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Bart Berkey, Founder and CEO, Most People Don’t, LLC
HSMAI hosted Sales Executive Roundtables in Long Beach and invited Bart Berkey to facilitate a session with the group, read on for his takeaways.
While it may be impossible to predict the future, we can certainly share, discuss, and consider EVENTS that may occur in order to be more prepared. This is the topic that nearly forty commercial executives contributed to during a group conversation facilitated by Bart Berkey, Founder of Most People Don’t.
What is NEXT that we may know about or predict? What are we doing NOW to prepare and think about next? While external factors like the environment, climate, global war, civil unrest, political instabilities, and economic fluctuation can all affect hospitality, we focused on the PEOPLE component of our industry.
This group of esteemed professionals shared that their greatest learnings of the past (during the pandemic) also revolved around PEOPLE and HOW WE TREATED OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
- Resiliency, Creativity, and Innovation: We remained tough and strong in the face of uncertainty and adversity. We thought outside of the box to solve problems and resolve situations that we had never faced.
- Empathy, Care, and Humanity: We embraced the value of the human spirit and focused on how we treated others, how we felt, and together how we could rise.
- Vulnerability, Teamwork, and Resources: We learned that we don’t need to be alone and that when we opened up, there were others that needed us as much as we needed them. This encouraged working together and using tools that we shared.
The following was then revealed for thoughts for NEXT Preparation in Hospitality Sales and Marketing and what we SHOULD DO NOW:
- Share in advance our contributions on what we do in Sales and Marketing and how it impacts and affects our hourly colleagues. Ensure that the revenue producers as well as the operations team equally understand the impact customers and guests have on the hotel’s success and bottom line. Sales is not trying to make it difficult for anyone when they have a 2 am bus arrival… they are simply trying to create revenue to keep employees “employed” and “fulfilled” with meaningful and profitable work.
- Focus more on MENTAL WELL-BEING, and don’t view it as a weakness. Embrace differences, provide resources, and talk more about FEELING GOOD and THINKING GOOD (thoughts).
- Continue to ask, “how can I help you?” from a professional lens and a personal lens. Be selfless and giving in your time and attention.
- Realize that our actions will either help to “create wellness” or “contribute to un-wellness.”
- Look at each employee and colleague as a WHOLE PERSON and get to know them. Consider more than “just what their role is” and “what they do” and understand “WHO THEY ARE.”
By learning from the past and applying lessons toward the future, the hospitality industry, with its focus on PEOPLE, will only continue to shine brighter for NEXT.
Thank you to the executives from participating companies:
- AccorHotels/Fairmont
- Aimbridge Hospitality
- Associated Luxury Hotels International
- Atrium Hospitality
- BWH Hotels
- Concord Hospitality
- CoralTree Hospitality
- First Hospitality Group
- G6 Hospitality
- Kessler Collection
- KSL Resorts
- Loews Hotels
- Marcus Hotels & Resorts
- Opal Hotels Group
- Paliosociety
- Parks Hospitality Group
- PM Hotel Group
- Preferred Hotel Group
- Regency Hotel Management
- Remington Hotels
- Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
- Sage Hospitality Resources
- Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
HSMAI hosts this unique by-invitation forum annually for sales executives. If you are interested in being invited next year, please email Bob Gilbert.