February 2018 Volume 32 • Number 2 CHRIE

International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, & Institutional Education • 2810 N. Parham Road, Suite 230 • Richmond, Virginia USA 23294 Telephone: 01 (804) 346-4800 • Fax: 01 (804) 346-5009 • [email protected] • www.chrie.org

Spring Update—All Hands What CHRIE FutureFund™ on Deck Means to Me—Part 1 Amit Sharma is President for ICHRIE and Robert Bosselman is Chair of the CHRIE Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State FutureFund™ Committee and Professor at University. Iowa State University.

Greetings, as you work through these As I transition away from my role as early days of the New Year. I thought chair of Future Fund over the next of sharing a few updates on what has been happening at year, I thought a few columns where I share my thoughts ICHRIE Board, and other related aspects. on Future Fund would be appropriate. First, I must thank the group of ICHRIE members who created Future Fund Spring ICHRIE Board of Directors (BODs) Meeting. As you back in the late 1990’s. A group of long-time ICHRIE know the BODs meet usually in January of the year at the members had been discussing the need for our association location of the summer conference. The Board meeting to have an emergency fund as well as a source of income was held at the Renaissance Indian Wells and Resort that would provide for member projects in the future. Hotel in Palm Springs on January 12-13. During the BODs Initially we thought a principal sum of $500,000 would be meeting each of the Directors discussed their progress so needed to spin off a respectable level of income. After far, and also plans for the future. Overall the meeting was several years, we all realized that getting to $500,000 very productive, and I think (and here I understanding was perhaps a well-intentioned, but somewhat unrealistic I am speaking for the Board) we all came out excited goal. We soon recognized that once we got to $100,000, about the future activities, particularly the 2018 Summer we could consider small expenditures without depleting Conference. At the summer conference business meeting our principal, and thus maintaining the long-term goal. you will get an opportunity to hear directly from the Today your Future Fund has slightly more than $140,000, BODs of their accomplishments of this year. thanks to the generosity of many ICHRIE members.

The BODs also had an opportunity to tour the property. One of the ways Future Fund invests in the members of Even though it is a large hotel and spa, I found there were ICHRIE is by supporting the Graduate Student Research still nice areas for us to meet, and interact with each Conference every January. Just this past week, several other. I am indeed looking forward to seeing you at the hundred graduate students and faculty gathered in Fort conference. Worth, Texas to share their scholarship. This year’s conference, co-hosted by Texas Tech University and Summer Conference 2018. As you know, the BODs, and Iowa State University, built on the solid foundation of the ICHRIE Office will be working hard to pull together previous years’ conferences. Future Fund provides a the summer conference. We will also need your complimentary Annual ICHRIE Conference registration to assistance as moderators in several of our sessions. We the winners of the Best Paper Awards at the conference. hope you will volunteer. And I also hope you will send Future Fund does this because supporting graduate in your suggestions on how we can continue to improve students is an essential component of building the future our conference experience. Please either send your of our field. The graduate students of today are the suggestions to Lea Dopson (Director of Conferences) or faculty of tomorrow. Having been part of the Graduate to me and I can share it with the necessary individuals. Conference since its inception, and having mentored over

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February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 1 The Spirit of Serving Others Kathy McCarty, Chief Executive Officer, International CHRIE

During a recent visit to the grocery store, I was reminded first hand that there is a huge differ- CHRIE Communiqué ence between serving customers and customer service. After selecting a full basket of food (USPS) 734-430 (ISSN) 1042-5918 for the family (which includes a son who stands 6’6”), I was at the is published monthly by the International check out counter (watching once more in awe how expensive it Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institu- is these days to buy even the basic staples) when I realized I had tional Education, at 2810 North Parham forgotten my wallet. It was a bit horrifying and quite embarrassing Road, Suite 230, Richmond, Virginia USA to realize I had left all my money at home, but without missing a 23294. Periodicals postage paid at Rich- beat the cashier told me that sometimes that happens and not to mond, Virginia and at additional offices. worry. This store’s policy when that happens is to ask the customer Postmaster: Send address changes to to sign a voucher for the amount due and to return within three CHRIE Communiqué days to pay. I didn’t have to put all the groceries back. I didn’t The International Council on Hotel, have to leave the groceries, run home for my wallet and return. Restaurant and Institutional Education, Most importantly, I didn’t have to be embarrassed. 2810 North Parham Road, Suite 230, Richmond Virginia 23294 USA My immediate reaction was—now THIS is customer service. My Telephone 01.804.346.4800; FAX second reaction was that I would remain a loyal customer of this 01.804.346.5009 store no matter what coupons they offered, no matter if their pric- Email: [email protected] es were sometimes a little bit higher than other stores. When I www.chrie.org thanked the store employees for their consideration, I was told not to worry because they knew I was a valuable customer. They prob- Membership in ICHRIE includes a ably couldn’t, without looking at my signed voucher, have told me subscription to CHRIE Communiqué. my name but they prevented what could have been an uncomfort- Nonmember subscriptions are US $65 able situation and made me feel important to their business. They US$75 in Canada didn’t just serve the customer, they provided customer service. US $85 Internationally. I left the store wishing I had asked the store manager how this Publisher: Kathy McCarty small, family-owned chain of grocery stores had taken a simple © 2018 International Council on customer service policy and communicated the concept to their Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education. employees. I wondered how this was addressed in employee ori- entation and training, what effect such policies had in employee selection and hiring, and what steps they took to help employees We are pleased to recognize the understand how their behavior made the difference between serv- following ICHRIE members for ing customers and customer service. exceptional contributions: Some of the greatest minds debate whether or not certain attri- International CHRIE Partners 2017 butes—like leadership, entrepreneurship, and customer service— American Hotel & Lodging are learned skills or inherent traits. We probably will never come Educational Institute to a definitive conclusion on that question, but the most successful Cornell University businesses (especially those in a service industry such as ours) find a way to make sure that those simple business policies written by Cvent the leading minds of an organization become the spirit of serving Johnson & Wales University others through the daily behaviors of every employee. And it is Knowledge Matters this spirit of serving others that is not only one of the basic tenets of customer loyalty programs, it is the life and breath of what we Marriott call hospitality. Penn State University STR www.chrie.org

2 CHRIE Communiqué February 2018 Southeast, Central & South American Federation News

SECSA Member Highlight LinkedIn group page: SECSA Federation and Facebook Melvin Weber is President of SECSA group page: SECSA Federation of ICHRIE (‘Ichrie’ on the Federation of ICHRIE and Associate FB site). Professor at East Carolina University. I am excited to see the SECSA Federation coming together and continue to look forward to sharing our future together. As always, I welcome any SECSA member I hope this finds everyone in a to feel free to reach out to me ([email protected] or 252- wonderful (and successful) start to 328-2351), so that we can chat about our future together. the spring semester. Continuing the trend of member highlights, this month I would like to introduce Dr. Seung Elections for officers are coming soon, please Hyun (Jenna) Lee, Assistant Professor of the School of consider nominating yourself, or a colleague. We need Hospitality Leadership at East Carolina University. The individuals willing to keep SECSA going strong! following is from Dr. Lee: Sincerely, Jenna Lee is an assistant professor at School of Hospitality Leadership within the College of Business at East Carolina Melvin Weber, PhD University. She became inspired to instill knowledge to Associate Professor, East Carolina University the next generation of leaders while working in the SECSA Federation President hospitality industry in Las Vegas. She attended graduate school at University of Nevada Las Vegas and University of Central Florida where she obtained her Master of Science and Ph.D. in Hospitality Management. Over the Bosselman—continued from page 1 years, she has taught courses that include Introduction to Hospitality Management, Introduction to Conventions a hundred graduate students myself, to me there is no and Special Events, Lodging Management II, Hospitality greater satisfaction than seeing one of my students do Law, Hospitality Marketing, Hospitality Management well. So we congratulate the four Best Paper Winners Current Issues Seminar, and graduate courses. Her main from this year, as well as their co-authors and faculty area of research has been revenue management, price advisors, for this excellence in scholarship. optimization, guest perceptions and market trends. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles Please join me in congratulating the Best Paper Awardees, in reputable journals such as International Journal and we look forward to seeing them in Palm Springs in of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality July. Marketing and Management, Event Management, Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management, Journal of Hospitality Sujin Song (and co-authors Sungbeen Park & Seoki Lee of Financial Management, and Journal of Hospitality & Penn State; and Kyung-A Sun, Temple University) - CEO Tourism Education. stock option pay and risk taking investments: Moderating effects of situational factors. Save the dates to join us in Knoxville, TN on March 1st and 2nd for the Third Annual SECSA Conference to be Heyao Yu (and co-authors Sujata Sirsat, Jay Neal, Alberto hosted by the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Hotel Benza, and Juan Madera of University of Houston) – reservations can be made at the Hilton Knoxville. We Three-level longitudinal analysis on the antecedents of have a room rate of $99 per night, and you can reserve distributive food safety training. your room by calling, 865-523-2300. The hotel’s address is 501 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902-2591. Hyunghwa Oh (and co-author Jichul Jang of Kansas State Please ask for the UTR228 rate, or use this direct link: University) – Service improvisation as a double-edged sword. http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/K/ KNXKHHF-UTR228-20180228/index.jhtml Eunhye Park (and co-authors Bongsug Chae and Junehee Kwon of Kansas State University) – Applying machine Don’t forget to connect with the SECSA Federation and learning and traditional statistics to explore the topical its members on LinkedIn and Facebook. structure of the hospitality and tourism literature.

February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 3 West Federation News

We Are Hospitality, We Are in the other person’s name in this exchange can add a the People Service Industry sense of personal touch. This process can be considered as a moment of truth. While very simple to do, it can be Scott Smith is President of West often ignored. That is my personal experience, but what Federation of ICHRIE and Chair at Johnson about what is required or expected in industry? & Wales University, Denver. Many hospitality operations have training manuals and guidelines which will help new employees learn what is As hospitality professionals, we teach expected of them in providing the best customer service. and work in an industry where we need For example, one guideline which might be used is the to interact with people every day. Whether we are engaging 10 and 5 Rule. This rule is sometimes referred to as the with guests in our hotels, customers in the restaurant, Zone of Hospitality. Basically, this zone can be described coworkers, students, or even friends and family, we need as when a guest is within 10 feet of a staff member, he or to be able to communicate with them. In an age where we she should make eye contact accompanied with a warm do much of our personal and professional communication smile of acknowledgement. When in the five-foot zone, though technology, I see a trend where we are actually this is where the sincere greeting or friendly gesture interacting with the screen on our mobile devices much should accompany the eye contact and smile (Gurtman, more that we are with each other. It is almost as if there is n.d). Other organizations may have similar guidelines, a void or lost art in the personal communication between such as acknowledging the guest within three seconds people. I see this lack of interaction at meetings, in the with eye contact and a smile or a greeting, eye contact, classroom, at conferences, and just about any other place and a smile (Muddle, 2012). where you have a gathering of people. If we know there is a deficiency and a lack of social So, how do we begin to reverse this trend and get people interaction skills with our students, how can we prepare to engage with one another? The easy answer is to just them to be successful? As an educator, the first step is put away our mobile devices (how many times you have to model the appropriate behaviors in all that we do. mentioned at the beginning of class to put those things We can start by keeping our own mobile devices in away!). But what happens after that? As educators, think our pockets, if we are not using them as a tool in the about the students we are currently working with. We classroom. Now, depending on whether your class is now have a generation of individuals who were raised purely lecture based (low-interaction between instructor with a mobile device in their hands. To this point, in and students) versus a student-centered class (providing a Baylor University study, it has been estimated that multiple opportunities for students to interact with each college students spend approximately 8-10 hours a day other and the instructor) will determine what you can on their mobile devices (Wood, 2015). Consequently, incorporate into your lesson plan. If you teach a pure they may not have had as much training or practice at lecture based class, you may consider moving towards the art of face to face social conversation. the student-centered style. Looking at the student- centered model, you may include more social interaction Let’s, consider how this might impact the hospitality skills development so that you class: businesses. Jan Carlzon explains this best in his book, Moments of Truth (1987). He states that anytime we come Contains activities where the instructor can in contact with our guest we have the opportunity to make receive student feedback to determine if there a positive or negative impact on their experience. Imagine is a need to adapt the direction of the lesson; Has how the lack of communication skills can affect the guest’s multiple opportunities for interaction between experience. The same can be said when we interact with the instructor, individual students, small student each other in the classroom or on the job. If we do not groups, and the whole class; Capitalizes on the start off with a positive interaction between each other, diversity of student experiences to generate how can we expect our staff to have one with the guest? alternative solutions to (open-ended) problems and to explore student ideas within the context I was taught early in the business of hospitality there are of the lesson; and Includes sufficient time to three things we do when we meet people. The first is the have meaningful discussions around student greeting; a simple “hello,” welcome, or even a meaningful activities and arrive at fully realized responses” smile will do. The second step is making contact. Here (Center, 2016, para 3). is where a handshake, eye contact, and/or some other jester is involved. The third step is the name. Including

4 CHRIE Communiqué February 2018 West Federation News West Federation News—continued

Another idea is to figure out ways to integrate social ual-module2/. interaction activities into the curriculum or lesson plan. In Wood, J. (2015, October 6). College Students In Study one class I teach, on the first day of class I do an ice breaker Spend 8 to 10 Hours Daily on Cell Phone. Re- activity where I have the students mingle in the classroom, trieved December 31, 2017, from PsychCentral: personally introducing themselves to each other using the https://psychcentral.com/news/2014/08/31/ greeting, contact, and name method. It is surprising how new-study-finds-cell-phone-addiction-increas- many of the students are actually meeting a classmate ingly-realistic-possibility/74312.html. they have had classes with for the past three years for the first time. Even at professional organizational meetings, I will do an opening activity where I will have the attendees Sharma—continued from page 1 introduce themselves to someone they do not know. Webinars. As you know, we have launched the ICHRIE webinars since November last year. We intend to continue There will always be the challenge of getting the this activity, and have our first one for the year planned for attention of our students, as well as our own, away from February 2018. We hope you will consider participating. the screen of our mobile devices. If we can integrate Furthermore, we are planning future webinars for the some positive influences or strategies into our lessons, rest of this year. So if you have ideas of topics that would behaviors, and actions we stand a chance to improve the be interest to the larger ICHRIE membership, then please social interaction skills of ourselves and our students. As do share those idea with us. Either send your suggestions educators, we owe it to society and our business partners to me or to the Director of Networking, Ajay Aluri. to help our students become better at interacting and engaging with each other and the guests they will serve in ICHRIE Board of Director Elections. Please stay tuned as the industry. This is where we need to remember our mantra, BOD elections will be coming around soon. It is critical that We Are Hospitality, We Are in the People Service Industry! you vote for these positions, to choose our future Board of Directors. You should be hearing on that front soon. Scott R. Smith, PhD, CEC, CCE, [email protected] Looking ahead. As I begin the second half of my Presidency, References we will continue to look at potential initiatives for the Carlzon, J. (1987). Moments of Truth. Cambridge: Ball- remainder of this year, and also identify areas to enhance in inger Publishing Company. our ongoing activities. The Comprehensive Organizational Center, S. E. (2016, November 3). Classroom Observation Review Committee, lead by Dennis Reynolds, has been Project. Retrieved December 27, 2017, from Sci- working diligently. Dennis was also at the January Board ence Education Resource Center: https://serc.car- meeting to report on that progress, and provide feedback leton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/certop/imp_sti.html. to the Board. I will be working with the BODs and the ICHRIE Gurtman, J. (n.d.). What is the 10 and 5 Staff Rule? Re- office to see how we might implement the recommendations trieved December 30, 2017, from coylehospitality. emerging from the comprehensive organizational review com: https://www.coylehospitality.com/hotels- discussions. Furthermore, I will also be looking at ways to resorts-inns/what-is-the-10-and-5-staff-rule/. consolidate our efforts of this past/current year, so that I Muddle, G. (2012). Healthcare Customer Service Train- can hand them over to the incoming President in manner ing – Module#2. Retrieved December 30, 2017, that there is some level of sustainability. from Health Care Warrior – Serious Title. Serious Misson. Seriously: https://thehealthcarewarrior. Communication continues… As in the Fall of last year, the com/healthcare-customer-service-training-man- BODs will be on bi-weekly phone calls, pushing forward our agenda items for this year. Most importantly, all hands will be on deck in preparation for the year end, and of course the summer conference. If there is anything you would like to bring to the attention of the BOD, or might have suggestions for the conference, do provide your feedback.

Transitions That’s it for now… hope you continue to have a great start Send news about ICHRIE member marriages, to this New Year. I will be back with more updates soon. births, deaths, promotions and any other of In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or suggestions, do send them along. life’s transitions to [email protected].

February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 5 Industry News

The Storms Moved On. The Caribbean Islands the Caribbean Tourism Organization, almost 30 million Fear the Tourists Might, Too. tourists visited the area in 2016 and spent more than www.nytimes.com $35 billion. But as officials race to restore power and begin rebuilding basic services, the precise fallout to the First the hurricanes came, bringing rain, winds and ruin to tourism industry is uncertain. St. Martin, a tiny island in the Caribbean. Then, said Corby George, a 41-year-old taxi driver there, there was a rush Some islands, like St. Kitts, appeared to be barely of residents leaving the island, possibly never to return. touched; others, like Barbuda, part of the two-island state of Antigua and Barbuda, were nearly destroyed. “Their jobs are no more,” he said. Two Assaults on a Tourist Region Two ferocious hurricanes in less than two weeks caused The Caribbean economy relies on tourism for about 15 widespread devastation in the Caribbean this month, percent of its gross domestic product, more than any leaving dozens dead, millions without power or drinking other region. For some storm-damaged islands, tourism’s water and countless homes destroyed. share, direct and indirect, is much greater.

The storms also ripped through the tourism industry in a Maria Blackman, a spokeswoman for the Antigua and region unusually dependent on well-heeled visitors, where Barbuda Tourism Authority, said that many hotels were a thriving network of hotels, souvenir shops, taxis, charter closed during the off-season in September anyway, a fishing boats and restaurants powers local economies. common time for annual renovations. The cruise ports and airport remain open. In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, cruise ports and airports throughout the Caribbean are closed, “On Antigua, we opened back up pretty much the next beachside bars are flooded and, on many islands, tourists day,” she said. are absent. And the risk of a far longer term ripple effect looms, threatening the region’s ability to rebuild: But in the United States Virgin Islands, the damage was Without a steady influx of cash from tourists, businesses so widespread that visitors were told to cancel any suffer, employers cut back and local residents lose planned trips, Beverly Nicholson-Doty, the commissioner jobs; workers on especially hurricane-stricken islands of tourism, said. could move elsewhere for opportunity, denting the local “We are encouraging travelers to postpone trips to the economy further. islands at this time and are sparing no effort to rebuild “Right now, the livelihood of tourism on a whole is in communities and restore essential services so we can a coma,” said Jen Liebsack, 45, an events and sales welcome travelers back to our islands in the months manager at Zemi Beach House, a luxury hotel in Anguilla, ahead,” Ms. Nicholson-Doty said in an email. a British overseas territory where about 90 percent of the For most British Virgin Islands tourism workers — many electricity infrastructure was damaged and the hotel has of them expatriates from the Caribbean or other parts of canceled its bookings through the end of October. the world — the only certainty now is uncertainty.

Hillary Bonner, 36, a bartender on St. John on the United Trisha Paul, who works as a waitress at Treasure Isle Hotel States Virgin Islands, said that most of her friends worked in the capital of Road Town, said she was unsure what she in boating or hospitality, and that nearly everything else would do to make a living until tourists return. was staked on the fates of those fields, too. “Without tourism, you don’t need 10 policemen, you need two,” “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Just waiting to get word said Ms. Bonner, who has been staying in New York, from the boss as to what is going to happen now. But right waiting to be allowed to return to the heavily battered now we don’t have any work for waitresses.” island. A native of Grenada, she said she fell into the profession In the Caribbean region, travel and tourism account for a largely by chance when she moved to the B.V.I. last year higher share of the gross domestic product than they do after studying psychology in Cuba. Now she is considering in any other region of the world, according to the World returning home. Travel and Tourism Council, and officials say it is far too soon to know when the industry will fully recover. “But I’m kind of confused right now between two minds, waiting and watching,” she said. “The hurricane season At stake are some of the more than 2.3 million travel is still on. I leave here and I go back home, the next and tourism-related jobs in the region. According to

6 CHRIE Communiqué February 2018 Industry News—continued hurricane could — bam!” Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico — lives off tourism. We can try to survive with business from the locals, but it’s Robertico Croes, associate director of the Dick Pope Sr. with tourists that we live.” Institute for Tourism Studies at the University of Central Florida, said he did not expect that the Caribbean, over Clarisa Jimenez, president and chief executive of Puerto all, would lose tourists. Visitors will simply visit those Rico Hotel and Tourism Association, was supposed to be islands that were untouched by the hurricanes and steer preparing for her industry’s biggest event beginning on clear of those that were damaged, he said. Tuesday, its splashy annual convention and gala at the InterContinental San Juan, a luxury resort on a white “I don’t imagine St. John for the next couple of years sand beach. would be able to do anything with regard to tourism,” he said, noting that the damage was particularly crippling Instead, she was sifting through the wreckage of her there. “For Puerto Rico, it’s less severe.” office in San Juan.

Clearing fallen trees in Guaynabo, P.R. Before the “My office was destroyed — I’m surprised the phone rang,” hurricanes, the island was already in deep financial she said on Friday, describing the broken windows, strewn distress. Credit Erika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times papers and soggy floors around her. The convention was It does not appear that way to residents there, though. hastily postponed to December. “It’s hard to even guess Before the hurricanes, which severely damaged the power when things will get back to normal. But tourism is one of grid across the entire island, Puerto Rico was already in the industries that we need to help us overcome.” deep financial distress, impoverished and debt-laden. The island carries $74 billion in debt and declared a form of bankruptcy in May. Its finances are being overseen by a federal control board.

Alfredo Gómez, 42, the longtime owner of El Farol, a food kiosk in the popular beachside area just east of San Juan’s airport, said he had seen slumps over the last 20 years. But he had not seen the roof of his place Industry Data for Research blow off. That, he said, had left him wondering this time and Student Projects whether it was even worth giving it another go. STR’s Share Center can provide current “I was tempted to not even come back here to make hospitality and tourism data for any group repairs,” Mr. Gómez said of hotels worldwide to help you increase from the rooftop of his restaurant. “What if nobody the industry relevance of your research. comes?” Provided in Excel format, our data can be The restaurant was open on easily merged with your survey results or Friday making fritters, mostly feeding the employees who third party data. had come to clean up. “Tell the people, the tourists, to Please contact [email protected] or keep supporting us like they +1 (615) 824-8224 for more information. always have,” he said. “All of this area — Cuba, the

February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 7 Industry News—continued

Top 6 Digital Transformation Trends in AI and Chatbots Hospitality and Tourism Remember when all hotels used to have clunky welcome Exploring all things Digital Transformation binders on the desks, outlining where to eat, what to see, www.forbes.com and what to do in the area—everything you needed to know? Today, hotels can provide all that information—and In the past few months, we’ve been looking at digital more—via AI-powered apps and technology. Guests can transformation trends in different industries like access the information at any time they need, right from healthcare, retail, finance, and media and entertainment. their phones in the form of an e-concierge. They can even Today, we look at an industry that’s been completely access voice-activated chat bots to open the curtains, set turned on its head in recent years, due to extreme digital the alarm, or order breakfast, without ever talking to a transformation: tourism and hospitality. human being. At the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, you can even text a robot named Rose at any time, 24/7, and It used to be that we’d visit a brick-and-mortar travel she’ll find a way to fill your request, fast. Meanwhile, agent every time we needed to plan a family vacation Marriott has been using AI-powered chat bots at nearly or work trip. (Granted, some of you may not remember 5,000 hotels to do things like make reservation changes, that.) But today, thanks to mobility, travelers are and check on account balances or redemption vouchers. playing a much larger role in the experience. They want to find a hotel that matches their style—on their Integration of the IoT terms—the very moment they need it. And thanks to As more and more devices get connected to the Inter- players like AirBnB, which set the stage for a completely net of Things (IoT), it makes sense that the tourism and new era of travel, they can. Indeed, when it comes hospitality industry would begin to harness that data to the hospitality business, digital transformation is a to improve the customer experience. After all, the mix of greater customer demands—and the technology more they know about their guests, the better they can that can help meet them. Let’s take a look at the top please them. If the IoT data tells them the customer has trends impacting the hospitality and tourism industry. visited their resort every year for the last three years, it can automatically send a message proactively asking Mobile Integration the guest if they’d like to make another booking this The digital transformation is a dream come true for year. You just saved your customer a step—and guaran- introverts who like to travel. With mobile-first and teed a booked room—without ever lifting a finger. The mobile-only brands continuing to grow, customers can same could be said by harnessing information about do practically anything on their phone, from checking food selection, excursions, and in-room amenities. The in—to ordering room service—to unlocking the room opportunities for up-sells and better CX are endless. door itself. In fact, one can plan an entire trip—from booking to bedtime and home again—without ever Focus on Data talking to a live human. As noted above, data is going to play a huge part in the new era of hospitality and tourism. In the case of AirBnB,

Please send your ESD materials to the ICHRIE Office at: * Don’t Wait! ESD/ICHRIE 2810 North Parham Road Suite 230 Plan your ESD Ceremony Early! Richmond, Virginia USA 23294 Before your calendar fills up, schedule your chapter’s spring ceremony. To find out more information about ESD ceremonies, the induction process or to start a chapter at your institution, please contact: Sam Kohli, Operations Coordinator, phone: 01 (804) 346-4800 | Fax: 01 (804) 346-5009 | Email: [email protected] *Please allow three weeks for processing and delivery.

8 CHRIE Communiqué February 2018 Industry News—continued they were able to use customer data to determine that guests who chose not to book were doing so because they Send in were discouraged by hosts who failed to respond to their inquiries. (I’ve been there—it’s annoying.) By offering in- Silent Auction stant booking feature to guarantee their reservation, they Items for helped alleviate many of the customers’ concerns and helped automate what had previously been an incredibly CHRIE arduous part of their business model. Data didn’t just im- FutureFund! prove CX. It improves the bottom line, as well. Bring your donations for the CHRIE Reputation FutureFund™ Silent Auction to be held during The fact that guests can book instantly also means they the Annual Conference in Palm Springs, can share their opinions instantly via Facebook, Yelp, California USA. TripAdvisor and other travel review websites. That’s Showcase your state, locale or country why technology has pushed hotels and restaurants to focus even more on providing quality customer service. by bringing a bottle of wine or other Yes, there are outliers. I’ve experienced them myself. regional gift & help support the CHRIE But there is no doubt the trend is toward better service FutureFund™. No item too small! for guests—not just a better return for operators. We need:  Theme Park, Attraction & Event Virtual Reality Tickets while in Orlando Whether it’s a hotel property, museum, or a tourist des-  Hotel guest nights  tination, guests can take a look without even leaving Restaurant gift certificates  Regional food & gift baskets their living room via virtual reality. The goal is either to  Original artwork  Publications you have written  Tickets to sporting events  Packages for resorts, inns & B&Bs  College/University Apparel IT’S BACK  Other items members would bid on The International CHRIE Contact the ICHRIE office for details for shipping.

DUCK offer a preview of what guests will experience—or of- fer the next-best-thing to visiting at all. (For instance, would you rather pay $4,000 to visit Paris in real life, or RACE $200 to take the same trip in a virtual world?) This isn’t to benefit CHRIE FutureFund™ being done on a widespread scale yet, but some major operators are offering guests the chance to experience The CHRIE at least a snippet of their travel experience—offering FutureFund™ greater piece of mind especially to those planning a Committee will be visit to a faraway destination. Others destinations, like hosting the Duck Race the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA) are al- at the Renaissance ready offering VR installations as part of their exhibits. Indian Wells Resort The travel and tourism business is a $1.2 trillion in- & Spa during the dustry. Clearly, there is incentive to invest to grow it 2018 Annual ICHRIE even more. Whether the IoT is improving the accu- Conference. racy of flight schedules, or the lure o f VR is convinc- ing someone to take their first overseas trip, there is Stay tuned for more details on how to get your racing duck! truly no end to the value tech can add to travel. They We’ll see you at the starting line! just need to be careful it doesn’t become so good that guests prefer the tech over the real thing.

February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 9 Industry News—continued

Five Unusual Travel Trends To Expect in 2018 “how to travel alone” guides, and 2018 is expected to aboutdci.com be the year many travelers take the plunge and set sail for distant shores alone. With every new year comes a barrage of new research and articles on travel trends that will define the year 2. Nuclear War ahead. Finding answers to questions like, “Where are We’re not referring to the creeping anxieties reminiscent travelers going?”, “How are they booking?” and “What of the cold war caused by tumultuous international are they doing in destination?” can be overwhelming politics. We’re talking about a dynamic shift in the to navigate and discover. However, at Development nuclear family, defined as a set of parents and their Counsellors International (DCI), one of our resolutions children. A new study from StatsCan found that 19.2% of for the new year is to help make yours easier. That’s Canadian households with children are single parents. why we’ve sifted through the data to find the top travel There are over two million single-parent families in the trends for 2018 we believe will have the biggest impact UK, and nearly 20 million in America. As family travel on your bottom line. continues to increase, it’s important to remember that family packages shouldn’t be ‘one size fits all.’ 1. Flying Solo This isn’t necessarily a NEW trend for 2018, but no Travel 3. Adventure ≠ Adrenaline Trends list would be complete without highlighting the A new study from Adventure Travel Trade Association ever-increasing confidence in solo travel. In January found that risky adrenaline activities are favored 45% 2017, Google searches for “solo travel” reached an all- less than ‘experiencing a new culture’ in the definition time high. As a result, so did the number of media outlets of adventure travel. AARP in their 2018 survey of travel writing about the topic. 2017 was a year chock-full of trends found that that 49% of Americans traveling abroad like the idea of touring with a local. In 2018 and beyond, authenticity will replace adrenaline for the International adventure travel segment. 4. Emerging and Endangered CHRIE Remote destinations like Ethiopia, Bhutan, Paraguay and Kazakhstan have experienced dramatic increases in Welcomes tourism numbers according to the World Bank. STA Travel reports increased bookings to areas like the Arctic, New New Zealand and other ‘endangered’ destinations weathering the effects of climate change. Travel to emerging and Chapters endangered destinations is expected to continue in full force in 2018, and fortunately so too, will an interest in of sustainable tourism.

5. Hedonistic Sustainability Eta Sigma How many times did you hear the phrases ‘over-tourism’ or ‘sustainable tourism’ in 2017? The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) even dubbed it Delta “The Year of Sustainable Tourism in Development.” But travelers are realizing that practicing sustainable University of Memphis tourism doesn’t have to mean making sacrifices to their itineraries. Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel, Arkansas Tech University cites an increase in traveler interest in locally-owned accommodations or homestays; hiring of local guides; If your school is interested in establishing an Eta eating at locally-sourced restaurants and taking day Sigma Delta Chapter, contact the ICHRIE office trips to visit local producers and artisans, and buying & request a free copy of the “Guidelines for their products. Travelers in 2018 will give back to the Starting an ESD Chapter.” For more information community, but not without getting a little something on ESD, visit the ICHRIE website at www.chrie.org. back in return.

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February 2018 CHRIE Communiqué 11 See you in Palm Springs, California for the 2018 ICHRIE Summer Conference!

International CHRIE 2810 North Parham Rd., Suite 230 Richmond, Virginia USA 23294

12 CHRIE Communiqué February 2018