Is Perfection Possible?
One of the greatest coaches in history, Vince Lombardi, once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” We love Lombardi but in this instance we profoundly disagree. We believe that perfection is all around us. That said, we do believe that perfection is fleeting, given that the universe—and the nature of the reality in which we live and work – is in a constant state of flux.
Read moreTips To Operate With Living Wage In The British Hospitality Sector
Mark and I spoke about how a significant number of employees in the UK received their biggest pay rise to date as the National Living Wage leapt to £7.50 an hour on April 6th, 2017. In line with Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement and Spring Budget announcement, more than two million employees over the age of 25 benefited from the 4% increase. Further to this, 21- to 24-year-olds received a rise of 10 pence per hour. This is in a bid to reach the government’s target of £9 per hour by 2020 for over 25s, with further demand to extend this increase to 21- to 24-year-olds. According to Tahola, an industry’s leading business analytics provider, this could result in operators facing an annual increase of £100,912.50. However, it’s not just labour costs that will hit operators; planned increases in employer pension contributions from 1% to 3% could elevate the cost to operators to more than £109,000 by 2020.
Read moreWomen’s Presence Growing in Hotel Boardrooms
The issue of diversity, and the lack of it, has popped up frequently in recent conversations with leaders in the hospitality world to the point where it seems that if a candidate for a job is neither female nor of a minority ethnicity, then their application is at a disadvantage. Grey-haired white men continue to be the largest faction of leaders sitting around most hotel company boardroom tables. The good news is that a lot of these companies are self-aware enough to recognise that the composition of their leadership needs to better represent their customer and employee bases. In the same way that a fish rots from the head down, the thinking goes that changes at the top of the organisation will percolate down through the rest of the employee body, as staff become inspired by the leaders above them.
Read moreCEO Talk: Daniel del Olmo, DineEquity
Industry observers will have noted that restaurant organizations worldwide are facing a more crowded market space. With it comes a plethora of old and new challenges. Those that restaurant entrepreneurs and larger corporations have struggled with for decades, and that will continue to be “hot topics” going forward, include, for example, skill shortage, succession planning and retention as well as fierce competition from the “new kids on the block” (i.e. the up-and-coming and sexy start-up brands). “How do we keep our staff?” and “Who is the person best equipped to handle the expansion plans of our business?” are questions discussed at most senior management meetings.
Read moreOn Logistics and Supply Chain Solutions in Hospitality
Aethos Consulting Group™ Managing Director & CEO Keith Kefgen and Axis Global Logistics Managing Partner Wesley Cheringal sat down earlier this week at the 39th Annual NYU Hospitality Industry Investment Conference to discuss the importance of their strategic partnership. Kefgen and Cheringal share insights on why Axis, a logistics and supply chain solutions company, is important in the hospitality sector.
Read moreSummer Trends in Southern California 2017
Agnelo Fernandes serves as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Terranea Resort. Providing leadership as brand champion, he actively serves on Terranea’s strategy committee, as well as regional and corporate marketing committees with Two Roads Hospitality. With more than 25 years of experience, Agnelo held senior executive positions with brands including Canyon Ranch, Sonesta Hotels International and Rex Resorts.
Read moreDriving Away Top Talent
Imagine the typical home-buying process… but riddled with unexpected gaps in communication, unanswered questions and a sneaking suspicion that the seller is hiding something from you. What if the realtor is hesitant to have a phone call or meeting to talk through issues, but gives you endless rounds of paperwork and questions to complete before you are even ready to consider putting in a bid? Reasonable buyers would not tolerate this for a decision as important as buying a house. Why do companies think they can get away with perpetrating similar red flags when trying to recruit top talent to their firm? The fact is, they can’t.
Read moreHotel Industry CEO Compensation Study 2017 – How Well Do CEOs Earn Their Paychecks?
According to a 2017 report from the Economic Policy Institute on CEO pay, chief executives at the largest 350 public companies in the United States made US$15.6 million on average in 2016 — 271 times what the typical worker earns. In the hotel industry the average total compensation for a public CEO was US$5.7 million or about 100 times more than the typical worker. Should hotel CEOs be criticized or praised? We think it’s a combination of both, but you might be surprised who gets criticized and who gets praised.
Read moreHR Strategies for Growth for Aspiring Restaurant Entrepreneurs
The hospitality industry remains one of the backbones of the economy in the Middle East, and the food and beverage (F&B) sector is certainly contributing its fair share. In the past, many regional businesses opted for an internationally recognised concept, but, nowadays, the market has matured and witnessed diversification. The UAE, in particular, has become a foodie destination in its own right and there is a notable appetite – from investors, developers and the consumers – for home-grown concepts. Not surprisingly, new outlets have sprung up (from ‘Cougley,’ to ‘Cocoville,’ to other home-grown start-ups such as Folly, Hikina, Matto Italian Restaurant, Publique or Ruya). The list is endless.
Read moreSenior Leadership Succession Planning Within the Restaurant Industry – A Monumental Concern
If restaurant companies are serious about the long-term health of their organization and the restaurant industry at large, we must pivot and make succession planning and leadership development a priority. Here is the problem - [...] the quality and quantity of executive talent within the chain restaurant industry is running on empty, and outside of very few outliers, restaurant companies are ill-equipped in an industry that is going through unprecedented change.
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