the Universe had other plans. Arriving in SFO only 30 minutes late, I did a flat out sprint-run of about 1/3 mile to arrive at my United Airlines gate exactly 5 minutes before take-off. You can guess the rest of the story. The gate was closed and despite that the plane was right there, they refused to let another passenger and it board. The trip was already to scheduled to take 10 hours had I made that flight. Instead, they wanted to re-book me on a flight that would have gotten me into Bend/Redmond at 10:30pm, making it a 19 hour trip. Not for this road warrior! Instead I went standby into Portland and rented a car. But I should have listened to the kind lady on the plane who told me a back way to go that would take 3 hours. Instead I went with the advice from the rental car agent who said she used to live up that way, and went another way. Turns out it took over 4 hours! After I exited I-84 headed south to Bend, I figured I would swing in a quick mart and grab some water and snacks, as I had walked right off the plane and right into the car. Little did I know there would be absolutely no place to stop for nearly 2 hours. Even my friend the GPS lady lost contact with me. In the end, my travel angels still delivered me safely to my comfortable condo that my friends at Discover Sunriver, one of the companies who helped me set-up the program, had provided for me. There was even a welcome snack basket.
Even with the travel stress I had a good night’s sleep and woke up excited and ready to train. What I great group I had that day too! They were very high energy and a terrific blend of personalities. It was a really fun experience for me and it felt like a reward for all I’d been through to get there. Here’s a picture of the participants doing one of the training games followed by one of me with the group afterwards:
On The Road to Seaport Hotel, Boston, September 2011
On The Road to Omni Hotels Central Reservations, August, 2011
On The Road To Il Lugano Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale
On The Road To Our Family Vacation In Colonial Williamsburg, D.C., and Split Rock Resort in PA
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