IN-Sights

To say we’re conducting business in a new world isn’t exactly breaking news. Virtually every industry has been impacted by the recent COVID-19 outbreak and car rental is no exception. In the short-term, finding ways to rent vehicles when nobody can leave the house is a gigantic problem. Many will view this new reality with a mental image of dinosaurs helplessly watching skyward as the meteor descends.

Elevating the guest experience is at the heart of the successful hospitality and achieving this in today’s ever-increasing competitive hotel landscape means going back to the basics of giving customers real, meaningful value.

Death by Millennial. This generation is accused of killing multiple industries such as diamonds, bars of soap, homeownership, and more. These 23-38-year-olds have different preferences than the generations before them, but this is a continuous cycle that will go on for generations to come.

In this service-driven industry, employees at the front lines are a hotel’s number-one brand ambassadors; they can make or break a guest’s experience. Keeping them engaged, well-trained, and motivated to deliver a rewarding guest service experience is critical to a brand’s success. How can hoteliers accomplish this? Make it a game.

NATIONAL REPORT—Business intelligence (BI) is a term some hoteliers may not be aware of; they may not even be cognizant of the type of data their properties acquire, but they should be. Even if they’re aware of the data, the next step is to leverage it to improve property operations for the better. It all begins with the data and the people behind it.  

Are you ready to reclaim your market from the dominant local player? Here are 10 action items to help you take stock of your company’s resources, understand your market and set daily sales initiatives before your team hits the pavement.

Here are five good reasons to show job recruits that the car and truck rental industry offers a promising and dynamic career path.

The generation born between 1981 and 1996 became a workforce majority this year. Called Generation Y, or “millennials,” this workforce is remaking the workplace in its own image and with its own distinct voice.

If you have worked in a sales environment, no doubt you have heard the term “Prima Donna” used to describe at least one member of the customer service/sales team. If you are part of a successful organization, it is likely several of these colorful personalities exist and thrive. And if your company is like most, you have experienced “not so good” times in which the sales motivation of even the most gifted employees has suffered, and along with it, the morale of all who come in contact with them.

“Good morning Rose,” I said to the sales associate as she was opening her register in preparation for the store’s opening an hour from now.  Rose looked at me with an expression that was a combination of bewilderment and shock.  “Great,” I thought, “first day at my new store and I’m running around talking to people with my fly open”!  I checked; no, that wasn’t it.  “Is there money missing from your register?” I asked Rose.  “No, I just can’t believe you remembered my name” she replied.  I told her that a pretty name like Rose was hard to forget and then wished her a great day.  As I left Rose and started to walk over to Wanda I thought, in this instance, cheating was the right thing to do.  Let me explain….

In a recent article in Forbes Magazine, John Shoven, economist and director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, wrote, “We need to strengthen pay for performance and weaken pay for seniority.” Shoven believes companies that have adopted and continue to adhere to traditional, seniority-based compensation plans, have a “warped incentive” to encourage their older, higher-paid workforce to leave the company in order to make room for younger, less-tenured employees.

Most every frontline sales manager will agree that keeping staff encouraged when they have very price-sensitive customers can be challenging. It becomes quite easy to fall into the trap of believing that by in large, customers are cheap. But here is the reality; customers are not cheap. They are value-driven and want to know that they are receiving the best price and service available for their hard-earned money.  Understanding and focusing on their need for value will allow for the message to be heard and more sales to be made.

Remember last time we talked about kids playing football on a playground? Well, now it’s time to put even more “explicit” detail to how those basic principles apply to organizational success. Sometimes with the fast pace of our modern business climate, it’s not always easy for managers to find time to do the things they really should be doing – getting results with and through the organizational team. Instead of always worrying about “fires” or seemingly endless “crises” that occur, a focus on these things will create both more time and more productivity for company leaders. Here are five tips to take your organization to a new level of success…

I have asked a lot of people, what does a good company culture look like?  The most common response I receive is: “you know it when you see it”.  Frankly, I think this is a very accurate answer.  However, what is it that we see that makes us respond in this manner?

Opportunity cost is defined as the cost of a resource, measured by the value of the next-best alternative use of that resource. Opportunity cost analysis is an important part of a company’s decision-making process but one that is often unseen on company financials, making it in essence, like invisible ink.

Think about the last team you were on where you really felt like everybody was on the same page headed towards a common goal… Whether it be a sports-related team, group project at school, or your everyday work environment there’s a reason why you felt like it was a team.  Most likely there was a leader of the group; a manager, coach, team lead; that identified what the expectations or goals were of the particular task at hand. Although it sounds like a no-brainer, many employees come to work day in and day out without a clear sense of direction.

Great Customer Service is Only a Philosophy, Not an Action Plan

Some of the best customer service comes from one word, awareness.

As it is with many firms, ours is made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds with exceptional talents. We have a singular goal, which is to guide organizations to creating and sustaining profitable service-based sales cultures. However, as we grow our practice in types of industries, a number of clients and staff so grows our diversities. In fact, one of the few constants in our organization is a principle practice model we call the KPE (Khoury Performance Equation); it is our business blueprint designed to optimize sales and service performance through three primary areas of actionable focus:

A Roadmap to Company Profit

If you operate a for-profit business your primary objective is to make sure your company revenue (sales) exceeds your company expenses (costs) at the end of the business cycle. Simply put, you need to make more money than you spend if you want to exist for very long!

Ask any number of truly successful leaders of today and they will tell you, their success does not come from marking time. They are always in motion – thinking, doing, and leading change for their organizations, their teams, and themselves. At the forefront of a successful business leader’s efforts are their company’s vision and acute awareness of how their actions affect that vision.

What do GE, Apple, FedEx, and Google have in common? They share the distinction of being in Fortune’s Top 10 Most Admired Companies of 2009. But, more importantly, they all provide great working environments for their people. These environments foster and encourage development, input, trust, support, and opportunities.