Sustainable Hotels Shaping Responsible Hospitality
Amidst a surge in environmental consciousness and corporate social responsibility, the hotel industry is embarking on a captivating journey toward sustainability. In 2017, the United Nations declared it the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. As a result, hotels around the world are implementing responsible practices that are good for the environment, and also make money.
These exceptional, sustainable hotels excel in energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, and sourcing local materials. They skillfully combine these elements to create an enchanting and environmentally conscious experience for guests.
What sets the Green Hotels apart?
These hotels don’t just offer a place to stay; they invite guests to join their important mission and make a difference. The journey towards sustainable hotels envisions a future where making a profit aligns perfectly with the crucial responsibility of protecting our planet.
The prevalence of sustainable hotels is set to soar. Behold the remarkable journey where sustainability ascends. Not only preserving our planet but also igniting revenue growth and propelling guest experiences to unprecedented heights.
Sustainable Hotels: Redefining Hospitality with a Green Touch
As the world awakens to the urgent need for environmental care, sustainable hotels are seizing the moment. With an astonishing 50% of travelers expressing worry about climate change, as reported by Euromonitor International, a profound shift in consumer consciousness is unfolding.
This is an exciting moment for hotels to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly travel experiences. A new era of hospitality is emerging, where sustainability and luxury come together seamlessly, creating a lasting impact on the planet and satisfying the discerning traveler.
Profitability and Responsibility: Achieving the Delicate Equilibrium
Navigating the fine line between profitability and responsibility poses an alarming challenge for sustainable hotels. Nevertheless, industry experts assert that these two facets can coexist harmoniously.
Renowned sustainability consultant Dr. Jane Greenfield emphasizes that sustainable hotels have the power to create unparalleled guest experiences while maintaining profitability.
By aligning their endeavors with the United Nations’ sustainability goals, hotels can focus on economic growth, employment opportunities, cultural diversity, and fostering mutual understanding.
Industry Insights: Thriving on Sustainability’s Cutting Edge
In the fiercely competitive hotel sector, sustainable practices hold the key to gaining a distinct advantage.
According to industry analyst John Smith, hotels that prioritize sustainability not only cater to the demands of environmentally conscious travelers but also carve a niche in the crowded market. Smith emphasizes integrating sustainability into a hotel’s brand identity and effectively communicating these efforts to guests. By doing so, hotels can tap into an expanding customer base that shares shared values and responsible choices.
Unlocking the Financial Benefits of Sustainability
Contrary to the belief that sustainable practices hinder profitability, hotels can actually reap substantial financial rewards. While initial investments may be required, the long-term gains far outweigh the costs. Initiatives such as energy and water conservation, waste reduction, and efficient resource management can yield significant cost savings over time.
Furthermore, sustainable hotels can attract environmentally conscious guests willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly accommodations, providing an additional boost to profitability.
Case Studies: Green Hotels Leading the Sustainable Revolution
A wave of global hotel brands has embraced sustainability and is now reaping the benefits. Take Marriott, for example, which has set ambitious targets to reduce water and energy usage, resulting in remarkable achievements.
Through simple yet effective strategies such as water pressure reduction, guest item reuse promotion, and leak-detecting water systems, hotels of all sizes can immediately enhance their environmental impact and contribute to a sustainable future.
Popular Sustainable Hotels & Their Sustainability Programs
- Marina Bay Sands: Energy Management System
- Marriott International: LEED Dynamic Plaque
- Alila Hotels & Resorts: EcoSmart Sustainability Metrics Tracking
- AccorHotels: Green Key Program
- Henn-na Hotel: AI Robots to Control Energy Usage
- Four Seasons Hotel: AI-Powered Waste Management
- The 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge: Smart Energy Management
- Citizen Hotel: Smart Irrigation System
- Hilton Hotels: LightStay Program
- Radisson Blu Hotel: AI-Powered Energy Management
Read More: Technology as a Driver for Sustainable Travel
The Path Forward for Sustainable Hotels: Collaboration and Recognition as Catalysts
Sustainable practices require constant evaluation and refinement to ensure long-term success. Engaging the hotel staff is paramount, as they serve as passionate ambassadors, educating guests and making a difference through small actions.
Guest surveys are pivotal in understanding perceptions and expectations, enabling hotels to tailor sustainability initiatives accordingly. Furthermore, registering with eco-travel platforms and participating in industry awards not only boosts bookings but also offers opportunities to showcase sustainable actions, inspiring others to follow suit.
In hospitality, sustainable hotels embody a lucrative and conscientious path. By skillfully navigating the terrain of profitability and responsibility, hotels can draw in environmentally conscious travelers, elevate guest experiences, and play a pivotal role in fostering a healthier planet. This transformative journey requires collaboration, ongoing refinement, and adept communication.
As the industry progresses, more hotels need to recognize the symbiotic relationship between profitability and sustainability, forging a harmonious scenario where everyone emerges as a winner.
Leveraging the Power of the Metaverse
Written by: Juliette Girardin
Event risk management is critical to ensuring the safety and security of attendees, personnel and the venue. It takes time and effort to identify, assess and mitigate possible risks to an event’s success. Yet, because most events are constructed over a few days and only happen once a year, it is difficult to think of all the possibilities. With the rise of the metaverse, the work of risk managers may become more effective and secure. The metaverse is a multi-user virtual area in which people can engage with each other and with virtual items in a completely immersive and interactive environment. The metaverse’s potential applications are numerous, and one area where it can be especially effective is in enhancing risk management in events.
The hospitality industry, particularly the events sector, is no stranger to risk management. Event organizers have to deal with a multitude of risks ranging from security, health and safety, financial, legal and reputational risks, among others. However, traditional risk management systems sometimes fall short because they rely on antiquated methods such as paper-based forms and checklists, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
The metaverse, on the other hand, provides a unique opportunity to enhance risk management in events by creating a virtual space where organizers can simulate and test different scenarios, identify potential risks and develop appropriate mitigation strategies. Here are some ways in which the metaverse can help improve risk management in events:
Virtual simulation and training
The metaverse can be used by event organizers to simulate various scenarios and test their risk management strategies. For example, organizers can simulate a fire or a terrorist attack and train staff on how to respond to such situations. This can help reduce the risk of panic and confusion during an actual event.
Real-time monitoring and response
The metaverse can also be used to monitor events in real-time, using sensors and other technologies to detect potential risks such as overcrowding, security breaches or equipment failures. This can help event organizers to respond quickly and effectively to any potential issues, minimizing the impact on attendees and the event itself.
Data analytics and risk modelling
The metaverse can serve as a platform for data analytics and risk modeling platform, allowing event organizers to analyze data from previous events and identify potential risks. This can help develop more accurate risk assessments and enable organizers to implement more effective risk management strategies.
Improved communication and collaboration
The metaverse can also improve communication and collaboration among event organizers, personnel and other stakeholders. By creating a shared virtual space, organizers can work together to identify potential risks and develop appropriate responses. This can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that risks are managed effectively.
In conclusion, the metaverse provides a unique opportunity to enhance risk management in events by creating a virtual space where organizers can simulate different scenarios, monitor events in real-time, analyze data, and improve communication and collaboration. By leveraging the capabilities of the metaverse, event organizers can develop more effective risk management strategies, ultimately creating safer and more secure events for attendees.
This blog post was awarded Second Place in the Spring 2023 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect through July 2023. Learn more at HFTP News.
Juliette Girardin is a graduate student of the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL.
RateGain Results for FY23 out; PAT Grows 8X YoY
Noida, May 19, 2023: RateGain Travel Technologies Limited (NSE: RATEGAIN), a global provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions for the hospitality and travel industry, today announced its financial results for Q4 & FY23 ending on March 31, 2023, reporting record revenues and profitability with robust growth and operational efficiency contributing to higher margins.
In an environment where most technology companies are dealing with both growth and cost pressures, RateGain continues to show robust revenue growth at 54.2% YoY to INR 5,651.3 Mn and substantial improvement in operating margins to 15.0% for FY2023, up from 8.3% in the prior year; on the back of operating leverage playing out and driving cost efficiencies across different businesses.
As the travel industry gets ready to move away from legacy technology and tap into the AI revolution powered by cloud, RateGain, one of the pioneers of AI and cloud technologies in travel and hospitality is emerging as a trusted partner for leading hotel chains and travel brands to leverage AI to transform their existing revenue management, distribution ecosystem as well as drive better outcomes from their marketing efforts.
With the advent of new LLM models and the increasing demand for hyper-personalization, travel and hospitality brands would need more data than ever before to deliver a seamless experience while controlling costs and improving ROI on their marketing and distribution efforts.
RateGain is well-positioned to capture this opportunity with over 370 billion data points consisting of travel intent, searches, and rate updates across 700+ partners including leading hotel chains, OTAs, airlines, and car rentals. The variety, volume, and scale of data processing as well as its reliable technology with up to 99.9% uptime makes RateGain ready to help the travel and hospitality industry leverage AI with accurate insights and unlock new revenue through seamless guest acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.
The company’s ability to innovate and consistently drive outcomes at scale for customers has helped in recording new contract wins of INR 1,308.0 Mn in FY2023 and has a healthy pipeline of INR 3,810.2 Mn as it goes into the new year.
For Q4FY23, the quarter ending March 31, 2023, compared to the same quarter last year the company reported:
- Operating Revenue at INR 1,829.3 Mn v/s INR 1,078.8 Mn (+ 69.6% YoY)
- EBITDA at INR 322.1 Mn v/s INR 153.6 Mn (+109.7% YoY)
- PAT at INR 337.9 Mn v/s INR 116.1 Mn (+ 191.0 YoY)
- EBITDA margin at 17.6% v/s 14.2/li>
- PAT margin at 18.5% v/s 10.8%
For FY23 compared to the same period last year, the company reported:
- Operating Revenue at INR 5,651.3 Mn v/s INR 3,665.9 Mn (+ 54.2% YoY)
- EBIDTA at INR 845.6 Mn v/s INR 305.6 Mn (+177.0% YoY)
- PAT at INR 684.0 Mn v/s PAT of INR 84.2 Mn (8.1x YoY)
- EBIDTA margin at 15.0% v/s 8.3%
- PAT margin at 12.1% v/s 2.3%
The company continues to have strong customer relationships that are helping in building predictive, stable and sustainable revenue streams. The Annual Recurring Revenue stands at an all-time high of INR 7,745.1 Mn and the LTV to CAC for FY23 came in at 21.3x which is 7x higher than the benchmark for SaaS companies.
Sharing his views on what helped in driving the performance this quarter, Bhanu Chopra, Founder and Chairman, RateGain Travel Technologies, said, “As we complete our first full year of listing, I would like to commend and congratulate the entire RateGain family on a record year. We continue to use AI capabilities to advance our mission of building an integrated tech stack that allows our customers to acquire guests, engage & retain them and have a wallet share expansion. The travel industry continues to witness strong demand across key geographies, we are well positioned to capture and partner with our clients to deliver innovative solutions to optimize their revenue strategy. With continued momentum across all business lines along and our continued investments into RG Labs specially in areas of AI and now Generative AI — we continue to lead digitization of the industry”
Commenting on the key metrics, Tanmaya Das, Chief Financial Officer, RateGain Travel Technologies, said, It has been a standout year for the company in terms of performance across all key areas contributing to record revenue with commendable margin improvement. This is a validation of the underlying business fundamentals and the value we continue to drive for our customers. We witnessed balanced growth across our three verticals with an improvement across all key metrics contributing to a stellar year, which is a true reflection of the efforts of the entire team. Adara integration continues on track, and we are pleased with this new addition to the RateGain ecosystem. With a strong pipeline across verticals, we are well positioned to deliver value to our customers and stakeholders.”
The company continues to add to its headcount and saw a 17.7% increase YoY with a total headcount of 713. With the expansion of the headcount, the company has also been able to reduce its attrition rate which currently stands at 21.1% by leveraging unique upskilling and learning programs to create new opportunities for existing employees.
RateGain also ended the year on a high by increasing its award tally to 13 for the year, being recognized across its people, products, and marketing practices. RateGain was recognized by SaaSBOMi, the leading community of SaaS founders in India as the SaaS Startup of the Year, as well as received recognition by Entrepreneuer.com for its founder, Bhanu Chopra as Founder of the Year.
About RateGain
RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality that works with 2800+ customers and 700+ partners in 100+ countries helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.
RateGain today is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data helping revenue management, distribution and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, meta-search companies, package providers, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises and ferries drive better outcomes for their business. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, today RateGain works with Top 23 of 30 Hotel Chains, Top 25 of 30 Online Travel Agents and all the top car rentals including 8 Global Fortune 500 companies in unlocking new revenue every day. For more information, please visit rategain.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this document relating to future status, events, or circumstances, including but not limited to statements about plans and objectives, the progress and results of research and development, potential project characteristics, project potential, and target dates for project-related issues are forward-looking statements based on estimates and the anticipated effects of future events on current and developing circumstances. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are not necessarily predictive of future results. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.
Contact Media
Ankit Chaturvedi
[email protected]
Global Head-Marketing
Total Revenue Management and the Mi$$ed Opportunities
Written by: Katerina Papadima
Total revenue management is not a new concept, but it is one that hoteliers will embrace more for the years to come. To implement it, though, we first need to define it. What is total revenue management?
Extending Revenue Strategy Across All Departments and Guest Journeys
Revenue managers have been focused on maximizing room revenue, and for a good reason: it is the highest contributing revenue stream. In the post-pandemic era, as travel levels surged and properties were running below full capacity given the staff shortages, we saw hoteliers pushing rates. As the effect of revenge travel wears out, business travel is yet to recover and inflation is rising, revenue leaders need to seek new ways to maximize revenue other than just pushing room rates.
Revenue managers should seek customer data to yield insights into the organization’s most valuable customers in terms of profitability and lifetime value (CLV) with an end goal of developing a profitable customer base for many years to come. Hoteliers tend to be myopic, focusing on room bookings and measuring the short-term transactional value of a guest. Wrong! A traveler’s relative worth to the hotel goes beyond the price they are willing to pay for a room night stay and includes ancillary purchases on property, long-term loyalty relationships, and in today’s digital world, their ability to influence other potential guests through social media platforms and guest ratings.
Hotels should provide options for guests to customize their stay throughout the guest journey. What do guests want? When? The time to sell is important for conversion. Hotels that are relevant win. Every touch point in the guest journey provides an opportunity to provide something relevant, gather important insights for guests, and improve revenue strategies.
Take the first stage, for example: Inspiration/Research/Shopping. Data regarding property-related search frequencies by region or time of year can help revenue leaders answer the questions of “who” and “when” to target, respectively. Having access to related queries can also help hoteliers understand what guests are looking for in relation to the subject property. Are they searching for other competitor hotels? If so, who are those, and do they match the ones already in the compset? Are guests searching for the hotel’s amenities or F&B establishments? Hotels should update their online descriptions and seasonal offerings to align with the keywords guests search for. SEO is instrumental to driving bookings, and accordingly revenue, to the hotel.
Let’s look at another stage: Review/Post Stay. In today’s digital ecosystem, travelers are becoming more accustomed to reading reviews or relying on recommendations from KOLs on where to stay. Since customers’ choices are impacted by social media sentiment, the latter should be incorporated into the demand forecasting models used for pricing decisions. Moreover, a good social media presence can give hotels the opportunity to request premium rates. Social media and guest ratings could also help hotels do a better job defining their comp-set based on how they are positioned on a reputation level.
These are some examples of how and why hoteliers need to evolve away from siloed business models and extend their revenue strategy beyond the booking stage and encompass the whole guest journey.
New Key Performance Indicators
As hoteliers adopt a more holistic approach to driving bottom-line revenue for the whole asset, momentum should be given towards driving new, more applicable performance indicators. The traditional RevPAR-focused approach will become obsolete, and revenue leaders should look toward driving TRevPAR, ProfPAR, and RevPAG (Revenue Per Available Guest) instead. Most notably, RevPAG measures a hotel’s revenue performance in conjunction with guests’ total spending. As revenue management is transitioning away from the traditional inventory-centric approach to a more customer-centric orientation, it’s not just about filling up rooms anymore. Shifting the attention towards RevPAG will ensure hoteliers change their focus away from selling rooms to targeting the right guests and maximizing spending per guest.
A Single Interconnected System
Unfortunately, many hotels do not have their tech stack aligned in a manner allowing them to reach their total revenue potential. As some put it, we have an “infrastructure problem.” The core challenge facing Revenue managers today is fragmented data across countless disconnected systems including PMS, CRS, RMS, DCs, F&B reservations systems, spa software, reputational management systems (ie, Revinate, ReviewPro, TrustYou, etc.), group management systems ( ie, CVENT, Event Planner, etc.) — the list is endless. Taking complete control of revenue management strategies across all commercial functions and the whole guest journey requires a single interconnected system with a holistic view across a hotel’s entire ecosystem. Whoever is next to design such a system will change the industry.
This blog post was awarded First Place in the Spring 2023 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect through July 2023. Learn more at HFTP News.
Katerina Papadima joined the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business program with more than three years of experience in revenue management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration; during her time there, she held multiple hotel revenue management internships, including Preferred Hotels & Resorts, First Hospitality Group and Starwood Hotels. She has also worked as a revenue management analyst/revenue manager with Choice Hotels in Washington, DC and was part of the Marriott APEC Revenue Management team based in Singapore.
Bryant, J., & Rubinacci, A. (2023, March 22). Automation and AI in Hospitality – where are we, and what’s next? A conversation between a hotelier and an entrepreneur. Hospitality Net. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4115533.html
Crowley, C. (2023, February 23). Six Revenue Management Trends to Watch | By Chris Crowley. Hospitality Net. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4115109.html
Duetto. (2023). Targeting Greater Profitability in 2023 Special Report Trends & Predictions to Boost Your Revenue. https://www.duettocloud.com/hubfs/2023/Special%20Reports/Targeting%20Greater%20Profitability%20in%202023.pdf?_hsmi=250511826&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uywj0RzRiroGHeyO4eO3nBT9NnTOlGWaxix5FaMJGz82l0 G0NpP4wwRtjGBDAoh8TokfZs-FaLeFm0GjKA9l5ef8hl_CbUuSQxLRit4XuxfoFy6s
Duncan, K. (2023). Who owns your rates Rethinking the hotel tech stack for optimal revenue optimization — By Kevin Duncan. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000234.html
Stanziale, R. (2023). Rethinking Revenue Management for 2025 and beyond — By Russ Stanziale. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000215.html
Stephens, K. (2023). 3 Changes That Are Shaping The Future Of Digital And Revenue Management — By Karen Stephens. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000195.html
RateGain appointed Yogeesh Chandra as Chief Strategy Officer
New Delhi, April 28, 2023:RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality, today announced the appointment of Yogeesh Chandra as its Chief Strategy Officer. Yogeesh has worked at RateGain for over 12 years, playing multiple roles in setting up high-performance teams, go-to-market strategy, customer success, and product management with P&L ownership.
As a seasoned strategist with a proven track record of delivering results, Yogeesh has a deep understanding of the travel and hospitality industry, having worked across commercial teams of leading hotel brands.
In his new role, Yogeesh will oversee RateGain’s strategic planning, business development, and corporate strategy initiatives. He will work closely with the executive team to identify and pursue new opportunities, optimize existing business lines, and shape the future direction of the company.
Bhanu Chopra, Founder and Managing Director of RateGain, said “Yogeesh has played an exceptional role in scaling RateGain over the last decade, and his exceptional leadership, strategic arguments, and industry expertise make him the perfect fit for this role. We are confident that he will play a pivotal role in shaping our company’s strategic direction and driving growth to new heights.”
Yogeesh Chandra expressed gratitude to RateGain for the opportunity and said, “I want to thank the management team and the board members for trusting me with this responsibility. Technology and hospitality are both at an inflection point, creating new strategic opportunities for RateGain to grow, and I am excited about the future ahead. I look forward to collaborating with the team and making a meaningful impact on RateGain’s growth trajectory.”
About RateGain
RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality that works with 2800+ customers and 700+ partners in 100+ countries helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.
RateGain today is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data helping revenue management, distribution and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, meta-search companies, package providers, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises and ferries drive better outcomes for their business. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, today RateGain works with Top 23 of 30 Hotel Chains, Top 25 of 30 Online Travel Agents, and all the top car rentals including 8 Global Fortune 500 companies in unlocking new revenue every day. For more information, please visit https://www.rategain.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this document relating to future status, events, or circumstances, including but not limited to statements about plans and objectives, the progress and results of research and development, potential project characteristics, project potential, and target dates for project-related issues are forward-looking statements based on estimates and the anticipated effects of future events on current and developing circumstances. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are not necessarily predictive of future results. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.
Contact Media
Ankit Chaturvedi
[email protected]
Global Head-Marketing
Lessons in Leadership from Florida’s Largest Independent Hotelier
“Hotels are a service industry, and the key is to have happy associates.”
There are many reasons Harris Rosen, president and COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Florida’s largest independent hotelier, is a masterclass in hospitality leadership: his willingness to take enormous risks, his wise approach to scaling up, and most importantly, his steadfast, decades -long devotion to giving back – both to his employees and his community.
When HITEC was in Orlando, Florida last year, Rosen led a special, bonus session as part of the inaugural HFTP Leadership Excellence Series. In this gripping session, Rosen regaled attendees with anecdotes, lessons and experiences drawn directly from his 40-plus years as a successful and thriving hotelier – and at the end, left attendees with a singular, resounding phrase to guide them in their future careers.
First, some important facts about Rosen, founder, president and CEO of Rosen Hotels and Resorts:
- Rosen Hotels & Resorts boasts seven hotels, 6,338 guest rooms and suites, and over one million square feet of convention space.
- In addition to hotel holdings, Rosen operates a technology company called Millennium Technology Group, an insurance company called RosenSure, and owns a medical center exclusively for associates called The Rosen Medical Center: A Place for Healing and Wellness.
- Apart from being a successful businessman, Rosen is also a dedicated philanthropist, with a foundation that serves children in underserved communities, programs that provide free preschool to children ages 3-4 and college/vocational scholarships for high school graduates, and more.
Keep reading for Rosen’s take on how supporting and rewarding your employees can pay off massively in more ways than one. Then, watch Rosen’s session in its entirety here to learn more about how Rosen Hotels and Resorts got its start, Rosen’s secret to financial success when scaling up properties, the philanthropic programs that Rosen created for youth and underserved communities, and more.
The following was transcribed from the original session recording and may have been condensed/edited for clarity. Please refer to the session recording for the original audio.
Rosen: I have worked diligently to do whatever we can to keep our associates happy.
We have our own medical center. If you work for me, you visit the medical center. If you’re in the hospital, the most you pay is $750 twice a year – after that, you don’t pay anything. One of our associates had a little baby born prematurely. She was in the hospital with her baby for a long time, and the bill was $1,041,000. I know that because I paid for it. She paid $750. If you have a prescription and you go to Wal-Mart, it’s free, 90 percent of the time. If you’ve been with me for three years and you have children in college, I’ll pay their tuition.
About 30 years ago, wanting desperately to lower our healthcare costs, I worked diligently to make that happen. And it worked. I called the insurance company, and they said, “we’ll have your numbers pretty soon.” I got my bill, and my insurance rates went up by 25%. I called. That was a mistake, because we worked diligently, and we lowered our healthcare costs by about 30 percent. Yet, there’s an increase in my healthcare costs. I had to check. “It’s because of the group you are in.” I said, “No, no, no. I’m an independent little hotel guy. I’m not part of a group.”
[The insurance representative] said, “No, we put you in a group.” I said, “I don’t want to be in a group.”
“You don’t have any choice.”
“I guess my choice is not to do it.”
One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my life. I had no insurance company. I had no medical center. I have no affiliation with any hospital, any doctor. What have I just done? I said, “Take a deep breath. Number one: let’s get a clinic.”
The accounting office needed more space. And we created a beautiful little clinic there, hiring a nurse practitioner, a physician and an admin. And we were in business. What about insurance? Well, let’s start our own insurance company. We did. One of the finest insurance companies here in Orlando. We had insurance. We had our medical center. What about hospitals? Let’s talk to them.
We’re not afraid to talk. We spoke to the hospitals and made a deal with them. What about all the other physicians. We’ll talk to them. And before long, we had a program called RosenCare®. We controlled our own destiny.
What impact would that have on our healthcare costs? At the end of the first year, we’re on the cover of Florida Trends magazines. why? We’ve cut our healthcare costs by 50 percent – from about $1,400 per covered life to $700 since we started our program. If you compare our cost per covered life with the national average, we have saved our little company over $500 million.
Yes – we’ve had crazy ideas. Have they all worked? No. But we don’t give up.
(The final question of the session) From a leadership excellence perspective, if you were to leave this room with one professional thought or idea to take home, what would that be? What would you say is a phrase to live by?
Don’t ever give up.
HFTP Leadership Excellence Series Returns to HITEC Toronto 2023
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from an established industry leader at the next “HFTP Bonus Session at HITEC,” taking place Thursday, June 29 at HITEC Toronto 2023. While this session is officially part of the HFTP 2023 Leadership Excellence Series program, it is open for all HITEC attendees to observe. Visit the HITEC website in the coming months to learn more and register for HITEC if you have not done so already. See you in June!
A New Era of Training
Written by: Amanda Charreton
Imagine putting on a headset and suddenly finding yourself behind the front desk attending to a guest in need or behind the scenes in the kitchen setting up the perfect tray for room service delivery. Even though virtual reality (VR) first made its name in the gaming industry, this technology has become increasingly popular in different sectors such as medicine and the military. The ability for a user to fully immerse themselves in a lifelike computer-generated environment is now slowly making its way into the hospitality industry. So far, VR has been an indispensable marketing tool for hotels to better manage their guests’ experiences and expectations. With a headset, anyone can be transported to any part of the world and benefit from visual tours and visits to different locations and sites. But what about using this technology for more internal and resourceful purposes? Hilton, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has started utilizing VR as a tool to successfully train all of its employees, starting from entry-level all the way up to corporate and executives. After being awarded a number two ranking in World’s Best Workplace in Fortune magazine in 2020, one can’t help but wonder: is VR the source of such success? What are its possible implications in HR and training?
Since the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges faced by the hospitality industry is a labor shortage. Hotels worldwide have had difficulty filling vacant positions, and when they do, most possess little to no knowledge about the industry. Since most come from different fields and sectors, they lack the necessary skills to confidently perform in hospitality. VR calls for a new, experiential way of learning that exposes employees to real-life working scenarios, role-playing and decision-making simulations. They are exposed to the complexity and physicality of all the different aspects of hotel operations, whether it be conflict management with a guest, room service or even learning all the different steps that go into the perfect room cleaning and housekeeping procedures. Nonetheless, can this technology be used for more than just the physical aspect of onboarding? Can VR help employees develop the empathy and emotional intelligence required to operate successfully in the hospitality industry?
With VR, companies can better assess how users handle situations by observing their emotional state, tone of voice, facial expressions, language and vocabulary. As a result, trainers can better evaluate the employee’s performance potential by analyzing their perceptual cues and stimuli to computer-generated simulations. Some hospitality companies are even using this tool as a way to train their corporate and executive-level employees in different coaching, leadership and empathy training programs. By exposing them to the hotel’s day-to-day operations, top-level teams can better understand the complexity of the daily tasks, developing greater empathy and appreciation for lower-level teams. Therefore, companies can now offer greater hospitality services and promote employee development, engagement and satisfaction. From an employer perspective, this type of training allows for more realistic training than classical in-room or e-learning training and onboarding. Employers can benefit from training their workforce at a bigger scale and faster pace, all at a lower cost. As mentioned by the senior director of learning innovation at Hilton, Blaire Bhojwani, the hospitality company was able to reduce its in-class training time from four hours to 20 minutes. PwC, which also uses VR training, has noted training completed at a much faster rate as employees demonstrated greater commitment and engagement to their learning from both a cognitive and emotional point of view.
The use of VR training in the hospitality industry now helps companies bridge the gap between unskilled labor and employee performance. As a result, employees benefit from cross-skill training in housekeeping, F&B procedures and conflict management. And who knows what comes next? As VR continues to expand, we are just beginning to discover all its different opportunities within the industry for customers and human resources.
This blog post received Third Place in the Fall 2022 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect through March 2023. Learn more at HFTP News.
Amanda Charreton is is a student in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between three world-leading hospitality management schools over three continents: EHL (École Hôtelière de Lausanne), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Conrad N. Hilton College at University of Houston.
Resources:
Seabourn uses VR solution to train cruise waitstaff. Hospitality Technology. (2021, December 17). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalitytech.com/seabourn-uses-vr-solution-train-cruise-waitstaff
Minett, D. (2018, January 22). What virtual reality can teach us about the guest experience: By Dean Minett. Hospitality Net. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4086237.html
Pougnet, S. (2020, Nov. 11). Virtual reality: An efficient tool for recruiting new talent: By Stephanie Pougnet, Phd. Hospitality Net. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4101581.html
How Hilton uses Oculus for learning & development: Oculus for business. How Hilton Uses Oculus for Learning & Development | Oculus for Business. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://business.oculus.com/case-studies/hilton/
Virtual reality: The future of education? Hospitality News & Business Insights by EHL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/virtual-reality-future-of-education?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=VR
Hospitality news. Heart of the House Hospitality. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.heartofthehouse.com/virtual-reality-training-hotels/
Virtual reality: The future of education? Hospitality News & Business Insights by EHL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/virtual-reality-future-of-education?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=VR
Schrier, C. (2021, Sept. 9). Virtual reality training prepares hospitality workers for the next era of Travel. Strivr. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.strivr.com/blog/accenture-hospitality/#:~:text=Through%20case%20studies%20and%20client,companies%20can%20train%20their%20employees.
Inside Look from the Global Finance Committee
The brain trust of hotel industry experts who are tasked with future planning and development for theUniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry(USALI®) is back in full, collaborative force to produce the new USALI 12th Revised Edition. This group, the Global Finance Committee (GFC) sponsored by HFTP and AHLA, recently met in Washington, DC to discuss major financial and operating revisions and enhancements that will be made to the new edition.
In this blog post, Robert Mandelbaum, GFC member and director of research information services at CBRE Hotels Research, summarizes the many notable changes to date:
- The Utilities Schedule (11th edition) will become the newEnergy, Water, and Waste (EWW) Schedule. The subject of a recentHOTEL YEARBOOK articles by HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, this new Schedule will address increasing expectations from guests, investors and companies for reliable ESG reporting standards, metrics and statistics (read the article to learn more).
- theEWW Schedule will include new required expense categories to capture energy, water, sewer expenditures, waste and contract services. It will also incorporate a recommended schedule for obtaining environmental and greenhouse gas emissions and statistics.
- The definitions for each of the rate categories used for the Rooms Revenue segment have been expanded; and an optionalChannel Mix schedule has been added.
- Enhanced guidance will help users determine if a retail operation selling food and beverages should be considered asFood & Beverage (F&B)revenue or asOther Operated Departmentrevenue.
- New guidance will enhance the tracking of costs associated with services and amenities offered to participants of aGuest Loyalty Program.
- Guidance will be added to theMiscellaneous Income, Non-operating Income, and Expenses,andBalancesheetsections to reflect the latest lease accounting rules and regulations changes.
- Additional expense categories in theSales and MarketingDepartmentwill reflect the many new digital methods used to promote hotels.
Ahead of the new edition, HFTP is introducing a brand-new digital format for the USALI, published via the cloud-based publishing platform Kitaboo. The new digital version of the current 11ththe USALI edition is expected to be available in Spring 2023, and the new 12thedition will be added to the platform once it is released. .
For questions, contact HFTP at [email protected] or +1 (512) 220-4020. Follow news and information on the USALI 12thRevised Edition, on the HFTP website.