Scott Smith presents the Spirit of Hospitality to
industry professionals
at Pinnacle Grand Jomtien Resort & Spa.
The Spirit of Hospitality Seminar conducted at the
Pinnacle Resort in Jomtien earlier this month encouraged team members to
exceed guest expectations every time. “It’s always a pleasure to talk to
properties (managers) that are already committed to excellence and
expertly managed, like the Pinnacle Resorts,” says the seminar’s
teacher, Scott. “I can offer them ideas that can take the pursuit of
excellence to the next level.
“I like to present my seminar to the team leaders and
let them take the message to the front line. Once the whole staff
receives the information then we can incorporate it into your very
important ‘New Employee Orientation’ program, and I can work with the
supervisors to incorporate the fundamentals into employee performance
indicators.”
The Spirit of Hospitality is a commitment to
exceeding expectations. The two hour seminar identifies six basic
expectations that guests have; professional appearance, friendliness,
responsiveness, flexibility, courtesy, and empathy. The Spirit of
Hospitality framework originated from the American Hotel and Lodging
Association and has been tailored for Thailand by Scott Michael Smith,
Assumption University Graduate Studies Instructor in the Department of
Tourism Management.
“I have been presenting the Spirit seminar to a wide
variety of tourism organizations such as Bangkok Airways, Exotissimo
Travel, and dozens of resort properties for hundreds of staff as well as
thousands of university students in Thailand over the past eight years,”
states Scott. “It’s always great to see the audience nodding in
agreement, and it’s very easy to apply many of the principles discussed
in the seminar to (their) personal and professional life (i.e., handling
complaints).
“I smile when I think of a former student that I
hadn’t seen for many years approach me as I check into the property they
were working,” says Scott. “The student said, ‘Ajarn Scott I remember
what you told me about the Spirit of Hospitality and it really works!’”
The fundamentals of the Spirit, like guest
expectations, may seem simple but from a management point of view they
can be a challenge to measure and supervise. “I like to give the leaders
ideas on how to manage the intangible side of guest service,” Scott
said. Simple ideas like breaking the process for handling guest
complaints into four steps can be quite valuable. Step One is listen
without interrupting; Step Two is to empathize or apologize; Step Three
is offer solutions; and Step Four is to follow-up.
Scott says, “It’s really the follow-up that exceeds
expectations. Everyone receives complaints and solves them, that’s
expected.” It is when the team members follow up with the guest that the
guest says “WOW”.
Scott Smith, 41, Director of Young Skๅl Thailand and
originally from Hawaii has been presenting the Spirit of Hospitality
Seminar to organizations committed to exceeding expectations since 2001.
The Spirit of Hospitality Road Show, as he calls it, has been received
in Phuket, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Rai over the past few
months alone. For more information contact Scott Smith at
[email protected].
Industry professionals who complete the training pose
with instructors and their new certificates.
