My daily newspaper tells me that President Barack Obama has promised that the US would lead the world in tackling climate change. Cleaner energy and the environment are to be at the heart of his domestic agenda.
Obama has a plan. Let’s hope it’s not a cunning plan and unlike Baldrick’s it actually works. So, it’s all down hill from now on with just a few more Continents to recruit and we are home and green!
To all visitors to the Considerate Blog, a very Happy New Year!
I am already tired of the gloom and doom that the so called experts are telling us will be our destiny during the coming year. Surely, when life sends you lemons, make lemonade!
To hoteliers, I would echo the thoughts of Niels Pedersen of Supranational Hotels who says it is time to get back to real hotelkeeping where care and service to guests dominates a hotelkeeper’s agenda. I would however go further and say that now is not the time to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Giant strides have been made over recent years in getting responsible hoteliers to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR), in many cases setting an example for other industries to follow. That must not change, be sidelined or forgotten. During hard times when everyone is fighting for business in a reduced market, potential guests will be looking for the hotel that stands out from the also rans.
The chosen hotel will be the one that puts guests first, and conducts their business in an ethical, responsible and community supporting way. Their message will shine out in their marketing, their body language and their general demeanour. They will be the ones that succeed rather than survive. They will be the ones that guests remember for all the right reasons. They will be the ones that will rightly feel proud to be called ” A considerate hotelkeeper.”
To all and everyone, a very Happy Christmas and healthy New Year. Bah Humbug to the prophets of doom!
Today marks the day when the new Considerate Hoteliers web site went live, and is now there for all to enjoy. We are proud of it and we hope you are too.
Please peruse, browse and utilise. Let us know what you think of it , and where you believe we can improve it.
I am told 11 hotel staff at the Taj Palace Hotel died in the atrocities in Mumbai, many whilst trying to take guests to safety. We salute their heroic action for which many of the guests probably owe their lives.
A tale that has emanated from the hotel in the aftermath of the debacle goes something like this. After it was all over and guests were leaving the hotel, one guest went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of champagne and several glasses. Asked what he was doing by a member of staff, the guest said that after such an ordeal people needed a drink and did the staff member have a problem with this. “Not at all,” came the reply, “ but Sir you have the wrong glasses.”
To all those involved in the awfulness of Mumbai, and our friends in the hotel business, our thoughts are with you at this most tragic of times.
Imagine going to see your doctor, telling him/her you are chronically depressed (who can blame you in these turbulent times), and expecting him/her to prescibe a magical pill that will kick it into touch.
Imagine that instead of a pill, the doctor tells you to go for a walk in the countryside, and all will be well. Welcome to eco-therapy!
Actually it is not quite so revolutionary. Surely it has always been the case that if we can find the time to take a walk in the country or a park, commune with nature, climb a mountain, swim with dolphins or hang out with meerkats, the stress will evaporate, the blood pressure will drop, the mood will change for the better and a smile will cross our face. So, my message to hoteliers the length and breadth of this green and pleasant land, and who have easy access to this magic potion; catch it, bottle it and market it like crazy.
London’s gastronomes, used to some of the world’s finest delicacies, are in for a rare treat this week – Orkney mutton. Reared on North Ronaldsay, the hardy little sheep, which outnumber the human population by more than 50 to one, live on a diet of seaweed to give the succulent meat a distinctive flavour.
There are fewer than 3,000 sheep on the island and just 300 mature ewes are slaughtered each year for the table. In an attempt to broaden the appeal of mutton in general, the first shipment of the season is being escorted by farmers and chefs to the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall on Friday 31th October for a grand gala dinner.
The dinner has been arranged in an attempt to showcase the mutton to top chefs including Anton Edelmann and Antony Worrall Thompson. ‘We believe we have the finest tasting and most sustainable mutton in the UK,’ said farmer Billy Muir, one of the breeders making the trip this week.
Edward Lambert, chairman of the North Ronaldsay Sheep Fellowship, said: ‘It grazes on whichever seaweed is brought on to the foreshore by the incoming tide. When the mutton is slow cooked and done properly, the taste is second to none.’
Could this be the year for Mutton Ronaldsay?
I made it a rule that I was only ever going to post something on the blog when there was something worth saying. Now when I look back it has been an age since I posted a blog and yet so much has happened on the world stage.
I guess in these troubled financial times one looks around for something not to spend money on. In the hotel industry, training and marketing are usually the first victims and yet in many ways they are two of the most important things to keep going. Green initiatives are another, and yet most of them save you money in some shape or form and should be maintained.
The message must be – everything in moderation. Streamline, trim, maximise and modernise but now is not the time to go wobbly. Your guests will be looking for that something extra so go the extra mile, stiffen that resolve, walk tall and look the world right in the eye (Val Doonican – many years ago!)
Time to sharpen up your pencil and ready yourself to complete the entry form for this year’s Considerate Hotel of the Year 2008 Awards.
All the details on how to enter can be found on the CHA web site www.consideratehoteliers.com So, if you believe you are the best and most considerate, have a great green team and know exactly who your favourite green hero is, we look forward very much to hearing from you.
