Spring 2012 - AHLA · 24 Roundtable 25 MVP Review 28 What’s New? 29 HR Matters 30 Names in the...

albertahospitality

• Unlocking the Gen Y Guest Potent ial• F&B: Looking Ahead• Social Media Tracking & Onl ine Reputat ion Management• Preparing for the 2012 Camping Season

The Official Magazine of the Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association

PM

4002

6059

Spr ing 2012

the sheraton red deer

THE SHERATON RED DEERWith over 60 years of history behind it and the promise of ever-increasing business success in the years to come, the new Sheraton Red Deer Hotel and Convention Centre will be finished renovations… for now.

4 Chairman’s Report5 President & CEO’s Message11 Travel Alberta24 Roundtable25 MVP Review28 What’s New?29 HR Matters30 Names in the News

in every issue

albertahospitality

this issue16

6 Unlocking the Gen Y Guest Potential10 The Credibility Gap12 F&B: Looking Ahead18 Visitor Information Centres18 Chinese Travel to Alberta19 They Shot, We Scored20 Social Media Tracking & Online Reputation Management26 Ready, Set, Camp!

Where is our industry headed and what does the future look like? No one knows for sure, but we can say with certainty that technology has revolutionized our sector - possibly more than any other. If I close my eyes and allow myself to dream, perhaps the future will look a little like this:

I touch the heat sensitive console on my car dashboard to accept the call on my Microsoft advanced 2020 comp-cell, which is linked into my vehicle’s technology system. My business partner’s voice is agitated as he informs me that our Japanese client needs some face time to complete the due diligence conditions on our deal. The meeting is in one hour. I complete the call and activate the voice sensitive search feature to scan for the nearest hotel on my list of preferred places to stay. Three notifications pop up displaying rates. I add more detail to my inter-scan, since I need a meeting room with virtual features for that face time. Luckily the search has found a hotel only six kilometres away, and my GPS gives me the coordinates.

As I have stayed with this brand consistently over the last year, I accept the offer and sign into my account. My personal settings flash onto my screen as I outline what I need for this stay. I give the call co-ordinates for the meeting and review my profile settings. A copy of The Wall Street Journal will be waiting in my room in the Gold Club, and breakfast will be ready for me at 6:00 am. I book a massage at the spa to relieve the ache in my neck, and ensure Michael Bublé will be playing in my room upon arrival. CNBC will be on the television. I accept the hotel’s invitation for dinner, which is being prepared by their travelling five-star chef who is making a six-course Indian curry extravaganza. For my arrival, I order the protein oxy-hydration drink I had on my last vacation. Moments later,

the hotel notifies me that my reservation is complete, with an upgrade to a west facing room so I can enjoy the sunset. It even gives me directions to my meeting room.

I arrive with time to spare. The bell captain opens my door and greets me by name, as the camera scanners have verified my car license plate. As I enter, I am greeted with my protein drink by the business centre specialist. No need to wait in line at the front desk - I just place my hand on the check-in scanner on my way to the meeting room. My luggage will be placed in my room and my vehicle will be washed and cleaned by the time I’m ready to check out. My hotel profile, which is connected to my Facebook account, has just informed me that a colleague is staying at the same hotel and is suggesting we get together for dinner.

Who knows whether or when technology will make all of this possible. Although we all share the goal of putting heads in beds, the way we do so in the future will be vastly different than it is today. Our members need to stay ahead of the curve and embrace the changes the future will bring. The AHLA must also ensure we embrace the future and what technology has to offer. Times will change but we must lead, developing new programs and representing the new and varied needs of our members. We can’t be afraid to close our eyes and dream that one day things will look very different, and open our eyes to strive to make them so!

I look forward to working with the leaders of tomorrow and remaining as engaged as ever with the AHLA!

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

AHLA2707 Ellwood Drive,

Edmonton AB, T6X 0P7 Toll Free: 1.888.436.6112

www.ahla.ca

Official magazine of

albertahospitality

PUBLICATIONS

CHAIR OF THE BOARDMike Shymka

FIRST VICE CHAIRBarry Zwueste

VICE CHAIRSteven Watters

VICE CHAIRPerry Wilford

PAST CHAIRDoug Shandro

PRESIDENT & CEODavid Kaiser

DIRECTORS NORTHAmr Awad

JoAnn KirklandTony Verbisky

DIRECTORS CENTRALThomas Barknowitz

Perry BatkeTina Tobin

DIRECTORS SOUTHJoseph Clohessy

Mark HopeMichael Sieger

DIRECTOR, CAMPGROUNDSChristina Eklof

Alberta Hospitality is published quarterly by:

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• Social Media Trends • Alberta Travel Outlook

• Liquor Liability • Maximizing Potential Revenue

UPCOMING ISSUESummer 2012 Closes May 25

Publishes July 6

by Mike Shymka

alberta hospitality | 5

The provincial budget introduced by the Redford government earlier this year seems to have been created with a spring election in mind. With no tax increases or spending cuts proposed, it is a safe budget that will likely ensure the re-election of the Conservatives with a strong majority. Here are some highlights that are of particular importance to Alberta’s tourism and hospitality industry:

• No increases in personal or corporateincome taxes and existing fees. This includes no increase to liquor mark-ups this year. However, the Finance Ministry’s 2012 business plan identifies “Sustain the province’s revenue from liquor operations through the development of a responsive mark-up policy and review of license and registration fees” as a priority initiative. This likely means future increases.

• $50.5 million in Tourism Levy revenuesare allocated to Travel Alberta for 2012-13. This represents approximately 77% of the $65 million that was collected throughthe Tourism Levy in 2010-11. The 2011-12 projectionfortheTourismLevyis$69million,

PRESIDENT & CEO’S MESSAGE

on Temporary Foreign Workers and the need to expand the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP).

We may see bold changes after the election, based on the government’s stated commitment to move Alberta to a new fiscal framework. This framework is meant to increase the stability and predictability of government revenues and bring more scrutiny and greater discipline to spending. Bill 1: Results-based Budgeting Act introduced by Premier Redford, promises a comprehensive review of the programs and services provided by the government and its agencies. We expect this will include both the Alberta Gaming & Liquor Commission and Travel Alberta.

We expect the AHLA’s government relations activities to be robust in the days ahead.

We look forward to serving you!

2012-13 Alberta Provincial Budget by Dave Kaiser

and the 2012-13 budget estimate is $73million. This means the government expects hotels and motels to see higher occupancies and higher room rates.

• The3rdquarterfiscalupdateindicatedthatAlberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation’s actual expenses were over budget by $16 million.The main reason given for the variance was Travel Alberta/Calgary Stampede 2012 Centennial. This is somewhat confusing given that Travel Alberta’s budget is based on an allocation of the Tourism Levy and official budget documents show the 2011-12 forecast equal to the 2011-12 budget for Travel Alberta.

• The 2012-13 budget for immigrationdelivery through the department of Human Services is essentially unchanged. In fact, despite robust GDP growth projections and unemployment rate forecastsbelow5%, thegovernment is forecasting that fewer foreign workers will be employed in Alberta over the next several years. This does not seem reasonable and may present challenges for our industry, given our ongoing dependency

6 | alberta hospitality

FEATURE

by Chris McBeath

Unlocking the gen Y gUeSt PotentiAl


UNLOCKING THE GEN Y GUEST POTENTIAL

s the tidal wave of Baby Boomers heads towards retirement, it is their offspring, the Gen-Yers, 34 years old and younger, who are now turning social mores inside out. Already comprising one third of all hotel guests, this youthful populace represents

a tsunami of change.

Everything about the Gen-Yer is about instant gratification, WOW factor, the quality of personalized experience, and the integrity of a company’s core values. Understand this concept and at least you’re in the game of unlocking the Gen Y potential.

Instant Connectivity

According to the research company, Media Monitors, 86% of Gen-Yers are online at some point during the day, catching up on the latest news from their favourite news sources, sharing social networks, and reading emails.

The first generation to grow up with Mickey Mouse and a computer mouse each holding sway, a virtual world of information has always been at their fingertips. Social networks, global access, and hyper-connectivity are integral to their lifestyle, and they access them all with astonishing dexterity to learn, inform, effect change, and influence peers at lightning speed - often in less than 140 characters. This is the most impatient, advertising-skeptical, buyer-aware public we’ve ever known, and it has left most industries, including the hospitality sector, scrambling to keep up. Get it right, however, and strategically integrate Gen Y’s dependence ontechnology,andacompanycanwintheirloyaltyandthatoftheir500friends on Facebook.

Future Shock

With an eye on the horizon, Westcorp Properties was among the earlier hotel operators to start targeting this young, on-the-go consumer.

Both its Metterra Hotel, which opened in 2005, and the Matrix Hotelthat followed two years later, are geared to Gen Y preferences. Each is centrally located in Edmonton with easy access to social, cultural, and healthy options for recreation and business, and both provide guestrooms that are fully equipped with technology such as HDTV, iPod docking stations, modern coffee brewers, cordless phones, and most importantly, FREE WiFi.

“Attracting Gen-Yers isn’t only about location and physical amenities, it’s about how personal you can make the experience,” says Jane Jess, who is the regional director of sales and marketing. “Marketing into their social media frameworks has become an essential component to the sales matrix. This consumer is internationally aware; they know they have a voice, and because they really want to make a difference, it’s equally important to be a company that echoes these values and demonstrates social responsibility.”

In his book, High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service, Micah Solomon comes across as a 21st Century upgrade of Tom Peters, reframing traditional customer service tenets to cater to this new breed of guest. His chapters on social media provide the most food for thought for anyone wishing to connect with the Gen Y demographic.


A According to the research company Media Monitors, 86% of Gen-Yers are online at some point during the day, catching up on the latest news from their favourite news sources, sharing social networks, and reading emails. {


Solomon identifies how Gen Y has grown up to expect anticipatory technological behaviour and aggregated information - instantly - and then layers in examples of a hotel’s new competitive environment.

Solomon writes, “With a few thumb strokes, they can have the information they need served up for them concierge style, based on their IP address or satellite location and other useful clues. Then consider Hipmuck, which lists travel options along with warnings about long lay-overs and other agonies, and shows hotels with precise proximity to your actual destination. And Gogobot where your own Facebook/Twitter pals have already rated potential trips for you. And of course TripAdvisor, with its user-generated ratings of nearly everything in the world of travel.”

From a hotelier’s perspective, the reality of this landscape can feel as far removed from high touch as you can get. Ironically, though, Gen-Yers are all about experiences that are less predictable, hotels that are less traditional, and high tech amenities that provide choice.

Fast Changing Realities

This youth-prevailing attitude is driving hotel design, guest services, booking methods, and marketing at such a rapid pace that harnessing the psyche of Gen Y has become a specialty.

In design, look for guestroom layouts where beds face oversized windows; large, flat screen TVs within one-stop connectivity entertainment centres for multiple electronic gadgetry such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops - where guests can watch a movie from their iPad or work on a PowerPoint presentation. Elsewhere, in-the-vibe elements include ever-busier lobbies with conversational, entertainment, and lounge areas alongside a range of self-serve options such as check-in kiosks (no more chest-high counters) as well as hotel apps that sell in-hotel services from spa to food and beverage specials. That same app can even enable Groupon-style, spur-of-the-moment offers to in-house guests.

The Burrard Hotel, Vancouver, has been on the fast track ever since it launched its “shabby done chic” Gen Y brand in the summer of 2011. In spite of the physical limitations of an older building, the hotel’s central location and Gen Y specific amenities have created a hot value commodity in Twittersphere.

“Gen Yers are looking more for a unique destination, and an exciting, central location which they can explore, so the fact that we don’t have a restaurant is of no consequence to them,” explains Dani Pretto, its general manager. “We do, however, offer as many in-room free services as possible. These include WiFi, an espresso machine, branded bottled water, HDTV, movie and sports channels (Gen Y does not “do” Pay for View) and 100% bio-degradable, branded bathroom amenities.”

In terms of reaching these guests, The Burrard has created an edgier website, revamped its social media platforms (Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare), and invested in a separate mobile site so that browsing and booking a room is on-the-go easy. “We’ve had guests making a reservation as they’re walking through the door,” Pretto admits. “But it demonstrates how fast this medium works; lead times are very, very short.”

Keeping up with the pace is an art unto itself. Like many hoteliers, Pretto is adding a social marketing specialist to her staff. Operationally, she is pursuing smart check-in services and is working with a provider to have tablets placed in every room. “Although the pads are equipped with GPS trackers in case of loss or theft, we prefer to contract this service rather than take on the financial risk ourselves.”

iPad Concierge

The Opus Hotels are joining the ranks of several leading chains in providing guests with tablets, placing customized v2 iPads in every guestroom. Each



gadget is loaded with favourite apps and weblinks that reflect the personality of one of the hotel’s five virtual Lifestyle Concierges, pointing out their favorite places to shop, dine, exercise, relax, and spa. Every iPad 2 boasts GPS and mobile technology, encouraging guests to wander through Vancouver accompanied by their virtual lifestyle concierge. As new and different options become available, each virtual concierge suggestion will be updated, keeping content fresh and relevant.

This move to self-service is very much part of the self-empowered Gen Y profile. Several third-party software developers are now on the scene, geared to helping hotels and airlines digitize their concierge services in a myriad of platforms - be they iPhone, BlackBerry or Android systems. The result is high tech touch: hotels are introducing apps to browse hotel amenities and local attractions, order theatre tickets, request wake-up calls, schedule housekeeping, message other guests, and arrange car service. In some instances, the app direct-connect to the kitchen has seen room service orders climb almost 20%.

Community Updates

Most hotels are still exploring this brave new world, and while they wait for their chain affiliation to roll out branded programs, individual properties such as The Westin Calgary have their bases covered.

“I make sure that pictures, tweets and videos keep our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube platforms current and fresh,” says Andrea Wenz, its executive marketing assistant, who spends up to an hour a day managing the hotel’s social media networks. “We use QR codes on all printed materials, and promote the Westin Superfood Menu items, which Gen-Yers really appreciate.”

For all the exploding influence of online communities, there are those who still opt for “old-fashioned” hospitality. “Some of the things we’ve been doing to attract Gen Y customers is to not try and attract them,” explains Darren VanMackelbergh, manager of Brewster Mountain Lodge in Banff. “We have decent green initiatives that have appeal as well as free wireless, and a complimentary breakfast, but by in large we trust that the destination and services will meet their need for an experience. Although we tend to cater to the older crowd, we always make sure we have ample inventory for flash sales on discounted booking engines, and we keep our social media pages updated with specific information. If some Gen Y get caught in our nets, then hopefully they will spread the word.”

In today’s vernacular, that hope translates as Tweeting, Blipping, Blogging, Bookmarking, Facebooking, Flickring, Linking-in, Yammering, and Yelping! And if any of these terms is not on your agenda, watch out. You’re about to be bypassed!

ideas at Work>>> When it renovated its 28 suites, Toronto’s Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, added musical instruments, baby grand pianos, acoustic guitars, and harps into the mix, all of which are playable. It also introduced comprehensive vegan menus to its regular F&B offerings, including room service.

>>> In its 360° Package, several Luxe Hotels in Los Angeles, offer elements specifically for the Gen Y market such as the use of an iPad 2 for the duration of a guest’s stay, a personal Town Car to get them to/from the airport, a luxurious room upgrade and a complimentary bottle of Shiraz wine.

>>> The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona sells a “Dinner on the 9th Green” package through its app as well as spa specials at specific time slots that otherwise would go unbooked.

>>> The recently opened Inn at the 5th, Eugene, Oregon, has no check-in lines. Hotel staff carrying iPads greet and deftly guide guests through the check-in process, customizing requests for preferred in-room mini bar stock, breakfast delivery, and spa and restaurant reservations, all in one seamless experience.

>>> MGM’s new program, M Life, has taken loyalty programs to the next level by tracking guest preferences to create individualized rewards. For example, if someone attends a Madonna concert, they may receive an offer to Lady Gaga, or the company may send you an entertainment coupon, rather than the traditional gambling offer.

>>> Instead of traditional food groups like appetizer and entrée, Marriott’s 5-10-20 menu is organized by whether the food takes five, ten, or twenty minutes to prepare. This smart move speaks directly to on-the-go business travellers and lunch-breakers, and eliminates the server’s automatic (and not always accurate) “Oh, everything’s pretty quick.”


lrae

Highlight

lrae

Sticky Note

change to 'it'


THE CREDIBILITY GAPConfidence in Information Sources Varies with Age

by Peter Yesawich

Although all consumers still invest the highest degree of confidence in the recommendations of family and friends when considering vacation destinations, Millennials (18-32 years of age) are more likely than their older counterparts to have confidence in the information they obtain from online sources such as blogs, websites, or things they have seen on YouTube or other online video sharing communities according to the Ypartnership 2011 Portrait of American TravelersTM.

Interestingly, Xers (33-46 years of age) are more likely than Millennials or Boomers (47-65 years of age) to trust information on the websiteof an online travel agency. They are also more likely than Boomers and/or Matures (66+ years of age) to have confidence in destination and lodging reviews on a blog, information found on a company’s or destination’s website, information in travel brochures, articles in newspapers, magazines, programs on TV and radio, or things they have seen on YouTube or other online video sharing community sites.

Boomers are more likely than Matures to have confidence in reviews on blogs or information found in travel advertising, while they are less likely than their younger counterparts to have confidence in reviews on online advisory sites such as TripAdvisor, or things they have read or seen on a social media site such as Facebook or Twitter.

Not surprisingly, Matures are less likely than their younger counterparts to have confidence in online sources such as reviews or information on an online travel agency website or advisory site. They are also less likely to have confidence in information found in travel brochures or travel advertising. Compared to leisure travellers in the other generational cohorts, Matures are more likely to be confident in the recommendations of a travel agent.

The differences in confidence ascribed to various sources of information are summarized in the table below.

It’s now common knowledge that the younger members of our society consume media much differently than their older counterparts. Less well known, however, is the insight disclosed in this research that message credibility also varies by medium for each of the major generational clusters. This should be borne in mind as you craft the content of marketing communications intended to reach prospects in each generational group.

Ypartnership is a global marketing communications agency specializing in the travel, leisure, lifestyle and entertainment industries. They have now joined forces with MMG Worldwide to become the largest and most integrated travel marketing firm in the world.

AGE DIFFERENCES

Extremely/very confident in the following % % % %Information sources when considering vacation destinations* Millennials ◊ Xers ◊ Boomers ◊ Matures ◊

Recommendationsofafriend/familymember 78 78 79 81

Reviews read in an online advisory site (e.g. TripAdvisor) 58 60 51ab 35abc

Infointravelguidebooks 56 60 59 62

Infoonwebsiteofanonlinetravelagency(Expedia,Travelocity,etc.) 56 63ac 51 43abc

Reviewsreadonanonlineblog 54bcd 46 cd 32 d 19

Infoinacompanyordestinationwebsite 53cd 53cd 45 42

Articles in newspapers and magazines, or programs on TV and radio 47 48 d 46 41

Info in travel brochures 43 47 c 42 34 abc

Recommendationsofatravelagent 42 42 45 51abc

Thingsread/seenonasocialmediasite(Twitter/Facebook) 38 35 18ab 8 **

Infointraveladvertising 35 36 26d 19abc

Things seen on YouTube/other online video sharing community 35bcd 29cd 16 13

a Denotes significant difference from Millennials.b Denotes significant difference from Xers.c Denotes significant difference from Boomers.d Denotes significant difference from Matures.* Top two box score on a scale of one to five where one equals “no confidence at all” and five equals “a great deal of confidence.”** Use caution upon interpretation due to small n-size. Significance testing not performed.◊ Millennials = those adult consumers born since 1979. Xers = those adult consumers born from 1965 through 1978. Boomers = those adult consumers born from 1946 through 1964. Matures = those adult consumers born before 1946.


With the launch of Alberta’s new tourism brand, Travel Alberta is beginning to do business differently and more effectively. This is most evident on the improved and redesigned consumer website TravelAlberta.com that went live early in 2012. Rebuilding TravelAlberta.com to better serve the needs of travellers and Alberta’s tourism industry has been a corporate priority for Travel Alberta.

Visitor feedback on the new website, which features new and improved content and user functionality, has been very positive. An overwhelming percentage of online survey respondents agree that the website is easy to navigate (88%), well organized (83%), easy to understand (85%), useful (82%) and visuallyappealing(89%).

TravelAlberta.com has always been the principle consumer marketing channel for Travel Alberta. We have also changed how we measure its effectiveness from simply counting the millions of visitors who come to the site each year to tracking those visitors who actually click through to industry-operated accommodation, attraction and event websites, where they can see your offer and make a booking, so you close the sale. We call this conversion.

Already, TravelAlberta.com has been generating thousands of direct consumer lead referrals to the AHLA’s booking website and to Alberta industry operators who have signed up on the new Alberta Tourism Information System (ATIS). Unlike the former Tourism Information System, which ATIS replaced, Alberta hotels and other accommodations can now register on the database. Registered properties can have their listings published on the TravelAlberta.com website.

TravelAlberta.com visitors can find your property listing through a number of search filters under “Places to Go” (Cities, Regions, and Parks) and nine “Experiences” categories, including 11 types of “Unique Stays”. Properties can also publish vacation package offers and control the timing of those offers.

You are always in control of the information you post. At any time, you can log into your account to change your business information, and modify or add travel offers.

Bringing More Business to You online

TRAVEL ALBERTA

by Richard Wong

Additional benefits for registering on ATIS include opportunities to publish job postings and news releases on Industry.TravelAlberta.com, the number one Alberta tourism industry website.

Future enhancements for TravelAlberta.com, which are now in development, include having all the industry websites listed in ATIS searchable by Travel Alberta’s website search capabilities. This will further expand business exposure to potential travellers and will lead to listings being fed to mobile applications and social networking channels.

Besides the fact that TravelAlberta.com is a website that has already proven to produce results, the best feature for you is that you have access to these services at no cost. Exposure of your property to hundreds of thousands of qualified customers would typicallycostasmuchas$15,000permonth,if you had to pay for the same quality of online advertising. You really can’t afford not to be listed.

If you’re not sure if your property is listed on ATIS, just visit TravelAlberta.com and search.

Please feel free to register your property anytime at www.Industry.TravelAlberta.com or contact [email protected] and he would be pleased to walk you through the very simple process in a few minutes.

The new and improved TravelAlberta.com website is just the latest example of how Travel Alberta is now doing business differently and more effectively. We’re making it easier for Alberta’s hospitality industry to partner with Travel Alberta and to reach the millions of travellers who are being attracted to Alberta, not only because of Alberta’s new tourism brand, but due to the great product and experiences that you are offering them.

Richard Wong is Travel Alberta’s Executive Director, Industry Relations and is a former hotelier. He can be reached online at [email protected].


FEATURE

by David Swanston

F&B - looking AheAD

The role of food and beverage operations continues to take on greater prominence for lodging operators. For mid-market properties, F&B can add value for guests and be a differentiating factor. For up-market facilities, a well executed program can enhance the guest experience, reinforce the brand position, and become a drawing point for the property.

12 | alberta hospitality12 | alberta hospitality


F&B - LOOKING AHEAD

reativity, innovative delivery, and a focus on healthy menus items that reflect unique target customer needs are the overarching themes that

are guiding F&B menu planning for Alberta’s lodging operators. Fads pass as quickly as they arrive. Culinary teams that are able to identify emerging trends and fundamental shifts in consumer preferences can create unique ways to satisfy these needs and thereby gain a lasting market advantage.

Although each property will require a unique approach to its menu design, based on its guest profile, style of service, and geography, there are a few universal conditions that must be addressed. Guests are demanding greater value and are more conscious of price levels. Mid-market operators are addressing this by enhancing their complimentary breakfast offerings, and creating new F&B services such as 24-hour snack stations and branded coffee bars. Fine dining restaurants and up-market properties are relaxing the formality and launching menus that provide price points that are more accessible.

At the same time, menus must be more dynamic, offer greater selection, and satisfy an increasing range of dietary needs. F&B

managers are under pressure to deliver creative selections, specialized items, and high quality food while controlling costs. It’s no easy task, yet many are rising to the challenge. Interviews with managers at several Alberta properties revealed that not only are they meeting these demands, but they are continuing to evolve to meet the needs of tomorrow’s guests.

Start of Day, End of Stay

Breakfast represents the most significant opportunity to capture guests. It can often be the most memorable part of the guest’s stay, creating a lasting impression that can result in repeat visits. Limited continental breakfasts are no longer enough. Perry Felsinger, General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Edmonton West suggests that guests now want greater selection, healthier options, more meat, and hot dish choices such as Eggs Benedict, even in limited service operations.

To address this, facilities offering guests a complimentary breakfast bundled with their stay are increasingly utilizing on-site restaurants, or partnering with local off-site operators to provide full-service breakfasts. The advantages of using restaurants are considerable. Valuable

hotel space is not required, there is less waste, greater efficiency, the portions are controlled, and guests can be offered a broader variety of choices. Costs per guest are often comparable to traditional breakfast bars.

Grab and Go

Self-serve snack stations are becoming an attractive option to providing enhanced food and beverage service for guests. Utilizing minimal real estate, these kiosks require minimal upkeep and can often be maintained by desk staff. Guests help themselves when it’s most convenient, complimenting or even replacing traditional foodservice options.

Chris Leslie, Food and Beverage Manager at the Holiday Inn & Suites South in Red Deer County includes selections of flavoured coffees, teas, and specialty hot beverages using pod brewing technology for both kiosk and in-room service. These are presented along with fresh fruit, snack bars, muffins, and chilled products such as individual yogurt or bottled water. Finer options may include fresh baked cookies, gourmet chocolates, bread crisps, cheeses, spreads, and infused distilled water decanters.

C


F&B - LOOKING AHEAD

Multi-Ethnic Cuisine

Albertans are developing an international palate. Greater exposure to new cuisine and the influx of new workers to Alberta is increasing the ethnic diversity within the province. According to Leslie, “There will always be a strong demand for meat and potatoes, but we are seeing greater sophistication in the menu choices of guests.” Menus need to reflect a broader array of flavours and cooking styles to satisfy the expectations of more discerning clientele.

Asian-inspired dishes - including pork, whole fish and noodles – are finding their way into many mainstream menus, and will continue to grow in popularity, especially Korean kimchy, spicy Thai, and masala sauces. Modern variations on traditional South American meals, particularly Peruvian, are well received. These dishes use combinations of commonly available ingredients such as corn, tomatoes, chillies, lime, cilantro, nuts, long-grain rice, fish, and chicken. Like the countries themselves, these dishes reflect the influences of many cultures blended together to create some truly inspired results. Fusion approaches to preparing many authentic, ethnic cuisines will allow chefs great latitude in creating memorable dishes.

At the Courtyard by Marriott Edmonton West, chefs have developed specific menus to service the First Nations communities. According to Felsinger, “Our menus must be customer driven.” This includes traditional approaches to their dishes such as serving bannock instead of bread rolls or substituting salads for pasta.

Go Bold

It’s all about flavour. Marinades, sauces, spice rubs, herb blends, smoking, and the use of exotic ingredients will help transform even simple dishes into meals that stimulate and excite. It doesn’t take much to add a level of complexity to a recipe that will make it extraordinary. Building on the international cuisine and cooking styles mentioned previously, menus should include a range of flavour profiles to surprise even your most worldly clientele.

In Leslie’s newly opened Boulevard Restaurant, even a traditional comfort dish like baked macaroni and cheese is amped up by using locally produced pasta, cheese, bacon, and seasonings. “Dishes are created by Chef Emmanuel David to encourage guests to take risks and try menu selections they won’t find available at other establishments,” explains Leslie.

Regional Flare

Local ingredient sourcing is not new, but the coming year should see this movement intensified. Visitors to your property will value the opportunity to experience regional food and beverage not available elsewhere. The authenticity of these dishes, created with fresh and sometimes unique ingredients that are produced locally will add credibility to your operations.

Taking “buy local” to the extreme, operators are now bringing production activities in-house with rooftop greenhouses, honey bee colonies, microbreweries, and wine made on the premises. Even if purchased from community suppliers, guests will embrace artisan breads, meats, cheeses, produce, and boutique spirits that reflect the local climate and agriculture. Alliances with regional producers encourage customization of products allowing for greater menu differentiation.


F&B - LOOKING AHEAD

Matrix Hotel in Edmonton looks to showcase local products in their Wildflower Grill, and even provides menu credits according to General Manager Nicholas Wilson. Sourcing credible local farmers and suppliers requires due diligence to ensure a reliable supply of quality ingredients, but it is part of their commitment to responsible practices.

Special Menu Requirements

Guests want more than just a handful of menu choices designated as “healthy”. Some study estimates suggest that 30 - 50% ofthe population suffers from some form of food intolerance and approximately one in every 13 people has a severe food allergy. Add these to guests that follow strict diets such as vegetarian, vegan, organic, kosher, and Halal and it can seem impossible to meet everyone’s needs.

While providing menus that meet the requirements of those on restricted diets may not be the primary reason for a guest choosing your facility, it may be the deciding factor when choosing between comparable operations. More importantly, offering suitable dishes will enhance those guests’ experiences and increase the likelihood of return visits.

The Courtyard by Marriott Edmonton West has introduced several new items to address these needs, including gluten-free pancakes and an oriental stir fry with basmati rice, which Felsinger says have become quite popular. Matrix Hotel offers guests soy milk, no cheese options on hot breakfast dishes, and individually packaged yogurts as examples of how they are responding to the changing dietary needs of their guests.

Well-designed food and beverage programs are becoming a necessity, regardless of the type of property, for lodging operators to compete effectively. These trends are not likely to pass anytime soon and those operators who get ahead of the wave will find the rewards are shown in the faces of many very satisfied guests.

David Swanston is a Hospitality and Foodservice Consultant, Principal of Focused Industry Training Seminars and is an instructor at major Canadian university business schools. Since 1997 he has helped a wide variety of organizations develop and launch new concepts, turn around troubled operations, and improve sales, profits, controls and efficiency. To learn more about how he can help you improve your sales, profits and performance, contact him directly at 905.331.6115, [email protected] or [email protected]

complimentary Breakfast and in-Room coffee Service Sway consumers’ hotel Selectionby Technomic

When choosing a hotel, it’s not just the amenities they pay for, but the freebies they don’t, that influence consumers’ selection of one hotel over another. A study from Technomic finds that when choosing a hotel, consumers say complimentary offerings such as breakfast and in-room coffee are more important to them than other amenities.

Overall, 40% of business and leisure guests say that foodservice offerings are very important to their choice of hotel. They prefer hotels with a casual-dining restaurant, a bar or lounge, and an extensive room service menu. For many midscale, economy and extended-stay hotels, foodservice is largely defined by the complimentary breakfast.

“Complimentary breakfast is often viewed as a drain on revenues,” says Technomic EVP Darren Tristano. “However, it’s an offering consumers are seeking out when they look over hotel options. It drives traffic and enhances the guest experience.”

The 2011 Hotel Food and Beverage Consumer Trend Report was developed by Technomic to help hotel and foodservice executives understand consumer preferences and needs associated with hotel foodservice.

Findings include:

• Businesstravellersorderroomservicemoreoftenthanthosetravellingfor leisure. A quarter of business guests (24%) compared to just 12% of leisure guests purchased room service during their most recent overnight hotel stay.

• A substantial percentageof consumers are travellingmoreoftentoday than a couple of years ago for business (34%) and leisure (25%). Both increases are strongly driven by younger consumers, indicating that operators may want to target younger guests by offering amenities and foodservice options that appeal to these consumers.

• Barloungesandlobbiesareexpandingtheirmenusandofferingmoretapas-style foods to promote the lobby as a casual, social-gathering place. Hotel catering programs are differentiating themselves through themed carts and onsite food preparation.

©2011 Technomic, Inc. For more details on this report, visit www.technomic.com.


SheRAton ReD DeeRlocal landmark hotel gets a Makeover and a new name

PROFILE

by Terri Perrin


he original design of Red Deer’s Capri Motor Inn, built in the 1950s, had two wings andabout 90 motel rooms. The Pasutto familypurchased the property in the 1960s and,

about 10 years later, they added a convention centre, restaurant, garden lounge, and new front office. These renovations resulted in a name change to the Capri Hotel and Convention Centre. In the early 1980s, theCapri grew again. The addition of a 14-storey tower with additional guestrooms increased the room count to just under 200 and made it the tallest building in Red Deer, a distinction it holds to this day.

Enter the new millennium, and the Red Deer Capri Centre continues its metamorphosis! “The Capri was purchased by Temple Real Estate Income Trust (T-REIT) in 2008 with the intention of converting it to a Sheraton Hotel,” explains General Manager Gil Vallee. “However, extensive renovations and the addition of 24 more suites were required before the property could be operated under the Sheraton banner. At the time of purchase, the hotel had 217 guestrooms, eight of which were spacious bi-level suites. Five of these massive suites were redesigned to accommodate an additional nine guest suites. Eight meeting rooms on the second floor of the hotel were also reconfigured, addinganother15guestrooms,bringingthetotalroomcount to 241.”

Of the 11 properties owned by T-REIT (as of mid-February 2012), this is the first one that is operated as a Sheraton. The company also owns the Best Western

T


Wayside Inn & Suites in Lloydminster, Wingate by Wyndham Regina Hotel, the Chateau Nova Hotel & Suites in Yellowknife, Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort in Moose Jaw, plus a Radisson and five independently branded hotels in Fort McMurray.

“The Sheraton signage was installed in early December 2011, but wascoveredupuntil thegrand revealonDecember15th,”addsVallee. “When the Sheraton flag was raised at 4 pm, it officially marked the start of this local landmark’s conversion to the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel. We had a celebration in the lobby, and when we welcomed our first guest, we were thrilled to discover that they had stayed at a Sheraton Hotel in a different city the

night before.”

Vallee believes that converting the Capri Hotel and Convention Centre to a Sheraton was a natural fit for the city of Red Deer. The business community has welcomed the popular Sheraton guest loyalty program and appreciates the brand’s stellar reputation in the convention industry. Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the parent company of Sheraton, has brand power and a great reputation.

“There is no doubt that this community has embraced us, and I think that we have taken the hospitality industry and put Red

Deer on the map,” remarks Vallee. “We held a ‘Business After Hours’ event in January and invited some of our local business clients to the hotel to tour the facility and see what changes have been made. Over 400 people toured the facility during the two-hour event. Everyone said that they loved the new look and feel of the hotel.”

In addition to the room reconfiguration and upgrades, the $12millionrenovation budget also included the addition of a three-bay club lounge that offers a beautiful mountain view, a Business Link Centre with four computersanda55-inchflatscreentelevision,plusafitnessfacilitywiththe Core Fitness Program by Reebok. Hotel-wide dedicated wireless Internet access is also a hit with guests. Redesigned guest check-in pods replace a traditional check in area and the lobby boasts comfortable chairs and an inviting layout, resulting in daily impromptu meetings and gatherings. There is also a community table located adjacent to the check-in pods that is often used. The new lobby and general ambiance of the hotel have been described by hotel patrons as “really warm and inviting”.

There was also upgrading of elevators and life safety services for guests, a brand new state-of-the-art life safety system, additional landscaping, and a complete rebuild of the porte-cochère, to make the main entrance more inviting.

“All of these new features are welcomed by our guests, but we have noticed a significant increase in gym use,” explains Vallee. “Our old gym was rarely used, while the new gym is busy most of the day. People who travel with Sheraton know and recognize this fitness facility and appreciate the top quality exercise equipment available to them.”

While the changes to the Capri/Sheraton Red Deer Hotel have been dramatic, the transformation is not complete. Vallee says that upgrades to the convention facilities are the next phase. He and his team are putting together a budget and will present it to T-REIT early spring. They hope to start the last phase of the Building Improvement Plan by early summer 2012.

With over 60 years of history behind it and the promise of ever-increasing business success in the years to come, the new Sheraton Red Deer Hotel and Convention Centre will be finished renovations… for now.


Gil Vallee, General Manager

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Visitor Information Centres Are Here To Help You!

Chinese Travel to Alberta

by Jenny Baker

In the dynamic and competitive world of tourism, the old adage remains true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Alberta’s Visitor Information Centres (VICs) often serve as a visitor’s first impression of our province. Across Alberta, a combination of more than 100 community/regional VICs and provincially-run Travel Alberta VICs assist visitors in making their travel decisions.

Visitors can expect a high level of service at these centres. Staff are trained to provide travellers with all of the information they need to enjoy their time in Alberta. This can include answering a question as simple as where the nearest gas station is, or something more complex such as planning a driving route that includes things to see and do along the way.

What makes a great VIC staff member? We look for the same qualities you look for - people who are friendly, outgoing, and personable. We look for employees who can identify with visitors and put themselves in their shoes. Most importantly, we require staff who are willing to go above and beyond expectations to provide travellers with all of the tools needed for the vacation of a lifetime.

Providing employees with the training and tools they need is key to creating a positive experience for travellers. Staff learn customer service, communication, sales, and promotional skills that will help them ask the right questions to determine the visitor’s travel needs. When visitors are welcomed into a VIC, they will not receive a canned response about what to do in the area. It’s not enough to simply hand over a travel guide and send the visitors on their way. VIC staff delve deeper and spend time finding out what visitors hope to get out of their experience in Alberta.

Staff also learn about specific Alberta tourism destinations and experiences that are offered in each region of the province. Each spring, staff have the opportunity to hear directly from a wide range of tourism businesses and learn how these services, attractions, or locations would be of interest to visitors. They learn about the target markets for attractions and the techniques that they can use to match a visitor to a suitable tourism experience.

Once staff are working in a VIC, they form the front lines of the tourism industry. As such, it is important that they work closely with tourism businesses in their region to ensure they have the most current

Alberta province visits from China (including Hong Kong) in 2010 were approximately38,000,up15%from2009(33,000approximately).

Tourism expenditures in 2010 by Chinese visitors in Alberta were approximately $26.0 million, an increase of 16.6% from 2009 ($22.3million).

information for travellers. As hoteliers, providing this information to our VICs allows our staff to assist visitors who enter the centre looking for accommodation, so after they determine which amenities they require, which location suits them best, and what price point they had in mind, they can recommend appropriate accommodation..

VIC staff always welcome an opportunity to learn more about their local tourism industry. Businesses are invited to stop by VICs in their area and meet the employees in person or invite them for a tour. Building community connections is an important step towards working together as we promote Alberta as a premier tourism destination.

VIC staff are ambassadors of Alberta for tourists from around the world. They help travellers make the most of their time in the province and add that personal touch that you can’t find online or in a guidebook. It is this high level of service and hospitality that we hope will bring visitors back to Alberta in the future.

For more information about VICs and the services they provide, or to plan your Alberta vacation, please contact 1-800-ALBERTA or visit www.travelalberta.com.

Jenny Baker is Tourism Coordinator with Visitor Services Branch - Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation.

Note: The sample size for Alberta is very small, so the margin of error can be significant and Tourism, Parks and Recreation advises to use this data with caution.

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They Shot, We Scored: World Junior Hockey Championship Impacts Alberta

by Debbie Minke

The 36th World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (WJHC) landed in Alberta, and businesses scored big. The tournament, co-hosted by Calgary and Edmonton, began on December 26, 2011 and concluded with the gold medal game played on January 5, 2012 in Calgary.Although Team Canada missed the final for the first time in 11 years, they did capture the bronze medal, and enthusiastic fans continued to fill hotels and restaurants while cheering on the ten national teams to the tournament’s exciting conclusion.

The initialAlbertabid tohost theWJHCprojected that475,000 ticketswould be sold and that the economic impact to the province would net morethan$45million.“TheWorldJuniorHockeyChampionshipwasafabulous event that greatly exceeded all expectations,” described Randy Williams, Tourism Calgary’s president and CEO. “Over 571,000 ticketswere sold and the 31 games averaged 78% of capacity in the venues, with an average attendance of 14,300 spectators per game. These are all new WJHC records.”

So how did this tournament affect hotel business? Projections were that 10,000 to 12,000 room nights would be booked in Calgary and Edmonton during the tournament. “Preliminary figures indicate that there were more than 10,000 room nights sold in Calgary alone,” noted Williams. “Final figures will be released within the month, but all indications - including the record attendance numbers - point to a huge economic impact on hotel and tourism business.”

“There was certainly a pickup in our business,” noted Joseph Clohessy, general manager of the Calgary Marriott. According to the Star Report put out by Smith Travel Research, December 2011 occupancy levels in the downtown Calgary hotels stood at 60%, up 12.3% over the previous year. Average room rateswere up 2.5%. January’s occupancy stood at64%, reflecting a 25% increase over January 2011, and average room

rateswereupalmost5%.“Althoughtheincreasesweexperiencedwerenot solely attributable to the hockey tournament, it certainly contributed substantially,” explained Clohessy.

“Hotel Arts had its strongest January since 2008, due to the World Juniors as well as strong corporate demand,” reported Fraser Abbott, the director of business development. “Our restaurant did exceptionally well. We offered a ‘Hockey Hat Trick Special’ with three courses plus complimentary self-parking that generated a nice upswing in traffic. We were thrilled to host visitors regionally, nationally, and from across the globe. It was great fun for our staff, and generated nice business levels as well.”

Although Edmonton did not host any of the final games, many hotels noted that business was significantly impacted by the tournament. Ike Janacek, general manager of The Sutton Place Hotel Edmonton reported that occupancy more than doubled during the traditionally slow period between Christmas and New Year. “Not only did we have the pleasure of hosting two of the teams, but leisure travel business was up significantly as well.”

The families of Team Canada members stayed at the Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel, where they created a great atmosphere with their enthusiastic support of the tournament. “Business was up across the board,” explained Brian Spiegl, general manager. “In addition to increased room revenue, the incremental spending in food and beverage was also much appreciated at what is usually a very slow time.”

Aside from the increased revenue for hospitality and tourism, the WJHC gave Alberta excellent exposure around the world. “The 480 accredited media in attendance did a great job showcasing Alberta’s ability to host world-class events, and we look forward to future opportunities,” said Williams.


FEATURE

by Teresa Soriano-Villaruz

SociAl MeDiA tRAcking & online RePUtAtion MAnAgeMent



SOCIAL MEDIA TRACKING & ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

onversations about your brand are happening online whether you like it or not. The question is, are you listening and joining in the conversation? With that in mind, this article focuses on the importance of online reputation management and how social

media can help improve your hotel’s online branding.

What Is Online Reputation Management, and Why Is It So Important?

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the act of monitoring online conversations about your brand and executing online strategies to highlight positive, quality content while suppressing damaging content from the consumers’ view. In today’s social web, consumers who used to share product information and service experiences during coffee breaks or backyard get-togethers now turn to online channels to share their thoughts and product ratings. Furthermore, search engines now consider social channels and conversations in their results listings. If a traveller performs online research on your hotel and finds that the majority of online results are negative in nature, the likelihood of this traveller booking a room at your hotel is slim to none. This is why online reputation management should be a critical part of a hotel’s revenue management/sales and marketing strategy.

There are three ongoing steps to online reputation management:

1. Monitor. According to research by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), 80% of travellers perform research prior to booking, while 84% of Americans say that their buying decisions are highly influenced by online reviews. Therefore, as more travellers perform diligent research prior to booking a room, it is important that GMs and hotel owners know exactly what information consumers can find online about their hotel.

C

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Ignoring online social activity and hotel mentions, or responding inappropriately, can have a negative effect on the hotel’s branding, which can then be detrimental to its overall revenue. This is especially true if negative reviews dominate the search engine results. There is, however, an upside to this. Traditionally, happy clients are the best source of new/referral business and online forums are the new and more powerful word-of-mouth, which leads to the second step in online reputation management: listen and learn.

2. Listen and Learn. In today’s world, consumer reviews come in through a variety of different websites, blogs, and social media channels. In a sense, the Internet

is the modern day comment card. So it’s important for hoteliers to be proactive in listening and understanding what people are saying and sharing in various online channels. Monitoring what guests say about the hotel allows the GM or owner to understand why the hotel’s online reputation is as it is. Are most reviews positive or negative? What are the issues that guests mention? What are the keywords that they use to describe the hotel? By asking these simple questions, hoteliers can learn what their target consumers are looking for, and the hotel staff can then define steps on how to improve their services.

3. Manage and Engage. First things first - don’t ignore guest reviews, especially negative ones. Instead, consider the following steps:

• Start by thanking the guest for their comments;

• Provideanexplanation forherexperience (whether good or bad);

• Provide a list of actions the hotel will be performing or has taken to improve guest experience;

• Provide direct contact information to personalize the response; and

• Share guest reviews with hotel staff and assign tasks to improve services.

By looking at bad reviews in a positive light, hoteliers can pinpoint problems and improve services. By acknowledging the reviewer, showing that management is listening and assuring their concerns are heard, an angry guest can be converted into a loyal customer.

How Can Social Media Help Improve Your Hotel’s Online Reputation?

Social media gives hotels the opportunity to reach out to their tech-savvy customers online. The Internet is full of websites that provide tools and applications to make smart purchasing decisions, and travel consumers

Narrow down your target market, identify the social media venues that they are frequenting, and make sure that your hotel has a presence in these channels. {



perform diligent research prior to booking. Below are several ways hotels can use social media to improve their marketing strategies and manage their online branding:

1. Brand Building. Social media channels offer a way for hotels to create brand awareness. Narrow down your target market, identify the social media venues that they are frequenting, and make sure that your hotel has a presence in these channels.

2. Modern Day Comment Card. Online review channels, such as TripAdvisor and Yelp, are today’s modern day comment card for hotels. Travellers are now more vocal than ever when sharing their travel experience. Brands can get valuable feedback about their properties by examining the top hotel review sites.

3. Build and Improve Customer Relationships. Listening to what your guests think about your hotel can help you improve your services by understanding their issues or finding out what they like most about your property. The next step is connecting with them directly and informing them that their concerns are being taken care of. This action can turn a disgruntled guest into a satisfied and loyal customer.

4. Using Social Channels as Real-Time Customer Support. Social networking channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, allow for hotels to provide real-time customer support for their guests.

5. Creating Brand Ambassadors. There’s no better brand ambassadors than happy and satisfied guests. Ask cheerful guests to leave favourable comments on review channels and share what they like about your hotel with their online friends.

6. Position the Hotel as the Local Expert. Frequently sharing upcoming events, local attractions, and things to do in your local market can help position your hotel as the expert in your market and the go-to profile for travellers looking to visit your area. Integrating social sharing buttons such as Facebook’s “like” and Google’s “+1” on your website and blog makes it easier for your guests to share your information with their social circles.

7. Saturate Universal Search. Search engines place importance on social media and reviews as ranking factors in search. Having well-optimized social media profiles and sharing quality and relevant content can help your hotel saturate search results.

8. Drive Revenue. There’s a direct correlation between guest reviews and revenue performance. Good hotel reviews will influence travellers to book rooms at your hotel, while bad reviews will push them to your competitors. We suggest hoteliers encourage happy guests to leave more reviews on different online channels.

Social media and online reputation management should be part of a hotel’s revenue management/sales and marketing strategy. Spending the time to review these channels can help hoteliers understand consumer behaviour, learn about their guests’ experiences, and spot customer trends. By doing so, hoteliers can then make the necessary steps to improve their services. In addition, hoteliers can also allocate marketing efforts on these channels to help improve customer relationships and overall consumer perception of the hotel, which can drive reservations and increase revenue.

Teresa Soriano-Villaruz is a Senior Marketing Specialist at Milestone Internet Marketing. Milestone Internet Marketing is a Silicon Valley-based digital media company focused on lodging and drives over $550 million in revenue per year for over 1000 hotels and resorts.


Q: Where and how do you find staff? Are you using foreign workers?

Perry Wilford, General Manager, Glenmore Inn, Calgary

At the Glenmore Inn, we are fortunate on two levels: we have a solid employee base in our geographic area, and we have adopted the Employer of Choice program through the AHLA. Having a labour pool close by has always worked in our favour and by putting into practice the human resource best practices of the Employer of Choice, we have been able to retain excellent talent and continue to attract potential employees.

During the last labour shortage a few years ago, we found ourselves in the position of not having had to look to a Temporary Foreign Worker program. The dollars and best practices that we invested into our current staff greatly shielded us from the shortages that were so rampant in our industry. While forecasting shows that our industry is headed for another labour shortage, we feel confident that our employment culture here will insulate us from the worst of it.

Spring 2012

Sarah Law, General Manager, Radisson Canmore Hotel

The issue of recruitment and where to find staff is a very big question in our industry and province. We have employed several recruitment strategies to assist with finding suitable candidates for both skilled and service positions.

Our human resource team works diligently all year to ensure that we have a solid recruitment plan that will tie into our business needs. We work with hospitality schools throughout Canada to place co-op students, and feel it is a great way to support our students and encourage hospitality career-minded individuals. We are very keen on providing employment locally and we have solid relationships with the local job bank and share staff with other establishments in the industry. We also have a referral program for our current employees that encourages them to source potential great candidates. We continue to work through online sites that are geared towards the hospitality sector. This has replaced traditional newspaper advertising with the exception of local recruitment. We also look internally at how to reduce turnover as a recruitment strategy, and encourage our employees to enter into further education, that we pay for, thus developing our teams and gaining loyal employees.

ROUNDTABLE

From 2008 until 2011, we did rely heavily on the Foreign Workers Program and brought nine individuals to our team to work in our housekeeping department. We were thrilled with the level of candidates and the amazing work ethic they brought to the hotel. Unfortunately, in 2011 with the market conditions and their contract terms ending, we have entered into 2012 with no foreign workers. We fully believe in this program and support the continuation and flexibility that may be introduced, which will work for our fluctuating industry.

Matthew Foster, Hotel Manager, Campus Tower Suite Hotel, Edmonton

Our successes for recruiting department head positions has come from looking within the organization. So far we have been more successful with this approach so far, compared to posting the positions on websites. Our goal is to ensure we are creating and developing a culture in the hotel so employees see our hotel as a place they can grow their hospitality careers.

With our front line positions, we use free web-based postings, internal postings and employee referrals. We currently do not have any foreign worker program employees. Our successes have come from internal transfers and employee referrals.

by Debbie Minke

Georgia Pacific


This April, Bellstar’s collection of nine boutique resorts joined the EcoStay Program, offering guests the opportunity to completely neutralize the impact of their stay on the environment. Bellstar Hotels & Resorts, with properties located in Canmore, the Okanagan Valley, Kicking Horse, and Vancouver Island, is one of the fastest growing resort management and development companies in Western Canada. This significant commitment to environmental stewardship further demonstrates Bellstar’s industry leadership.

“EcoStay is an essential component in fulfilling Bellstar’s StayTM brand philosophy and core value of delivering exceptional experiences,” says Ralf Strub, President and Chief Operating Officer of Bellstar Hotels & Resorts. “We are proud to offer each guest a carbon-neutral stay, which will help ensure that the magnificent backdrop of Western Canada’s coast and mountains will remain for generations to come.”

The Numbers Add Up

• The average 150-room hotel contributes 3tonnes of greenhouse gases to the environment every day - the equivalent of driving 200 cars.

• In just onemonth a linen and towel reuseprogramcansavea150-roomhotelover22,714litresofwaterand151litresofdetergent,savingtime and money!

ecoStay - Put green on Your Property’s Agenda

• 7 out of 10 Canadians are prepared to paymore in order to limit climate change.

You Can Make a Difference

The AHLA, in partnership with EcoStay, can help members reduce and offset their hotel, motel, or campground’s carbon emissions. “EcoStay provides AHLA members with an effective, easy way to become eco-friendly corporate citizens,” Dave Kaiser, AHLA President & CEO remarked. “Preserving the environment is everyone’s responsibility, and the AHLA is doing its part.”

Take Action Against Climate Change

EcoStay can help you generate revenue for conservation projects at your property, while helping you become carbon neutral. This is one reason the EcoStay Program is fast becoming a national standard for hotel green initiatives.

It’s easy to take immediate and effective steps toward becoming carbon neutral, and it’s a change your guests will appreciate. The program works in conjunction with existing corporate environmental programs. EcoStay will help you:

• Generatethousandsofdollarsforyourgreeninitiatives.

• Fundgreeninitiativesthatwillhelpimproveyour Green Key rating or meet corporate green programs/standards.

MEMBER VALUE PROGRAM

• Communicate your green actions andinitiatives to guests.

• Offercarbonneutraleventsandconferencesat no additional cost.

• Trackandoffsetyourcarbonfootprintusingemission-reducing projects in Alberta.

Through EcoStay, your property’s greenhouse gas emissions are measured annually using an industry-specific methodology developed in collaboration with CSA Standards Climate Change division. Carbon offsets purchased under the program come from projects located within Alberta that are registered on the CSA Standards GHG CleanProjects Registry. In addition to the Soderglen Wind Farm located south of Fort McLeod, offsets are also purchased from the Bison Transport Fuel Efficiency Project.

Participating Alberta EcoStay hotels have already offset over 1.3 million room nights and removed over 37,670 tonnes of carbon emissions from our global atmosphere. Participating properties can use the funds for on-site and community initiatives to conserve energy and lower emissions.

For more information contact EcoStay at 1-877-430-3007 or [email protected].


FEATURE

ReADY, Set, cAMP!Are you Ready for the 2012 camping Season?


by Johan Feddema


READY, SET, CAMP!

pring is finally here, and summer is just around the corner. Are you ready for this year’s rush of campers, and all that they bring? Is your campground

prepared, and more importantly, are you prepared for the demands of this business during Alberta’s bustling camping season?

The Riverview Campground in Rocky Mountain Houseisopenyear-roundandhas56siteswithfullservice,35powerandwatersites,andsomesites with no service for tenting or RVs. I own it together with my wife Danielle. Since we are located in an area with a lot of oil, gas, and logging, some guests make the choice to stay in their RVs during the winter, so we keep one section of the campground open for them. It helps to keep a little bit of the business going during the quiet winter months, but by no means are we closed down.

November and December might bring wintery weather, but we are always looking ahead and planning for the next camping season. During this time we do as much maintenance as we can. We service the lawnmowers, bobcat, and the boiler system. We also fix and paint as much as we can indoors, because we know as soon as the snow is gone we are playing outside until October again!

Even in December I am thinking ahead to the next season. What are we going to do this year? This is our seventh season and we still have lots of room to expand, change, and improve. Where should we invest our time and money? We have to improve a few more sites because every year we get a little busier and more people are asking for seasonal sites. We need new flush toilets in one section of our campground (now there are outhouses). Should we build that new well house /workshop to store equipment and add a new water filtration system? Do we

add a section to our playground just to give the kids something new? It’s a big hit to have a good playground since it makes the kids happy, which makes the parents happy.

It’s never too early to line up your staff. We foundoutthehardwaythatworking15hoursa day, 7 days a week is just no fun, so we need at least two people to help. Fortunately, this winter two people have asked us if they could work for us this summer. One of them worked with us last year, so that’s going to work out great.

Every spring we try to anticipate how busy we will be in the coming summer, and consider if we should raise our rates. When we bought the campground in 2006 it needed a lot of TLC and a truckload of money to fix it up. If you don’t charge your customers a reasonable rate, you won’t have the money to fix up your park, and if you don’t keep up with maintenance and improvements, your guests are going to go elsewhere. So with every improvement, we put the price up a little bit and that really makes a difference for the next upgrades. Thankfully, every year we have seen more and more returningguests.Wehad75%repeatcustomersover the May long weekend last year.

What improvements will you make this year? The one thing we really need to get done before this season is to get wireless Internet.

This is something more people need and look for, even when they are camping. With the gas coop setting up towers around Alberta, we have just had the first talks to set up wireless in our campground.

Is all your advertising in place? Do you want to change the information in the ads? Is your website up to date? Do you want to add a Facebook page to connect with your guests? Be sure these things are in place before you open your doors and the race begins.

If you have a store, use the pre-season time to research pricing and leads for RV supplies. Every year we try to stock a few more RV items. Operating a small store is an extra service for campers that also generates a little bit of extra income, without you having to do a lot of work for it.

When the weather turns nicer, I always get the feeling that the race is on. It’s time to get all the improvements finished and the landscaping done to be ready for the May long weekend, when we open and welcome the first rush of campers. Don’t forget to turn the water on to ensure that all the lines made it through the winter without any problems.

It may still be cold outside now, but there’s lots of planning and work to be done in Alberta’s campgrounds. The summer will be here before you know it!

SNovember and December might bring wintery weather, but we are always looking ahead and planning for the next camping season.{


The Cascades Tissue Group partnered with the Global Food Safety Resource Centre (GFSR) to promote the Cascades® green Antibacterial Hand Towel, also known as The Intelligent Paper®. It’s an innovative and award-winning paper product that has been shown to serve in the reduction of hand-transferred bacteria. Currently available in Canada only, the key feature of this hand towel is its unique ability to release an antibacterial agent on the paper when it comes in contact with wet hands, thus offering a long-lasting antibacterial effect without changing people’s habits.

Rubbermaid’s new ecoUrinal improves hygiene while reducing water usage by an average of 40,000 gallons of water per fixture per year. The waterless urinal system utilizes a unique cartridge that lasts 10 years, is easy to install and easy to maintain. Specially formulated enzyme tablets eliminate odour-causing bacteria and maintain drain lines in coordination with scheduled fixture cleaning.

WHAT’S NEW?

by Debbie Minke

Electrolux Professional introduces a new generation of dryers, the T5000-series, to provide extensive savings in time, cost, and space. The drying time is shortened by 10 minutes on average, compared to previous generations of similar models, while at the same time cutting the energy consumption by up to 20%. The dryers take up less wall space, optimizing the production area, while offering more options with its new Compass Pro control system.

The hospitality television experience can be simplified by combining Philips Hospitality televisions with Entropic Broadband Access silicon solution, allowing broadband service to be delivered where there is not a dedicated Ethernet broadband infrastructure wire to each guestroom. This enables both TV and broadband services to hotel rooms over existing coaxial cable; allowing guests to take advantage of new, easy-to-use infotainment and over-the-top (OTT) video services via the hotel room TV.


Employers in the hospitality industry pay a steep price to attract, train, and retain quality employees. When they find someone good, they want to keep them.

Still, it doesn’t always work out that way and strategies change over time. The law doesn’t handcuff employers in that case and gives them the right to manage their personnel as they see fit. No cause is needed to dismiss an employee if that is what the employer wants to do.

Even though termination is entirely lawful in those circumstances, it is often described as a “wrongful dismissal”. Why is that?

Rightful Dismissal

Under most employment contracts, either side can validly end the relationship at any time. Since the employee is not an indentured servant, he can quit whenever he wants.

The knife cuts both ways of course, and the employee has no right to stay if the employer decides it is time for him to go.

Except for certain university professors, employees have no tenure and can be terminated at any time. Prohibited grounds of discrimination aside, any reason will support a termination.

A properly drafted employment agreement will include provisions dealing with severance entitlements. Laying out this information in advance has saved many an employer from costly litigation down the road.

If this critical detail is not addressed, the situation becomes less clear because Canadian employment law adds an implied term to employment contracts that the employee will be entitled to receive reasonable notice, or pay corresponding to that period, if he is terminated without cause.

If the employee is given a reasonable amount of notice, he cannot prevent his “rightful dismissal” even if he disagrees with the reasons or is not given a reason.

If that is the case, why do we speak about just cause for dismissal? Because just cause eliminates the need to give any notice or pay in lieu.

Terminating an employee without cause is not wrongful. Failing to provide reasonable notice in the absence of cause is.

Cause or No Cause?

When assessing the risks and benefits of

Rightful and Wrongful Dismissal

terminating someone, the employer’s first step is to assess the chances of a court agreeing that there is sufficient cause.

Many court decisions on “wrongful dismissal” find employees guilty of misconduct, obnoxious behaviour, or dereliction of duty, yet judges find that their behaviour was not quite bad enough to warrant summary dismissal. There may be good business reasons to terminate someone but that doesn’t always translate into just cause from the perspective of the courts.

The question then becomes how much, not whether, compensation should be paid to the employee.

How Much is Reasonable?

One of the hardest decisions an employer has to make relates to the amount of notice an employee should be given.

While many employers believe the law endorses a specific formula such as “a month’s notice for every year worked”, this is simply not the case. No precise formula exists.

Instead, the outcome depends on various factors that include job description, length of service, pay level, level of responsibility, age, and the employee’s future job prospects.

Despite protests that all ranks of employees should be treated equally, experience in Alberta and elsewhere shows that management and supervisory personnel tend to fare better in court than line staff. The rationale is that hotel managers and employees with professional designations will have fewer opportunities to find new employment and should receive

HR MATTERS

by Leonard Polsky

greater warning that they will soon find themselves in the job market.

Consider these examples involving hotel properties in Alberta:

• In Morrissey v.Whyte Avenue Hotel Co., abartenderwas terminated after 3.5 years andwas awarded three months’ severance.

• InColganv.BlackfootMotorInnLtd.,ahotelmanager was terminated less than two months after being hired yet was awarded 8 months’ severance. The fact that she had been lured away from an assistant manager position she had held for 18 years was a major consideration in the court’s decision.

• InTherrienv.TrueNorthPropertiesLtd.,anaccountant sold a lucrative private practice after 24 years to go in-house with True North, only to be terminated less than one year later. He was awarded 12 months’ severance. The professional nature of his position was a key factor in this award.

Waiting to secure legal advice until the train has already left the station is a costly alternative best avoided.

The best practice is to engage counsel to draft an appropriate employment agreement at the time of hiring and in all cases to get legal advice before terminating any employee. By engaging counsel in advance, employers can and often will affect the outcome and significantly reduce their exposure to costly and time-consuming employment litigation.

Leonard Polsky is Litigation Counsel with the Calgary office of MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and employment law.


Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association IFCAlberta Hotel Safety Association 21Alberta Laundry Systems 14Apex Health & Safety 11Coinamatic Commercial Laundry 13Colliers International Realty Advisors 8Covenant Restorations 29Georgia Pacific 24Gordon R. Williams Corp. IBCInitron Corp 9Image Distributors IBCIndependent Supply Company 27Jani-King of Southern Alberta 14KABA Ilco 7LivClean Corp 25Longbow Sales 5Marcor 19McCallum Printing Group 29Northwest Carpets 15Restwell Sleep Products 28RONA Inc. 5Sealy Canada, Ltd. 23Simmons Canada BCWE Greer 8Western Financial Group Insurance Solutions 22

ADVERTISERS Spring 2012

Congratulations to the new general managers at the following properties: Robin Allen, Wingate by Wyndham, Calgary; Steve Beaton, Sandman Signature Hotel & Suites Edmonton; Bernd Bohl, Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre Peace River; Ray Casavant, Stardust Motel, Pincher Creek; Andy Doucette, Grande Prairie Inn; Perry Felsinger, Courtyard by Marriott Edmonton West; Lorie Gantz, EconoLodge and Suites, Lethbridge and Super 8 Lethbridge; Ted Gardiner, New West Hotel, Edmonton; Art Gawryluk, Sands Hotel & Conference Centre, Edmonton; Doreen Harrison, R&R Inn and Suites, Innisfail; Gord Hedrick, Antelope Inn, Oyen; Maarten Hiemstra, Copperstone Resort Hotel, Deadmans Flats; Kenny Ji, Highway Motor Inn, Slave Lake; Bonnie Johnston, Greenwood Campground, Sundre; Raj Kaler, Boyle Hotel, Boyle; Ali Khimji, Comfort Inn & Suites Calgary Airport; Elizabeth Kim, West Country Inn, Drayton Valley; Patrick Kim, New Western Athabasca Inn; Peter LeCerf, Nova Inn Slave Lake; Young Hoon Lee, Deerhead Inn, Provost; Eric Li, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites West Edmonton; Maria Macedo, Canterra Suites Hotel, Edmonton; Sandy MacKay, Super 8 Vermilion; Danny Marshall, Executive Royal Inn North Calgary; Kelly Mayner, Holiday Inn & Suites Lloydminster; Jennifer Meredith, Super 8 Brooks; Raj Minhas, Thorsby Hotel & Bar, Edmonton; John Mytz, Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre, Edmonton; Ryan Ocbina, Best Western Village Park Inn, Calgary; Derek Pillay, Nova Inn Inuvik; Heidi Rainault, Lakeview Inns & Suites Fort Saskatchewan; Kim Randall, Best Western Premier Freeport Inn & Suites, Calgary; Oscar Rodriguez, Holiday Inn Canmore; Edward Roe, The Fairmont Banff Springs; Karen Rosielle, Thriftlodge Lethbridge; Gen Sawad, Canadian Motor Inn, Grande Prairie; Barbara Scott, Mystic Springs Chalets & Hot Pools, Canmore; Sam Sengha, Bluebird Motel, Innisfail; Karina Shelton, Centro Motel, Calgary; Daniel Song, Aurora Hotel, Hillcrest Motel, Manning; Jonathan Temple, Navigator Inn, Iqaluit; Markus Treppenhauer, The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge; Sanjav Uppal, Nova Inn Iqaluit; Hans von Bloedau, Varscona Hotel on Whyte, Edmonton; Orlie White, Days Inn Hinton; and Tanya Yurko, Blackstone Mountain Lodge, Canmore Crossing, Fire Mountain Lodge, The Lodges at Canmore, and Solara Resort & Spa, Canmore.

Spring 2012

The Capri Hotel Trade and Conference Centre is now the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel. In High Level, the Sahara Motor Inn & Suites in High Level is now Econolodge Inn & Suites. The Greenwood Inn & Suites Edmonton is now the Holiday Inn Conference Centre Edmonton.

Lori Andrew, the general manager of the Canadas Best Value Inn in Calgary, received Vantage Hospitality Group’s Beata’s Spirit Award, which honours the all-encompassing spirit, in the way a person shows his or her love of life, family, community, and the industry. The award is bestowed to a “good soul” who strives to create a heartwarming atmosphere for all with whom they come into contact and who gives selflessly to make life better for others. Andrew is just the second non-owner to win in the eight-year history of the award.

Brian Rasmuson, Chef Concierge at the Hyatt Regency Calgary received Les Clefs d’Or [Golden Key] badge, a symbol of his extraordinary commitment to providing unparalleled customer service. Rasmuson is now one of only seven Calgary concierges with the Golden Key badge. As a member of Les Clefs d’Or, Mr. Rasmuson met several requirements: two consecutive years of service as a concierge; being knowledgeable about Calgary and the surrounding areas; hosting and attending regular meetings; and serving as an active events volunteer over the past year. Les Clefs d’Or is an organization committed to improving and maintaining the quality of service provided by concierge staff around the world.

The Hotel Association of Canada has announced the winners of the 2011 Hall of Fame Awards of Excellence. Congratulations to the Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre Slave Lake and Edmonton South, which won the 2011 Humanitarian Award.

Homewood Suites by Hilton, the international brand of upscale, all-suite, residential-style hotels, continues its expansion into Canada with three newly signed hotel agreements. The deals include two dual-branded properties in Alberta. Homewood Suites/Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton, Calgary Airport, owned by Prestige Hospitality, will feature 120 rooms for Homewood Suites and 136 rooms for Hampton, and is slated to open in 2013. Homewood Suites/Hilton Garden Inn, Downtown Calgary, owned by Widewaters Hotels, will feature 117 rooms for HomewoodSuites and198 rooms forHilton

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Garden Inn, and is slated to open in 2014. For the cost of a typical hotel room, travellers will stay in a spacious studio, one- or two-bedroom suite with a fully equipped kitchen and free Internet access as well as being able to enjoy complimentary daily hot breakfast and evening dinner.

Courtyard by Marriott Calgary Airport features a state-of-the-art lobby with free Wi-Fi throughout. Over 8,000 sq. ft. of meeting place is available, along with a business library with computers, fitness centre, and a 24/7 shop. Marriott’s Residence Inn Calgary Airporthas157suiteswithfully-equipped kitchens, a fitness centre, and a complimentary hot breakfast buffet.

Bellstar Hotels & Resorts has implemented an Athlete Partnership Program, launching with Calgary-native Brady Leman. A member of Calgary’s Alpine Racing Club, 25-year-oldLeman is one of Canada’s most promising talents in Ski Cross. Bellstar has created the Brady Leman Ski Cross package, and a percentage of all packages will go towards Leman’s efforts for gold at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the 2012 Sport Chek Ski Cross Canadian Championships, and the 2012 FIS Ski Cross World Cup, held locally at Nakiska Mountain Resort.

If you have any noteworthy community contributions, please email Debbie Minke at [email protected]

by Debbie Minke

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Spring 2012 - AHLA · 24 Roundtable 25 MVP Review 28 What’s New? 29 HR Matters 30 Names in the...

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