Dr Max's hospitality industry secrets from the USA

" Those outside the hospitality industry have labeled our spending huge sums of money to recruit, hire and train virtually an entire staff every six to twelve months as 'insane' but many operators have come to accept one hundred plus percent annual turnover as normal". So says Tom Shanahan from Seattle, Washington USA in a recent article he wrote for HOTELS Magazine. It is an excellent article about thinking outside the square on hiring and retaining staff. Check it out a http://www.customerservice.com/public/Article4.asp

In this email I also wanted to share details of the latest piece of technology to come on the market in the USA. I should preface this by admitting to being a 'gadget guy' who is a sucker for these things! It's a wrist camera and was released three days ago in America. (I had to have one!). An unexpected bonus for me is that it also tells the time! It has 5 alarms, a timer and stopwatch and you can download the pictures onto your computer. WOW! At this time I have no idea whether it's any good as mine arrived at my hotel in Washington only yesterday and I wanted to share the information with you. You can check it out at http:www.casio.com If you are interested in its performance email me in several weeks and I'll happily share my experiences.

Next week I'll tell of another amazing bit of technology being used by innovative retailers in the USA to attract customers who carry personal wireless devices, such as Palm Pilots, who are 'in their area'. Until then, I wish you good luck, good life and good fun.

Max Hitchins

The Hospitality Doctor

Marketing, motivation and management magician