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| Resort Trades: December 2015 | |  Your
Board – Does Everyone Have the Same Agenda? (by Kelley Ellert)
Every decision that impacts a resort goes through a board of directors, whether a resort has a professional management company or is self-managed – that’s who will vote on and make the final decisions. So, what happens when members of that board have a personal agenda or their agenda and opinions aren’t matching up with the majority? Embrace it. At the core of the situation is the fact that the board is comprised of people, real life human beings, and all human beings have some sort of agenda. They all have different personal experiences, education and most importantly they all made the decision to join the board of directors for a specific reason. According to Rick Bachman, Regional Director of Operations at Defender Resorts, a majority of the time those reasons are one of two things: they are not satisfied with the quality or they believe the dues are too high. Whichever reason that they join for they also believe they know something or possess certain skills or experience that influence a positive impact or change. Once they are members of the board though many times the deeper understanding of the situation that they gain, by seeing what has been tried and worked or not worked their agenda and the way they plan on implementing it can change. (more) Turning Around on the
Highway to Hades (by Peter Friedman)
Yet there’s a dark side to social media that we’re painfully aware of: these sites, along with Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media, can quickly spread the word about bad service – and upend the business. According to UK-based Four Pillars, 32 percent of US travelers blog about their experiences, (bit.ly/1MSdY0q) 46 percent of travelers as a whole post online hotel reviews after their vacations, and 40 percent post restaurant reviews. With 70 percent of global consumers pegging online reviews as the second most trusted form of advertising, it’s no surprise that after researching their travel on social media, 52 percent change their travel plans. The worst part, however, is the way an incident could spiral out of control. Bedbugs, bad food, bad service – anything can take flight and become a social media crisis. But it’s possible to mitigate the problem – if you take action quickly. 1. Delay – or cancel – social media operations as normal. When customers are happy, scheduled posts are a great way to engage and make sure you appear at the top of your customers’ news feeds. But when a crisis is coming down the pike, it’s very important to review scheduled posts and maybe halt them altogether, depending on the nature of the crisis. Customers can be sensitive, particularly if tragedy is involved. What may be funny in one context could be wildly offensive in another, so it might make sense to put the kibosh on posts until the crisis blows over. That gives you the chance to direct your efforts to unifying your message and getting it out there, whatever it may be. This is also a good time to put the brakes on paid social promotions, which can confuse your customers. (more) Reputation Management
Forum Stresses Use of Vacation Time (by Marge Lennon)
Gary Oster, EVP of Member Services at U.S. Travel and Managing Director Project: Time Off, shared some fascinating facts about America’s vacationing habits. The American tradition of the week-long vacation is becoming a thing of the past, as full-week vacations have steadily declined in the past 34 years. Unlike the general perception, workers who don’t use their vacation time are no more likely to receive a raise or bonus than workers who do. By foregoing vacations, we become less productive, less creative and our performance suffers. Taking time off translates to lower stress and better overall health. Men who failed to take vacations for a few years were 30% more likely to experience a heart attack than those who took regular holidays. Last year, the U.S. Travel Association challenged their 60 employees to use every last second of their paid time off. They wanted them to spend time with family, adventure somewhere new or work on the home improvement project they keep putting off. Employees who succeeded at the challenge received a $500 bonus. The results were beyond expectations. Nearly all the staff qualified for the incentive, reducing vacation time liability by nine percent and saving the association more than $36,000. What’s more, as their liability went down, the staff’s productivity and creativity went up as a result of taking time to recharge. (more) About Resort Trades
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