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Innovated Hotel Chain
Fairmont Hotels
- Innovation with Human Resources
- Fairmont was created in 1907 in San Francisco. (can anyone say James Brolin!!)
- Fairmont was bought by the CP hotel chain.
- Canadian Pacific needed a way to survive the chaos that was the industry in the late 80’s and 90’s.
- For CP to go global there would be a problem. When they bought the Fairmont Chain this allowed them to go global. Fairmont now has hotels in Russia, China and the UAE. The explosion in growth now are due to changes they created in the 1990’s.
- The strength of Canadian Pacific has been put into the Fairmont Chain.
How is this chain Innovative?
How about an environmental Policy. This sets the Fairmont apart from the rest of the hotels in the industry. Fairmont is on the thin edge of the market share or has a niche market. The clients of the chain were early adopters of the environmental movement. The hotel is chemical free. They have a very thorough environmental policy.
The hotels are different in Canada and the United States. They have 1000’s of employees and Human Resources are important. You need to get the right person right off the bat. They have created a specific interview that provides a good picture of the employee they want to hire. Whether that person be a front desk employee or a executive board member there is a specific interview for you. These interviews have been a success because of the lack of turnover in staff. Many of the entry level employees move up the ladder to be life long employees. The upskill benefit is more important than the short term gain of hiring the wrong person. There are hue benefits of having a stable staff.
One of the features of the Fairmont is guest name recognition. 10000 clients go through the Fairmont Winnipeg each year. 84% of the visitors will have their name said 4 times a visit. This personalizes the experience. Keeps their niche market happy.
Fairmont Fit is another innovative idea at the Fairmont. At one resort the head pro and the rep from Taylor Made. In the last 5 years Taylor made has provided for clients of the Urban hotels rental clubs of high quality. At the resorts the clubs were not as necessary.
Also at the hotels there is a deal with Adidas. They have provided running shoes and gear for people to use at the hotel. No longer do you have to bring your own kit with you. When you show up your Fairmont Kit is on your bed.
Emi provides MP3 players for all guests to use and with changeable playlists.
BMW is providing bikes for clients. Everything is about the guest. The service industry at its best.
The Fairmont has a web based microsite
The site is used to do brain storming of as the Fairmont reps like to call it Brandstorming. Ideas are put on to a website where they are seen by all. There are 5 parts to this service.
- Big Sky Thinking Take a risk, No limits, What ifs...
- Evaluate the ideas Feasibility and impact
- Segmentation Plotting out the ideas Lets get this moving... Hey we can do it.
- Authentic is it relevant to the customer of Fairmont? Does this idea have legs?
- Share your idea Creative ideas that have been used are a pillow menu and Venus Fly Traps.
It is important to have ideas to personalize the stay of the clients. You can go to the site to find solutions for interesting problems. this is more than a message board.
More local ideas
My Winnipeg Podcast that will include experiences of local employees to suggest to their guests.
Uniforms have a local aspect to them. Perhaps i the future the doormen will have voyager outfits on!!
Menus will be made with a 20 mile diet. But be of a quality that is needed for the clients.
Eco Innovations. The hotel chain gives away “waste” (shampoo, soap etc) to charities. They also give away furniture and cutlery to needy organizations.
The culture of the Fairmont is to share. They share ideas and methods to make their clients stay meaningful and brings them back again.
Educational applications you bet. Try brandstorming you ideas and see what happens.
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