JANUARYPAGE #4

NEW EMPLOYEES TO HMC* Elizabeth Agar, Director of Sales - Radisson Hotel, Harrisburg, PA

* David Gutierrez, General Manager - Country Inn & Suites, Anaheim, CA

* Lexi Han, Dir. of Property Performance Improvement - HMC Corporate

(Promoted from Field)

* Brandon House, Accounting Manager - Holiday Inn, Memphis, TN

* Misti Winter, Director of Sales - Radisson Hotel Dallas North, Addison, TX

* Oz Pekmezci, Asst. General Manager - Holiday Inn Memphis

The hotel is only 2 miles from the Memphis International Airport and 5 minutes from major corporate offices including FedEx, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, as well as Graceland and many other Memphis attractions.

There are 256 well-appointed guest rooms, outdoor pool, 36” flat screen televisions, and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout. Also, free airport shuttle service and a fitness center with over 2,000 square feet. In addition, this venue offers 36,000 square feet of meeting space, the second largest in the city.Email submissions for next

edition to: byars@hospitalitymgt.com

17950 Preston RoadSuite 710

Dallas, TX 75252Phone; (972) 934-2040

hospitalitymgt.com

HMC CORPORATE OFFICERS

Leo Spriggs - President/CEOBill Sullivan - EVP/CFODaniel Killian - EVP, AccountingDel Robinette - VP, Sales & MarketingGerald Morris - VP of Hotel OperationsPatrick Bajdek - VP DevelopmentLibby Shaw - VP of Human ResourcesChad Cobb - Sr Corp Dir of Hotel Finance

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2240 Democrat Road ∙ Memphis, TN 38132 ∙ (901) 332-1130 ∙ www.ihg.com

HMC TIMESSpring 2017

Peter Ambros General Manager

FEATURED HMC PROPERTY

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT & CONF. CTR. MEMPHIS, TX

Sheraton Harrisburg HersheyCecelia Baker, Housekeeping - 31 YearsDanielle Roland, Banquets - 15 YearsPatricia Black, Housekeeping - 11 YearsSheri Hatalla, Sales - 12 YearsAlla Shmonova, Housekeeping - 26 YearsDavid Martiez, Banquets - 22 YearsLisa Chenoweth, Sales - 10 Years Radisson Hotel Harrisburg Mira Savid, Housekeeping - 16 YearsAna Gabor, Housekeeping - 15 YearsKenneth Figueroa, Banquet Set-up - 13 YearsRobert Williams, Lounge - 12 Years Amire Begic, Houskeeping - 11 Years

HMC ANNIVERSARIES(10+ Years)

THE IMPORTANCE OF SALES ENGAGEMENT

Find us on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/dfwHM

Signature Worldwide Perfect Shop Call Winners!

Once again, we want to recognize the outstanding guest relations staff with the ability to upsell here at HMC (March - June, 2017). Mystery callers phone in for hotel information and our employees have to handle these calls in a professional, friendly and productive way - unaware whose on the other end. The following team members excelled, achieving perfect scores being 5 of 5 or 8 of 8 in the Signature Transient Edge® program:

MARCH 2017

Rhonda (3) - Baymont Inn & Suites, Big Spring, TXMichelle - Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Kenedy, TX Janelle & Lisa - Wyndham Garden, Lafayette, LA

APRIL 2017

Amanda, Tara & Valerie - Baymont Inn & Suites, Big Spring, TX

MAY 2017

Valerie & Rhonda - Baymont Inn & Suites, Big Spring, TXKelly, Nathan & Nylex - Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Ennis, TXTex - Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Kenedy, TXStacie - Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Pleasanton, TXHannah - Wingate by Wyndham, Slidell, LA

THANK YOU

This article to appear in the September issue of Hotel Business Review and hotelexecutive.com.

Engagement and commitment are at the core of our professional lives in a 24 hour a day, 7 day a

week operation. No matter the size or complexity of the box, engagement and our commitments should be a core fundamental that not only surfaces in our every interaction, but guides and directs our proactive decision making and our strategies and executions. Hospitality 101 teaches us as hospitality professionals, to engage with our guests, to make eye contact at 10 feet, to speak within 5, to escort when possible and to use our guests name in conversation. We are taught to professionally engage our customers and clients at every interaction and be the key stakeholders of their happiness during their time with us. Commitment to our client’s and guest’s comfort and happiness, successful planning and meetings should live at the core of our hospitality spirit. Far too often forgotten is engagement within our sales discipline. Are we hiring committed, passionate, truly professional sales people that come to work every day to do exactly what we hired them to do? Sell.

Several years ago, I had an incredibly dynamic, engaged and committed sales person working for me. She was polished, involved with her clients and colleagues and everyone really admired this young manager. She was in early and out late, she was committed. She was the top sales person in our brand, year in and year out, won incentive trips and best of the best awards. I was shocked when she resigned to go work outside of our industry and outside of the sales discipline. When I asked her why, she very candidly said, I’m not that great of a sales person, in fact I hate sales. The reason she was first in the office and typically locking the door at the end of each day, was because she was anxious about her sales days. I immediately reacted with “You are the top catering sales manager in the entire company, by some pretty gross margins…by my account, you are an amazing sales person!” Her response “I just follow the sales funnel you gave us. I don’t miss a step, I go from A to Z and I do every letter in between and they buy.” “Stop it! Seriously? You were so engaged with the sales process and so committed to execution of this sales funnel, so much so that you just won the business?” She replied “Yes.” Of course, I replied, “Ok, what will it take to change your mind?” There was no changing her mind.

Professional sales people, engage the sales funnel. They take every opportunity to build rapport first! This is the “A” in the “A to Z” They are committed to finding common ground with their client and developing a relationship, before considering selling. As professional sales people, we talk about building rapport incessantly. After all, as the old saying goes, people buy from people they know, like and trust. Professional engaged sales people, get engaged prior to selling.

As professional sales people we close, we ask for the business, we talk about it constantly. Engaged sales people ask for the business!

This is “Z” in the “A to Z” and no matter your method, we typically ask for the business in one form or another.

But what about the “B through Y”? We build rapport well, we do the A, we ask for the business, and we come up short. Why? The B through Y. The most crucial piece of the B to Y is how we qualify! I believe, as professional hotel sales people, we have completely forgotten to qualify or we have devalued the qualification process. I mean, isn’t it so much easier to go from A right to Z? We are friends, they like me, I have told them a bit about our hotel, I have a pretty good idea or understanding of how many rooms they need, what their food and beverage needs look like, we have a shuttle and I am sure they need one of those, so I told them about it. I also told the client we have an amazing complimentary hot full breakfast buffet, so I have every right to ask for the business. Wrong! Did you know their guests typically leave so early that they don’t even have time to eat breakfast at the hotel and their company provides them transportation? Probably not, because we made a ton of assumptions and never got around to qualifying the business. We never truly understood the client’s direct needs nor uncovered their implied needs. We were so excited this person loved us and focused on the prospect of their potential business, that we forgot to marry their specific needs to our fabulous product.Engaged sales people ask open ended questions and take time to really understand the needs of their client before beginning to sell.

The best sales people understand their economic landscape and what their competition is offering. When is the last time you shopped the competition? Isn’t it important to understand what your competition is offering before we even begin the dialogue? Get engaged with your segment, your competition and what they are offering. This goes for all segments, groups and meetings, catering sales and the business travel segment.

Site tours can also give a client boosted confidence. When is the last time you invited the Food and Beverage Director and Front Office Manager to lunch with a client? Again, engage them before the tour and have a game plan. You are helping our executive teams understand the process, you are creating a cohesive environment where everyone feels the responsibility and accountability for driving revenues into the property and being part of the process. Focus on your goals and know and understand your budgets and numbers. What do you have in your pipeline, what is your conversion factor from prospect to definite? Why didn’t your prior year groups book this year? We all like to believe that we are making history calls, but are we? One of the best places to find business is historical bookings, but are we even calling? Raid the cabinet!

The best strategies are created behind how we fill need periods and shift clients to holes in our GRCs, but more often than not we struggle with the execution. Remain committed to laying out the plan and strategy. Meet with your team daily to review plans and understand what is going on in the market. Set timelines and goals with consistent temperature checks and stay committed to those. Strategy without execution, gets dusty.

Del RobinetteVP, Sales & Marketing

HMC’s 3RD ANNUAL CUTEST PET CONTEST is right around the corner. Details will be to you shortly. Plus, don’t forget to

check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dfw

for additional information.

FULL-SERVICE STAR MANAGER FULL-SERVICE STAR ASSOCIATE

Wyndham Garden Lafayette’s Janell Cormier has been named Full-Service STAR Manager of the Quarter.

Janell consistently goes above and beyond her duties to assist every department of the hotel. Besides being a strong leader as the Front Office Manager, Janell is also our “Director of First Impressions” when guests enter the building. She always has a smile on her face for every visitor, making them feel welcome and she exudes this spirit to the team.

She not only shines within her department, but steps outside of that role to assist with others including housekeeping, F&B and sales. There have been multiple times Janell has cleaned rooms overnight and lent a hand in the laundry room, all between checking guests in and out, making shuttle runs and leading the charge with her team.

This stellar employee has also provided support with the sales team through encouragement, assisting when needed and has gone on sales calls with the DOS, pointing out potential new accounts. Janell also oversees the reservations for high profile clients ensuring their arrival is above guest expectation and their hotel stay is memorable.

Janell is truly an asset and her drive, enthusiasm and passion for the hospitality industry helps to bring successes to this property. Congratulations!

SELECT-SERVICE STAR MANAGER SELECT-SERVICE STAR ASSOCIATE

Michelle Pena has been selected as the Full-Service STAR Associate from the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyhdham in Kenedy, TX.

Microtel Kenedy was experiencing a low level of room bookings, but during the course of one month was to capacity. During this period, Michelle distinguished herself as a leader and role model for the front office staff. She led the team through a major influx of guests, which many of the staff had never experienced, assuring the desk was ready, checking availability for each inquiry for reservation to prevent overbooking, as well as optimizing the rooms to the hotel’s best advantage. She also coached the team on making upgrades when appropriate in order to utilize all rooms to make sales. Due to heavier workload for all departments, Michelle made sure that everyone pitched in to guarantee daily tasks were accomplished and when housekeeping became overwhelmed, she made the team pull together to assist in folding laundry.

She has also distinguished herself by receiving numerous 5 of 5 and 8 of 8 scores From Signature Worldwide on shop calls to the property. Her dedication and commitment in all aspects of hospitality have more than proven her to be an incredibly valuable asset, not only to Microtel Inn and Suites Kenedy, but HMC as well.

HMC thanks you for going above and beyond on behalf of the hotel and showing others what great leadership looks like. Well done!

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Congratulations to our team at Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham in Pearl River, LA. They recently received the “Loved by Guests” certificate from Hotels.com. This is an award presented for receiving exceptional guest ratings and reviews from customers, showing oustanding dedication and service.

The award is honored for businesses that consistenly earn top ratings from Hotels.com guests and Microtel Inn & Suites Pearl River received a rating of 4.4 out of 5.0.

Way to make an amazing effort with your guests!

MICROTEL INN & SUITES PEARL RIVER RECOGNIZED BY HOTELS.COM

This issue’s selection for Select-Service Star Associate of the Quarter is Julio Pacheco, from La Quinta Inn and Suites in Pearsall, Texas.

Pacheco has been part of the hotel since January 2013, and has been recognized many times on TripAdvisor and our Medallia surveys.

As a front office agent, he has proven his ability to acheive whatever he sets his mind to and has shown numerous accomplishments and growth during his time at the hotel.

Guest satisfaction benchmarks year over year have shown La Quinta’s Medallia overall service scores have increased by 5.5% putting them currently at a 91.7. The property also acheived a Net Promotor Excellence Award 4th Quarter 2016 from the brand and foresee even more achievements in 2017. Julio demonstrates a passion for what he does and it is displayed in the quality of his work, his overall dedication to his position and positive response from our guests.

HMC Congratulates Julio on his selection and see more great things for him in the future!

This Year’s event took place at the Fredericksburg Inn & Suites in Fredericksburg, TX, attending HMC corporate team members from all over the country. The three day event included sales training sessions, in-depth payroll and accounting presentations and team building. Congratulations to the Radisson Hotel Dallas North - Addision for taking home the trophy for Property of the Year and to the winners of the “Veggie 500” where teams were provided fruits, vegetables and other building essentials to create custom slot racecars to determine the longest distance, creativity and speed. A great time had by all!

The Radisson Hotel Dallas North’s Seymone Brown has been selected as Select-Service Star Manager of the Quarter.

Seymone has constantly gone above and beyond to ensure the success of the hotel operations, as well as guest satisfaction.

She has been employed with the Radisson Hotel North Dallas for several years and during this time has learned many operational positions including cook, restaurant server, bartender, front desk agent, front office supervisor, night auditor and housekeeping supervisor. There has never been a time when Seymone has not accepted extra responsibilities and duties and recently pulled two double shifts when staff called off on their shifts.

All department employees know Seymone and appreciate her high standards and helpful assistance when called upon. Seymone has proven herself worthy of a management position if one were to become available, and continues to strive for excellence in her current position at the hotel.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ENNIS, TX, SHINES DURING “SERVICE WEEK”

Marjorie Suchovsky, GM at HMC’s Holiday Inn Express in Ennis, TX, said a big thank you to her staff for “Service Week.” Employees were given goodies all week that ended in a luncheon, award ceremony and gifts. A great strategy to show your team how important they are to our overall success. Thank you!

2017 HMC General Manager/ Director of Sales/Human Resources/

Accounting