The late Skip Boyer *, formerly the Director of Executive Communications at Best Western International and the senior member of his team, was a wonderful speech writer, author and story teller. He used to employ a simple but amusing story when his department was explaining the differences between the various forms of marketing at the company's regular orientations for owners and management new to the brand.
Skip would open his presentation by asking the group if they understand the differences between "publicity" and "public relations." Answers would vary by group, but the following story illustrates the various components as described by Skip.
He would begin by saying, "Let's imagine you are about to announce to the world the grand opening of your brand new hotel, the (Fill in the blank) Anywhere Inn. You run a full-page ad in the local paper inviting everyone. This is "advertising," he would explain.
"Now it just so happens the circus is in town, and you decide to hire the elephant to carry a giant billboard announcing your opening. This is 'promotion', Skip would explain. The problem is that something frightens the elephant and he tramples the garden at the nearby competitive hotel and the picture of the elephant, your billboard and the damage makes the front page of the business section. This is publicity (and not the right kind).'
If, and Skip would pause here for a moment, the hotel general manager goes to the competitive hotel's manager with a sincere apology (accompanied by a check to cover the damage, it is assumed) and convinces that manager to attend the grand opening party, that is salesmanship. When the business section features its' next photo of your hotel, it is with you, the competitive GM and the elephant, with all apparently forgiven. That photo and the accompanying story are public relations.
A major objective of hotel owners, managers and sales professionals is to profitably provide hospitality services to as many guests as possible. Recognizing the differences in the various components of the sales and marketing efforts will undoubtedly make that service provider more focused on net results, guest satisfaction and profitability, rather than on headlines.
What are you doing in your hospitality business?
* William H. 'Skip' Boyer, KCCH, spent 25 years of his career with Best Western, overseeing the writing and production of major business meetings, video presentations, an in-house convention television station and senior speechwriter for the president/CEO and members of the Board of Directors. He earned more than 70 regional and national awards for his writing and editorial work, and was the author of Simply the Best, a full-length history of the brand, which was honored with six national writing awards. A strong supporter of Freemasonry, he spoke at a number of Leadership Conferences before being diagnosed with cancer, and eventually succumbed to the disease in May, 2006. His 'Chronicles of Furthermore,' can be found at http://www.furthermoreraven.org, and will bring a smile to all, especially those who knew Skip and his dry wit.
Feel free to share an idea at johnjhogan@yahoo.com anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops or speaking engagements. Autographed copies of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD - a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES can be obtained from THE ROOMS CHRONICLE www.roomschronicle.com and other industry sources.
All rights reserved by John Hogan and this column may be included in an upcoming book on hotel management. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication
John Hogan's professional experience includes over 35 years in hotel operations, food & beverage, sales & marketing, training, management development and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis. He holds a number of industry certifications and is a past recipient of the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Pearson Award for Excellence in Lodging Journalism, as well as operational and marketing awards from international brands. He has served as President of both city and state hotel associations.
John's background includes teaching college level courses as an adjunct professor at three different colleges and universities over a 20 year period, while managing with Sheraton, Hilton, Omni and independent hotels. He was the principal in an independent training & consulting group for more than 12 years serving associations, management groups, convention & visitors' bureaus, academic institutions and as an expert witness. He joined Best Western International in spring of 2000, where over the next 8 years he created and developed a blended learning system as the Director of Education & Cultural Diversity for the world's largest hotel chain.
He has served on several industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity and as brand liaison to the NAACP and the Asian American Hotel Owners' Association with his ongoing involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program. He has conducted an estimated 3,100 workshops and seminars in his career. He served as senior vice president for a client in a specialty hotel brand for six years.
He has published more than 350 articles & columns on the hotel industry and is co-author (with Howard Feiertag, CHA CMP) of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD - a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES, which is available from a range of industry sources and AMAZON.com. He resides in Phoenix, Arizona and is finalizing his 2nd book based on his dissertation - The Top 100 People of All Time Who Most Dramatically Affected the Hotel Industry.
Expertise and Research Interest
• Leadership and Executive Education
• Cultural Diversity
• Operational Management
• Developing Academic Hospitality programs
• Professional Development & Accreditation
• Customer Service
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