Yesterday my daughter received a BINGO game set from her grandfather for the holidays. After the dinner table was cleared, we each sat down and got our own BINGO card. My 10-year-old niece was horribly disappointed as she ended up with this card (actual photo below). Post a comment and g…

On Tuesday night, I arrived home at 11 p.m. My pockets were overflowing with business cards. I had just attended the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International's Mid-Atlantic Conference and Exposition at the new Gaylord National near Washington, D.C. The excitement of my new c…

Next week (Tuesday, December 9) I have the opportunity to present at the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International's Mid-Atlantic Conference and Exposition. The theme for this year is "Changing To Meet Challenges." As many of you know, MPI is an incredible organization that br…

My kids and I raked leaves from our yard last weekend. We all pitched in and accomplished a large task for a dad with a bad knee and two kids aged 10 and under. Saturday mornings are usually reserved for a leisurely breakfast, some couch time and a re-run or two of Sponge Bob (http://www.nick.com…

I subscribe to an e-mail communication from a publication called www.justsell.com and it sends messages daily offering tips and resources for selling. What I like about some of the content is that it always mentions how many selling days are left in the month, the quarter and the year. In …

I will do my best to make this the last reference to any negativity. Yesterday our team had a meeting. We discussed how our hotels were performing and the challenges that lie ahead. Without a doubt, most industries are being affected by this downturn in the economy. It seems that at …

I just returned from a sales training class in Denver with a terrific group of students with varied amounts of experience. What I enjoyed the most was the ability for the veterans and non-veterans to share their selling experiences with each other. Because "Egos Were Checked At The Door," …

This week I am co-facilitating a sales training class in Denver, Colorado. One of the first questions that came up from our group pertained to "selling during a down economy." Our answer was quite simple: Things will get better. Use this time to sharpen your selling skills above the c…

I recently communicated with a terrific colleague of mine, Parley, from one of our properties and asked him about recent challenges. He mentioned that phone solicitation in this current economic situation is becoming increasingly more difficult "when everybody we call is being bombarded with ph…

"It would be my pleasure, at your earliest convenience, to learn further of your future requirements that might be needed in your upcoming conference so that we may be able to deliver a unique, satisfying experience for you and your attendees." OR I would love the chance to learn mor…

If you are like me, we are all getting tired and additionally depressed by the news regarding the economy. I try not to look at the newspapers anymore as I can't bear to read more negative press about anything. Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with a prospective sales manager candida…

When negotiating, he who speaks first loses. This was taught to me at a very young age and I've been able to use it in many situations to win. Try it... A future groom calls your hotel looking for a block of rooms for their wedding party. After you identify their needs and prove why your hotel …

This past weekend my family and I had a chance to visit my relatives in Pittsburgh and attend Fort Ligonier Days in a small historic town about one hour from the city. The premise is to commemorate the 1758 battle between British and French forces during the French and Indian War, while promoting lo…

What are your plans for this weekend? Will you spend three hours watching a sporting event? My suggestion would be to dedicate an hour to work on your career. Update your profile on LinkedIn. Dig up your resume from your old floppy disk and update it on your PC. I just learned that two of my very…

The competition for hotel jobs has become more fierce. Each day I get a call from someone in the financial business or mortgage industry who is looking to transfer their skills to the hotel world. When I get to the question pertaining to their salary expectations, the conversation usually ends …

Last week approximately 40 hospitality alumni returned back to the classrooms at Penn State to teach every hospitality class for an entire two days. It was an unprecedented display of support for the School of Hospitality Management and a chance for alumni to remember their college days. …

Last week I attended the National Black MBA Association Conference here in Washington, D.C. The show was filled with anxious MBA students looking for direct placement opportunities or even summer internships. I was very impressed by the quality of students and their professionalism. W…

Many of you may have heard about the South Beach diet. It's a strict regimen limiting fruits, sugars and carbohydrates. The first two weeks are extremely rigid with the philosophy that once your body rids itself of many excess sugars, the cravings for these types of food diminishes. You must underst…

Serge Asensio, Managing Director of The Topline Group LLC offered one of the most ingenious analogies I've heard in years at the HSMAI Sales Strategy Conference last week. He used Einstein's formula for Energy equals Mass times Speed to explain the approach independent hotels need to take when compe…

A book entitled "Flight of the Buffalo" (Belasco & Stayer, 1993) described two differing types of team leadership. One type of leadership is similar to the style that wild buffalo utilize. There is one lead buffalo that is responsible for dictating every move that the herd makes. In na…

Today is a sad day for many people. Early this morning, my son and I were walking our dogs and I mentioned the significance of today and wanted to prepare him for any conversations about it in school. I distinctly remember where I was when the attacks happened. Max was only 3 years old, and my da…

Yesterday, my wife and I took at 20 mile bike ride along the C&O Towpath in Washington, D.C., on a beautiful September morning. There was low humidity, the sun was shining and the color of the leaves was just beginning to change. It was one of those rare mornings where everything seemed peac…

This morning I arrived into a meeting and was warmly welcomed by a fresh plate of happiness in the form of McDonald's Egg McMuffins. Most people would be surprised at the sheer delight expressed by a group of luxury hoteliers as they arrived into the board room at 8 a.m. Let's cons…

I believe the purpose of a useful blog is to share relevant and entertaining information when you find it. This may mean giving credit to others on occasion. I came across a very unique blog article that was written by a banquet manager that I wanted to share and thank him for sharing a uni…

You just completed working a back-to-back shift entailing 18 hours. When you finally arrive home, you'll literally be too exhausted to sleep and you might muster enough energy to fill a cereal bowl with milk and cheerios. Why do you do this? There are many other industries that you could be in an…