This entry was posted on 2/20/2007 6:19 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
On The Road To Bellaire, MI
My travel schedule for 2007 picked-up right where it had left off in December, since the New Year’s holiday fell on a weekend we all got short changed. I have to admit thinking it was just a few days too early to be hitting the road again as I began packing for my first trip. Yet on the morning of January 3 there I was headed back to FLL airport for my flight to Traverse City, MI and then the one-hour drive to the Shanty Creek Resort. Soon I’d shrugged-off the post holiday blues and turned all of my attention on this, my next client. Arriving in Traverse City in the early afternoon, I almost felt I was in a time warp because it was the most beautiful spring-like day, although it did make me think about the fossil fuel I was burning at that moment as I drove through this idyllic setting, thinking what a great little resort town this must be in the summer as it located right on Lake Michigan. As I snaked along the windy little state roads I felt the elevation ascending, and soon I was making the last turn into the Shanty Creek Resort.
It was great to be reconnecting with Leslie Chinn, who has been at the property for well over a decade and who had been a client of my old company as well as a member of our HSMAI Revenue Management SIG. After reaching my room and looking at the view from the balcony though, I felt really bad seeing first-hand the impact of this especially warm winter on the ski industry, as all that was open was a tube-trail. I was later surprised to find that thanks to the wonders of modern snowmaking technology, they somehow managed to open 10 of 24 trails. (I was very happy to learn that they finally received sustainable snow base and cold weather a week or two later.)
Standing on my balcony in shirt sleeves, I could easily imagine what a wonderful family resort this would be to take my own wife and kids one day. Being Florida kids they’ve not seen snow in as long as they can remember at ages 9 and 7, so it would be fun to take them in the winter. But being an official Floridian now after living there 20+ years, I have to admit I’d prefer to bring them for a nice summer vacation when winter is only a distant memory. Here’s a view from my balcony:
Here’s a picture of me with the reservations and front desk team that attended my training: (Leslie Chinn is pictured second from the left.)
After an uneventful return home I was very happy to have a 10 day stretch of no travel ahead of me. Although it was because a client had to postpone dates due to staff changes, I have to admit really needing some office time to catch up. As fate would have it this re-scheduling also resulted in me being home for a very important event in the Kennedy family; the untimely death of our beloved guinea pig Jessica Amanda. I have to admit myself being a little saddened when my Cathy broke the news that Friday morning. Although it seems strange to grieve over a dead rodent, it was to be the kids’ first experience with a loss. So when I picked the kids up from school that day it wasn’t easy to break the news, although I know it was a necessary learning experience. While my Julia grieved mostly in silence, my son shared his grief with anyone who would listen that weekend, including a grandfatherly-looking grocery store clerk who listened to Adam’s version of the tragedy: “Our Guinea pig died today sir - but it’s okay now sir because she’s in heaven with her mommy.” Here’s a picture of the kids at the grave site at the funeral:
The following Sunday evening it was time to hit the road again, but only for a one-night trip to Atlanta to conduct a cluster training session for the company-managed Embassy Suites in the area.
There was only one bad part about this trip; when I booked the ticket weeks earlier I had no way of knowing I’d be flying during the first half of the Patriots-Colts playoff football game which of course turned into a slug-fest between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. You can bet I was watching every tick of the clock while flying. I was thrilled to note upon landing that we were 25 minutes early; although my enthusiasm was dampened (literally) by the torrential rain coming down and by our 45-minute taxi on the runway. (Which I later found out was due to a lightening strike right when I landed temporarily causing a pause in refueling.)
Still, while making my way to the baggage claim area I called home and my football-watching wife informed me that it was early in the third quarter and very exciting. Things were looking up as I entered the taxi line, noting that it was moving quickly despite of a torrential downpour. I felt even better upon entering my cab, noting that the driver had the game on the radio cranked up loud; but it didn’t take me long to start to wonder about him. When I casually asked what he thought about the game, he proceeded to turn around to speak to me in the back seat for several seconds as we sped onto I-75, saying something about “Two bad calls – two of them! Two bad calls!
I buttoned up my lips and tightened my seatbelt for the rest of the drive, feeling less and less safe by the minute as we proceeded in the driving rain. The skyline of Atlanta emerged as we entered the stretch where I-75 merges with I-85, creating at least 7 lanes of traffic each way, I felt the cab begin to sputter and jerk and noticed the driver moving over several lanes towards the shoulder. Next thing I know my taxi had run out of gas and we were parked on the narrowest highway shoulder I’d ever seen, in a pitch black night with the driving rain, my hopes of seeing the Manning-Bradley shootout abruptly ended.
But as fate would have it, right as I began to seriously think about how much I started the 24” - 36” of space separating my taxi from the 18-wheelers whizzing by, another taxi from the same company pulled up in front of us to rescue me. Even more fortunate was that the other passenger already in the cab was headed to a neighboring hotel, so within minutes I was checked-in, ordering room service, and tuning into the start of one of the best fourth quarters the NFL has seen in some time!
Needless to say all this stress did require a little more downtime than usual before I could fall asleep, and Monday morning came all too early. So I was very relieved when the participants for my Embassy Suites area-wide seminar began filing into the room and I could tell right away by the energy in the room that the day was going to be a success. This workshop was especially exciting for me as it represented the first cluster training I’ve done under the auspices of KTN that focused exclusively on revenue optimization strategies for the front desk. I have to thank my client friend Beth Estes, the DOS at the Embassy Suites Atlanta/Centennial Olympic Park for having the vision to organize such a session with her piers after seeing my presentation at the Embassy Suites brand meetings last fall. Besides the chance to share our training strategies and philosophies for the front desk, this was obviously a great networking opportunity for the frontline associates and first level supervisors in attendance to see themselves as part of the bigger picture of the hospitality industry. Here’s a picture of me with the group that day:
Fortunately for me after an uneventful trip home Monday night I was rewarded with office time four days in the row in the office and had time to catch up both at work and at home. Soon enough it was time for my fourth and final trip for the month, which was to take me back to the Split Rock Resort for the next in the series of ongoing hospitality and guest service training sessions I’ve been conducting there.
Upon arrival at the main Galleria building, it felt a bit like home as always, having been here for training so many times in the last 10+ years, but even more so having had my wedding here just 7 months ago. Looking out at the indoor pool area I could almost hear the echos of my children’s laughter ringing from time we spent there; passing by the entrance to the banquet room were in I could almost see our wedding party standing in pairs, ready for the entrance.
The next morning I did the first of four seminars in a row for the entire front of the house staff, with mixed groups representing all departments. Looking out at the faces of the participants also brought back many happy memories of the authentic and genuine hospitality they had all so graciously extended. I have to admit wondering if I’d still be able to wow them as a trainer, since some of these same employees have been through at least a half-dozen Doug Kennedy workshops in recent years. Yet they were as gracious as ever in their feedback and so many expressed their gratitude for the learning opportunity. Here are pictures of me with each of the four groups.
As usual, immediately after the last workshop it was time to head straight to the airport. I’d been watching the weather closely all day, as a major snow and ice storm was making its way towards Philly, where I was connecting. So when I got back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport I was relieved to see my flight was on time; but right when I was checking in a one-hour delay was announced.
This caused me a great deal of concern, as I absolutely had to make it back as a very important duty awaited me the next morning. You see in Broward Co. Florida, starting this year, every elementary school field trip must include either a male teacher, or at least one male escort who has been cleared in advance by a “level two security background check,” which takes two weeks and requires fingerprinting. Since my son’s second grade doesn’t have a male teacher in any class, and since I am currently the only male parent-volunteer for this grade with necessary the credentials, I knew there were 140 2nd graders counting on me to be there at 8:45am for their special day.
Still I had hope, as I had a long layover in Philly, and even with this delay had another hour to play with. My hopes dimmed as the departure was pushed back again and again until finally the gate agent told me there was no way I would make the connection, and further, that every hotel in Philly was sold out due to a convention. She highly recommended I sleep over in Scranton and take a morning flight – arriving mid-day!
Thanks to the empowering technology of the Internet I had other ideas. After searching every USAirways flight out of Philly back into Florida, finding every flight to laceType w:st="on">Ft.laceType> Lauderdale, Miami or even Naples already gone, I managed to find a flight to Orlando that was delayed long enough for me to have a fighting chance of making the connection. Knowing if I could at least Orlando I could grab a room at the airport, and having seen a Southwest flight online to Fort Lauderdale by 8am, I decided to gamble. Fortunately for me it paid off, as I was able to make the connection. Thanks to my wife Cathy, I even got an associate rate at the Orlando airport and managed to get about 90 minutes of sleep.
Soon I was alert, dressed, and in the van back to the airport. Although noticing a lot of lightening and high winds outside, it was only when I got to the airport that I learned that I was in the middle of a tornado warning, and that deadly storms had hit just hours before not 30 miles away! After all I’d been through my heart was sinking fast at the thought of being so close but so far away from fulfilling my commitment, but to my pleasant surprise that flight boarded and somehow departed on time.
After landing, and with absolutely no time to spare, I walked onto the school campus precisely at 8:45am and saw three yellow school buses showing up to collect the 140 2nd grade students. Words cannot express how thankful I was for my “travel angels” who somehow saw me home once again despite all odds. The hug from my son Adam made all my travel heroics worthwhile, and as we headed off to Butterfly World.
