As we end the year and begin the next, it is often positive to reflect on the year’s events and how they impacted us.

Lessons from the Field:   Lessons of Life in Auld Lang Syne

Dr. John Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS    12.28.11

I suggest you take 5 minutes and perform a simple exercise. On a plain sheet of paper, mark the following:

1.      Three major accomplishments you feel pride for this year (personal or professional)

2.      Two disappointments

3.      Three tasks or goals you did not finish this year.  Next to them, mark if you intend to complete them in the next 12 months.  If not, scratch them off.  If so, how and when.

4.      Beginning on January 1, take time EACH DAY to make it a better year for you. Log it and reflect as you go.

http://youtu.be/acxnmaVTlZA

Robert Burns - Auld Lang Syne
As sung by Dougie MacLean on the album Tribute.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now, take another moment and reflect on those who left our lives this year.  More importantly, remember the Lessons of Life they shared with you as an individual and how they changed you.

I feel the loss of three people this year.  One represented a major presence in my life and had known me longer than anyone else other than my bride and partner (Kathleen) and my sister. The other two were industry professionals that were strong proponents of continuous learning and were columnists on HospitalityEducators.com

1.        Louise Avery of Fairlee, Vermont  passed away in the summer at the age of 93. I knew Louise and her family from my 1^st hotel jobs, working at Bonnie Oaks Resort and Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee.   The Avery family meant and means a great deal to me and I have written about them before.                   Louise Avery – Ahead of Her Time   http://hoganhospitality.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/reflections-louise-avery-ahead-of-her-time-avery-vermont-inns/

In 2011, we lost two Guest Columnists to illness.  We plan to honor them with a BEST OF series in the near future.

2.    Neil Salerno, CHME, CHA for the past 15 years was known as the Hotel Marketing Coach™ as he worked with many independent and branded hotel properties in establishing and maintaining their hotel web sites, internet marketing strategies and overall technology marketing. Neil agreed in early October 2010 to share his thoughts as a guest columnist for HospitalityEducators.com with an emphasis on revenue management, and we had a number of interesting phone conversations as I began to prepare a column featuring him. Neil became hard to reach by email or phone beginning in December and I was saddened to learn he passed away in mid February of 2011.  John Hogan

His good friend and my co-author of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES, Howard Feiertag, a faculty member at the hospitality program @ Virginia Tech wrote a tribute to Neil that is posted on this site and globally in online publications.  HospitalityEducators.com will continue to post his insights in 2011 with this tribute and introduction.

3.     Harry Nobles, Founder and CEO of Nobles Hospitality Consulting       Harry was an industry veteran with AAA background.  He was Supervisor of Inspections in rating AAA-approved lodging and dining establishments throughout North America and was a direct participant in the original AAA Diamond Rating Guidelines for the hospitality industry.  Nobles Hospitality Consulting provided services and training to multinational markets, including work with the Organization of American States (OAS) . 

http://youtu.be/STqDowSbSTQ

The new years favourite "Auld Lang Syne" (auld lang syne) performed excellently on traditional Scottish bagpipes. Accompanied by some nice shots of Scotland. Enjoy!

   Success does not come by accident or chance.        

 Contact us for assistance –

 John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com or 602-799-5375  

HospitalityEducators.com was created to help hospitality businesses address problems via a training and information resource site to help you increase your Hotel's revenue, market share and profitability.  With more than 1,000 pages of tips, guides, best practices, strategies, plans, budgets, videos and resources, HospitalityEducators.com has become the #1 independent website for  hotel owners and managers.  This site can help you solve your problems now!      Read More 

Special Pricing For a Limited Time for Readers of this column
Code RFS35
Use The Reader Feedback Special for an annual membership at a cost of less than 35 cents per day!

 KEYS TO SUCCESS™  is the umbrella title for my new 2012 programs, hospitality services and columns. This year’s writings focus on a variety of topics for hotel owners, managers and professionals including both my "HOW TO" articles, HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™, Lessons from the Field™, Hotel Common Sense™ , THE P-A-R PRINCIPLE™  and Principles for Success.

Feel free to share an idea for a column at john.hogan@hospitalityeducators.com   anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And remember – we all need a regular dose of common sense.

      Dr. John Hogan,    Certified Hospitality Educator,   Certified Hotel  Administrator ,   Certified Master Hotel Supplier

      Kathleen Hogan, MBA   Publisher @ HospitalityEducators.com

John Hogan is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is CEO and Co-Founder of www.HospitalityEducators.com , which delivers focused and affordable counsel in solving specific challenges facing hospitality today.

Consulting Expertise and Research Interest

1.       Turn-around and revenue management

2.       Professional Development for the Organization and the Individual

3.       Customer Service

4.       Making Cultural Diversity Real

5.       Developing Academic Hospitality programs

6.       Medical Lodging Consulting

7.       Sales Management and training

If you need assistance in any of these areas or simply an independent review or opinion on a hospitality challenge, contact me directly for a prompt response and very personalized attention.

www.HospitalityEducators.com  is a membership site offering a wide range of information, forms, best practices and ideas designed to help individual hoteliers and hospitality businesses improve their market penetration, deliver service excellence and increase their profitability.

www.HoganHospitality.com

Your Hospitality Resource for the Hotel Owner, Innkeeper, Manager and Hospitality Industry Associations

CONTACT        John Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS

United States - Phoenix, Phone: 602-799-5375

www.hoganhospitality.com / Email: info@hoganhospitality.com