Why I believe in "SNAP"

In my mind the hotel trade is "the ultimate people business"

Fortunately for me, I already knew that I wanted to be the manager of a 5 Star Hotel at the age of 10. The aim wasn't even focused on financial reward. I consider myself still fortunate today that I have the same passion, commitment and drive for the industry just like the very first day I started. In the earlier day of my career I had the luck of been mentored and to become a close friend by one of the best General manager I have met in my life and the person that ultimately made me addicted to the Hotelier life Giuseppe "Bepi" Kamenar, a sprightly elf of a man who, at an age when most others are content to sit back with folded hands, was the life, breath and soul of Villa Cipriani in Asolo.

In one of my best time of my life we would sit late in the evening and talk about everything, I would mostly listen to his hoteliers Tale about members of the British or Dutch Royal Families like the Queen Mother or famous actor and actress or his personal Friend Freya Stark, the scope of this tale was only one, to embed in me the Discretion with Names, Bepi use always to tell me" Rocco is Good to Know, Bad to Broadcast."

One Night I asked him " Bepi how can I be the best at what I do?" The answer he gave me was one short and sharp, he told me simply:

Rocco the day that you will do the "Right thing" rather than " Things right" and you come to work smiling and whistling that day you will know .

The next day He gave me a small booklet that I still have, remarkably it was the very first employee handbook written by Harry Gordon Selfridge for the Famous store in London. the first page striked me, and influenced me so much that till today I still live and operate by this principle.

Get the confidence of the public and you will have no difficulty in getting their patronage. Inspire your whole workforce with the right spirit of service; encourage every sign of the true spirit. Treat your customers as guests when they come and when they go, whether or not they buy. Give them all that can be given fairly, on the principle that to him that giveth shall be given. Remember always that the recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten. Then your business will prosper by a natural process.

The only way to offer a Remarkable and Memorable experience and to be great, a hotel needs a team both management and staff with emotional intelligence, This means intuitive people that can connect with other, empathy, and genuineness to sum it up in one phrase,

A team of people who quietly makes guests feel comfortable and important.

Aiming for excellence is not a Task, it can only be achieved by those who made a choice of Lifestyle rather than a career in Hospitality, I'm sure that most of my colleagues would agree, to me is not about "success" but the sense of fulfillment and pride to make people "feel good" my focus throughout my career as always been in creating memories and trust me with that the financial result have always come, as Harry Gordon Selfridge use to say “Excite the mind, and the hand will reach for the pocket.”

The hospitality industry has never been more challenging and exciting than it is today, Our industry is highly competitive and to prosper you need to ensure that your operation is best in its class, "being remarkable" is what makes the difference today and that ultimately end up improving operational bottom line. Offering a remarkable experience pays dividends by increasing loyalty and word of mouth.

This is why I believe and actively practice day in day out this 4 timeless principles, that are to me, "the four main pillars" of our Industry and will stand the test of time, no matter how technological, connected, automated, hospitality will be, actually in this social media era where everyone acts as a publisher, there is additional marketing value to being remarkable.

THE ACRONYM SNAP

• Sense of urgency,
• No excuses,
• Attention to detail,
• Pride of ownership

Sense of Urgency

I believe this to be the key of hospitality, Our business just naturally lends itself to attract a high percentage of people with that sense of urgency about them, there is just too much to be done. The truth is that your guests staying in your hotel are counting on you and you should never disappoint them.Sense of urgency is an unrelenting push for results, or identifying matters of pressing importance and acting upon them immediately and avoid resting on the laurels of success. Everything in the hospitality, is designed to meet the discerning needs of our guests and ultimately is what defines our operating standards, Check out times, turn-down service, dining reservations, and minutes quoted by room service are all designed to meet guests’ satisfaction. When practiced with a sense of urgency, our intention is to exceed the guests’ expectations, In hospitality, a “sense of urgency” is a good thing. Yet many hoteliers confuse this with a “sense of emergency,” which insidiously saps the life from their operations.

No Excuses

I love the motto: Offer no excuses and accept no excuses. It tells you a lot about someone who makes excuses, and tells you a lot about someone who refuses to. When we host a guest to our establishment implicitly we make a promise, delivering this promise should be done consistently at all times. There are no shortcuts in quality and we all learn from our mistakes. One often hears excuses from managers when they have a bad result from an inspection. The chef or the restaurant manager was off; the head housekeeper was on holiday and so on, There are legitimate reasons why these mistakes happen, You can explain to customers why things went bad, What guests really want is the mistake quickly fixed on the spot, long before their stay is ruined, So forget the excuses and have a plan in place to fix the problem, and I mean any problem that may arise. Speed and efficiency during a crisis save the day. Most guests will deal well with a problem if they know you’re doing your best to fix it. What they don’t want to hear are excuses.

Attention to detail

True Hoteliers know the small details exemplify their service and make your stay more comfortable.There's a delicate balance between pro-active and presumptive service. The guest should feel in command and not dictated to, thinking things through, having a sense of priority, attention to detail, practicality, follow-through and efficiency ask questions, give options, and let the guest decide. no matter how elaborate is your turn-down service, how packed of technology your hotel rooms are, it’s the staff that really make the difference. Engaged staff are intuitive to guests’ needs and go out their way to help you, Surprising the guest with their knowledge of his likes and dislikes (“Would you like a glass of the white wine you had last night, Mr Brown?”), open doors, and deliver service with an unwavering smile, no matter how tired, fed up or busy they may be.

Pride of Ownership

Focusing on the guest, but mostly trusting, nurturing and recognizing the ability of every single staff member empowering them and instilling the pride of ownership will make every team member to go beyond their job tasks and adapt and modify the services to meet every single guest's needs adding that little touches that go beyond the usual, taking fierce pride in their craft and give the ultimate hedge in the competitive hospitality business.

The bottom line: SNAP is simply the way to create a memorable experience, make a guest know great service when it does find it, it feels brilliant and rare, but at the same time completely natural, an experience guests will want to repeat and tell their friends, colleagues, and online review about – the way things should be.