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
With my travel schedule for the month of October ending on such a crescendo, it was great to see that November was in the end an easy month of travel for me, starting the month with nearly 2 weeks off the road. During this time I watched the news reports about the late Fall snowstorm in the Northeast US. Yet on the morning of my departure the weather could not have been more perfect in South Florida, as well for my connection in JFK. It was perfect flying weather for all of the segments of my journey.
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.
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.
As Andrei drove me to the Swissotel Moscow we had an enjoyable conversation, and no traffic since it was Sunday morning. I was happy to be headed back to the Swissotel Moscow, which my regular readers will recall is one of my very favorite hotels worldwide. Since my first visit there in 2009, I have told many stories during my training workshops and conference presentations about the "zero-defect" level of guest service at this hotel. Most impressive was that upon arrival, in addition to the attentive bellstaff who brought along my luggage, I was also personally escorted to my guest room by Julia from the Reception Desk, one of the many very fine and professional reception staff at this world class hotel.
Upon arrival I was pleased to see that the room once again had a great view of the Moscow River:
My alliance partners Andrei Malyshev and Anton Matveev who are the co-owners of Big Tree Hospitality, the leading hospitality industry training company in Russia and the CIS, were such welcoming hosts.
After ensuring that I had time to rest at the hotel, they welcomed me to dinner at one of their personally favorite restaurants. I was very happy to also be welcomed by their own wives and children, which made me feel closer to my own children and wife Cathy, whom I missed very much on the very first day. Here our picture that even. (Anton is on the left and Andrei on the right.
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:
The week started on Monday with an easy ramp-up to the following five straight days of training that I was to present. The only agenda item was a return visit to the Big Tree Hospitality world headquarters to make the final arrangements for the workshop that would soon start. I returned to my oasis at the Swissotel for another half day to adjust to the time zone and catch up on emailing.
On Tuesday I was honored to have been invited to be the guest speaker to be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting for the HIT Club, which is the Hospitality Ideas & Trends Club (www.club-hit.ru)
The location of this meeting rotates through through all of the fine hotels represented by its membership representing many different market segments of hotels ranging from upscale to select service, from historic to contemporary. Yet it was obvious that the representatives of all the hotels in attendance were very interested in the topics I was asked to cover.
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.
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.
Upon arrival at the meeting room for the HIT Club Morning Meeting I could instantly recognize it was a well-organized event, and in glancing at the list of the Moscow area properties and alliance partner providers I could see that the audience represented an experienced group representing the top lodging companies across all levels of market segments.
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.
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.
After my presentation at the HIT Club, Anton arranged a car service for me and I was very soon back to the blissful experience of enjoying life as a guest at the Swissotel Moscow.
On Wednesday I awoke right on time as if there was no affect from the 9 hour time difference and ready to start two consecutive two-day workshops. First up was the group of 35+ participants who had signed up for the open enrollment workshop that Big Tree had sponsored. The turnout was strong and once again all available registrations were committed to by representatives of a diverse mix of hotels, resorts, and other lodging facilities from Moscow and other areas of Russia including some that traveled from far away. Here is a picture of me at the start of the two day seminar:
Following my wonderful experience conducting the two-day seminar in Moscow, I next the opportunity to conduct a similar two-day program for Premier International, which operations the Premier Hotels and Accord Hotels throughout Ukraine. More an that experience to follow soon!
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