Perth trip

Considering the amount of bookings we make in Perth it was a little embarassing to admit that I hadn't been there in 30 years and certainly hadn't seen any of the hotels (other than online).

Thankfully I remedied this in the last week of July when I spent two days looking through hotels, introducing myself to sales managers and thanking a number of reservations staff that have been so helpful for us.

I stayed at the Mantra on Murray and was pleasantly surprised to find out when I checked in that I had been upgraded to an executive studio suite (pictured below), had a welcome note from the GM and a bottle of wine.

Here is the list of hotels I visited in Perth:

Aarons All Suites
Mantra on Hay
Mantra on Murray
Citigate Perth
Perth Ambassador

It was interesting to hear that despite the WA economy smashing it on the back of the mining boom, it was a case of the haves (the mining industry) and the have nots (anyone not linked to the mining industry). From our perspective, the Perth hotel market has been doing extremely well this year but after speaking to the sales managers you find out that they sell out every Tuesday and Wednesday night, sometimes Thursdays but the rest of the week is pretty quiet. I also learnt that regional WA Tourism (and course retail) is struggling at the moment like the rest of the country.

Lessons from Disney

Disney has always been renowned for their excellence in customer service. Thanks to his twitter feed, I came across a good story by legendary entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki and what he learned from a recent trip to Disneyland.


What I Learned From A Mouse With Big Ears

Guy Kawasaki Co-Founder, Alltop

According to Bruce Kimbrell, a facilitator for the West Coast operations of the Disney Institute, people come back to Disneyland for three reasons: cleanliness, friendliness and safety. A few weeks ago Bruce took me on a behind-the-scenes tour of Disneyland to show me how Disneyland employees make the enchantment happen.


This is what I learned:


1. Focus on the right stuff and the money will come


The top three priorities of Disneyland management is leadership excellence, cast excellence and guest satisfaction. The fourth priority is financial results. My interpretation is that if you do the first three things right, money is a natural outcome.


2. Take care of your employees (cast members)


Disneyland has “team centers” to serve the needs of its employees. These centers provide insurance, discounts, tickets, transportation services and payroll services. The message I picked up was “be good to your employees, and they’ll be good to your customers.”


3. Everybody should do the “dirty jobs”


How many people are there in the park sweeping up trash? Take a guess. The right answer is an astoundingly low number: eight. (I guessed 250 when Bruce asked me.) This is possible because every employee is supposed to keep the park clean, not just the janitors.


4. Everybody is customer service.


Here’s another question for you: How long do you think the training is for the people with brooms sweeping up the trash? The right answer is an astoundingly high number: six weeks. This is necessary because guests ask janitors questions, so the folks with brooms must be experts about the park. By the way, the training for parking lot attendants can be as long as eight weeks.


5. Pay attention to the details


Bruce told me that Walt Disney himself specified the type of trash can for the park. These cans are currently swapped out every two years and Disney repaints them every four months. Steve Jobs was a perfectionist about the Macintosh trash can icon—the similarity between Steve Jobs and Walt Disney is not a coincidence.


6. Pay attention to even more details


A hairdresser in the wig department told me that it takes 30-45 minutes to wash and set the wig for Ariel. Then it takes 90-120 minutes to dry it. Finally, there’s another 30 minutes to comb it out. This is for a wig. Most entrepreneurs don’t spend this much time practicing their pitch for venture capitalists.


7. Make your customers feel close and important


The buildings on Main Street are 5/8th scale. This is to make people feel like they are closer to the action and important. Most companies erect edifices to make their customers feel small, and their bosses feel big. Disneyland does the opposite. Walt Disney used to crouch down to see Disneyland from a child’s perspective.


8. Know the facts


Here’s yet-another question for you: What is the ratio of adults to kids at any given moment in the park? Believe it or not, there are four adults for every kid. I would have never guessed that. This has big ramifications: Disneyland can’t just be a place for kids since kids are only 20 percent of the customers.


9. Green is good


The floats are all battery-powered. The fireworks are launched with compressed air, not explosive charges. The trains are bio-diesel and burn the oil from the park’s restaurants. Currently, 80 percent of the 1.3 pounds of trash that each guest produces per day is recycled.


10. Keep customers coming back


The Star Wars inspired ride called Star Tours has six different destinations, two beginning scenes and three holograms. This means that there are 54 different combinations. If you’re very lucky, you can see all the combinations in three rides—or, much more likely, you’ll have to keep coming back for more.


You should check out the Disney Institute for its seminar offerings. The institute covers topics such as leadership, brand loyalty, creativity and service quality. Many programs include behind-the-scenes tours like the one I went on. And the next time you schedule an event, consider a Disney meeting facility because of the blend of inspiration, education and entertainment that’s offered. There are few institutions that can put theories into practice like Disney can.

Corporate suite - Lions vs Power

I was lucky enough to get an invite from Mirvac Hotels & Resorts to their corporate suite for the Brisbane Lions AFL game against the Port Adelaide Power. I'm a die-hard Bombers fan so while I don't follow the Lions it was the first AFL invite I've received for a while and I jumped at the chance!

The suite was hosted by the GM from Quay West Suites Brisbane (Anthony Carter) and Mirvac's Regional BDM for conference & events (Rachael Hopkins). I actually used to work with Rachael many years ago at the Sheraton Brisbane so it was great to catch up.

Mirvac went all out with the suite, PLENTY of food throughout the game, a steady flow of drinks and obviously a great spot to watch the game itself. They even managed to organise a rare win by the Brisbane Lions!

State of Origin 3 accommodation

If you're after Brisbane accommodation for State of Origin 3 now is the time to be booking. With this in mind, here's an update of availability from our allotment:

* One night stays, 4.5 star hotel $399
(Last minute websites have rates starting from $450)

* We have a 5 star hotel with a rate of $399 for a two night minimum stay

* We have plenty of one bedroom apartments up our sleeve, for a 3 night stay rates start from $241/night (on average)

There is also a large conference at the convention centre as the same time as Origin so expect it to be a VERY busy week for Brisbane hotels.

And of course ... go Queensland!!

Ash Tuesday

With over 200 flights around the country cancelled today, our phones rang off the hook with people needing last minute accommodation. The bulk of our calls were for Brisbane which isn't directly affected by the ash cloud but with so many other airports closed, most people were re-routed here or unable to fly out.

Unfortunately, Brisbane hotels were already very heavily booked for tonight so it was a frustrating day where we were had to say no to a lot of requests but a BIG thank you to our great hotel contacts who called us throughout the day when they had cancellations.

Ash cloud disrupts flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Tasmania | The Australian

MORE than 100,000 passengers' journeys have been disrupted by the latest volcanic ash cloud, with delays expected to continue tomorrow.

Qantas has cancelled flights to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne for tomorrow, and will continue to monitor the flight path between Perth and Melbourne.

Airlines cancelled flights to Adelaide last night and today added Sydney, Canberra and, in some cases, Melbourne. Qantas also brought forward departure times for some international flights from Sydney this afternoon to avoid the ash.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are unlikely to be affected.

The head of the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, Dr Andrew Tupper, said the ash had wrapped around a low-pressure system building over south-eastern Australia and had crossed the South Australian coast early this morning.

It is expected to remain over Sydney overnight but move south tomorrow and expectations are that it will clear Australia tomorrow night.

2011 Salary Survey: Travel Weekly

I came across the survey below that may be of interest to my colleagues in the travel industry. Click on the title below to read the full article.

2011 Salary Survey: Wages and trends Travel Weekly
By Louise Wallace

As the Beatles once suggested, money can't buy you love. Sure, the message may have been at the heart of a catchy tune back in the 1960s, but even now, maybe more than ever, money is a touchy topic. Some argue it brings security and reinforces self-worth, while others are adamant money can't buy happiness.

Whatever the verdict, the Travel Weekly 2011 Salary Survey showed most travel industry employees might be better off whistling the Beatles tune, with 63% of respondents reporting they're unhappy with their pay packet. In fact, almost 20% strongly disagreed that their salary is fair, compared with just 6% who were very satisfied with their annual income.

A BIT OF CONTEXT

According to website MyCareer.com, retail workers bring in an annual salary of around $58,000; about half an engineer's income and a fraction of that of miners, who rake in an average of $146,000 per year. Meanwhile, employees in the wider travel industry are likely to bring home a humble $48,071 per annum, or $924 per week before tax and other deductions.
That being said, $48,000 should not be sneezed at.

This year's Travel Weekly survey revealed that travel consultants averaged $37,984 per year and owners took home approximately $61,000. Meanwhile, senior consultants are likely to scribble approximately $45,000 on their annual tax estimate, and agency managers about $60,000. But whatever their caper, only 37% of survey respondents felt their income was fair.
But it's not all doom and gloom, and no, the industry is not run by disgruntled employees plotting how to get back at their bosses in the tea room. The figures are actually an improvement on last year when 68% of respondents were dissatisfied with their pay packet and one-fifth strongly disagreed that their pay adequately reflected their skills.

Thank you Mr Rieu!

I mentioned back in October that Andre Rieu's planned tour for November had been postponed and the upside was that it would give us more time to prepare. Well his concerts in Brisbane were this week and as always Mr Rieu did not disappoint. No, I'm not talking about his actual on-stage performance, but for the 3rd consecutive trip to Brisbane he created havoc by filling every hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday night and almost tonight (Thursday).

We were prepared with a large allotment and although pick-up as usual for Brisbane was late, we judged things pretty well running out of rooms on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, our business is very much a juggling act between expected demand and how large an allotment we carry in to such an event. Thankfully tho, Andre Rieu continues to be automatic in Brisbane and can be relied upon to fill the city.

He started his tour in Adelaide which we did ok out of (not great tho, Adelaide has been a struggle this year) but it would have been great if his Sydney dates were midweek rather than on the weekend. I can't complain tho and hopefully Andre will grace us with his presence again in the near future.