Summer 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.
Read moreSenior Leadership Succession Planning Within the Restaurant Industry
Some would excuse the malaise (in the casual dining industry) because of the soft economy, demographic changes, and even the weather. However, that doesn’t explain the remarkably few success stories who must compete for similar customers and are at the mercy of identical forces as the failing brands. In my view, the casual-dining segment is mired in a management carousel that, for over a decade, has bounced senior management from one company to the next on the basis of little more than their title.
Read moreThe 2017 HR in Hospitality Conference in Review
There are five enduring core issues (and potential pain points) in HR – Compliance, Compensation and Benefits, Organizational Dynamics, Selection and Retention, and Learning and Development. Of course, each can be impacted by real or perceived changes in market conditions and advances in HR theory and practice. Thus, we have the rise of specific buzzwords and increased attention to particular hot-button topics.
Read moreNew Advisory Board Initiative for Aethos™ Performance Management and 2020 Assess Practices
Discovery starts with three little words, “I don’t know.” Yet paradoxically, one of the most difficult and humbling things for us humans is to admit that we don’t know something. Our brain has evolved over tens of thousands of years into a three-pound, organic computer with the sole task of “making things more certain.” Gaining mastery and a sense of control over our physical and psychological environments is a natural, inherent human drive.
Read moreEntrepreneurs’ Corner: In Conversation With Nikolai Jaeger, An Innovative Modular Hotel Real Estate Developer
At last month’s International Hotel Investment Forum/Berlin, the event organisers arranged a panel discussion with four entrepreneurs and (co-)founders of new hotel concepts. The question up for debate: “Where is the innovation?”. [...] I caught up with Dr. Nikolai Jaeger. Nikolai is an entrepreneur and business founder, currently managing MQ Real Estate, a development company which specialises in and builds modular hotels on top of car parks, above parking lots and on top of existing buildings in European cities.
Read moreThe Uberisation of Employment
My father worked for the Midland Bank (better known today as HSBC) for 33 years. His brother, too, had been employed by the same bank. In addition, their father had similarly spent the majority of his professional life at Midland. Their respective generations were of a time when you picked a profession and, if you were lucky enough to be offered a job, you then dedicated your working life to one company until you reached retirement age.
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