Nov 6 2020

Until We Meet Again

On October 29th, the CDC updated its guidelines for event planning. Meetings & Social business will eventually need to return for our hotels to survive. As the holiday’s approach and more of us choose to get together with friends and family, we need to reimagine what gatherings look like. The question is how can we safely execute the events of the future with COVID lingering? 

Below is a partial list of some of the bullet points from the recently released CDC guidelines. You can see the full checklist at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/COVID19-events-gatherings-readiness-and-planning-tool.pdf

The hotel industry has been devasted by COVID. Weddings and fundraisers have been put on hold, employees have been laid off and the meeting’s business is in limbo.

Hoteliers are a resilient group of creative people who love what they do.

The hospitality industry was my first career and something I cherish. We enjoy people and bringing folks together for shared experiences.

Here are some tips that may help get your social gatherings and meetings get back on track in a safe way. Of course, always following all CDC and local guidelines. Including, reduced capacity mandates, social distancing, sanitation, and masking up.

Creative Seating

I have seen some highly creative ways hotels are bringing people together while keeping them safely distanced.

  • Blocking off rows & seats
  • Using natural barriers like plants
  • Creating pod seating for intimate breakouts
  • Placing directional signage for a better flow

 Keeping Things Clean

Sanitation and cleanliness are of the utmost importance in this Corona Era. If you have traveled recently you have seen what the Airline Industry is doing. I feel airplanes are cleaner now than they have ever been. The same is true for hotels. Here are some things that can be done to improve consumer confidence. 

  • Provide multiple sanitation stations
  • Clean surfaces and high-touch areas frequently and on an   assigned schedule
  • Consider Bathroom Attendants for public areas
  • Invest in touchless doors, facets, and dryers

 

Drinks, Dinner & More

  • Eliminate self-service
  • Get rid of communal utensils
  • Provide disposable one-time use condiments
  • Stop food sharing instead pre-plate items
  • Provide boxed meals
  • Bundle DIY cocktail kits for attendees

As we move into the holiday season, we should consider some ways we can safely make a comeback, see our loved ones, and celebrate life events together. The hospitality industry is working hard to reinvent itself and we need you.  I hope you can make one small step toward re-entry with confidence.

Until we meet again.  

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Jul 18 2018

Let’s Keep The Humanity In Hospitality

Hospitality-Noun:

The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

In the days of old, hospitality was described as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity. Perhaps this is why I have such an affinity for the industry and a vested interest to keep the humanity in the hospitality business intact. When I was 10 years old I fell in love with travel and everything to do with the hospitality business. Our family went on a vacation to Hawaii, when we stepped off the plane we were greeted by beautiful women in long flowing dresses who draped tropical leis around our necks and offered us coconut drinks.  After seeing the white sandy beaches, volcanic landscapes and listening to Don Ho perform Tiny Bubbles, I was hooked on travel.

My love of adventure and experiencing new cultures blossomed over the years.  Upon graduation from high school, I pursued a degree in Hospitality Management.  I embarked on a four year program and after college, landed a job in the hotel industry in Miami and I was off and running and the pace was fast, just the way I liked it. Over the span of my career, I ran global marketing for an international hotel company, opened some awesome golf courses for some of the biggest names in golf and worked in branding for the restaurant industry. 

This afforded me the opportunity to travel and see the world.

The trip to Hawaii was the catalyst for discovering my passion for travel and hospitality. Thinking back, it was fairly obvious, I always loved entertaining. There were endless calls for play-dates and parties for all occasions. I am pretty sure I drove my mother crazy with my requests for visitors to come for dinner and occasionally stay longer. Mom always seemed a little more hospitable when guests were around too.

When friends come to visit our home, there is a turn down amenity on the bed and usually a special surprise for them during their stay. We love to break bread together with friends and family on a regular basis. Whenever we would visit foreign countries inevitably strangers became our new friends.

Hospitality means inclusion, sharing cultural nuances and treating people with civility and a welcoming smile. These are the hallmarks of the industry. I can’t imagine what would happen to our industry if we compromised these important values. When I heard the story about the Red Hen Restaurant I was appalled.  This type of behavior hearkens back to the 60’s a time none of us wish to relive. To quote Michelle Obama, “When they go low, we go high.” I truly hope politics isn’t the new flash point for our industry and we haven’t created a backwards slide. I love the hospitality industry and preserving the civility and humanity is worth fighting for.  

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