Strategic Planning, Part VII: The Hospitality Industry, Rising

Strategic Planning, Part VII:
The Hospitality Industry, Rising

The rock artist Bruce Springsteen, a longtime hero of America's bedrock working class, tells the story of an encounter that changed his life. He was stopped by a fan the day after the 9/11 terror attacks. Looking into Springsteen's eyes, the admirer had said simply, "Bruce, we need you." Though the encounter was brief Springsteen was moved: how could he make sense of a terrible tragedy, one that would define America like none other since Pearl Harbor?

The answer came the following year with the release of "The Rising", a wrenching wail that brought together Americans of all stripes, helping us see that recovery from this tragedy that deeply affected all Americans would require an "all for one, one for all" mentality, a force clearly greater than most of us had ever experienced. Our whole foundation had been shaken nearly apart. "The Rising", at once a guttural anthem, became a voice for many, the song's entreaty, "Come on up for the rising, come on up, lay your hands in mine" an unmistakable call for unity. Springsteen had accomplished what politicans could not: the song became a rallying cry for several generations of Americans.

Our current economic miasma, while not a 9/11 tragedy, is nonetheless wrenching, and requires a universal response if we are to prevail. Let's face it: We are being forced to reconsider our past ways. The hospitality industry is in trouble.

Luxury of all types seems so out of place, excessive, unnecessary -- some would say, even cruel in an age of rapidly evaporating retirement incomes. Employees assuming their big hotel chain employers would be around forever, have seen pension plans falter, their hours cut, their benefits reduced. Restaurants that served Wall Street and Main Street are either out of business or offering pre-fixe dinners at modest prices. Airlines and restaurant chains alike have declared themselves bankrupted by the spiraling crisis. Seeking clarity in this mess has been daunting, prolonged by an elusive economic bottom that keeps sliding out from under us, nearly by the day it seems.

If management teams were ever called upon to put aside individual differences for a common good, it's now. Does your crisis recovery strategy include duties for every member of your team? Is senior management communicating more often with the line? Are HR staff aware of which employees need help coping with the economic reality that is causing so much upheaval in families? Are employees now more sensitive to guest concerns? Are your products priced at levels to encourage repeat business?

So much can be done when we band together. The industry's leadership has spoken plenty to various trade publications but has been strangely quiet in the mainstream media. It's time for someone to stand up and issue a rallying cry.

Be honest and be well.

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions
Visit us at www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com