TRICK OR TREAT?

As I write this, we are in the midst our first weekend of October, 2010. Finally the heat of the summer is behind us and those 90+ degree sweltering days with high humidity are a thing of the past. Football is now in full swing and my favorite sport is beginning its post season race next week with eight teams in pursuit of the coveted title of being named World Series Champions of major league baseball.

Also, we will soon be buying candy and getting things ready for Halloween. My wife and I have the pleasure of living in a rather large family friendly neighborhood so, I get a chance to dress up and behave like a kid at least once more this year. Another reason I enjoy Halloween so much is because I get to experience the joy of giving out baseball cards to excited little boys [and sometimes girls]. We give the kids the option of getting candy or playing a dice game. If they choose the dice game, they get to roll three dice and get to win the baseball cards which lie on the corresponding square numbering from 3 to 18 [for those of you who have never played or don’t remember dice games, each dice has six sides and each side is numbered one through six]. Of course I place the most expensive, highly coveted baseball cards on numbers 3 and 18, which are the most difficult number combinations to roll [you have to roll either three 1’s or three 6’s]. Almost every year a small child has gone home with a valued baseball card prize in the $40-$50 price range. I wonder how many of them end up in the trash along with some of the candy that parents have to destroy in order to keep their dentist bills in line with their budget.

As for the hotel business, we continue to struggle with our roll of the dice called the economy. Budgeted revenues and room rate growth have been difficult to achieve even though we have begun to see some slight improvement in weekday occupancy. The pundits say that it will be 2012 before we are able to get our room rates back up to 2008 levels and more likely 2014 or 2015 before we are at CPI adjusted room rate levels of that year.

This has been a long tough road. We each have felt the sting of the worst economic downturn in recorded hotel history. However, as we approach the holidays, let’s each be mindful of our blessings and not dwell on the inconveniences of the belt tightening that we have all had to endure. With unemployment at or near 10% and underemployment close to 9%, that combination means that nearly one out of five people are suffering significant lifestyle changes.

Please remember to tell people that Hotel Equities hosts “Life Lessons over Lunch” each Wednesday at noon at our corporate office in Dunwoody, GA. We provide lunch as well as career networking opportunities for all people who are in between work assignments. The career networking portion begins each week at 10:45am and concludes with a complimentary lunch and the showing of a DVD series lesson featuring Andy Stanley, pastor of Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. Andy is an excellent communicator who each week delivers a very relevant spiritual message that is typically a blessing to all who attend.

After the difficulties of the past year or two, I don’t know about you but this Halloween I’m going for the treats, I’m tired of all the tricks.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT ABOUT BEING A HEAD COACH?

I get great enjoyment and satisfaction in seeing others do well. As a company we have had nine winners of the Marriott General Manager of the Year award. Most of the winners are not only still with the company, but have advanced their careers and have themselves gone on to become coaches.

Like most people, I get greater joy out of giving a gift than receiving one. One of the most fun parts of my role as Head Coach is when we meet quarterly to celebrate the extraordinary efforts of our managers and associates. To me, they are the true heroes of this company. They go above and beyond to see that our three key stake holders [our guests, our associates and our investors] expectations are being met.

What a thrill it is to be living my dream as Head Coach of this team and to see people growing and reaching their goals as well. It doesn’t get any better in my book.