Features Week: All it takes is one innovative idea to solve an “impossible” problem !

Jan 04, 10 | 1:59 am

By Bert van Walbeek

Evil Erik has been told to be more innovative and, wonder, wonder, he hates it, since he is frightened of new ideas, while in reality he should be nervous about the old ones that still control his hotel!

Whenever young executives come up with new thoughts his idea-killer regime is merciless implemented, and then Erik will "decisively " use one of these rationales :

• Normally we do ..........
• We've never done it that way
• It's not part of our job.
• We haven't the time
• We haven't the manpower.
• It's not in the budget.
• We've tried it before.
• Good idea, but our hotel is different.
• Let's form a committee.
• We can't do everything at once.

What Erik doesn't understand is that innovation will not have to be yet another, menacing  process within his hotel.

For example, Kodak and Fuji seemed for years more focused on making films than on leveraging new digital technologies that would make photography simpler and cheaper.

In our industry the mattress in hotel bedrooms was for centuries seen as an expense, but since the innovative Heavenly Bed concept was introduced by Westin, even Erik realizes that the bed is one of the most important core products.

And what about coffee?  Erik's morning shift still produces ( at 6 AM ) hundreds of liters of " black poison " and so completely fails to compete with the quality tasting coffee produced by the  " Starbucks " of this world ......

In order to catch up, Erik must realize that an adaptable company is one that captures more than its fair share of new opportunities, and should always redefine its "core business" by proactively responding to emerging customer needs, thus enhancing customer expectations in positive and modern ways.

What Erik also forgets is that his guests can be a great source for innovative ideas, often based on their experiences in other hotels.

The result: higher levels of customer loyalty and better margins.
Generating great ideas for any organization, and thus creating potential innovative value, should be simple and fun.

Reading e-hotelier on a daily basis and copying interesting article to his management team is one way, regularly brainstorming another method, but then Erik must realize that the best way to kill creativity in a team is letting the boss speak first !

Questions to start such a creative thinking process could be :

• Why are we still using the ( defensive ) reception desk ?
• Why is our coffee-shop menu the same as every where around the world ?
• Why is our in-room hotel directory so boring ?
• Why does our fruit plates consist of ( incomparable ) apples and oranges ?
• Why don't we offer pre-arrival electronic check in ?
• Why don't we offer VIP check-out, only check-in ?
• Why chocolate as our turn-down amenity ?

Regardless which method, keep it simple and keep it fun, here are three fun ideas for submitting and/or generating suggestions:

1.    Have an " Idea of the Year " competition

2.    Line a wall of the canteen with paper, post a "starter problem" to solve, and ask for written comments on this " wailing wall "

3.    Have an Idea Evening with your customers, suppliers, and vendors where they can mix with your employees and share ideas / solutions / complaints

Forward looking Senior Executives should ask continuously for any ideas that may improve the hotel's operations and marketing, and enhance the customer experience.

Too many managers in our hospitality industries learn to avoid invention and new thinking because they have been convinced that their careers depend upon not making mistakes

The practice of implementing new concepts involves making mistakes, realizations, corrections, and more mistakes, trial and error is a fundamental part of the process.

Managing and innovation does not always fit comfortably together, which is not surprising because managers are people who like order, they like forecasts to come out as planned, and are often judged on how much order they produce.

Innovation, on the other hand, is often a disorderly process since many times, perhaps most times, innovation does not turn out as planned.

As a result, there is permanently tension between managers and innovation but, what Evil Erik, and many of his colleagues don't understand, it is progress that distinguishes between a leader and a follower .......

And since Evil Erik can't out-run the future because he doesn't see it coming, and while changing his organization means changing his mind, in his hotel the breakfast coffee will continue to be served in those in-famous glass bowls that were introduced in 1910 ........

So Erik, please stop saying, like the commissioner of the USA Office of Patents in 1899 :

About the Author

Bert "Bow-Thai" van Walbeek

Bert "Bow-Thai" van Walbeek has been an Hotelier for 45 years and Marketer of Tourism for 35 years, a Motivator for 20 years, a Master of Disaster for 15 and a Lecturer for 15 years.

He is the Founder and the Managing Director of The Winning Edge, ( www.twe-winningedge.com ) a boutique consulting company, offering marketing audit, sales and service training and consultancy services mainly to the Hospitality & Tourism industries.

He is a regular speaker at Hospitality Conferences and at Hotel Companies Senior Executive Meetings both in Asia and in Europe

His entertaining and " outside of the nine dots " presentation on " Hotel General Manager, can anybody, everybody, somebody or nobody do this job ? " makes audiences laugh and cry at the same time !

He can be reached at bert@twe-winningedge.com