What's Behind The Smiles

ou and me) has come back to haunt them.

I'm reminded of a quote from the French playwright Moliere "There's no praise to beat the sort you can put in your pocket."

Let's reflect as we prepare and finalize next year's budget. Will your compensation philosophy acknowledge the changing realities and capitalize on the opportunity available? If your property made little or no profit this past year how much of your labor budget can you really cut without further degrading service? If your property made a decent profit, will any of that profit find its way to your front-line staff next year? Why not? If your property made a significant profit in 2006 why isn't an above average portion of that profit being returned to those that created it?

My worst fear is that nothing will change – that budgeted monies will go to necessary infrastructure improvements, some to accommodate ever-increasing amenity creep, and only just enough to meet brand-mandated employee training programs. The direct connection between quality, well-trained, respected, satisfied and loyal employees - and higher profits - will be quickly forgotten. The bean-counter mentality will return. The big picture will be ignored, once again.

Hoteliers need only look into the mirror to find the reason for massive governmental wage intervention. This industry, and others like it, has not enjoyed the most favorable public reputation. How many young adults, perhaps your own children, dream aloud of a career in hospitality? Given a choice would you encourage your son or daughter to aspire to become a hotel general manager? A recent Business Week profile of best places to launch a college graduate's career failed to list any hotel-industry employer. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Very few hotel companies have made any "best" lists - ever. If this list had been expanded to 100 employers would any hotel company be on the list? I'm hopeful - but not optimistic.

The hotel industry can't hide behind the cute advertising smiles any longer. The public and most lawmakers have noticed. There's decay aplenty. It was, sadly, inevitable – but also preventable. For too long, too many hoteliers have ignored their social responsibility. As Madame Marie Curie said "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us… share(s) a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." To be specific – our smiling employees.