Next Book

My next book is going to be more of a booklet.

Early in the general manager part of my hospitality career I was told about a room inspection program by my boss, the director of operations, Kent White. This program worked extremely well.

Over the years I modified the program to a form that worked best for me. I quickly developed the reputation of having a clean hotel wherever I was managing.

The booklet I am working on is a description of that program.

It is my hope that this inspection program will help more hotels improve their service to the guests.

Stay tuned. This book should be available within the next few weeks.

Book Hit a Snag

The publishing of my book, X-cellent Guest Service, hit a little bit of a snag.

It might take a little longer then anticipated, but it will come out as soon as I can get it out.

Please be patient.

X-cellent Guest Service Coming Soon

My book, X-cellent Guest Service, is getting closer to reality.

The cover design is being worked on and it should be available in a couple of month.

Keep checking back for details as I post them.

Not Ruthy

I looked on the net for a picture of a cat that looks similar to Ruthy. None of the pictures I have of her are digital.

I did find this one:
Ruthy had more white on her face, but the hair looks about right and the breed seems to be the same. The majority of pictures I find of the Maine Coon are mostly striped, Ruthy did not have stripes.













It came from this site:
http://www.osmond-riba.org/lis/journal/2004_02_01_j_archive.htm
Riba, Thank you for posting this picture. It reminds me so much of my Ruthy.

More About Ruthy

A while back I posted about the best cat - ever. Ruthy is no longer with us, but I still miss her. I felt like sharing a little more about her.

Ruthy, the best cat - ever, was my friend for many years. She lived with me in Phoenix, moved with me to Gresham, Oregon, and moved back to Phoenix, Arizona again. She moved just fine because everywhere we went, her favorite place to sleep was always there, my lap.

Ever since I took her home from the humane society shelter, she would curl up in my lap and go to sleep. There were times I had no idea she was in the room. I would look down and there she was, in my lap, sound asleep. She was able to climb into my lap without me noticing.

At night she would sleep between my legs. Other cats I have known would jump off the bed when I started to move my legs. Knowing this I used to pull my legs up, reposition them, then slide them back down around Ruthy and go back to sleep. One night I thought this was ridiculous, going to that much trouble for a cat. I decided if she jumps off the bed she can just as easily jump back on the bed. She surprised me.

When most cats would jump off, while I moved my legs, Ruthy just stayed there and rode the waves. As I moved my legs under the covers while tuning over in my sleep, Ruthy kept her spot in the bedspread until I settled down. Then she would roll over and curl back up to go back to sleep too. Another reason she was the best cat I ever had. It was like she was a perfect match for me, as a pet.

Classmates

Recently I stopped in at the website classmates.com and took a look at those listed from my high school. It was fun looking at some current pictures of people I knew back in the early 1980's. Good old Generation X.

Today I received an e-mail from one of those classmates. It was fun to hear from her and I just finished sending her an e-mail giving her the extremely condensed version of my life since graduation.

The e-mail was longer than I expected, but it was actually a good exercise to review the successes I have had in my life.

In his book, The Success Principles, Jack Canfield recommends that you "acknowledge your positive past." He points out that we tend to remember our failures more than the successes because the failures in our past usually carry more emotions at the time. That is what programs our subconscious mind, emotions. So, the subconscious tends to keep track of the failures.

Jack Canfield suggests keeping a journal, or a list, of our successes. When things don't go quite right, we can read our list and remember the things we accomplished. Positive reinforcement works very well with our employees, it can work just as well on yourself.

Try an exercise from The Success Principles. Divide your life into three parts. List three major successes for each part of your life. From learning to ride a bike to the big promotion at work. See how good you start to feel about yourself. If you take it to the next level, expand the list to 100 successes.

I am going for the list of 100.

Still Some Toolboxes Left

My CD-ROM, Hotel Manager's Toolbox, is full of useful Excel worksheets, PDF forms, and sample letters for the hotel manager. These are things I have created throughout my career and some of my past hotels still use these tools today.

I have a few of them left.

It has been suggested that I raise the price. I will keep the price the same, for now.

Go to THIS PAGE to place your order.

Talk about a long hotel stay

I just read this article about a couple who stayed in a hotel room for 22 years. The elderly couple said it was cheaper than an old-folks home and they get looked after. The article reported that they paid $238,270 over the years. I figure that comes to about $30 a night. Obviously they are getting X-cellent Guest Service.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22402935-5005961,00.html



This reminds me of an idea I had at one time. I heard on the radio where a station made a million dollar guarantee. They said if you pay them one million dollars, they guarantee to play your song on the radio.

I thought why not do that at my hotel? Offer a $50,000 guarantee. Tell people if they want to pay the hotel $50,000 (about $136 per night) we would guarantee to have their room ready for them at any time they dropped in, for one full year.

I never did promote the idea, but I still think it might be a good gimmick. Maybe I will have the chance to try it later in my career.

Thinking of a Past Workmate

When I was FOM at the Hampton Inn I-10 West, Phoenix, I worked with Jeff who was our Sales Director.

Jeff has been on my mind recently for no specific reason. I really don't know why he popped in there. He and I had a great working relationship. The two of us ran the entire hotel at a time when we had no GM, no Executive Housekeeper, and no Maintenance. It was him and me taking care of the whole place for a couple of weeks until our home office hired a new Exec Housekeeper and Maintenance. Our new GM arrived a week or two after that.

But, for those two weeks it was just me and Jeff keeping the place running. We had the Room Attendants and Front Desk (less the full time Night Audit) staff and one breakfast hostess. The way we did it was to set up two roll-a-way beds in the meeting room and he would sleep for a few hours while I was managing the hotel, then I would sleep for a few hours while he did the manager thing. We would go to our respective homes just long enough to take a shower and change clothes.

One day it was time for me to wake him up, we were going to deliver our weekly paperwork to the home office on the other side of town. So, I woke him up and he went into the little bathroom in the meeting room and I heard him say, "Oh man, I've got sheet face." I was punchy from lack of sleep for a few days and his comment just sent me in hysterics. I laughed about that comment the rest of the day. Every time I thought about it I would laugh just as hard as I did at that moment. Jeff kept looking at me saying, "It's not that funny."

I think what made it funny to me was (1) I never heard that term before, and (2) it made me think of a description of somebody being drunk. When they are S*#% Faced.

Anyway, Jeff was on my mind lately and I wanted to post about that fun memory.

Jeff, if you happen to see this... E-mail me. Let's catch up.

Will

My Fish Story

Service is doing that which others need but are unable to do for them selves. Or it can be doing what other would rather not do for them selves. Either way, service is still doing something for another.

In the hotel industry it is the service that will separate you from the other hotels in your area as well as other hotels in the world. Could your hotel be known around the world for your service? Of course it could. Absolutely.

I mean if a small fish market in Seattle, Washington, could become world famous why not your small hotel? Last year I visited Pike’s Place Fish Market (yeah, the place where they throw the fish) even though I do not like fish. I am the only one in my family who wants to order a burger at Red Lobster. I never really had a liking for any form of seafood.

Anyway, I went to Pike’s Place specifically to see the world famous fish market and to experience the service, if only by association. I was surprised that it was smaller than I expected. All the stories made it sound so much bigger than it actually was.

Yet the stories about the kind of service they provide were no exaggeration. They really do make the customers feel great. They really do have fun in their work and that fun rubs off on the customers. They have a great time at work and the customers (and the observers) have a great time just being there.

If you have not read the book “Fish” I would recommend it. The book is fun, just like the place.

Googledom

Tonight I engaged in an activity that many people do from time to time. I Googled my name. In the past when I typed Will Maguire in to Google I found myself way down the list, toward the back 30 or 40 pages. When I would add CHA after my name I popped up sooner.

But tonight, I entered just my name and I was on the first page. Actually, I was on the first page three times.

I was not the first Will Maguire on the list, that honor fell to an article about a Robert Maguire III and whether or not he will disengage as REIT executive. The second was not me either, that was a 16 year old Will Maguire and his blog with some good natured posts by his mates. It seems he and I do share a love of good friends.

The third, the fourth, and the fifth listing on the first page was about me. The first time I popped up on the first page and I was there three times. Wow.

This first of the three was my Hospitality Service blog, the second was an article I wrote and featured on Ezinearticles.com, and the third was a reply post I made on the American Hotel & Lodging Association's forum.

This is a red letter day for me. :)

Portable Hotel

Now why didn't I think of that?

Are you going someplace that does not have a hotel? Why not bring one with you?

For a weekend rental for about $8,000 you can have an 11 room hotel arrive by 18-wheeler truck. Detach the cab and press a single button on a hand held remote control and watch a 30 minute transformer like system unfold your hotel. This system can be set up just about anyplace.

A Spanish company is making the HotelMovil. The 11 room unit sells for half a million. I wonder if somebody will buy a dozen of these and have them available for county fairs, hotel construction or remodel sites, or for almost any special event when the local hotels and motels are all sold out.

I think this is a really good idea.

Video on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c0TlpqP0RU8

My eBook is Now Available

A shortened version of my book, X-cellent Guest Service, is now available through my website, Border Land Hospitality.

This eBook contains the chapters specifically dealing with Generation X, discussing the Gen X personality, the travel trends of Gen X, and some information useful in coaching the Gen Xers working on your staff. This eBook is the result of two years research and written in simple plain language, as if I were talking directly to you.

I am sure this information can be very useful to any hotel manager or anyone in a service related industry.

Generation X is becoming the dominant demographic as the Baby Boomers are slowly fading out. This eBook provides information you should know about Gen X.

EZine Articles

An article I submitted to EZineArticles.com was accepted.
Check it out.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Whatever-It-Takes&id=682398

How to Truly Change Your World

I recently found this post by Jason Mangrum and thought it was amazing.
He gives full permission to repost it here.

This is Jason Mangrum.

I love you.

I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

Nearly 99.9% of everyone who wrote
a response to my mailing about the
Zeitgeist Movie thanked me for it,
but then asked what they could do
to help literally change the world.

If you didn’t see it yet, it’s at:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

From a logical/ego perspective, it
would seem that one person up against
a secret empire of evil controllers
hell-bent on ruling the entire world,
might just seem a bit hopeless…

In fact, you didn’t hear from me for
over a week because of this reason.

I had no clue how to fight it.

I wanted to get together a virtual
“army” of my own to somehow out-power
these forces and turn the tides…

But fear had gripped me and almost
pushed me over the edge. Yes, this
is going to be personal. And real.

The more I thought about it… the
more I researched it… the more I
felt a very real hate stir inside.

They had already won.

I completely forgot the most critical,
yet little-known secret of real change.

And that is why I’m writing to you
right now, with a 100% sure-fire
answer… yes, this will change the
world and bring peace to us all.

This alone WILL put an end to the
Illuminati, government corruption,
wars, violence, hate and crime…

And you have the ability right now
to make this global change. Yes, you.

I don’t care if you believe me, I’m
only concerned with showing you what
above all else, works every singe time.

No other method makes this promise.

In fact, no other can…

Please stay glued to every word of this
email, because you’re going to learn
something that will change you forever.

Just be open.

Are you ready?… because I’m going
to share the exact answer you’ve been
searching for inside this very email.

This is how you can fight, overcome
and win. You *can* change the world.

And here’s how…

Get the hell out of the way.

Stick with me. I’ll explain.

It is said there are 3 stages of
awakening…

1) You’re born and raised to acquire
and operate under a “victim” mentality,
where everything happens to you, or
outside of you…

2) You suddenly realize that you do
actually create your own reality and
can control it using various methods
that give you a sense of control –
but something is always missing…

3) You realize what’s missing and
make a conscious choice to align
yourself with it - thereby getting
your egotistical mind out of the way,
and you finally… surrender.

Wha?… Am I saying to just sit back
and surrender to these evil forces?

Absolutely not.

This is how you fight.

You realize the 3rd stage of awakening.

Yes, you create everything you observe
as your reality… BUT, this means that
you *MUST* take 100% total responsibility
for your creation… the good and the bad.

Most people simply are not ready for that.

This doesn’t just mean you’re responsible
for everything you do. It means you are
fully responsible for every problem you
have AND every problem you hear about!

Yes, that includes the corruption.

That’s only the *first* step.

I told you this wouldn’t be easy to swallow.

From the moment it’s on your radar, you created
it in your world. ONLY when you accept total
responsibility for creating it, can you accept
total responsibility for fixing it.

And since you’re reading these words, you
and I are sharing this experience. This is
now a personal message to you, so listen.

I didn’t “get” this, until I read Dr. Joe
Vitale’s newest book, ‘Zero Limits.’

I stayed up all night in bed reading it.

In the book, Dr. Vitale teaches a method
taught to him by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len,
a student of an ancient Hawaiian Healing
System called, “Ho’oponopono.”

Dr. Len actually healed an entire psych
ward of criminally insane patients without
ever seeing them or talking to them.

How did he do it?

He used this very system to petition the
Divine for healing for every aspect within
himself that actualized as the problems
within the patients themselves.

Here’s the biggest secret the Illuminati
hopes you never figure out on your own:

THERE IS NO “OUT THERE” REALITY.

Everything you observe outside of you is
pure illusion. It isn’t real. Even this
email you’re reading right now, is really
an external actualization of some part of
you that is manifesting as these words.

That’s right. The Illuminati. The corrupt
government. The lies. The 911 cover-up.
The lying president and all his officials.
The alphabet-soup agencies. All of it.

I realize this is more than some people
can accept. That’s ok, I’m still learning
myself, otherwise everyone would get it.

Am I going to try to sell you the book
for my own profit or financial gain?

No. But you can see their main site at:
http://www.zerolimits.info

There’s no affiliate link. That is the
official site, and I don’t get paid a
dime to send you there. But I HIGHLY
recommend you get that book. Now.

I promise all of this apparent “craziness”
will make perfect sense to you after you
read it… at least enough to USE it.

I asked The Universe/God for an answer to
how on Earth am I supposed to help fight
all this apparent evil in the world, and
even more — how do I help others too?

Last night into the wee hours of this
morning, I received my answer.

“Heal yourself.”

You see, you cannot see something you
don’t like in someone unless it’s already
within you to begin with. Otherwise, it’d
be impossible for you to recognize it.

Do not hate the Illuminati.

Love them.

Use the energy of LOVE to transmute the
world you experience from one of hate and
sorrow, pain and anguish, secrets and lies,
to one of pure, unconditional LOVE.

There’s great wisdom in those words.

You’ll understand it so much better when
you read Zero Limits. This *IS* the answer.

There is no other way.

All other ways lead to resistance and opposition.

You won’t get anywhere that way.

LOVE THEM.

You may have noticed the 4 phrases I used
at the very top of this email…

I love you.

I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I *CHALLENGE* you to take this action:

Your only “job” is to get out of the way.

In order to do that, you must eliminate
every single thought, idea or memory that
separates YOU from NOW… the present moment.

The only way to accomplish this, is to
*cleanse* yourself of every thought as
it occurs in your mind and transmute the
energy into a state of pure LOVE.

You do this by saying those 4 statements
over, and over again. Every single day.

Actually, “you” don’t transmute anything.

The ‘bigger’ you does. Call it God.

You’ve heard of “let go and let God” right?

Well… aside from any religious dogma,
this is exactly what that statement means.

Yes, you can control your reality.

But if you want to experience miracles,
let go completely and allow the Divine
to work through you. Be ONE with It.

Joe’s new book seriously has the potential
to help usher in the Age of Enlightenment.

The first step is total responsibility.

The next is to get the hell out of the way.

The final is to let go, and LOVE everything.

Then, your world changes from the inside out.

This is a superior Divine revelation for all
those who are ready to hear it. If you’re not,
then I trust you are not reading this email –
you’re probably doing something “more important.”

Well… this is how you fight.

I cannot stress it enough.

Change yourself. Love everything.

Use the 4 statements at the top of this email
as a “mantra” - say it silently to yourself
over and over again to cleanse every thought
that separates you from God and the NOW.

Only when you cleanse, cleanse, cleanse, can
you reach the Zero State, where literally no-
thing exists and everything is possible.

Yes, even World Peace.

Imagine 100, 1,000 or even 10,000+ people
who read this email saying this mantra over
and over again on a daily basis for Peace!

I’ve been doing the mantra while writing
this entire email. That’s why you can feel
the energy coming from it. Yes, it’s real.

Forward this email to everyone you know.

Everyone can make a change in their world.

I’ve already decided to align myself with
Divinity, let go and send out pure LOVE.

And I trust with every fiber of my being
that as I broadcast the energy of LOVE,
my world is now changing.

From the inside, out.

Forward this to your entire contact list.

Send it to your mailing lists.

Post it on your blog or anywhere else.

Let’s change the world!

I Love You,
Jason Mangrum, Blog at:
http://www.JasonMangrum.com

PS. Get Zero Limits from Amazon or see:
http://www.zerolimits.info

How about a Joke?

Saw a friend of mine today. He seemed to be thinner so I asked him if he was on a diet. He said that he was not on a diet but he was wearing a girdle. I had to ask why he started wearing a girdle. He told me he's been wearing it ever since his wife found it in the car.

☺

Another version of that joke is in the locker room at the gym and the friend is wearing pink panties. "I didn't know you had that kind of a fetish." He said he's been wearing them ever since his wife found them in the car.

☺

Thank You -

“Every time we remember to say ‘thank you,’ we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance

Saying ‘Thank You’ really says a great deal. Not only does it demonstrate appreciation for the particular activity it is directed toward, it also is an affirmation of faith that an unseen, or potential, activity will be successfully accomplished.

When asking a friend, relative, acquaintance, or service provider to engage in a particular activity, I don’t say ‘thank you’ until the project is complete, OR if I am absolutely positive, and have total faith, that the project will be completed.

‘Thank Yous’ are sometimes not used when they should be. Showing gratitude for an action or statement is always appreciated by the receiver. Being acknowledged for your efforts is always a nice thing. But, sadly, I don’t see very many people saying ‘thank you’ or sending formal notes of ‘thanks’ for material, spiritual, or physical involvement gifts to another person. When was the last time you received a Thank You note from a friend or business associate?

In hospitality it should be common practice to express appreciation for a guest choosing your hotel or restaurant for their visit. When the guest feels appreciation, they feel good about their choice and will want to feel good again in the future. Make sure you and everybody else at your property always say ‘Thank You’ to your guests at every opportunity.

A ‘thank you’ means you appreciate the efforts, service, or gifts you received fro another person. It also demonstrates a clear faith that an activity will (or already did) take place.

I love you.

I’m sorry.

Please, forgive me.

Thank you.

Please, Forgive Me

“How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.”
Publilius Syrus (~100 BC)

Forgiveness begins within you. You can’t be forgiving of others unless you can forgive yourself. Being able to take a problem or situation that may not turn out as well as we would like, and to put that behind you and keep moving forward is one of the biggest elements to personal healing. Once you can heal you, then you can heal your relationship with others involved. Forgiving is healing.

I often think of what people say when using the word ‘forgive.’ Many times you hear them talk about ‘forgive and forget.’ That is the main key to forgiveness, in my opinion, to actually forget about it. This mean to never let it bother you again, never bring the subject up in future conversations, to move forward in a manner that does not dredge up the forgiven matter. I think the forget part of forgiving is the part that releases negative emotions and actually heals the spirit.

If you truly forgive, then you need to forget. Do this for yourself before you can effectively do it for others.

In Ho’oponopono the ‘please, for give me’ is a statement directed to yourself. This allows you to forgive yourself, opening up your memories for the Divine to transmute them and giving you the ability to live on with that memory forgotten. Once forgotten your mind is at zero. Your body, and emotions, will not be affected by that memory any longer.

To forgive means also to forget.

I love you.

I’m sorry.

Please, forgive me…

I'm sorry -

“The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.”

Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC)

To say “I’m sorry” is to begin healing. What ever the situation, no matter who is at fault, the fact you are aware it the problem means that you have a responsibility. You need to make things right. A simple apology can make the difference when dealing with an upset guest or any unpleasant situation.

When I worked for Promus (later bought by Hilton Hotels) they taught us to use the service LEAP with angry guests. L- Listen, E- Empathize, A- Apologize, P- Problem solve. They told us that when you apologize you are not accepting blame; you are not saying it is your personal fault, but you are taking responsibility for the problem and you are sorry that it happened in the first place.

Saying that you are sorry and taking responsibility will let the guest know that you care about them, about your hotel, about your service and about yourself. It shows pride in your abilities and your determination to fix it. As another phrase we hear in training says “Don’t fight, make it right.”

So, take responsibility for everything that comes to your attention, the fact you are aware of it automatically makes it your responsibility. Feel the remorse or repentance, say you are sorry this thing has happened then you begin to make it right. Often no further action is required. Just feel it, say it (mostly to yourself). Let that energy flow and watch how your world changes.

I love you.

I’m sorry…

I Love You -

To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.
Karen Sunde, playwright and screenwriter

I am learning, or re-learning, just how powerful love can be. Just to express love can change everything around you. Love can take a tense situation and make it pleasant, love can turn things from bad to good. And, love can heal many pains.

The book by Joe Vitale, ‘zero limits,’ says that saying “I love you” will make the connection between you and the Divine. That connection alone can help make you feel better; it can change things dramatically around you. I am saying this phrase more and more every day. In my mind I repeat “I love you” as I go for my daily walks, as I browse and search the internet, as I write in my blog, as I prepare dinner, as I read. I am finding so many things improving because of it.

You should try this. If you work in the service industries you will come across a customer (or a guest, for hospitality) that is a bit unhappy with a certain situation. The next time you are facing an upset customer or guest, just repeat in your mind “I love you.” It won’t hurt anything, you don’t need to say it out loud (unless you think it will help), and you will be the only person who knows you are doing it. Just try it. See what happens within you and see what happens in the situation. I know everything will be better.

Let me know what happens.