The Room Block

Can the art of hospitality be taught? According to Zana Usher, Founder and CEO of Zana DeVine Hospitality, it can, as long as you have the heart for hospitality. Zana is a hospitality expert and coach who was born into the industry and now lives to serve those who serve in it. If you manage a restaurant, hotel, or a team within one, this episode will show you how investing in a hospitality coach can be just what you need to start a positive cycle of service, satisfaction and sales. If you are an employee, let Zana’s passion for people and enthusiasm for opportunity show you what is possible when you commit your heart to hospitality.

Founder and CEO Žana Usher, originally from Berlin Germany, had the privilege of being born into a amazing hospitality family. Her father was acclaimed chef and her mother was the head of a housekeeping department at a medium sized hotel. This is where her passion and true love for the world of hospitality began and while abroad gave her the incentive to earn a bachelors in Hospitality and a masters degree in Hotel Management.

​Žana has 25 years of knowledge and expertise in the hospitality industry around the world working with stellar brand names, such as Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Fig & Olive, to name a few. Fluent in four languages, Žana is thrilled to offer services in German and English.

Žana DeVine Hospitality (formally ZD Hospitality) is a premium global training and coaching provider specializing in serving the hospitality industry. We are dedicated to equipping, inspiring and assembling excellent hospitality teams.  Founded on the principle that hospitality is about providing at all times outstanding guest service and cultivating a healthy, productive and warm work environment for its staff and managers.  At any given time, guests enter your  restaurant, hotel, casino, resort or country club, wanting to feel recognized for choosing your establishment, appreciated for being there and catered to their individual needs.  Žana will ensure your team, services and process are exceptionally healthy and ready to give your guest the superior experience they deserve!

This is The Courtesy Block, a chip off The Room Block podcast.

It's challenging to be on the opening team of a new hotel under normal circumstances; even more so under our "new normal." Mark McLaughlin, Director of Business Development at the brand new Sable at Navy Pier Chicago, and Sarah Becker, Complex Director of Sales at the also brand-new Hilton Garden Inn and Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop join me in The Room Block to chat about how their hotel sales journeys have led them to their exciting new roles as sales leaders starting from scratch. Listen in to learn about your new favorite hotel hangouts in Chicago, and to catch up with two veteran hotel sales professionals who are using their skills and passions to build new hotels, and rebuild our industry.

Mark McLaughlin is originally from the Philadelphia area with his first job out of Penn State with DoubleTree National Sales, back when DoubleTree was its own company prior to the Hilton acquisition. Most of his career has been spent in downtown Chicago with the opening of theWit Chicago, A DoubleTree by Hilton in 2009 where he spent the next 11+ years.

Mark recently joined the team of Sable at Navy Pier in February 2021 to open Chicago’s newest hotel on the horizon and Navy Pier’s first and only hotel as well as Hilton’s 100th Curio Hotel. Interestingly both theWit and Sable were designed by the award winning architect, Jackie Koo, who also designed one of Sable’s amazing outlets, Offshore Rooftop & Bar, the world’s largest rooftop bar in the Guinness Book of World Records!

Sarah Becker has been in the hospitality industry for the past 19 years; the majority of her time has been spent in the downtown Chicago market in a sales and marketing capacity. Her experience spans over 10 different brands and across all segments of sales and events. She joined Aimbridge Hospitality this past April as the Complex Director of Sales for the new Hilton Garden Inn and Canopy by Hilton Chicago Central Loop. Both Hotels are scheduled to open late this summer.

Sarah is an active member of the Chicago Chapter of the Global Business Travel Association and enjoys spending time with her family, adventuring, photography, anything DIY, traveling and the art of fundraising. In the words of Conrad Hilton, she too believes, “To accomplish big things, I am convinced you must first dream big dreams”.

It’s been so exciting getting back out into the world and seeing people live in person again, but it’s also prompted insecurities about the next step in my career and why I’m still not where I want to be! For those of you who are giving entrepreneurship a go or have ever thought about doing so, this episode may feel like a cautionary tale, or a guiding light. But no matter where you are on your journey, the most important thing to remember is to just...keep...going.

Referenced in episode:

HospitalityMD

Judi Holler

This is The Courtesy Block, a chip off The Room Block podcast.

Do you feel confident about the return to live events? Whether a hotelier, event planner, or event attendee, each of us carries some risk and responsibility as we begin to travel and meet in person once again. Join me for an exclusive first look at the successful conclusion of an actual live program, planned by Ashley Lawson, Vice President of Business Partnerships and co-owner of Achieve Incentives & Meetings, and hosted by Manuel Lara, Sales Manager at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya. Ashley and Manuel walk us through the ins and outs and the highs and lows of planning and executing a live event at this stage of the pandemic. This episode is jam-packed with valuable tips and teaches us what to anticipate and expect to ensure your event's safety and success. Demonstrating strong values of partnership and leadership, Ashley and Manuel have the same goals: to deliver an unforgettable experience for their client and help foster our industry's recovery, learning together as they go.

Ashley Lawson is the Vice President of Business Partnerships and a co-owner of Achieve Incentives & Meetings,  a meetings and travel incentive planning firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a third generation planner, and learned her ABC’s by alphabetizing flight itineraries in the family business. Ashley loves crafting meaningful travel incentives that connect and transform people in powerful ways.  This year, Ashley is focused on being a “Safe Travel Ambassador.” She is visiting a new “incentive friendly” destination each month to learn about and highlight their COVID protocols and tips on hosting events in those destinations. Her hope is that by providing education and resources to the planning community, we can be better equipped to usher in the new era of safe, engaging events. Ashley also serves as President of SITE Midwest.

Follow Ashley's adventures and learn more on Instagram at @ashleyroseontheroad and @achieve_incentives.

Manuel Lara is a Sales Manager at the 5-diamond UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya and has been working in the hospitality business for 12 years. He loves it and has learned everything he knows about hospitality from AIC Hotel Group. He especially enjoys working on the MICE segment of tourism, watching companies motivate their employees or hold meetings to improve the company's growth. It is particularly exciting when his clients' reach their goals with events held at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya!

Manuel and UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya can be found on Instagram at @manuel_lara83 and @unico2087, respectively.

 

We all know that a superior experience is what drives customer loyalty. But what does that experience look like, and how is it implemented? Today I am joined in the Courtesy Block by customer loyalty expert Robert Reitknecht, who will walk us through some of the must-haves when designing your guest experience strategy. You may be surprised to learn that before you can start earning the loyalty of your customers, you must first earn the loyalty of somebody else.

About Robert Reitknecht: A veteran customer loyalty professional and guest experience expert for over two decades, Robert has provided service-focused insights to a number of Fortune 100/500 companies. He has worked primarily in the hospitality and guest relations verticals, crafting cultures of excellence by spearheading quality standard initiatives, process improvements and hands-on training and development programs. Learn more about Robert here.

This is The Courtesy Block, a chip off The Room Block podcast.

So, what's your story?  In this episode I am joined by Regitse Rosenvinge of Room22.Agency and Isabella Owen of Owen Consulting who share their hospitality stories and marketing solutions with us. Both women specialize in helping hotels find their unique stories, as well as teach them how to infuse their stories into marketing and daily operations in an effort to attract, and retain, customers. Whether a person, a place or an object, there's a story waiting to be told and an audience waiting to hear it. If you don't know it, or know how to tell it, this episode is for you!

Regitse Rosenvinge is a passionate hospitality professional with more than 10 years of experience in the field, and founder of Room22.Agency, a content and branding agency specializing in independent hotels and restaurants. She's the Author of the e-book "Storytelling for Hotels" as well as the hotel- and hospitality blog, RegitseRosenvinge.com. This year, she was named one of the world's leading hospitality influencers.

Isabella Owen founded Owen Consulting in Frankfurt in 2017 after 15 years in leading Sales & Marketing jobs. As a specialist for the Asian market and inspiring management consultant focusing on Strategic Consulting and Sales & Marketing, she provides forward-looking incentive for hotels and businesses of all sizes. Her success lies in professionalism, passion and dedication, as well as devoutness for her work and brilliant knowledge of Sales & Marketing – most notably in the hospitality sector.

As a Taiwanese-born German, she unifies the characteristics of both worlds in her work ethic: German efficiency paired with Asian business sense and the essence of true hospitality. Her forward-thinking nature, constant search for new solutions and sure feeling for trends of the future contribute to her enthusiasm and are an expression of her loyalty.

Her motto: Everyone who takes on responsibility needs conviction, passion and enthusiasm to drive and inspire them.

Isabella Owen lives in Frankfurt, Germany with her husband and two children. She is currently advising numerous medium-sized businesses and hotels across Europe and Asia.

We're constantly inundated with a wide variety of information, and choices about where to consume it all. Do we really want more options, or to be responsible for creating yet more content? Perhaps the better question is, how important is it to form lasting connections and enhance engagement with guests, customers, attendees, or exhibitors? We already know we have too many choices, so how can we encourage them to choose our hotel, product, or event? In this episode, you'll hear some reasons why the very medium you are consuming right now can be a key contributor to this crucial choice.

This is The Courtesy Block, a chip off The Room Block podcast.

We've had so many conversations about the opportunities for diversity, equality and inclusion that exist within our industry but how many of those have resulted in actionable takeaways? Carrie Abernathy and Derrick Johnson, events industry leaders and co-hosts of the virtual talk show, Events: From Black to White, are ready to enact change. They join me in The Room Block to discuss the required evolution of the events industry, specific ideas to get us there, and why now is the time. Are you ready to change the world? Whatever your position in this industry may be, every one of has a chance to move the needle and our collective actions will make a difference.

Carrie Abernathy, CMP, CEM, CSEP, is co-Founder of the Association for Women in Events. She is currently the Lead Meeting Planner for the Industry Engagement team at Altria Group Distribution Company. Additionally, Carries runs the blog “A Woman with Drive” that ties in her love of all things golf and leadership together. For 15 years, Carrie has enjoyed working in the meetings/ events world and connecting with others.

Carrie has also served on several advisory councils and committees that include: PCMA’s Emerging Leaders Committee, Cleveland CVB Advisory Board, Team San Jose Advisory Council, Reno-Tahoe Advisory Board, Salt Lake City Advisory Council, Monterey Advisory Board, Destination Hotels Advisory Council, Green Meetings Industry Council Foundation (Chair- 2014/2015).  She has received several industry accolades and was named Collaborate Magazine's "40 under 40" industry planners to watch. She was also named Smart Meetings Magazine’s Top 50 Smart Women of 2017 and inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2019.  That year, she was named Successful Meetings Magazine’s “Top 25 Most Influential” in the meetings industry as well.  Carrie has been a finalist for the prestigious “Meeting Planner of the Year” honor for PCMA.

Carrie currently lives in Virginia with her min pin Ginger and you’ll often find her golfing or playing tennis in the summer with her nephews, and skiing in the winter.

Learn more about Carrie at awomanwithdrive.com

Derrick Johnson, DES, CMP is a skilled association executive with over 15 years of driving global business development and creative strategy. As a transformational leader, he has coached and optimized the contributions of over 30 cross-functional teams and hundreds of people, developing sustainable roadmaps for organizational growth. As a millennial with a passion for leveraging technology to navigate disruption, Derrick provides a solid, yet unique, perspective into the domain of change management and the future of associations.

Derrick serves as Director of Event Strategy and Development and Chief Diversity Officer for Talley Management Group, as an independent consultant, sits on three global association boards of directors (PCMA, LGBT MPA, and LGBA) and contributes thought leadership as a public speaker on the future of associations and businesses, continuous professional development, and the evolution of technology. In Derrick’s free time, he captains a flag football team part of the DC Gay Flag Football League.

Watch past and upcoming episodes of Events: From Black to White at crowdcast.io/eb2w

For a hotel sales and event management software company to not only survive, but thrive over the past year, it has to have a pretty unique value proposition, as well as a visionary leader. Today in The Courtesy Block I am joined by Bob Graham, CEO of Event Temple, where we talk about his journey co-founding and growing Event Temple in a sea of more established hotel management systems, and why they stood out as a success story in 2020. Listen in to find out what attributes have made a difference for Event Temple as a company and Bob as a leader, and how an entrepreneurial mindset driven by curiosity and values help to create success, happiness and opportunity for all involved.

About Bob Graham: Bob Graham, Event Temple’s CEO, is a visionary and natural leader. His mission is to help people with great character thrive so they can make a positive difference in the world. Bob is passionate about the future of hotel sales and what that's going to look like in this era of industry recovery. Bob is driven by his curiosity for life and leads his team with integrity and purpose. In his spare time you can find Bob playing the Spanish guitar, playing foosball with the team, or going on a worldly adventure.

About Event Temple: Imagine someone on your sales team won the lottery and quit today, what would you do? Would you know where to start with their leads or bookings or would you be lost? You don’t want to be caught in the dark. That’s the power of Event Temple’s award winning Sales CRM and Event Management Software. The platform was designed to keep you and your sales team all on the same page no matter where you are in the world. Built around four main pillars: ease of use, best in class integrations, industry leading support and robust reports, Event Temple is ideal for hotel groups and hotels (with or without meeting space) looking to win more business while managing the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing business, all in one platform. To learn more about Event Temple visit: https://www.eventtemple.com

This is The Courtesy Block, a chip off The Room Block podcast.

What does it take to handle two demanding jobs, especially when both jobs can require long hours, nights, weekends, and stress? There’s no way around it, being a working mother in the events and hospitality industry is tough. In this episode, I am joined by Jessica Schoefernacker, Director of Sales and Marketing from the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile, and Jen Manthei, an independent meeting & event consultant - both mothers of young children. They weigh in on the good, the bad, the highs and lows, and what exactly it takes to be able to do it all. Spoiler alert - you can’t, and that’s okay! Whether you are looking for specific strategies or simply some words of encouragement, this episode is here to help.