We learn a lot from each other in the hotel business. We don’t just extend hospitality to our guests; I believe we are just as hospitable to each other. We want other owners to succeed, and we’re usually happy to help them out, to give them the benefit of what we’ve learned along the way. This kind of good-will sharing is always evident when a group of us gets together, but we don’t have to wait to be in the same place to share our wisdom. Right now you can share it through the IHG Owner HeartBeat Survey.Let me be really clear here—this is your chance to speak up and speak out. Don’t sit around and complain to another owner or a colleague about what IHG is not doing or could be doing better. Tell them. Don’t keep praise to yourself either. Tell IHG what you like and let them know what they’re doing well. Tell them. Complete the survey and be honest—be bold.The Association needs you to participate. Why? Because the responses our owners give to IHG are compared against the responses our members provide through our...

The past six weeks have had me on the road a good bit for the Association. And now, here in mid-April, I’ve been traveling across the U.S. for our Owner Summits—and spending a lot of time with Kirk Kinsell, President of IHG in the Americas, who is headlining these events with me. Now, Kirk is a smart guy, and he always has something worthwhile to say. Since I know all of you can’t be at a Summit, I wanted share some of my favorite “Kirk-isms.”Kirk-ism #1“Feedback is a gift.” And he means it. We’re receiving a lot of feedback during the Summits. That’s the point of the Summits, but it’s also a gift we return—to all our owners. You see, the feedback you give to us we share with our Association leaders and IHG and then we return to you with answers, ideas, and improvements. The 20-year license agreement was the result of your feedback in 2012, returned to the Association and IHG, and now coming back to you for new licenses with IHG. I can’t wait to see what comes from this April’s Summits.Kirk-ism #2“Work across...

I like to tell stories. Not made up ones that put you to sleep, I hope, but ones that explain why something is important to me. I recently shared a story at the IHG Americas Regional Team meeting about my friend, Ernie, and that story really seemed to capture what I was trying to say, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.One day Ernie was walking along the top of the fence by the hog pen. Of course, he wasn’t up there for long before he fell in. Ernie quickly learned what all of you can probably imagine—hogs have a well-deserved reputation for being disgusting and smelly. Ernie got himself out of the hog pen and walked home. When his momma opened the door and saw him, she said, “Ernie, I can have another one quicker than I can clean you up.” Which is sometimes how we feel IHG acts toward hotels that are struggling to improve quality—they’d rather walk away than do the heavy lifting.I asked the IHG employees there to help us, to not walk away when it looks pretty bad. We need them to be champions that inspire...

At the IHG Americas and Europe Conferences, I told you that we had identified five key priorities to focus on with IHG. Those priorities came from some serious conversations with IHG senior executives and our Association’s officers about how we can help IHG owners improve their margins. As a reminder they are:1. Strengthen IHG brands to become first choice in every market in which we compete2. Master the IHG revenue tools in every hotel3. Develop the strongest approach to developing and implementing standards in the industry4. Strengthen General Manager role by making a culture change and positioning as Brand Manager5. Maintain the strongest reputation for doing business the right way, The IHG StandardIt was pretty straightforward to agree on these priorities but putting the support in place through the Association has taken us down some bumpy, curvy roads. The journey to adapt our existing Committee structure, which has given us a lot of interaction with IHG through the years, to one aligned with the priorities...

IHG Employee Survey

As Chairman of the Owners Association, I get to work with a lot of talented people. And I don’t mean just my colleagues on the Board and all our Committee members. My journey as Chairman has taken me to so many places where we have IHG hotels. In every location, our members, from the Americas to Europe and Australasia, tell me a similar story of determination to be more profitable, to create opportunity for growth, to do more than just keep the doors open. We share so many similarities as owners and operators that the regional variations seem minor. This journey has really opened my eyes—and my mind—to the true global reach of our Association.

This reach was highlighted recently when we had the opportunity to feature a panel of global Committee participants at our recent Joint Committee Meetings at the Crowne Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona.

I’d like to thank those who participated in the panels (I’ve listed all their names below) and share some of their insights with you. You can also spend...

How can they not know?



I kept asking myself and others in my group that question as we called on Congressional Representatives and Senators recently.

I attended the AH&LA Legislative Action Summit recently, along with about 250 other lodging industry folks, including about 30 of our Owners Association members. We spent a full day preparing ourselves with issues briefings,  panel discussions, and  presentations from members of congress about the critical issues we agreed to address: visas and visa waivers, labor regulations, OTA taxes, and  of course, our most immediate challenge, compliance with the ADA regulations, particularly pool lifts. After that, we were briefed on how to conduct our Hill visits the next day to get maximum advantage of our time with legislators and their staffs. Each one of us came to town with commitment and energy and then became  “coached” to be the voice of our industry.

I witnessed again that we can be heard in Washington—but we must have lots of...

Though additional ADA standards were issued in 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice did not release a requested clarification on the pool lift standards until January 31, 2012. The Owners Association concurs with public statements made by AH&LA expressing disappointment with this interpretation, which comes just two months before the compliance date and at tremendous cost to hotels. We will closely monitor this issue as AH&LA determines next steps.

However, you need to take action immediately to protect your hotels. The clarification makes clear that pool lifts need to be available at each pool at all times when the pool is open, and only fixed lifts will be acceptable, unless a hotel can demonstrate that installing such a lift is not readily achievable.

 

IHG has prepared and posted on Merlin an Advisory on New DOJ Guidance on Pool Lifts. They have also secured discounted pricing through Spectrum Aquatics. The full IHG advisory is available on Merlin under the Quality Tab > Hotel Topics....

I had one of those Oprah “aha” moments during our Board meeting earlier this month. Now I didn’t spend a lot of time watching her show, but I think everyone knows she popularized the phrase “aha moment.” She was talking about one of those times when you stop short, and think “wow, why didn’t I think of that sooner.” Which is exactly what happened to me as we closed our Board meeting.For months now we have been working on a new identity for the Association. Our target has been and will be to introduce our new name and logo at the IHG Americas Investors & Leadership Conference next week. All focus has been on that date. But as I got ready to adjourn the Board meeting, I stopped short: I realized this was our last meeting as the IAHI. Never again would we gather together under this name—it seemed like a moment we should have commemorated, and we didn’t. Which was my “aha”…I know almost daily there are times that we are so focused on what’s at the end that we fail to acknowledge all the milestones along the way. Did...