Doug Kennedy’s Next Staff Training Webcast: The “3Ms” of Hospitality Leadership: Model, Mentor, Measure

Sponsored By Travel Outlook and Track Hospitality Software  

Register your team and participate live or receive and view the recording of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Friday, October 23, at Noon ET, which targets all hospitality industry leaders from aspiring supervisors through executive level. Register Here

“When industry veterans reflect back on our early careers, we can all immediately recall that person who saw potential in us that maybe we ourselves did not yet even recognize,” says Kennedy. “Just as we have all had mentors, this session is all about inspiring everyone to pay it forward,” he said.

First, Kennedy will share timely research showing why inspiring frontline staff to create authentic hospitality experiences should be a core pillar of your marketing strategy. Despite the focus on AI-powered search, research from companies including McKinsey and Expedia shows that leisure travel inspiration still begins primarily with referrals from friends, family, coworkers, and social media. He’ll also demonstrate how guest reviews—shaped by positive or negative hospitality experiences—can influence GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

Kennedy will then present highlights from this core KTN leadership program.

• The flame of the hospitality spirit is reignited every day at the employee entrance.

• Modeling and mentoring your staff on how to create emotional connections with guests is not only a quality of great leaders, it is also a commercial strategy.

• Daily, meaningful “micro encounters” provide mentoring opportunities.

• Frontline staff are closely observing how you speak to and about colleagues as well as guests.

• Avoid guest bashing and instead validate guest complaints.

• How Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of Generativity explains “What’s in it for me?” for mentors.

Recordings of previous webcasts are available on KTN’s YouTube channel and are now also being distributed on your favorite podcast channel or on KTN’s Spotify channel.

Everyone who registers for this and all KTN webcasts receives a link to the recording, even if they cannot attend. The 40-minute format is perfect for “lunch and learns,” or excerpts can be shared at staff meetings. The target audience is anyone who is interested in upskilling themselves or others, and the topic areas are broad enough to be relevant for all sectors of the lodging industry.

“We are grateful to the generosity of our sponsors who have allowed us to offer complimentary admission,” said Kennedy. “It takes a lot of time to design, promote, and deliver these events, and so we would normally charge a registration fee, but this series is now completely free to all.”

Sponsors include: Travel Outlook, the only KTN Certified call center, and Track Hospitality Software, whose products include a Track PMS and Pulse reservations CRM.

Complimentary registration can be accessed at www.KTNwebcast.com. Here are the additional topics scheduled so far.

Hotel Sales Leaders: Why Your Salespeople Don’t Close More Deals – And What To Do About It

Friday, November 20 (Noon ET)

REGISTER HERE

You have approved every request for new sales automation systems, because salespeople report being overwhelmed with inbound leads. You’ve added AI-powered drip campaigns so that all buyers receive so-called “personalized” follow-ups. You’ve authorized expenditures for AI-powered revenue management systems powered by the best data in history. You’ve okayed extra funding for purchasing display ads on event planning software platforms. Your hotels have paid for third-party email marketing campaigns. Investment has been made in sleek-looking lead generation systems that capture local demand from those searching for venues. Perhaps you have even invested in platforms that enable the instant, online booking of groups, meetings, and events.

Yet still your hotel sales teams are failing to gain market share from their comp sets. To fully actualize all those investments, focus on the “people parts” and train your team to use a “tech for touch” approach.

• The bleak and mundane endgame of industry-wide sales automation.

• Why you should keep the “people parts” at the heart of the sales process.

• Salespeople should be focused on sales! Minimize unnecessary meetings and reporting.

• Master the four CRM Essentials, regardless of which system you use.

• Practical ways to use AI to enhance, not replace, human-authored sales correspondence.

Target audience: All levels of sales leadership from C-Suite to Regional and on-site Director roles, as well as GMs and asset managers. Frontline sales staff can also benefit.

Encourage “Quick Questions” and Train Your Team To Convert Them Into Direct Bookings

Friday, December 18 (Noon ET)

REGISTER HERE

When revenue and commercial leaders in the vacation rental sector simply glance at reports showing contribution margins across distribution channels, they are likely seeing the “voice” channel continue to lose ground to “website direct” and “OTA/third party.” Yet when you microscope the metrics, the story is actually quite different. In this webcast, Doug will share observations from working with over 200 hotels, professional vacation rental companies, and resorts this year and put the magnifying glass on what’s really happening with the voice channel.

• Phone calls represent the end-point of an expensive marketing effort to grab the attention of online shoppers. They are opportunities, not interruptions.

• Real conversations forge emotional connections with your brand, not pretty pictures and clever ad copy.

• What are real-world callers asking these days? (Observations from KTN’s call recording assessment service.)

• How to turn what appear to only be “quick questions” into booking opportunities.

• Rather than giving quantitative facts, tell stories that help them imagine what they will see, feel, and experience.

Target audience: A thought-provoking experience for managers, revenue and commercial marketing leaders. Also beneficial for the “doers” such as guest services staff, front desk, and reservations sales agents.