Mr. Hogan

Diversity Issues

How to Optimize Service to International Visitors

By John Hogan, Director of Education & Cultural Diversity, Best Western

Globalization shows its' multiple faces as international investment brings new industries to some communities and others lose their industrial base when the labor cost is lower elsewhere. Both can occur almost simultaneously in the same region.

In the United States, auto manufacturing was centered in the mid-west for generations and featured only American owned and designed vehicles. The gasoline shortages in the early 1970s opened the door to the smaller, more energy efficient Japanese cars. In the 21st century, there are now German branded BMW plants in South Carolina, Japanese Honda, Nissan and Toyota plants in a number of states and the Korean Hyundai is building a state of the art facility in Alabama.

The textile industry has encountered similar transitions, except that their evolution has moved them from New England to the American Deep South to primarily an overseas market. Today, a handful of mills remains in the Carolinas but many have transitioned to Asia or Latin America.

For today's hotel operators, these changing faces mean staff must learn to address the needs of the business traveler in ways not predicted a generation ago. Understanding and embracing only domestic traditions and practices will open up the North American market to international hotel brands. The new wave of immigrants, initially from India but now expanding to China and Korea, are finding the hotel market to have strong financial potential. Their international awareness and flexibility in catering to the international traveler could give them a clear advantage in meeting the expectations of those travelers.

Perfecting the delivery of business travel service requires: Thought, Planning, Attention and Delivery.

• Thought
  Students attending universities in the United States and Canada less than a generation ago were often categorized officially as "foreign" students, with whatever implication the word meant at that time. In the following twenty years, the term "international" began to be accepted by the academic and general populations as the free market in global business took hold and the cost of doing business decreased in many segments. The erosion of the former Soviet Union as a single entity further reduced other travel roadblocks and both personal and business travel grew exponentially.
  

• Planning
  The tragic sequence of events on September 11, 2001 and their aftermath however produced many erroneous and dangerous stereotypes of both Americans and of the people of the Islamic faith, a faith shared by a significant percentage of the world's population. To challenge these stereotypes and develop accurate perceptions, the U.S. Department of State through its' Office of Public and Intergovernmental Liaison-Bureau of Public Affairs, awarded the National Council for International Visitors funding and guidelines to implement a project entitled, Diverse Traditions -- Common Ideals. The purpose of the project was to encourage interaction and mutual learning among Americans of all faiths by hosting events around the nation that allowed for the substantive discussion of basic beliefs and shared values. These discussions were designed to highlight similarities among religious traditions and the common aspirations shared by everyone, regardless of religion or culture. The project had a tremendous impact on the communities where it was implemented. It succeeded in bringing together segments of the population that had never before interacted, breaking down stereotypes and inspiring a number of positive new initiatives. Examples of their activities can be found on their web site www.nciv.org/diverse.htm(1)
  

• Attention
  The preceding illustration of a government funded initiative demonstrates an organized approach meant to bring attention to clear needs for understanding and empathy.
  
  Contrast this government funded project with one launched in April of 2005 by the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) at their spring meetings in Berlin. Phase One of The "International Worker Exchange" focused efforts to assist workers from the Tsunami-Affected areas. Sponsored by BBC World with strong industry endorsement, this initiative goes beyond financial donations for tsunami-affected destinations. It underscored one of the IH&RA's newest initiatives, the "International Worker Exchange Programme" designed to tackle the hotel and restaurant industry's drastic labour shortage in the developed countries and the over abundance of labour in developing countries, while providing an opportunity for cross-cultural exposure and training. With the tsunami disaster, the "International Worker Exchange Programme" has become the IH&RA priority program as hotel and restaurant workers in the tsunami-stricken areas found themselves instantly unemployed because of destroyed or damaged properties. As a result, the "International Worker Exchange Programme" will kick off in 2005 with a pilot project to assist some 25,000 workers in the tsunami-affected regions to travel to developed countries to work. IH&RA is in discussion with other international organisations and institutions to ensure that there is both financial and administrative support for the programme in order to overcome obstacles in obtaining visas, training and transportation. The programme will serve the industry in three major areas:

  • Firstly, it will provide income for the employee and his family back home;
    
  • Secondly, he or she will be exposed to a new culture and be trained in a new way;
    
  • Thirdly, it will permit the employers to benefit both in high demand seasons and in low labour supply areas. (2)

Delivery
Business travel can be often planned late, and the traveler may not be familiar with the destination, its' customs or special nuances.

Thinking, planning and paying attention to a proposed initiative can be viewed as very "grand", yet it is the individual hotel owner and manager that must deliver the final experience to the international visitor on a one on one basis.

Understanding cultural differences is a critical step in delivering excellence, yet it requires that very one-on-one learning of how and what to deliver by each individual staff member to each individual guest, regardless of their country of origin.

To effectively optimize service to the international visitor, look at the following list of every day circumstances that face our staff and guests. Assume the visitor knows little or only what is in a guide book.

Language

• How does one make reservations at your hotel?
• Are multiple languages spoken at your hotel by your staff? Do you know who they are and what languages they speak?
• Is your web site available in multiple languages (at least those that you serve) Is any of your print material in the room multi-lingual

Centers of Reference

• Can your staff easily provide maps and directions to area attractions? Universities? Museums? Corporate centers? Government Centers?
  
• Can your international guests find information via print or electronic media reasonably on their home country?

Greetings and other courtesies

• If you have guests from the Middle East, does your staff understand about the role of gender and power distance?
  
• If you have guests from Latin America, will your guests feel challenged by the way time is measured at checkout or for a special request to be met?

Food and Beverage preferences and means of consumption

• Your hotel may or may not have food service on site, but can your guests be directed by your staff easily to places in their comfort zone?
  
• Many of us are familiar with chopsticks, but does your staff know at least some of the differences between Korean, Japanese and Chinese customs, food and utensils?
  
• Has your staff received sensitivity training to avoid unintentionally insulting someone's preference for spicy or what has what we might consider an unusual aroma?

Tipping

• The phrase TIPS originally meant " to insure prompt service" but tipping has evolved into a standard in most western cultures
  
• Tipping on the other hand is dramatically different in South Africa and Thailand and our operations should be geared to understanding and respecting those differences if we hope to attract and keep those guests returning

Special Occasions

• Every nationality celebrates its' own holidays and our staff should be made aware of what those customs and special events might be.

Foreign Exchange

• Travelers everywhere are wary of excessive handling or exchange rates. Advising and posting your rates will reduce the hesitation of your international visitors. It will also likely give them a perspective on the type of business your organization practices

Transportation

• Less than a generation ago, the main means of transportation in China was the bicycle. Today, China is the world's largest consumer of gasoline and oil products
  
• Many Europeans prefer trains or public transportation
  
• Some people prefer to walk whenever possible
  
• Depending on your location and type of hotel, can your guests easily find their preferred means of motion?

Phone

• Like money exchange rates, many travelers everywhere have had mixed hotel telephone experiences. While cell phones are becoming more prevalent, can your guests feel comfortable about getting the assistance they may need at a fair rate?

Safety and Security

• The world continues to evolve in security related issues. Has your staff been trained in what provides "reasonable care" in our society? Do they have some idea of what is the norm in the countries of origin of your regular international visitors?
  
• In some countries, alcohol can be carried on the street and drank in public places, while in others there is a very tight control
  
• Practices on Customs, Immigration, Narcotics and other local concern should be communicated openly

Training and Education

• With few exceptions, education and training is valued around the world. The delivery of service means understanding what the guest is anticipating according to their customs and not necessarily what is taught in a Western hospitality program. Neither is "wrong", but the customer is the customer

Touches of "Home"

• Travel can be wonderful, but business travel can be stressful. Design, food or other tasteful displays of the country of origin can be extremely welcomed

Remaining fresh and current

The above list could look formidable, but there is an uncomplicated way to keep your staff informed and aware in just three steps:

• Create a calendar that addresses one of the above twelve items weekly which means that each is updated and/or reviewed four times per year.

• Assign a lead person to be responsible for each month. Rotating the responsibility means everyone learns and has the opportunity to do some research and share new found and interesting information.

• Celebrate the successes regularly of the satisfied international guests. Even when something does not go perfectly, the efforts will be evident to the guests and that will go a long way in meeting their expectations of being welcomed.

(1)Web site 2005 - National Council for International Visitors, www.nciv.org/diverse.htm

(2) Web site 2005 International Hotel & Restaurant Association click here

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy

John Hogan, MBA CHE CHA MHS is the Director of Education & Cultural Diversity for Best Western International. He serves on several industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity including the Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute, the AH&LA Multicultural Advisory Council, the AAHOA Education and eCommerce Committee and is the Best Western liaison to the NAACP and the Asian American Hotel Owners' Association with his ongoing involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program. He has published more than 200 articles & columns on the hotel industry. Mr. Hogan can be contacted at 602-957-5810 or john.hogan@bestwestern.com Extended Bio...

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