Over the past two decades, there's been a sharp decline in the number of teens who choose to work in hotels and restaurants. Back in 2000, teens comprised over one-fifth of the hospitality workforce. By 2017, that number had dropped to 16 percent — shrinking what was once a viable pool of workers.
AETHOS New York Managing Director Keith Kefgen, in his annual review of CEO compensation for a variety of hospitality disciplines, shares candid insights as a result of his latest look at CEOs of U.S. lodging companies:"What we have found over the twenty years of studying CEO pay, is that the many public boards did a poor job at linking CEO pay to company performance," observes Kefgen. "In fact, that was the goal of creating our pay-for-performance model." The AETHOS Pay-for-Performance Model analyzes key financial metrics such as market capitalization, stock appreciation, EBITDA growth, and total direct compensation. What AETHOS discovered in last year's hotel industry pay practices is that most CEOs were paid appropriately, with a few outliers.
The desk clerk tried to hand back my parking slip, but I made no move to accept it.
The MMH Leadership Development Program (LDP) is a weekend-long event that connects current students in the Master of Management in Hospitality program with top-tier alumni from the School of Hotel Administration. These alumni are all highly regarded in their respective industries and volunteer their own personal time to come back to Cornell for the weekend. LDP is one of the many opportunities the Hotel School gives its students to connect with alumni and develop their leadership skills.
At the HR in Hospitality Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, industry leaders discussed where the industry is going and the power of foresight. Many topics were addressed, but the key takeaway was to resist complacency and utilize technology to "wow" your guests.
Hospitality schools and industry professionals have been working together to provide internship experiences that introduce students to different sectors of the hospitality industry, as well as expose students to the corporate culture and skills required by companies the student could eventually work with post-graduation. But if industry professionals and students are to leverage one another's abilities and resources for a successful internship experience, understanding underlying desires and motivations is key.
Judicial holdings regarding sexual harassment actions have put judges who want to ensure what they view as a just outcome in the awkward position of having to choose between following precedent or "breaking the rules." This article presents a theoretical assessment and empirical analysis of judicial rule-breaking with regard to two rules relating to sexual harassment. The first such rule, established in the Oncale decision, opened the door to the "equal-opportunity harasser" who treats everyone badly and thus escapes the prohibition on harassment "due to sex." The other rule, set forth in the Ellerth and Faragher decisions, establishes a two-prong requirement for companies to demonstrate that they should not be held liable in the case of sexual harassment of an employee. The requirements for the so-called affirmative defense are, first, that the employer acted reasonably in relation to a complaint, and second that the employee acted unreasonably, usually indicated by a tardy complaint. Our analysis of 131 cases finds that the likelihood of rule-breaking increases when judges perceive that an employer that is otherwise meritorious (that is, responds effectively to the complaint) could be held liable (in the case of Ellerth and Faragher). On the other hand, courts have followed the rule when an unjust outcome has small repercussions (as in Oncale). Of interest in this context is how the courts will treat a new sexual harassment rule, as outlined in the Supreme Court's Vance decision.
A recent compensation review of more than 250 Directors of Sales (DOS) from four- and five-star properties throughout the United States has resulted in AETHOS Consulting Group's Director of Sales Compensation Study.
In today's multicultural work environment, a better understanding of how bias affects hiring and promotion decisions, and what can be done to reduce its effects, is a major concern for hospitality industry human resource professionals and academics. Past research on racial bias and social identity theory shows contradictory effects; we propose that by examining additional boundary conditions we can clarify the "same-race" bias effect in hiring and candidate evaluation. We propose that perceptions of competence regarding job applicants provided to HR managers, and their attitudes toward affirmative action programs, can help reduce bias in the hiring process.
When we began our careers in the hotel business, it was widely thought that our industry paid executives rather poorly. Is that still true today? If CEO pay is any indication, it appears that stigma needs to change. In fact, based on our 20th review of hotel CEO pay, one could say that the industry is a vehicle for getting rich. Our analysis shows that the average pay check of a hotel CEO was more than $6M in 2015, while the average stock ownership was over $40M. Not bad for an industry with a tight-fisted reputation.
The value to a hotel of effective mentoring and succession planning cannot be overestimated. Any business is, after all, wrought with pitfalls and pratfalls that can be more easily avoided if a novice has one-to-one access with a veteran.
If you are in any way connected with the larger issues of hospitality and a reader of this blog, you are familiar with the proposed College of Business at Cornell University. Being a long-time graduate of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, I readily admit my education there made me the successful professional I have been for over 40 years now. Not bragging, merely admitting that I would not have been as successful without my Alma Mater.
The hospitality industry thrives on happy, healthy employees. They're more apt to greet customers warmly, show up on time, work hard, and go the extra mile to create a positive, welcoming environment.
New trends in the board room are emerging based on AETHOS Consulting Group's study of corporate governance in the lodging industry. This does not mean that perfection has been achieved in previously raised key areas. Unfortunately, we continue to see a few companies with classified boards, little diversity, questionable independence, and holding back as it relates to more performance based compensation.
Philipp Posch is the pre-opening GM of the Trump International Hotel Vancouver in Canada (to be opened in the summer of 2016). He is a young and hardworking GM with an abundance of energy, enthusiasm, and dedication. Living a balanced life while working in the hotel industry may sound like an ideal situation, but it is a tall order to fill. Most successful hoteliers tend to work more hours than they are willing to admit. The reality is that "living a balanced life" in conventional terms is, for the most part, a myth. Hotel business is a 24/7 business at the management level; it is just not a 9 to 5 job! In addition, if you truly are passionate about what you do, you will put in more time and effort simply because you enjoy what you are doing.
The effects of so-called big data, which involves a torrent of detailed information about employees and customers, have begun to ripple through hospitality human resources—allowing managers the potential to connect HR policies with corporate financial results. As discussed in this inaugural roundtable on "Hospitality HR and Big Data," hospitality firms are gradually addressing both the possibilities and the challenges of this mountain of data. In addition to dealing with the volume of data, hospitality firms must cope with the velocity, variety, and veracity of the data, while they also ensure ethical application of the information they gather. Given the size of HR databases, it's possible to draw statistically valid conclusions from analytical procedures, but care must be taken to ensure that those results make business sense before taking actions based on such analyses.
The dual-branded hotel concept is speculated to have a number of origins; Looking at the hospitality industry as a whole, a comparison that comes naturally is one to dual-branded restaurants. Two restaurants under one roof could be viewed as a close similarity as housing two hotel brands under one roof, but in reality, the two are actually quite different. The level of complexity is the catalyst that distinguishes the two.
Buzz words like bench-strength, engagement, alignment and strategy have variously served as HR mantras and mission statements over the years. The recent and industry-leading 2015 HR in Hospitality Conference (Las Vegas) is now a memory, but it left a "new" buzz word with all attendees… innovation. From the keynote address to the bulk of the various breakout sessions, the theme of innovation dominated the discussion of the roles and value-add propositions of HR professionals at all levels. There were two main take-a-ways from the conference:
We asked our partners at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research to poll the research faculty at the Hotel School to understand their guidance about what to expect in 2015. We were also able to get a preview of what the faculty will be working on in terms of research this year. I know the Center for Hospitality Research is always interested to know what the industry is worried about or wants to investigate, so I hope you will reach out with your questions, comments, and interesting business problems!
As hotel managers look to reduce the costs of customer acquisition by focusing on direct bookings, one often overlooked resource is the front desk team working in your lobby right now. The frontline colleagues staffing the reception desk are interacting with guests every day and have numerous opportunities to help lock-in more direct bookings. Here are some suggestions and training techniques.