Great places, great designs

They keep telling us not to judge the book by its cover, but we’re all mere humans, easily seduced by an inviting exterior, rendering appearances all the more important. Granted most people would be reluctant to revisit a restaurant if the impression made on a website corresponds poorly with the experience, once there, but wouldn’t it be fair to assume that an inviting place is more likely to deliver than one paying less heed to its appearance?

German design website Smashing Magazine recently ran a showcase of select restaurant and bar websites from around the world, included that of the French lounge Le 28Thiers (as seen above), which comes highly recommended. Please go have a look-see yourself. You might just get an idea or two!

HSMAI Partners With d2o

HSMAI Europe has signed a sponsor agreement with the renowned PMI company d2o (Performance Management Intelligence), who has been extremely successful in the international hospitality industry over the last couple of years, chiefly among the larger chains, but also with independent operations.

The HSMAI sponsorships work as a two-way arrangement, mutually benefiting both parties, both financially and professionally, and we believe that d2o have a lot to contribute with regards to the latter, but are convinced that we can provide them with a great deal of industry related feedback, as well as exposure.

The next issue of the HSMAI Europe quarterly, HSMAI Gazette (click here to read the first issue), features an in-depth interview with d2o’s CEO Mr. Young N. Nguyen (above), but until that, we strongly recommend a look at this article. Please visit the company’s website for further details.

There are other partnerships in the pipeline, too, to be announced in due time.

London Business School

The Norwegian HSMAI GM Forum for hotel managers, assisting managers and chain managements is to be held in Oslo on 16 November, with London Business School’s Michael Nowlis as keynote, followed by the Norwegian HSMAI Hospitality and Travel Industry Day on 1 December.

Revenue Management seminars are scheduled for a number of European cities, starting in Dublin. HSMAI Europe’s first Portuguese conference is to take place in Lisbon on Tuesday 7 December. Two days later, Thursday 9 December, it is time for the first HSMAI European Advisory Board meeting in London, setting out to plan next year’s HSMAI European Travel Awards on 5 May, also taking place in London, with a two-hours lecture by Mr. Nowlis, who will act as moderator for the rest of the meeting, making plans for the HSMAI activities in Europe.

The 18^th Norwegian HSMAI Meeting Exchange is held in Oslo on 12 January, at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel. The HSMAI Meeting Exchange is the largest meeting place for buyers and sellers of conference and meeting services. That same night HSMAI’s Norwegian Awards is held at another Oslo venue.

International Expert

Mr. Michael Nowlis may seem a recurring name during the autumn term, and rightfully so. Mr. Nowlis is an American, residing in Paris for a number of years. He headed the Cornell Essec in Paris, and fronted the international hotel organisation, too. We have had the good fortune to use him as lecturer at several earlier occasions, to which members have responded extremely well.

For the last four years Michael has been directing the Senior Executive Programme at London Business School.  LBS has been in the news a lot since it was named the top business school in the world by the Financial Times earlier this year.  He directs their flagship executive education programme for C-suite enterprise leaders at major global corporations.  Harvard is the only other business school that has a programme at this level.

He also continues his consulting and seminar activities.

We would like to use this opportunity to welcome new members from all over Europe, hoping that together we will prosper and thrive as a result of new knowledge, brought about by the industry’s top notch experts.

Sincerely,
Ingunn Hofseth
President & CEO, HSMAI Europe

Top photo: Mr. Young N. Nguyen, d2o’s CEO.

New SAS president and CEO

The Board of Directors of SAS AB has appointed Rickard Gustafson as the new President and CEO of SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System). Gustafson is 46 years old and currently the CEO of the insurance company Codan/Trygg-Hansa, according to a press release issued by the airline.

“Rickard Gustafson is an experienced leader, with extensive international experience, who has demonstrated that he can generate good results. As the current CEO of Codan/Trygg-Hansa, he has Nordic responsibility, and also has broad experience of strategy development, marketing and process optimisation from both Codan/Trygg-Hansa and GE Capital. The entire board agrees that Gustafson is the right person to take on the challenges in SAS, and to continue the implementation of the Core SAS strategy and ensure profitable growth,” says Fritz Schur, chairman of the SAS Board.

Rickard Gustafson is a graduate engineer, with a focus on industrial economy, from the Institute of Technology at Linköping University. He is married and a father of two.

“SAS is a special and unique Scandinavian company. A great deal has been accomplished in recent years to create a platform for the future. I look forward to developing the company further, together with all employees at SAS,” says Mr. Gustafson.

The current President and CEO, Mats Jansson, will leave his position on October 1, 2010. Rickard Gustafson will assume his position at SAS not later than March 2011. Until then, the Deputy CEO, John Dueholm, will be acting President and CEO.

Photo: Mr. Rickard Gustafson, appointed SAS’ new president and CEO (photo from SAS)

Airline Sustainability Indexed

Air France-KLM has been confirmed Leader for sustainable development for 2010 and remains in the two Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, DJSI World and DJSI Europe, for the sixth year running, according to a press release issued by the group.

Since it was set up in 2004, the group has been confirmed every year as leader in the air transport sector and has been recognised, for the second time, as being the most responsible company, super sector leader, in the “transport and leisure” sector.

“With this recognition, which is an honour for us, Air France-KLM is illustrating its willingness to assume its social and environmental responsibilities. We will continue to be the benchmark for sustainable development in our industry: an ambition which measures up to the important place we occupy in the global air transport industry,” Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France-KLM, declared.

“I am proud that we have been able to hold on to this position, despite the difficult times we are going through. It is a terrific achievement — proof positive of the successful collaboration between our two companies. We achieved this together and it is a fantastic acknowledgement of everyone’s hard work” Peter Hartman, KLM President & CEO, comfirmed.

The DJSI World groups 10 percent of the leading companies in terms of sustainable development, among 2500 companies in 22 countries worldwide.

Both the DJSI World and DJSI Europe indexes select the leading companies in this field, following a review process conducted by the Swiss group SAM (Sustainable Asset Management Indexes GmbH).

Air France-KLM is also part of the extra-financial indexes Aspi Eurozone, Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) Global Excellence and FTSE4Good.

Air France-KLM’s sustainable development report for the financial year 2009-10 can be consulted here.

PMI tool soaring

d2o, “deadline 2 online,” continues its rollout to Benchmark Hospitality International of d2o’s flagship PMI product, according to a press release from d2o North America.  PMI eliminates the stress of daily, weekly, and monthly reporting deadlines by improving delivery of performance information.  The web-based Performance Management Intelligence (PMI) suite enables hotel and resort department heads to intelligently manage their daily costs in approximately five minutes a day.  d2o is a leading hospitality industry innovator in integrated software solutions.  Please click here to view a 10-minute PMI demo http://www.d2o.biz/pmi_demo.

With more than 25 properties and exacting standards, Benchmark had a daunting wish list when it began looking for a management and performance optimisation solution.  The company wanted a product that tied together each property’s occupancy and departmental revenue forecasting with daily resource management functions, including calculating food costs, across all properties and for every department.  The company selected the PMI system after testing it in two properties and expects to implement it in all full-service hotels by Thanksgiving 2010.

“We did not find another system that integrates the three essential management disciplines we needed,” says Benchmark CFO Dennis Blyshak.  “PMI combines occupancy and revenue forecasting, labour productivity management, and food costing by day in one package.  At the executive level, the system rolls up all properties into one report that is updated daily.  At the property level, each department head receives a graphic view of how they are performing against plan and forecast.  This management intelligence gives them tools to think like a CFO and manage resources based on clear profitability goals.”

The system gives Benchmark a rolling forecast of group demand and pick-up that is updated daily and influences other variables, such as purchasing.  Blyshak noted that when an operator accurately forecasts each guest segment’s daily pick-up, it can optimize labor scheduling for housekeeping and other departments and be more profitable.

‘Cockpit’ Control of Revenue Optimization

The heart of Benchmark’s PMI is the “cockpit,” a data display for each department that managers consult and update daily.  This management report-card system displays daily revenue reporting of actual departmental sales, occupancy, and budget forecasting data for the next 500 days.  The system incorporates this data into the cockpit’s graphic display so managers can compare actual and projected resource consumption (staff and food) and adjust to reflect accurate rolling forecasts.

The property GM and department heads have access to all cockpit displays.  This approach encourages managers to compare their performance and see how their operations affect the entire property.  This also enables managers to benchmark performance between similar departments across all properties. Since PMI is web-based, secure data is available to Benchmark’s remote managers from any browser.

Blyshak said PMI’s ‘real power’ is its ability to combine accurate rolling forecasts with labour management to enable optimised staff scheduling. PMI also supports standardisation of Benchmark’s general ledger and market segments.

PMI’s visual graphing of departmental performance supports more efficient management at all levels.  “Corporate executives appreciate the ability to view data from multiple properties,” says Blyshak.  “With department heads reviewing their data each morning, everyone is aware of how he or she is doing and able to view all other departments. Managers see who has and has not checked in to update the system, which adds accountability.”

An integral part of PMI is PMI Planning, an integrated profit and loss budgeting and forecasting tool that goes beyond traditional monthly forecasting and yearly budgeting. Departments do not have to make a budget or forecast with PMI Planning because the module ensures the daily management at departmental level is linked with the P/L budget and forecast.

Disclosure: d2o is a valuable partner for HSMAI in Europe.

Keeping the customer ‘appy

British Airways is keeping its customers ‘appy with a new app that allows customers to save time and check-in on their smartphones, according to a BA press release today.

Executive Club iPhone users can use the new app to display new Mobile Boarding Passes on their phones, which can be scanned at check-in to speed up and enhance the boarding process.

In addition, customers using Android and Blackberry devices will now be able to benefit from a version of the British Airways app. The app’s easy-to-use and stylish new interface also gives customers instant access to their Executive Club details and updates on flights.

Chris Davies, head of digital marketing, said: “Mobility and convenience is key for our customers, so that no matter where they are, they can turn to their mobile phones to find the very latest information about flights, check in times and even access boarding passes allowing them to stay one step ahead.”

The Mobile Boarding Pass feature for Executive Club iPhone users will be especially welcome for those customers unable to print off their own boarding cards when returning from overseas.

“It’s all about improving the customer experience. We’re committed to putting our customers in charge, making the British Airways’ travel experience even easier.”

British Airways was the first airline to develop an app for customers for the launch of the iPhone in the UK. Since then, over half a million customers have downloaded it from iTunes. The new app ensures customers have even greater functionality and have access to real flight information about their upcoming bookings, full integration with their Executive Club details and easily and smoothly guide customers through each stage of their flight process.

It will also provide improved flight information, a dedicated travel news section, FAQs, a Twitter news feed for iPhone users, and a link to the ba.com mobile website.

Functionality to allow customers to board using electronic boarding cards is being rolled out on both domestic and international routes.

For further details on, and downloading of, the application, please see http://www.britishairways.com/travel/iphone-app/public/en_gb

Sjodin returns to the industry

Mr. Arild Sjodin joined the Emirates Palace company in August, taking on the position as general manager of hotel operations within the company, according to a press release from the Emirates Palace Company.

Norwegian-born Sjodin (41) returns to the hospitality industry after a year working for Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management in the United Arab Emirates. He has a long and successful track-record of running hotels in Scandinavia, Europe and the Middle East, gaining a vast experience that will assist him in the new position.

“I am very excited to join the Emirates Palace Company and I am looking forward to extend my experience into this unique landmark of Abu Dhabi,” says Mr. Sjodin.

Emirates Palace Company is the owning company of world-renowned Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Mr. Sjodin will have a key role to further develop the iconic property on behalf of the owners. Prior to working at Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, Mr. Sjodin spent three successful years at Emirates Palace as hotel manager, which will be of benefit to him in his new capacity. Mr. Sjodin holds an MBA from Reims Business School in France.

“Mr. Sjodin is bringing with him a wealth of international and regional experience, which will add additional dimensions for the company,” says H.E. Sultan Dahi Sultan Al Hamiri, board member and managing director of the Emirates Palace Company.