Unions in Hotels – Have They Outlived Their Usefulness?

There was a time when Unions were needed, in our industry, as they were in so many others.

I can’t argue that point.  Workers were taken advantage of, perhaps even abused if we go back far enough, and many of them feared that they could lose their job at any time.

Not a pretty picture, and certainly not an environment that anyone should have to be subjected to.

Thankfully, our industry and many others have improved significantly over the years, and employers have come to truly value their employees and recognize them for the contribution that they make to their businesses’ success, every day.

And I would not be fair if I did not recognize the significant impact that Unions have had in improving working conditions for employees.  They deserve a great deal of credit for having originally taken up the cause of poorly treated, vulnerable individuals.

I don’t question the impact that Unions have historically had in improving working conditions for employees, but I do question whether or not they continue to serve the very employees that they claim to be representing.

Case in point.

Earlier this week, I was giving a presentation on labour relations to a group of 3^rd year hospitality degree students, and when I was done, one of the students approached me and asked me how their Union, (UNITE HERE! Local 40), could be working so hard to drive business away from their Hotel?

What was this student talking about?

UNITE HERE! Local 40 has launched a campaign to boycott Hyatt Hotels, and specifically, the Hyatt Hotel in Vancouver where this student is employed, and this student and Hyatt employee has seen the cancellations coming in as a result.

And as a result of these cancellations, this employee and others have seen their hours reduced and they are concerned that there will be further reductions to their hours if business levels continue to decline as a result of a continued emphasis on boycotts.

So, who wins if the Union is successful in driving business away from this Hotel?  

Certainly not the employees, and isn’t that who the Union is supposed to be looking out for?

When did the Union begin to lose sight of their intended purpose in favour of their insatiable quest for power, and increasing revenues?  (Their increasing revenues I might add, NOT the Hotels).

I can tell you first hand that this employee who spoke to me was very, very concerned about what would happen if business continued to decline.  Not surprisingly, concerns centred around the ability to continue to meet expenses, buy groceries, pay rent and the like.

These are REAL concerns from REAL people and these should be the concerns of any responsible Union - how to maximize the benefit to the employees, the same employees who are diligently paying their Union dues in the hope that their Union representatives are working on THEIR behalf.

Unfortunately, the Unions have lost sight of their true purpose.  They are no longer in touch with the line employees who make their cushie jobs possible.  

They are, instead, intoxicated by their own sense of self-importance, their search for the next “stunt” to draw sensational headlines and photo ops.

Their tactics are outdated and self-serving, and do NOTHING to help the employees’ cause, so what’s the point?

Is there any argument that Unions have outlived their usefulness? 

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Empowerment - It's a Beautiful Thing

Empowerment can be a beautiful thing, when it works like it is supposed to.

So, why then do so many businesses insist on continuing to constrain their employees with outdated requirements that require that they summon a “Manager” for every challenge or potential situation that arises?

Who hasn’t found themselves in the dreaded situation of arriving at your Hotel, only to find that there is a problem with your reservation, or the rate at check-in is not what you were originally quoted, or, perhaps you find that you need to change rooms once you’ve arrived and headed up to your room?

Regardless of the circumstances, we’ve all been there, and we’ve all heard those ominous words; “I’ll need to get my Manager.” 

Unless you’re some special kind of super-human, immediately upon being told that the staff member needed to get the “Manager” you started to tighten up, you started to get anxious, maybe even angry in anticipation of the argument that you believe that you’re going to have, and it’s all SO unnecessary.

Not only is it unnecessary but it’s often exceptionally frustrating to have to go through the process of re-telling your story to the Manager once they arrive on scene and invariably ask you one of two things; “What seems to be the problem?” or, “How may I help you?”

In either case, you are immediately propelled back in time and forced to regurgitate your story yet again and request that the situation be corrected.

And what about the poor staff member?

I always feel sorry for the staff member, now standing off to the side, feeling completely useless as he or she watches the situation unfold, and, recognizing that their Manager or their management overall does not trust them to resolve the situation in the first place.

Who is better equipped to deal with these situations?

And I don’t know about you, but I always get concerned when I experience this kind of an environment, where employees are not trusted to resolve guest issues, or in short, take the necessary action in the interest of providing the best guest service.

What else can I expect to encounter, because if employees aren’t empowered, they aren’t engaged.

It’s ironic really, every Hotel I’ve ever been associated with wanted to provide the best guest service possible, so why get in the way of that naturally occurring?

Why put policies and procedures in the way of what you hope comes naturally to your employees? 

I had a situation arise once, where an employee gave a honeymooning couple a painting from one of our shops, in recognition of their marriage.

We had a policy where staff were encouraged to go out of their way to exceed guests’ expectations from an empowerment perspective, and to be frank and honest, this employee inadvertently went too far.

I was asked at the time if I thought we should change the policy, put limitations on it, a certain maximum dollar value, in the instance where an employee might want to provide something for a guest?

My response was an immediate “no thanks.”

Did I speak to the employee who gave away the painting? 

Sure I did, but I didn’t discipline him, I merely explained the intent of the program, and, the need to be financially responsible to our Owner at the same time.

But to change the program, or to overly define it, would have been to say to our employees that there are limitation and conditions to the level of service that you can provide, and, to the commitment that we say that we have to provide exceptional guest experiences.

I worked at that Hotel for an additional 3 years before moving on and we never had a similar experience, where an employee gave away more than we felt was appropriate.

Quite the contrary, for the most part, employees recognized that it was the small, personal and genuinely sincere gestures that moved our guests, and created the experiences that our employees were proud to provide. 

As a result of our genuine commitment to empowerment, we had an exceptionally engaged team of committed employees, and the highest service scores in the company for many, many years, as well as an enviable level of repeat guests and guest referrals. 

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Unions - The Death of Service

I have worked in unionized Hotels on multiple occasions, and I have worked in non union Hotels, also on several occasions, and I can honestly say that in both cases I have experienced the “good” and the “bad” regardless of the circumstances surrounding the issue of unionization.

Like anyone that has been in this business for any length of time, I have seen that bad management can flourish in any circumstances, as can the symptoms that spawn bad service, from unhappy and unmotivated employees.

What got me riled up today, was a letter to the editor in the Vancouver Sun newspaper, in response to the recent stories surrounding a pending civil rights case, which has stemmed from the “grooming policy and uniform standards” at the Shark Club, the crux of which is that the largely female staff are required to dress in provocative outfits and in a manner that is alleged to exploit their sexuality.

Now, let me go on record as saying that what is important to me, is service, period – professional, attentive, courteous and knowledgeable service. 

I could care less what they are wearing, except to say that I want the servers’ uniform to be clean and I want the server to appear to be equally clean and well kempt.

Let’s face it, these people are handling our food, and we’d like to think that personal hygiene is high on their list of priorities.

As I said, what got me riled up was a letter to the editor, from a local CAW Union representative, who alleged that none of this would have been a problem if these employees were represented by a union, and, that if we wanted any evidence of this, we need only go to any of the unionized Hotels in our city and witness the finest employees, well groomed and uniformed, providing the highest calibre of service.

Might seem like a fair statement, and I will agree that there are many, many exceptional employees working in our Hotels and doing an exceptional job every day.

Where I take exception is the CAW representative’s notion that the union has anything to do with great service, quite the contrary.

 My best example of this stems from a union contract negotiation which I took part in between my Hotel at the time, and, the CAW.

As a part of our negotiations we were hoping to introduce a new service into our Hotel, something to enhance the guest experience.

In preparing for our negotiations, I had worked with a number of employees to review this proposed new service, in the hope of determining the manner in which this service could be integrated into existing job descriptions, without making any significant changes to the employee’s duties and responsibilities.

I broached the topic with the CAW representative, along with providing all of the supporting data and documentation for introducing this new service, which coincidentally, would also result in a slight increase in employees’ hours – a win-win situation you might think?

His response?

He looked me squarely in the eyes, and without hesitation said; “we don’t care about service.  Service is not our problem, it’s your problem.”

I was flabbergasted.  I honestly couldn’t believe that ANYONE connected with the hospitality business, regardless of their position, could say that they didn’t care about service.

Wasn’t it “service” and more specifically the pursuit of service excellence, what was keeping us all employed?

Regardless, it didn’t matter to the CAW representative.  What mattered to him and his colleagues was a demonstration of power, and the generating of revenue - revenue for the union, through increased membership and increased dues.   That’s what the CAW cares about.

And I have seen the union, time and time again, protect the mediocre, sub-standard performers, who have learned exactly where the line in the sand is drawn, and have perfected the art of dancing back and forth across that line, always making sure that they are not across the line long enough to warrant discipline and always secure in the fact that the union will protect them, regardless of their level of performance.

I know it’s not a popular view but I still believe in “a fair days wages for a fair days work” and maybe even more so in an economic environment such as we find ourselves in today.

No one should be in fear of arbitrarily losing their job, but, nor should anyone be guaranteed a job, regardless of their performance. 

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Can You Deliver the Bad News?

Seems like a simple enough question, doesn’t it?

But you’d be surprised how many people simply cannot deliver the “bad” news when asked.

I’m actually writing this post as a result of an exchange that I had with someone, just today, and their suggestion that it might make for an interesting Blog post.

The head of a local Hospitality Program asked me, after having participated in a program of theirs just the other night, what feedback I had from the evening, and what, if any, comments I had heard from other participants from the evening.

I thought carefully about how to respond, and then I sat down at my keyboard and I wrote out and subsequently forwarded my comments and observations from the evening as requested.

The evening was not perceived to have been as beneficial to some of the participants as I know was hoped and intended, and as a result, I needed to share that sentiment, along with some other constructive criticisms relating to the evenings’ events.

I mentioned earlier that I thought about how to respond, which is true, as I wanted to be respectful of the person I was dealing with, and, I respect the intentions of this person and the program that she has specifically constructed for senior Hotel professionals, like me.

However, what never occurred to me, was to be anything less than 100% honest in answering a question that had been specifically asked of me.

Perhaps that’s why I was so pleased to receive the initial response that I did, and, in particular, the response that followed, as it reinforced my belief that no one benefits when there is less than 100% honesty in any of our relationships, it’s just a matter of applying some tact and diplomacy.

The initial response that I received thanked me for my response and specifically my candidness, enough said.

I replied and reiterated that it gave me no pleasure to provide what could be perceived as negative feedback, but felt that it was important to be completely forthcoming, given that I had been asked to provide my insight into the evenings’ events, and, my belief that no one benefits when you operate in an environment of half-truths.

Leaders need to have the courage, the confidence and the tact required to be the messengers of varying pieces of important information throughout their time as the leaders of people, and more often than not, the news will not be pleasant.

The response that I received was as follows; “I only ask those who I know will give me the honest response I’m looking for … you’re on the list of those whom I can trust to deliver the difficult messages.  I am truly thankful … how else does one improve programs and products.”

It may seem a simple thing, but having this respected professional in the academic field tell me that she knew she could count on me to “deliver the difficult messages” when necessary meant a great deal to me.

Effective communications is an art form.  

The foundation of integrity, as I have written about previously, is a foundation from which you can build anything successfully, but conversely, without that strong foundation, anything that you attempt to build is likely to be flawed.

Under these circumstances, it’s only a matter of time until the weaker foundation gives way under the pressure and that which we have sought to build atop this shaky foundation comes crashing down around us.

There is no substitute for a strong foundation. 

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Workplace Romances - On the Rise?

I read an interesting article in the Globe & Mail last week on the topic of workplace romances, and specifically, the need for companies to develop policies and procedures to address the “situation.”

Got me to wondering, does this still happen as much as it used to?

I think the answer is a resounding YES.

Considering people are now spending more time at work than ever before as they face downsizing and the combining of positions, which is ultimately resulting in employees needing to spend more and more time at work, in order to keep up, and attempt to keep their heads above water, it is inevitable that they will turn to co-workers to first commiserate, and then to find comfort in each others arms.

So, who are we kidding?

And, can you really come up with reasonable rules of engagement that anyone is going to follow, or, as I suspect will be the case, will this continue to be an underground affair?

I can see where, in some cases, employees might report their relationships to Human Resources, as was a suggested requirement in this same article, but again, I believe, for the most part, employees are not going to want to share this intimate detail with their HR Manager.

I worked at a resort at one point in my career, where we had a staff residence, due to the remote nature of the resort, and approximately 80% of our 350 employees lived on-site, in what could best be described as a dorm-like setting.

As it is, we had to employee additional people in Human Resources just to deal with the additional challenges that this involved on a day to day basis.

If we had tried to actively manage their relationships, (any more than we were forced to do as a by-product of the environment), we would have needed at least one more Manager just to keep score, and, instead of keeping a list of who was involved with who at any one time, it would probably have been more appropriate, and certainly more practical, to just put everyone’s name on post-it-notes and move them from place to place on the giant “relationship wall”, given the (warp) speed with which they seemed to tire of each other and subsequently move on to someone new.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know this, so long as men and women work together there are going to be relationships in the workplace.

I think that’s the first thing that has to be recognized, and the second thing might be that no matter how hard you try, you are not going to be able to prevent people from hooking up at work, so what CAN you do to manage it, when you first pull your head out of the sand and recognize that it IS going to happen?

I know it’s pretty “out there”, but maybe, just maybe, some forward-thinking company needs to create a focus group, or something of that nature, made up of people who are either already in workplace relationships, or, have been in the past, and get them to provide their first-hand insight into what that was (or is) like for them.

What were the challenges?  Where could they have used some support?  Did they or didn’t they reveal their relationships to their other co-workers and/or their Manager, or, were they “hiding” their relationships due to fear of negative ramifications?

It may not provide all the answers, but I’ll bet that it would provide some interesting and helpful insight into the world of workplace relationships. 

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Street Smart vs. Book Smart – And the Winner is

It comes up all the time, doesn’t it?

Which is “better?”

Those who have the foundation of extensive post-secondary education, or, those that have worked their way up and through the ranks, rising to management positions after years of working in various line positions?

In writing this post, I will confess to two things. 

First, I am the “street smart” Hotel Executive.  I started in the Hotel business as a bellman at an opening Hotel, having had to drop out of school when I was 16, in order to support myself.  I had had other jobs, and was in fact at that time an apprentice electrician with a very small company, when, as often happened, I was laid off due to a lack of business.  I was 18.

As I’ve written before, once having gotten my first Hotel job, I was hooked, and never thought of doing anything else once I had been baptized into the industry, and I have been fortunate to experience great success as a Hotelier, due in large part to the opportunities that I was presented with along the way, by those who believed in my abilities, regardless of a lack of education, which leads me to my second confession.

No matter how much praise I have received for my accomplishments, or the depth and diversity of my resume, until recently I have always felt that something was missing, that I was somehow not as “good” or as “qualified” as some of my peers, because I did not have an extensive education.

Sure, I did eventually go back and get my GED, and I have taken courses over the years in every imaginable facet of business operations and strategy, and I am a voracious reader on multiple topics, but, I still didn’t have that elusive post-secondary degree.

And then, about a year or so ago now, I was asked to speak at a university, as I have done many times over the years.  But it was as I was making my notes that I found myself reflecting on past successes and some of the moments and accomplishments that I am most proud of, that I realized that it was my “street smarts” that had allowed me to excel when others had not, to connect with my employees in a truly unique and genuine way, through shared experiences, that had gained me their respect, their loyalty, and their support.

So, I guess you can tell that I believe that it is the experiences in life that has the potential to shape us into great leaders, the foundation of which, in my opinion anyway, comes from “street smarts.”

That said, please don’t make the mistake of thinking me naïve enough not to value education, nothing could be further from the truth, and in fact, I love participating in education, any time that I am able.

Fortunately for me, and others like me, I came across a program, the Executive Cohort Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management, which was being offered through the Vancouver Community College.

The program targets senior Hospitality Executives who want to obtain their Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management, but who are not in the position to attend classes on a full-time basis, as is usually required.

I have been participating in the Executive Cohort Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management program since 2009, and at the conclusion of 2010 I will have obtained my Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management, fulfilling a life-long dream of mine.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my participation with the Executive Cohort program, and it has been inspiring to meet and attend classes with so many other successful Hotel General Managers, Regional Vice Presidents of major Hotel companies, and other senior Hospitality Executives, all of us having shared similar paths through our progressively successful careers.

Bottom line, which is better – street smart or book smart?  Neither.  It is our combination of successes and failures, experiences and education that forge us into who we are, if, and only if, we are open to learn from everything and everyone that we encounter.

Learning is not confined to the classroom. 

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Hotel General Managers on TV or in the Movies – What’s the Big Mystery?

I made the mistake of watching a movie the other day that involved a “Hotel General Manager” in the plot.

The General Manager in this case was played by Rachel McAdams.  If you don’t know her, (I didn’t), let’s just say that she looks like some thirty something girl next door cheerleader type.  Got the picture?

Okay, so it’s not bad enough that there is NO WAY that this woman would have been the General Manager of a major downtown Hotel as was portrayed, but what made matters worse, was that she was, in essence, portrayed as a glorified concierge/guest agent.

This got me to thinking.

Why is it so hard for anyone to figure out how to accurately portray a Hotel General Manager in the movies or on TV?  What is the big mystery?

If you’re old enough to remember, there was a “Hotel” show on TV, in, I believe, the 80’s.  I think it was called, not unexpectedly, “Hotel.”  James Brolin was the General Manager and Connie Seleca was the Executive Assistant Manager.   Grrrrrr…

I remember this because, by that time, I had entered the Hotel business and was a bellman at a major branded Hotel.

I also remember this because I confess to having watched this show because I became fascinated with how much it did NOT depict an actual Hotel or the events that go on within a typical Hotel.

My best example of this was an episode where the story line involved the head bellman who was in love with the head concierge, and the troubled couple was having difficulty seeing each other because of conflicting shifts etc… 

How did they resolve their problem?

They decided to sneak into an unoccupied Hotel room, where they had sex, but wait, it gets better.

The General Manager and Executive Assistant Manager find out about this, and what do they do?

Well, they were of course deeply moved by the plight of our young lovers so they booked them the honeymoon suite and surprised them with it.

Yeah, right.

What’s somewhat ironic to me, the icing on the cake if you will, is that I had a similar experience later in my life. 

No, I didn’t get to be the love sick bellman, knocking booty in a guestroom.

I got to be the General Manager of a major branded Hotel where we caught a bellman and a room attendant who were repeatedly having sex in unoccupied guestrooms, and no, they weren’t in love, they were just married, (and not to each other), horny and stupid.

And in case you’re wondering, after they were caught, we did not give them the honeymoon suite.  No, instead, we gave them the gift of time.  Without the challenge of being employed at our Hotel anymore, they now had lots of time to get together and have sex, if indeed they still wished to do so, but I suspect they did not. 

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Summer Draws to a Close

Well, the kids are going back to school, which, for all intents and purposes, spells the end of the summer, or certainly as determined by most Hoteliers.

Once the kiddies go back to school, the likelihood of “summer vacationers” is no longer anything but a memory, and a time to take stock of how the season has gone.

What’s the verdict?

Not good.

At the beginning of the year, as has been in case in far too many years, the Hoteliers in Canada were all wondering about, and secretly hoping and praying for the same thing.  Please oh please, let the leisure business return this year.

Were their prayers answers?  Their hopes fulfilled? 

Nope.

I’ve spent the last several days talking with most of the Hoteliers in this city, and the verdict is in.  The leisure business did NOT return this year, as was hoped.

I can’t say that I was surprised to hear what I did.  I’m in and out of many of the downtown Hotels every week, and what I can usually immediately sense on my own, is further validated when I talk to the front line employees, the guest agents, bellmen and doormen.  They are only too willing to confirm how much slower their Hotels have been than in past summers.

Sure, there are more city-wide conventions this year, and corporate travel is rebounding, to a degree.  Airline crews can be seen in many of the Hotel lobbies checking in or checking out on a regular basis, but none of this replaces what has traditionally been the bread and butter in the Hotel business – the summer leisure traveller.

Ah, the summer leisure traveller.  They pay higher rates, they spend more and they traditionally have a longer average length of stay – just some of the reasons that we love them, and miss them so much.

There are a lot of things that need to happen, to create the “perfect storm”, for leisure travel to return to where it used to be, and I, for one, am not sure that we will see the perfect storm come together for the major Canadian cities for at least the next several years, if ever again.

The problem is, Hoteliers are slow to react, and this has not served them well in the past.

Hoteliers need to realize that the business model has changed FOREVER, and the sooner they understand that, the sooner they may be willing to take a new approach.  To really think out of the box, (and yes, I know how over-used that expression is).

The whole situation can be boiled down to that old expression; “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”

I have an expression of my own, and I know that it has annoyed some of my co-workers at times, when they have been facing challenges, but, it’s true. 

“If it was easy, anyone could do it.”

And being a leader isn’t easy.

It’s time to do something different, and create something new as a result.

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It's Raining - It's Pouring . . .

It rained here the other day – more accurately, it poured.

First time it rained here, with the exception of a brief wisp of a shower, probably for 30 days, maybe longer.  The streets were converted to a series of ponds and streams and even the sidewalks were treacherous if you weren’t paying attention.

I went, as I do every day, for my run first thing in the morning – 10K, rain or shine, snow, you name it, I run in it.

I was about mid-point through my run and I stopped for a traffic light.  Needless to say, I was soaked from head to toe, rain running off of my baseball cap, standing there in the pouring rain. 

I looked up to catch the eyes of a woman in her SUV.  She was looking quite warm and comfortable in her big SUV, but it was the look on her face that captured my attention, and I realized that I had become “that guy.”

I can clearly remember before I became a runner, which was about 7 years ago now, driving passed people out running in the rain or the snow and thinking, “what is that idiot thinking?”  “Was he (or she) not paying attention when their Mother first questioned them, when they were little, happily out playing in the rain, with the invariable question; “do you not have enough sense to know when to come in from the rain?” 

Apparently not.

But somewhere along the way, not recognizing it when it happened, I became addicted to running.  As I said, I run EVERY day, and if for some reason I cannot run, I feel like something is missing from my day, and I know what it is.

When I travel, for pleasure, I love to get up in the morning and go for a run first thing in the morning.  I use it in some cases to explore a new city, setting out in a different direction every day, discovering new areas, running passed that unique place that I find quite by accident, spotting a restaurant that I want to return to for dinner that evening.

But I also run when I’m on holiday so I can do what I really enjoy doing when on holiday – eating.  I love to explore the area restaurants and cafes and to enjoy the regions' cuisine.  And when appropriate, accompany that great meal with a nice glass of wine or beer.  I’m not that guy eating 3 leafs of lettuce and a carrot stick to stay in shape.  No way, not me.

On a trip to the South of France a couple of years ago, we ate our way through the many quaint little cities and villages throughout the area, and we spent 5 days in Paris, doing much of the same.

When we returned home, I actually found that I had lost 5 pounds.  Who does that while on vacation?

When I travel for business, I count on my run first thing in the morning.  It energizes me for what the day has in store for me.  And I prefer to run outside, wherever possible, regardless of the challenges that can involve.

However, that’s not always possible, which is why ANY and EVERY respectable Hotel should have a well-appointed Health Club – not some converted guestroom where they have thrown a treadmill and a bike.

To that point, imagine my disappointment when, on a trip to Seattle last year, I stayed at a very recently renovated, 1,500 room, 4 diamond property, that had just spent over $80 million on renovations and when I went to the Health Club what did I find, keeping in mind once again that this is a 1,500 room Hotel?

3 treadmills, 1 of which was out of order, 2 stationary bikes, 1 stair-master, 1 universal gym apparatus, a handful of free-weights, a couple of floor mats and a weigh scale.  HELLO !! 

I could not fathom that here we were in 2009, and there are still some Hoteliers that think fitness is some short-term fad, not to be taken seriously.

I don’t think it is universally understood that there are those of us who find this unacceptable, and, who will base their Hotel choice on, among other things, the ability to maintain their fitness routine while they are away. 

Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when you get up early in the morning to go and work out before your meeting, presentation, etc., only to find that the Health Club is ill-equipped, and, full when you arrive there at 6am when it opens?

Trust me when I tell you, we are not happy campers when this happens, and it happens ALL THE TIME in your Hotels, every day.  And most of the time, we don’t bother to complain; we just go stay somewhere else next time.

This is not a fad people, this is a life style choice, and it gains momentum every year, so if you do not as yet have a decent Health Club, for the size and level of Hotel that you are operating, put one in, better than your competitors and market it as a distinct point of differentiation.

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