On The Road With Doug

On the road to Bend, OR, Dulles Airport, Bethesda, MD, Chico and Redding, CA, and Klamath Falls, OR, February, 2012

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:08:00 GMT

My February travel schedule started off where January had left off - still on the road, but this time returning for a 5 day stretch that was once again perfectly timed. Although my career requires me to be gone, I feel very blessed that it also allows me to be home when it is really important, so I am able to block out dates for the kids' school events and holidays. But this time when the notice came I had already been booked in advance so it didn't look like i could be there. But then at the last minute my client need to change dates and I ended up being home for the first Friday in February, which happened to be the night of my daughter's middle school Talent Show. I was so proud when she and her friend did a a duet musical rendition of Adele's song "Someone Like You," with Julia on French Horn and her friend on piano. Here is a picture of them afterwards. (My Julia is on the left.)

After a restful weekend at home it was time to head back out West to Bend, OR, where I was to conduct a day of on-site training for the concierge and sales staff, and then to present at the Oxford Hotel Group's management conference. The only bad part was that I had to fly out on the night of Super Bowl Sunday and did not get to see the game. This is the one holiday my wife never wants me to miss, but then again I think she actually enjoyed being able to watch every commercial in detail and also the game action which was especially great this year.

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:

After the training that evening it was time for the start of the management/leadership meeting for the entire Oxford Hotel Group. We had a wonderful reception with a memorable dinner that brought "heavy hors d'oeuvres" to a new level of culinary excellence. It was an interesting experience to see all of the GM's and sales staff from the properties that I had visited and connected with one-on-one all together again in one location. The best part was that I got to meet the rest of the Baney family that operates OHG. After shaking hands with Curtis Baney and chatting with he and his wife Robin at the evening reception, and having already been working with Kim Baney their VP of Marketing, I could easily see why this hotel company has been so successful in the hospitality business. Their hotels' "personalities" are a reflection of the genuinely warm and authentic personalities of their owners. Here is a picture of me with them after my presentation the next morning to kick-off of their conference. From the left - Kim Baney, V.P. of Marketing, Doug, Robin Baney, and Curtis Baney II.

After my presentation they OHG team invited me to go on their most interesting management outing, which involved taking short snowmobile ride to a luxury mountaintop resort. But having been on the road so long my email in-box was calling, not to mention the thought of a 4am wake-up call. Soon I was on the way back home, and for an entire week at that! Next up was another two rounds of training for my client the Thayer Lodging Group. Having kicked-off a series of workshops on the topic of upselling at registration last month, this was a continuation of that project and involved only a short flight to Washington DC area, where I conducted training for the front desk teams at the Hyatt Dulles Airport and the Doubletree Bethesda MD.

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

Doug Kennedy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:11:00 GMT

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

Doug Kennedy — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:27:00 GMT

After my rewarding and enjoyable but long business travel journey to conduct the November training dates in Moscow, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine, it was a wonderful feeling to be back home in South Florida for the Monday starting the week of Thanksgiving. Since the public schools were out of session for the week, my 13 year old daughter and her mom were off to New York City for her first ever visit. I would myself normally be heading off to my wife Cathy’s family farm in the Poconos of PA for the Thanksgiving holiday. But after so long on the road, I was glad that Cathy was so understanding of my need to just be staying put in one place for a week, and the special “guys time” with my son Adam made it all that much more rewarding.

Although the business travel can sometimes interrupt and interfere with family life, I am always grateful for the long stretches I get at home. Adam and I had a great time just hanging out, playing video games on Wii, and doing guy-stuff. The weather was wonderful too and it was great to be wearing shorts and sandals most of the week this time of year. By the weekend, my Julia was back home too, and the three of us enjoyed our tradition of decorating the Christmas Tree and starting holiday preparations on the weekend. Here’s a picture of us starting to decorate:

Although it was only a week, it felt like I had been a kid again on Summer vacation. So with Cathy still on the farm, and with Adam and Julia back to school, I was well-rested when I hit the road again. My first stop was a short drive to Orlando on Monday, where the next day I was to train the newly hired call center reservations agents at Travel Click’s new third party call center in Orlando. It was a blessing to have such a wonderful group of enthusiastic participants, who were on their second day on the job as the founding team for this new call center and the day passed quickly and I was back in my minivan to drive home to South Florida Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning I was back at the airport for an easy flight to Dallas, where I was to again train a group of brand new reservations sales agents, this time for the new staff of Synxis, who where brought on as a group to for an exciting new account they had, the Fontainebleau Hotel in South Beach. It seemed a little odd on one level to be in Dallas training a team on how to sell such a familiar local Iconic hotel, but when I met the team that Synxis had recruited for the task, I could easily see they were going to be very successful.

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:

We ended early enough that I had time to head back home, pick-up my wife Cathy after her workday, and head to see Adam in his stage debut in the musical show they put on called “Crazy Camp,.” We were all so proud of how well he had memorized his speaking lines and the songs and movements. But I was especially proud to see how much energy he put into the show and his stage presence.

After the show I had to head right back to South Beach Miami, this time to conduct training for one of my call center clients – Denihan Hospitality. Their call center agents were on a FAM and training tour of the company’s latest acquired new hotel, The Royal Palm South Beach. It was wonderful to conduct the training that afternoon. For one, I had the chance to bring Vanessa, Samantha, and Karla from our KTN team to attend the training, which was a great chance to get them out to interact. Also, it was great to reconnect with my client and good friend Stephane Mozziconacci, who is now their Director of Revenue Management but who is also one of the best rooms operations managers I have ever met. Best of all perhaps was seeing some of the same reservations agents in this new context; participants I have had in my workshops for over 20 years. Here are some pictures of us that day:

After finishing up with a cocktail reception at Royal Palm, I headed for a very short drive a few blocks north to stay over and to conduct the second half of the training for South Seas Resorts on Friday. Here’s my picture with the second group at South Seas Resort:

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

Doug Kennedy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:42:00 GMT

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

Doug Kennedy — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:05:00 GMT

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.

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.

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.

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:

For me, it was a wonderful experience to travel from so far away, to stay in such a world-class hotel, and to have so many participants who were truly interested in any new ideas for advancing their hotel careers. I hope also that the participants themselves also had as much fun and joy as I did over those two days. Below are some pictures of the various activities over the course of two days:

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!

On The Road to Park City, UT and Sunriver, OR, October, 2011

Doug Kennedy — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 21:37:38 GMT

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:

It was an easy and uneventful flight home, and I had a wonderful weekend with the kids. Julia was busy with her volunteering and also attending Bat Mitzvah’s, which seem to be most every weekend lately, so we did not get much time together. But we did get to decorate Halloween cookies together which she still likes to do. I also got to take my son Adam and his best buddy to a local Fall Festival that was held at a nearby church. Adam even talked me into buying (and carving) a pumpkin early. Here’s a picture of him with his pumpkin of choice and also one of him and his best friend dressed as Jason and Michael Myers at the festival:

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

Doug Kennedy — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:27:38 GMT

After enduring the monotony of late Summer weather in South Florida, it was great to be heading north to Boston at the perfect time of the year for a short escape. Aside from the weather it was also exciting to be back at the Seaport Hotel Boston, which is always a pleasure to visit as a guest even when I'm there to work. After arriving early enough in the evening to enjoy an energizing walk around historic Boston, it was time to start two days of training. It was great to see the reservations sales team again and to congratulate them on becoming one of KTN's highest continually performing reservations teams on their mystery shopping scores. It was also really fun to conduct our hospitality training program for their front desk staff and to meet some wonderful new personalities they have brought on board.

I often write in my monthly articles that "The Guest Services Staff Is Now Part Of Hotel Marketing." In this case it is actually true, as Marianna Accomando, who has been their V.P. of Sales and Marketing, was recently promoted to Assistant General Manager and is actually overseeing the front office. It was wonderful to have Marianna attend the workshops personally, as she brings an amazing energy along with some great analogies such as her new mantra of "embrace the space," referring to how the staff should view the hotel lobby. Here is a picture of me with the reservations team that day:

On The Road to Omni Hotels Central Reservations, August, 2011

Doug Kennedy — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:39:24 GMT

Having been in town for nearly two weeks it's always a little extra effort to kick myself into gear, but this trip was an easy one to get mentally prepared for as I was very excited to be returning to the Omni Hotels Central Reservations. Omni Hotels was my very first hotel brand to win as a client when I was President of HSA International. In the early 1990's I had personally conducted training at all of their hotels and the call center too.

Recently one of my former contacts Lesli Reynolds, who used to be a Reservations Manager and is now V.P. of Revenue Management, had put me in contact with Alan Liu, their Call Center Director. Alan almost immediately called to schedule me for our full-day Train-the-Trainer version of our KTN Reservations SAILS Training. What was even more impressive was that Alan had scheduled is entire management and supervisory staff, plus the trainers, to attend for the full day. What a wonderful day we had and everyone was extremely interactive, which always makes my job that much easier and fun. Here is a picture of me with my group that day:

As an added bonus, I had a surprise visitor to the call center that day, which was yet another of my legacy clients from the HSA era. Debbie Stuempfig, who was one of our main contacts from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts when we had them as a client in the early 2000's, had just joined Omni in a technology role as the Corporate Director of Reservations Systems. She even sat in on the afternoon segment of my workshop and we shared many fond memories. Here's my picture with Debbie:

On The Road To Il Lugano Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:59:00 GMT

Since most of our KTN clients are located out of town, it was nice to have a "road trip" of just 40 minutes to conduct my training workshops! The occasion was to present training for a wonderful and unique boutique hotel called the Il Lugano. For one, it was great to be working with the management company, Sage Hospitality Resources again, as Sage was one of our legacy clients when I was the President of HSA International. I was also excited to be meeting their General Manager, Michael Hatzfeld, who I had only spoken with over the phone. Michael gave me a tour of his hotel and I was very impressed all the way from the architutre, decor, but especially with the associates, who made this small luxury hotel feel inviting and welcoming. It was also really fun for me to do this training program, as my wife Cathy was able to join me for the evening since she works very close to the Il Lugano. We had a nice dinner date even though it was a Monday. It was also great to be able to bring along Vanessa and Samantha, our two newest KTN Reservations Coaches, so they could experience yet another reservations training program. Here's my picture with the two groups that day. Vanessa is on the far right of the top picture and Samantha is on the left:

The Il Lugano is located directly on the Intracoastal Waterway and the views at both sunset and sunrise were amazing. It was great to watch some of the yachts go by. Here's a picture of our view:

On The Road To Our Family Vacation In Colonial Williamsburg, D.C., and Split Rock Resort in PA

Doug Kennedy — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:23:00 GMT

After a busier than expected June, including some last minute visits to our clients in Jacksonville and Myrtle Beach, I arrived on Friday only to be packing for a vacation starting Saturday. Thanks to Delta, and of course my hours of flying, we had 3 of 4 of our tickets free and were on a wheels-up flight at 7:30am with the kids headed to Washington, DC, where we rented a car and headed straight to our first destination - Colonial Williamsburg, VA. Having had Historic Colonial Williamsburg as a client since 1991, I had always dreamed of one day bringing my own children there to experience American history firsthand right in one of the key places where it started. Now the time was perfect as they are both Middle Schoolers As a hotelier I have always been grateful for the courtesies extended by various clients and contacts. However the hospitality extended by my main contacts there at Colonial Williamsburg Hotels was extraordinary to experience and I am very grateful. Perry Goodbar, their V.P. of Hotel Sales personally toured the suites with their General Manager of the Williamsburg Lodge, Margie Tate, to find me the best available suite for my needs during these high demand dates. Best of all, they both left me personalized, sincere handwritten notes and checked on me during our stay.

It was a wonderful visit. The kids were amazed by the actor historians interpreting their roles in period costume and character. Anyone who just walks through without buying the admission ticket is doing themselves an injustice, as the tours are very interesting and engaging. This was especially proven since the kids are 12 and 13 and too often more interested in their iPod Touch or texting. Here are a few of the many great pictures we took at Historic Colonial Williamsburg. The kids met General Washington but I think they liked his Stallion better.

Cathy and Julia wanted to go on the Historic Tavern Ghost tour. Adam and I instead decided to tour the Williamsburg Inn.

The kids really loved watching the march of the Militia and the British armies, including the firing of the cannons.

Here is the kids picture with Thomas Jefferson:

After a wonderful vacation thanks to Perry and Margie, we headed back to Washington DC. Thanks to my wife Cathy being a Marriott Corporate office associate, we had a wonderful stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Springfield, VA. The kids loved riding the Metro into the Mall area. We did the Smithsonian, which ever since the Night At The Museum II movie the kids wanted to see more than anything. We did the Air and Space Museum, Natural History, and American History museums all in one day. It was very hot and when the museums closed not many food choices for tourists. But the kids really wanted to see the White House. Julia spotted a streetside cafe and they served us very graciously despite our casual attire right on the patio. Then we were only a short block to the White House. The kids remember this more than anything on the trip, even the roller coasters at Busch Gardens.

Next we made a mad dash to visit Cathy's family at her farm in Drums, PA. We were welcomed with a cook-out by her sister and the whole family was there. Fresh corn and potatoes right out of the farm, nothing like it. The weather was cooler there. The kids loved all the animals especially the pets. Here's a picture of Cathy with the kids at her farm:

After a few days at the farm we headed on over to Split Rock Resort. It was yet another lesson for me in relationships as all I had to do was place a call to my friends Chuck Dickinson and Sam Arnett, and they extended us the most welcoming experience. We were in one of their all suites sections, which I highly recommend, although staying in the Galleria building is also nice and the kids might have liked that better as they loved having the freedom to roam the whole recreational area on their own. Best of all we had a full day set aside to spend at their new indoor H2oooh waterpark, which was a fun and relaxing day for all.

Julia was the only one in the family daring enough to try to Flow-Rider, but it looked really fun:

It was very strange to be out of the office that long for both Cathy and I. But we were both able to schedule-in periods of work. Thanks to Mobile Internet, we took turns working in the car while the kids were watching a movie and made it all work for our July 4th vacation. The last night topped it all of for me, as we drove back to D.C. to catch a flight home the next day. Our last scheduled stop was the Lincoln Memorial, which I have always found to be a moving experience to visit. Despite many visits it had been at least 15 years and here I was going up the steps with my own children. The Gettysburg Address was one of my two favorite speeches ever, with the first being the Martin Luther King "I Have A Dream" speech. I even got to stand on the marker on the steps where they say his feet stood while delivering that historic speech.

On The Road To Cove Haven Resorts, Lakeville, PA

Doug Kennedy — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:10:00 GMT

Having been off the road for most of June, other than to attend a wedding back home in Lexington, KY, it was actually good to be getting out of the office for a while, especially since the occasion was to visit our long-term clients and friends at the Cove Haven Resorts call center in Lakeville, PA. The last time I had been there was late last November, so it was great to be arriving at the start of Summer. I had decided to fly into Newark vs. one of the many closer airports as I like non-stops when possible, and the drive up was incredibly beautiful as I passed the lush green landscape and scenery of the back country roads my SPRINT GPS directed me on.

Too bad Cathy couldn't make it, as we had just returned from the wedding and had already planned an official summer vacation.

It is always a pleasure to do training for my long-term client and friend Mary Ann Olver, and it is an added bonus that she runs one of the best call centers I've ever had as a client so that the flow of learning takes place in both directions. Here is our picture on the last day:

It turned out to be a perfect time of year to be visiting, right at the start of Summer. The local deer seemed happy and on the way to dinner I captured this picture of these two fawns on the lawn:

The next day and a half went by so fast, which is always the sign of an engaging training experience when you are the trainer. Mary Ann was so kind to join me for most of my meals, which was good not only because she is great company but also because you always have to wonder that the other guests of a couple's romance resort think your wife is mad at you when you are a single guy dining alone. The next two days it was wonderful to be training such a top-notch team of hotel reservations sales professionals. I would highly recommend that anyone who wants to hear an example of telephone hospitality excellence give them a test call - chances are you will probably end up being so allured and enticed by your reservations sales agent that you'll probably make a reservation! Here are pictures of me with my three groups:

Link To Alisha's Real-World Sales Training Tips

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:40:02 GMT

Check out sales training tips from our latest KTN training newsletter contributor, Alisha Sumpter, who works as a hotel sales manager in Chicago.

Click Here

Link to my newest article "Profitable Mediocrity"

Doug Kennedy — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:36:35 GMT

This article was inspired by several recent experience as a "regular" guest of a few different hotels. We normally stay with clients or my wife gets us Associate rate at Marriotts but these were places we needed to stay for other various reasons. Link to article

On The Road To Hotel 71, Part Two, May 2011

Doug Kennedy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:40:14 GMT

After enjoying a wonderful evening as a guest at the Hotel 71, it only got better the next day as I got to train the three reservations sales agents and their manager, Minsung Lee, for the full day. As a trainer sometimes it is harder to get smaller groups to participate at first, as they can sometimes be shy. Not with this team! They were extremely engaged, energetic, and also fun to spend the day with. I'm sure they will soon be on our list of superstar reservations sales teams very soon. Here's my picture with the group that day. Minsung is to my immediate left:

On The Road To Hotel 71 Chicago, May 2011

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:33:21 GMT

Having had weekly travel for six straight weeks though April, it was good to have nearly the entire month of May at home base. Not only did I get a chance to help recruit, select and train two new future KTN superstar training coaches, but I also got to be there for Julia's three band concerts, Adam's Karate show, my 5th anniversary, and other major family events. I enjoyed focusing on my running routine and eating healthy so I also managed to drop about 7 pounds. What does that tell you about how hard it is to eat healthy on the road eh?

But this morning when the alarm when off at 4:45am my instincts kicked-in and soon I was boarding an on-time, non-stop Southwest flight to Chicago Midway. Although I'm very Delta-loyal, non-stops win out over free upgrades when you really need to be there on time.

It was great to meet my new contact at our latest KTN client, who is Minsung Lee, the new Reservations Manager. Tomorrow I get to meet the reservations team and have them for a full day workshop which is really going to be fun. What an awesome hotel. My son Adam is very excited that I'm staying at the Hotel 71 because out my window I'm looking at where they filmed major scenes from Transformers 3, which he has already been reminding me is out in July. I had not been back to Chicago for several years, and right across the street was the Hotel Sax, my former client before it got sold. It felt like going home as over my 20 years of hotel training I'm sure I've been here almost 50 times. Plus as a middle school kid my parents used to bring me here in the early 1970's when they came for craft conventions, so it was my first big city experience. The weather was perfect today and below are some of the pictures I took right across the street:

On The Road To Hard Rock Hotel - Seminole Paradise, Hollywood, FL

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:31:00 GMT

What a great week it turned out to be for me to be in town! Turns out that my dear friend and long time client Vicki Schell was in town on business. We were trying to also connect with Dan Snepp, who she knew from her TravelClick days, but he was too busy working on his many successful revenue and distribution consulting projects to make it.

It was great to see Vicki and to talk some shop, share memories of the many training workshops she hired me to present for Adam's Mark Hotels, and the many association conferences such as HSMAI and HEDNA that we've seen each other at. It was also great to hear about her new position as VP of Distribution for Vantage Hospitality Group. Best of all, my wife Cathy Cook was able to join us for drinks and dinner since the Hard Rock Hotel and Seminole Paradise complex is only minutes from our house. Here's our picture from last evening:

Link To My Newest Hospitality Article - TSA Examples

Doug Kennedy — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:17:00 GMT

Click Here To Read

On The Road to Gulf Shores, AL, Dodging Tornado Alley April 2011, and Take Your Kids To Work Day, Ft. Lauderdale

Doug Kennedy — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:02:00 GMT

My streak of 6 straight weeks of travel continued this week when I headed back to the Gulf Shores, AL area to conduct another round of training for the reservations and front desk staff of the Spectrum Resorts, which managers The Beach Club, Turquoise Place, and Caribe The Resort. I was staying at the Beach Club, which is where their call center is located. Since I had arrived early enough to complete all of my scheduled work in the room I had a couple hours of daylight left, so I headed down to the tiki bar at the pool. There I met and interacted with several of the families and couples that were enjoying their “Winter Break” from up north. It was great to see the Gulf Coast beaches looking not only as pristine and beautiful as usual, but also once again packed with tourists even in early season. Here are some pictures of the view:

The next day was absolutely wonderful, as I had a terrific group of participants in both sessions. For all of those managers who say it is impossible to find good staff in more sparsely populated areas, they should talk to Michael Booth the reservations manager to find out whatever he is doing. Every single participant was enthusiastic, energetic, and eager to learn. Here are pictures of me with the groups that day, and also one of me conducting a training activity with them:

After finishing my session precisely on time and immediately hitting the road with just enough time to make my flight, I glanced at my smartphone to see that my Delta flight had been cancelled. For just the third time in 22 years of business travel, and the first in over a decade, I did not make it home last night. However due to the reason, I am very grateful Delta took the financial hit in advance to cancel. Turns out I was maybe 150 miles from the mail damage area on the way back to Pensacola. So in that sense the timing was good.

On the other hand the timing was bad because my son Adam had reminded me before the trip that the next day was “Take Your Child To Work Day.” Being in 5^th grade I knew this would be our last such holiday, and I really wanted to be there for him. Fortunately Delta put me on a 5:30am departure the next day (today) and I was scheduled to get in at 10:30am. After waking up at 3:45am and heading to the airport I arrived to find that flight was also cancelled, but Delta had backed me up on a flight arriving at 11:55am. Thanks to some amazing efforts by the Delta Captain to get our plane off the gate in record time, I arrived in Atlanta, made the connection, and made it back in time. My loyalty to Delta increased ten fold with that pilot’s gesture and I thanked him personally on the way deplaning. Not only did I make it due to his diligent efforts that included arriving by taxi 10 min’s ahead of his crew to get the flight plan called in, as only frequent travelers like me and possibly other pilots recognize, but I even had time to grab a real breakfast at the concourse.

It was wonderful to be early to pick up my son Adam from school and then to take him on a tour of a local hotel. Good thing, since I had forgotten that there was early release and would have been otherwise definitely late but for Delta Airlines’ amazing effort.

hanks to Joel Darr, GM of the new B Ocean Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, who I phoned at the last minute on my way home today asking for a property tour, the day was very fun after all. Adam got a chance to learn about the various jobs in a hotel and also the various types of hotels. He was so impressed by the B Ocean Hotel. And I have to say so was I, even though I was there only 3 weeks ago to meet Pat Lupsha, COO of Davidson the hotel management company. Where do you start. The real estate? Incredible. I remember thinking so even when it was a green flag Holiday Inn property in the 1980’s. The interior design? Amazing how the view from the same lobby has changed so much. The food and beverage? Exemplary even here in the South Florida region of some of the world’s best it still stands out. But above all this was the team. Adam and I were first greeted by the best hotel welcoming experience I can remember. Will, the valet attendant greeted us so warmly, even though I was driving my minivan he offered to park it up front since we were there for a short visit.

Joel Darr, the GM whom was out for a business meeting that morning and hadn’t pulled my voicemail yet greeted my son Adam and I as if it were planned all along on his busy agenda. He took time out to walk us out to the lobby, what a host. I have always believed that if you visited 10 hotels and found the top 3 for hospitality, then walked into a room full of 10 GM’s and had a 5 minute talk with each, you could nearly always pick the GM’s of the top three. Joel Darr proves that hands down. Although Adam enjoyed meeting Mr. Darr, I think he was much more amazed by the coolest touch-screen mapping display that actually texts the directions to wherever you are going instantly to your cell phone. Here is a picture of Adam and I at the B Ocean Hotel today:

I must also comment on Will, the valet attendant and even is coworker with whom Adam and I had a long conversation which was again very welcoming. This only after I had told these two young men in advance that I had not a single dollar in cash with me for gratuity; I had even tried to borrow from my son. This was a gesture of true hospitality and I look forward to returning one day to unexpectedly handing him a tip several times more than usual.

On The Road to Alberta Hotel & Lodging Assocation, Lake Louise, Alberta

Doug Kennedy — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:24:00 GMT

The last four weeks seem like a whirlwind. I am behind on my blog updates and cannot wait to share my awesome experiences in training the top vacation rental companies on Emerald Isle, NC just two weeks ago, and then being a guest speaker at the Davidson Hotels conference last week. Now that I only have 1 night on the road in the next 14 days those updates are coming soon....

Meantime, tonight I have just driven back down the mountains from Lake Louis, Alberta where I was a guest speaker at the Alberta Hotel & Lodging Conference today to Calgary, to stay for my early AM flight home. What a great experience it has been. Here is a picture of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and also of me with my host from the AH&LA conference Joann Kirland, Director of Hotels for WestCorp Hospitality. (See more details below.)

It actually didn't start so great yesterday (Monday AM). It was not that I had to wake up at 3:45am, but rather the still embarrassingly inadequate signage at the Miami International Airport. My "home base" airport is Ft. Lauderdale whenever possible, but I've flown in/out of MIA probably 200 times. Still it was so confusing. I knew I was on American, which runs from gate A to gate D. I parked on the first floor. There was no signage to direct me to the terminal, so me and one other business traveler had to cross the traffic and I was only thankful it was so early since there were no cars. Then we ended up on the ground level of terminal A. No signs to the check-in, but thanks to my intuition I sniffed it out.

Then it was 7 hours of flying and a 2.5 hour layover at DFW, which I have to say the AA terminal was a good place to be stuck. Then into Calgary airport and my awaiting Avis car. Can you believe they put me in a Minivan just like I drive at home? I was hoping for a SUV or something more sporty for the 2.5 hour drive up to Lake Louise. (More pics from the drive posted at the bottom of this entry.)

Speaking of the drive, wow. I have driven to most ski areas in North America other than this one and first I would have to say the roads were excellent. Not only in maintenance but also in layout, as there was plane of room on the shoulders vs. the I-70 corridor drive from DEN to ASP I know all too well! Thankfully my wife Cathy called out to me at 4am "Did you remember your coat?" which I had not since I've been traveling in the south for several weeks now and living in FL thought winter was over. Yet out the windshield it was hovering around freezing the whole drive and there were a few spots of snow showers still sticking. I was thinking back to the day before when I was in the pool at home in Florida with the kids thinking that summer had set in as it was really hot.

It was really one of the most beautiful drives ever. Seeing the majestic snow-capped mountains against either the azure blue ski and flashes of yellow sunlight brilliance contrasting with the mostly cloudy overcast grayish blue skies was wonderful.

Upon arrival at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise it was such a warm, inviting, and welcoming lobby. My wife Cathy - who readers of this blog know grew up on the farm and who returns to hunt each Fall - would have loved all the moose trophies on the walls and also the native artwork, wood carvings. The kids would have loved the house dog who is the most adorable (and first) hotel mascot I've ever seen. I think this dog will live to be 20 or more, as he receives so much love especially from the children.

After checking in and reception up I was off to the registration and the evening's reception, where I was greeted by Tina TIllapugh from the Alberta Lodging Association, who had made the arrangements for me to be one of the conference speakers. She was very organized and made my job as a speaker so easy and stress free.

I had to head back to my room to get my name badge, and as fate would have it on the elevator ride down I bumped into two business ladies who were looking for directions to the evening event. I said I was headed there so they could follow me and introduced myself. Out of 500+ attendees it happened to be Joann Kirkland, Director of Hotels for WestCorp Hospitality and the AHLA board member responsible for introducing me the next day! She was with Jane Barrigan Jess, GM of Varscona Hotel, and they warmly welcomed me to join them at their table with their colleagues. After traveling alone for over 14 hours and walking into a reception hall full of 500 strangers it was so wonderful to be welcomed to join their table later for dinner. At the table I also met Nicholas Wilson, GM of Matrix Hotel, whom I found out I had connected with during a vist to Westin Grand Cayman in 2007 for the Tourism Awards dinner. I also met RIchard Wurst, GM of Neighborhood Inn in Bonnyville, AB and his housekeeping manager who's name I recall as Joan. As compelling and wonderful as it was to meet all of these folks, I have to say it was especially an honor to meet Lelia, who is one of the housekeepers at Neighborhood Inn. Leila was there to receive her third straight annual AHLA award for excellence. She was one of the warmest personalities I have ever met in 21+ years of hospitality training. This fact was demonstrated when she personally pinned on the floral lapel arrangement you can see in this picture of us together:

Here is a link to a short video of the entrance ceremony they held for the 2011 AHLA Housekeeping Awards Recipient, which was led by a bagpipe player:

I have to say even the keynote speakers for the dinner were super excellence. I especially enjoyed the speech by Bruce Okabe, CEO of Travel Alberta, who talked about creating authentic vacation memory experiences and sending people back to their homelands with stories to tell about their travels. He is spot-on when it comes to branding of a destination.

The next day it was a great honor to be a part of this conference. Here's a picture of me with my group doing one of the activities that shows that a smile is inarguably contagious.

A picture of me with Joann Kirlkand, Director of Hotels from Westcorp is posted at the top of this blog entry.

Below are pictures of my incredibly beautiful drive from Calgary to Lake Louise:

On The Road To Davidson Hotels & Resorts Conference, April 12, 2011

Doug Kennedy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:08:00 GMT

Having traveled so much these past few weeks it was really nice to have a week where my only travel was an easy day trip to Atlanta, where I was to conduct a break-out session for the General Managers at the Davidson Hotels & Resorts Annual Conference. Despite a broken airport parking ticket machine that caused me to nearly miss my 5:30am flight, it was easy from there as I was on my beloved Delta Airlines and my free upgrades made it so comfortable.

It was the first time I’d rented a car in Atlanta for several years, so I was pleased to see the new train system connecting to the Rental Car area, versus the former long bus rides. In no time I was in the car and headed to the Westin Perimeter North hotel, where the conference was held.

Immediately upon entering the hotel I could see that this was a very special and well planned conference. They were all in a general session, while the hotel staff was setting up for an impressive refreshment break featuring a “within 100 miles” theme of locally grown, healthy, and extremely tasty menu items.

Once the group broke I got a chance to say hi to my contact Pat Lupsha, COO for Davidson. I had met Pat a few weeks back when he was in town for the opening ceremony of the B Ocean Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, which is near where I live. I was very impressed upon meeting Pat with his obvious and determined commitment as COO to hospitality service excellence. He was very clear in his objective, that he wanted a break-out session that all of his GM’s could benefit from regardless of their brand. So I offered to also write up and include six follow-up hospitality training activities they can use at their pre-shift and departmental meetings.

Over lunch back then Pat shared their success stores and how their company was among the leaders across brands when it comes to Guest Satisfaction Scores. Unsurprisingly, he also shared that they consistently beat their comp-set on STR. It was great to see documented evidence of the connection between hospitality service excellence and bottom line profits.

Most of my day was spent waiting for my one hour session to begin. When the time came I was very grateful for such an attentive group, as they had had a long morning already and had just been through a working lunch with only a 15 minute break before me.

My only regret is that I somehow forgot to take any pictures at all for the blog. However Pat is going to be sending me some pictures of the conference that I will be excited to share here when they arrive.