Posts by actabl

Did you know elevators have been around since the days of the early Roman Republic making it one of the oldest technologies? But did you also know that without the elevator there would not be any of the¬†modern city skylines¬†that are recognized today? Elevators: The Untold Secrets ‚ÄúAn elevator by definition is a platform or…

Are you preparing to open your resort for the winter season or perhaps close down from summer operations? Here are some helpful¬†inspections and maintenance¬†reminders for your checklist to help you make the transition more easily. The Pareto Principle for Seasonal Resorts and Lodges Seasonal resorts and lodges often have a very distinctive maintenance pattern. When…

A new hotel owner with no experience is bound to make many mistakes. How and what you learn from these mistakes goes a long way toward determining the success or failure of a hotel. This week‚Äôs episode of Hotel Impossible, featuring the Liberty Hotel was a good example of an overwhelmed owner focusing on the…

Am I the only one confused by the recent episode of Hotel Impossible featuring the Chipman Hill Suites in New Brunswick? Was the episode about finding a fix for the revenue problems the¬†hotel¬†was facing or about how¬†not¬†to manage hotel staff? There is no doubt that one of the hotel‚Äôs problems was a staff on the…

Last night kicked off the 4th season of Hotel Impossible. So what was new, different and can provide a¬†lesson for hotel executives? The answer lies in understanding the symptoms of mismanagement and the knowledge needed to regain control of difficult situations. The episode was set in Juneau, Alaska at the historic 45 room Alaskan Hotel…

Staying Hotel Focused The season‚Äôs final episode of Hotel Impossible gave us a final lesson that hoteliers can learn from. The main lesson that hotelier can learn is why a¬†hotel¬†has to be run by the numbers. This lesson is applicable for all entrepreneurs, managers and staff. The setting was the Victorian Inn, a 92 room…

Sometimes strong cultural values can be a wonderful influence on a family run business but in some situations these same cultural traditions can cripple good decision making. This week‚Äôs episode of Hotel Impossible featuring the Ritz Inn is an example of cultural traditions crippling good¬†hotel enterprise asset management¬†decision making. The show was set on the…

What happens when¬†hotels¬†do not recognize the need for change? The short is answer is a slow creep into oblivion. This week‚Äôs episode of Hotel Impossible featuring the Lankford Hotel in Ocean City, MD, is a great example of a dysfunctional family paralyzed by a lack of communication and unable to change with the times. Unlike…

As I watched the Hotel Impossible episode about the Hotel Iguanazul in Costa Rica, I saw a very familiar story unfold with predictable results. Still, small hoteliers and even larger chain hotel managers can learn a lesson or two about making sure they have the proper mindset to run a¬†hotel operation. Setting the stage, the…

As I finished watching this week‚Äôs episode of Hotel Impossible I discovered that I had fewer notes than any previous episode for all seasons of the show. The reason is simple; there was only one significant¬†hotel problem¬†that has been the general theme of each episode this season. The problem at Water Gap Country Club was…

There was something new on Hotel Impossible this week. The show ventured to Greece to visit the Litohoro Olympus Resort Villas and Spa, a 4-Star hotel suffering from the Greek financial crisis. The lessons to be learned this week apply to GMs and senior staff for every major chain¬†hotel¬†and/or high rated establishment. To set the…

This past Monday, the new season of Hotel Impossible premiered on the Travel Channel. As with the previous seasons, I will review each episode to look past the obvious reality TV drama and find some tidbits that hoteliers, hotel managers and hospitality professionals can use to improve their¬†hotels and lodge operations. The format is fairly…

Welcome back! In the first article of this series the relationship between hotel energy management and hotel enterprise asset management was examined. The results revealed the necessity of having a good asset management program in place if a hotel is to lower energy costs. This article will pick up where Why Hotel Energy and Asset Management…

Good people, perfect location, a first class restaurant, clean rooms and a¬†well-maintained hotel¬†‚Äì so what could possibly be so wrong at the Alpenhof Lodge that is causing it to go under? Last night‚Äôs episode of Hotel Impossible explored this question only to find an age-old cause that resulted in the lodge being run exactly like…

Are maintenance men (or women) hard to fall in love with?¬†Maintenance¬†may not be the most glamorous in the world but a pretty good case can be made that it is one of the most important. Maybe Valentine‚Äôs Day is the perfect day to re-examine your relationship with your maintenance man. Without your maintenance man assets…