Hotel Operations

🏨 "Boost hotel staff morale and retention by implementing structured onboarding, creating clear career paths, and offering competitive perks," advises an article published on 2025-01-21. The text, hosted on Hotelogix Blog, emphasizes effective management practices for hotel personnel. The post is written by Vanshikha Dhar.

🏨 The article "How to Attract and Retain Hotel Guests: Hotel Success Tips" by Vanshikha Dhar provides guidance on increasing hotel bookings and guest loyalty through the use of technology and highlighting unique features. The tips aim to help hotels stand out in the competitive market. The content, published on Hotelogix Blog on January 21, 2025, includes a link to the full article and its canonical version, as well as associated social media pages. The blog post emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology and building loyalty to attract more guests.

❄ Minor Hotels will debut Anantara Hotels & Resorts in Sichuan, China with the opening of Anantara Xiling Snow Mountain Chengdu Resort in October. Developed with Sichuan Dexinhousheng Enterprise Management Co., Ltd, the 111-room resort near Chengdu offers access to the National 5A Tourist Attraction and features guest accommodations from 100 to 500 square meters. Amenities include a swimming pool, spa, and an 800 square meter event space. Anantara Xiling Snow Mountain Chengdu Resort is Minor Hotels' third property in China, contributing to its target of over 200 hotels by 2026, adding to its current portfolio of 560 hotels across 57 countries.

🏝 Inspired by classical Japanese Noh theatre, Kengo Kuma and Associates designed the Banyan Tree hotel in Kyoto, featuring a Noh stage within its gardens. Located in the historic district of Higashiyama, the hotel overlooks temples and shrines, incorporating the aesthetic principle of yūgen, a quiet beauty central to Noh. The hotel covers a 12-meter height difference on the sloped site and offers 52 guest rooms with traditional Japanese design elements modernized for contemporary tastes. The design emphasizes wood and stone, with the Noh stage set on stilts above a reflecting pool, integrating with the natural landscape.

🍴 The Hand & Flowers, the UK's only pub with two Michelin stars, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025. It's commemorating with a 'Classics' Menu in January, featuring iconic dishes from its 2005 opening. The menu, changing yearly, includes three courses for £95.00. Key staff, like Lourdes Dooley, have been part of the team for 18 years; others, like Katie Gavin, for 16 years. Celebrations will continue throughout 2025 with various events and surprises.

🏨 In the hospitality industry, extraordinary customer service is a sustainable competitive advantage that fosters loyalty. Key strategies include situational empathy, gold-touch service (do-extra and tell-extra), anticipatory service, effective language use, and service recovery. Training can be delivered through live sessions or eLearning, tailored to the company's needs. Micah Solomon, a customer service expert, emphasizes custom training aligning with brand philosophy for guest loyalty.

```html 🛏 ``` Employing strategic measures to address hotel theft can vastly improve prevention efforts and operational efficiency. Advanced tools and thorough training are pivotal in combating pilferage within hotel establishments.

🏨 STAAH's Weekly Hotel Industry Quiz challenges hospitality professionals to stay current with trends. The quiz is a recurring event, designed for both seasoned hoteliers and newcomers. Participants can catch up on previous quizzes and are encouraged to share with colleagues. STAAH fosters ongoing education through these weekly knowledge tests.

📚 Valencia Hotel Group established a book club to develop leadership skills among hotel staff post-COVID. The initiative, initially for general managers and corporate directors, now welcomes all company employees, with high participation from those aiming to improve leadership abilities. The book club enhances company engagement and team connection. Trent Freeman, VP of Operations, shares his top 10 leadership books, including titles by Horst Schulze, James C. Hunter, and Robin Sharma.

🚿 Housekeeping is crucial in hotels for guest satisfaction, especially post-pandemic, as noted by Prateek Kumar of Copford Capital Management. Hospitality leaders, including Kumar, Island Hospitality CEO Gregg Forde, Hospitality of America CEO Ben Campbell, and The Scottsdale Resort & Spa's Brian Hanus, discussed staff retention and training. They emphasized the importance of a supportive culture, effective onboarding, and training programs. Techniques for retention include ergonomic tools, balanced workloads, internal development programs like Pathways, and opportunities for cross-training. Leaders stress the importance of respect and inclusivity in fostering a positive work environment.