Hotel Operations

📱 Shamim Ehsani, co-founder of Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, discusses hosting royalty and celebrities by anticipating guest preferences for privacy and events with local artists. Danica Smith, from MorningStar GX, hosts the episode. Music by Bespoke Sound.

📚 77% of new hires say a strong onboarding experience is crucial for long-term retention. New employees may take up to 12 months to reach full potential, highlighting the need for a year-long onboarding process. Preboarding is vital, especially in hospitality, to bridge knowledge gaps. Blending synchronous and asynchronous learning supports tailored, efficient upskilling. Tools like Adobe Learning Manager enhance engagement through personalized plans, microlearning, and feedback. Effective onboarding aligns with KPIs, boosts retention, and fosters organizational culture.

📈 Federico Gonzalez Tejera, born in Madrid in 1964, became CEO of Louvre Hotels Group two years ago. Having previously worked at P&G, Disneyland, and Radisson, he leads ongoing transformations. Louvre Hotels Group operates about 2,000 hotels globally, employing 30,000 staff across 70 countries, managing 170,000 rooms. Key transformation lessons include daily adaptability, a clear strategic plan, fast creation of the right culture, customer focus, and strong leadership.

📣 Shamim Ehsani, co-founder of Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, shares insights on scalable personalized hospitality. Hosted by Danica Smith, founder of MorningStar GX, the episode explores creating operational structures for spontaneous hospitality. Tribe Hotel, based in Nairobi, focuses on enhancing customer experience through tailored services. Music for the show is produced by Clay Bassford from Bespoke Sound, specializing in music identity design for hospitality brands.

🍴 Bret Thorn, a Colorado native based in Brooklyn, has served as Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999. He graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1990 and studied at Le Cordon Bleu. Thorn, former president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council (2005), wrote for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. He won a 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and authored entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia in 2012 and 2015.

🌐 Overcoming language barriers in Europe is easier for first-time travelers with practical strategies. Travelers in Europe can use a Europe eSIM for smooth access to translation apps, aiding real-time communication. Learn basic greetings and numbers beforehand, use gestures, and keep notepads for written phrases. Translation apps serve as backups, offering offline features. Embrace patience and cultural differences for better interactions. These tips empower tourists to experience Europe confidently and respectfully without fear of miscommunication.

🏨 Shamim Ehsani, co-founder of Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, discusses a unique guest experience program. Staff at Tribe Hotel introduce guests to Kenyan culture through various activities, such as running with world-class marathoners, exploring Nairobi's nightlife, and sharing Kenyan cuisine. This approach empowers hotel teams and fosters deeper guest connections, enhancing the overall hospitality experience.

📖 Transform your hotel marketing with storytelling. Ditch generic phrases like "luxury rooms" and embrace authentic narratives to engage guests. Highlight your hotel's origin, introduce memorable staff, and reflect your brand's values consistently. Use your website and blog to make strong first impressions, balance emotion with information, and create evergreen content. Boost your SEO with genuine stories and let real guest testimonials build trust. Consistency across all channels strengthens your brand’s recognition and connection.

📈 Who? Revenue, Marketing, and Sales Managers, CFO, hotel teams. When? Monthly performance meetings. Where? Hotel conference rooms worldwide. What? Hidden profit leaks due to siloed management causing misalignment. How? Focus on individual KPIs creates inefficiencies, leading to lost revenue. Solution: Manage the horizontal Guest Journey across five stages—Attract, Capture, Prepare, Deliver, Review—using a unified Business Intelligence platform for data-driven decisions, fostering collaboration, enhancing guest satisfaction, and increasing long-term profitability.