PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Innovating and delivering on the customer experience
by Pavlo Phitidis,
2015-03-17 06:14:21.0
"THE single most important thing in the hospitality industry is the guest experience", says Paddy Brearley, veteran hotelier and MD of Legacy Hotels & Resorts. With more than 23 four-and five-star hotels and resorts under his watch, generating more than R1.8bn in annual revenue, he should know.
A guest experience includes nonnegotiable hygienic factors such as clean rooms and crisp linen, and quick check-ins and checkouts.
To distinguish the Legacy guest experience, Brearley’s managers create monthly "magic moments" that amplify the experience. It could be anything from a string duet in the lobby at dinner time to a goodnight treat of dark chocolate-coated honey-hazelnut nougat delivered in a cloth wrapper in a black ribbon. Autonomy and time management are key to Brearley’s and his team’s performance.
As a result, Legacy’s suppliers need to be carefully selected. Value and organisation are watchwords behind every supplier choice. While value is the match between quality and price, organisation is all about distribution.
An example is the courtesy vanity kits expected by guests in all the hotels and resorts. This includes soaps, shower gels, shampoos and other products. The vanity kits need to be in place every day, every time and everywhere in the Legacy facilities. Brearley and his hotel managers cannot afford to allocate management time to ensuring this.
...
THE Bespoke Amenities Company was founded by Bruce Turner after a successful 10-year track record in retailing beauty and personal care products across SA. At the time, hotel amenities were sold by a huge competitor that had supply contracts with hotel groups and sourcing from China, which translated into big volumes and a price advantage.
Yet Turner remained convinced that this player did not have what it takes to meet the changing needs of hotel groups. It did not offer seasonality; take into account varying volumes of guests; increasing competition; rising costs including energy and people costs; quick response times and the need to distinguish guest experiences by adding local flavours. To meet these requirements, Turner established a fully fledged manufacturing plant.
Besides the Legacy Group, Bespoke Amenities boasts City Lodge and others as clients and the prospects for adding another big player to their portfolio this year looks promising.
The entrepreneurial vision that Brearley and Turner share led to the growth of a South African-inspired and -built amenities company that employs 98 staff. Their determination to outperform competitors in both their domains led to a focus on the small details that distinguish their respective businesses.
Brearley pays attention to detail on the sum of the parts that make up the whole of a guest experience. Turner has established a manufacturing plant that allows him to build and deliver a part of the whole that is world class both in product and service terms.
It’s innovations like these that generate the jobs that SA so desperately needs. The risks for Brearley was believing in Turner’s three-year-old business and global vision, the understanding translated into action of Turner’s interpretation of Brearley’s vision. These were bold actions from big-vision entrepreneurs.
• Phitidis is CEO of Aurik Business Incubator, director of Aurik Enterprise Development, entrepreneurship commentator on Talk Radio 702 & 567 Cape Talk, and presenter of The Growth Engines.
Pavlo Phitidis. Picture: SUPPLIED
"THE single most important thing in the hospitality industry is the guest experience", says Paddy Brearley, veteran hotelier and MD of Legacy Hotels & Resorts. With more than 23 four-and five-star hotels and resorts under his watch, generating more than R1.8bn in annual revenue, he should know.
A guest experience includes nonnegotiable hygienic factors such as clean rooms and crisp linen, and quick check-ins and checkouts.
To distinguish the Legacy guest experience, Brearley’s managers create monthly "magic moments" that amplify the experience. It could be anything from a string duet in the lobby at dinner time to a goodnight treat of dark chocolate-coated honey-hazelnut nougat delivered in a cloth wrapper in a black ribbon. Autonomy and time management are key to Brearley’s and his team’s performance.
As a result, Legacy’s suppliers need to be carefully selected. Value and organisation are watchwords behind every supplier choice. While value is the match between quality and price, organisation is all about distribution.
An example is the courtesy vanity kits expected by guests in all the hotels and resorts. This includes soaps, shower gels, shampoos and other products. The vanity kits need to be in place every day, every time and everywhere in the Legacy facilities. Brearley and his hotel managers cannot afford to allocate management time to ensuring this.
...
THE Bespoke Amenities Company was founded by Bruce Turner after a successful 10-year track record in retailing beauty and personal care products across SA. At the time, hotel amenities were sold by a huge competitor that had supply contracts with hotel groups and sourcing from China, which translated into big volumes and a price advantage.
Yet Turner remained convinced that this player did not have what it takes to meet the changing needs of hotel groups. It did not offer seasonality; take into account varying volumes of guests; increasing competition; rising costs including energy and people costs; quick response times and the need to distinguish guest experiences by adding local flavours. To meet these requirements, Turner established a fully fledged manufacturing plant.
Besides the Legacy Group, Bespoke Amenities boasts City Lodge and others as clients and the prospects for adding another big player to their portfolio this year looks promising.
The entrepreneurial vision that Brearley and Turner share led to the growth of a South African-inspired and -built amenities company that employs 98 staff. Their determination to outperform competitors in both their domains led to a focus on the small details that distinguish their respective businesses.
Brearley pays attention to detail on the sum of the parts that make up the whole of a guest experience. Turner has established a manufacturing plant that allows him to build and deliver a part of the whole that is world class both in product and service terms.
It’s innovations like these that generate the jobs that SA so desperately needs. The risks for Brearley was believing in Turner’s three-year-old business and global vision, the understanding translated into action of Turner’s interpretation of Brearley’s vision. These were bold actions from big-vision entrepreneurs.
• Phitidis is CEO of Aurik Business Incubator, director of Aurik Enterprise Development, entrepreneurship commentator on Talk Radio 702 & 567 Cape Talk, and presenter of The Growth Engines.
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