Continuous learning drives everyone to find a better way, every day. It?s not an expense, it?s an investment in continuous renewal. – Jack Welch , former CEO GE
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Continuous learning
Continuous learning drives everyone to find a better way, every day. It?s not an expense, it?s an investment in continuous renewal. – Jack Welch , former CEO GE
Food industry manifesto targets obesity
Portion sizes will be cut as the food giants sign a seven step manifesto to tackle the sensitive food and health debate.
Casual dining puts spin on drive-thru
Casual-dining eateries are quietly making a killing with a slightly upscale twist on one of fast food’s biggest draws: the drive-thru.
Some of the biggest names in casual dining ? including Applebee’s (APPB), Ruby Tuesday (RI) and Outback Steakhouse (OSI)? are racking up additional sales of up to 10% from offering curbside pickup to car-loving customers.
[Read more…] about Casual dining puts spin on drive-thru
McDonald's launches new sandwiches
McDonald’s UK is planning to restore its fortunes by introducing Pret A Manager-style sandwiches and Starbucks-style coffee to its menus, according to the Sunday Times. The company is currently trialling the snacks, including a New York-style pastrami sandwich and a grilled vegetable on rye, in Canada and Australia and plans to introduce them in Europe next year, along with upmarket McCafe lounges in their existing restaurants with espresso, cappuccino and latte coffee.
Mozzarella's Moment (Move Over, Tomatoes)
Obikà is Rome’s, and probably history’s, first mozzarella bar. Since it opened about five months ago, at Via dei Prefetti 26a, near the Pantheon, it has been doing a brisk business.
“People are tired of pasta and pizza,” said Andrea Corsetti, one of the owners. “Mozzarella has always been considered a poor food. But we said it should be valued. It represents Italy.”
“Now it’s become a status symbol,” he said. “Cheese is fashionable, and mozzarella is the cheese of the moment. It’s prêt-à-porter.” [Read more…] about Mozzarella's Moment (Move Over, Tomatoes)
the leader is a servant. the leader is a servant.
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
– Max De Pree
Why Discounting Doesn't Work: The Dynamics of Rising Occupancy and Falling Revenue among Competitiors
https://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/abstract/WhyDiscountingDoesntWork.pdf
by Cathy A. Enz, Ph.D., Linda Canina, Ph.D., and Mark Lomanno
Executive Summary: The long-running debate over whether hotels should discount room rates to boost financial performance becomes particularly contentious during tough economic times. The results reported in this study show that discounting relative to the competitive set does, in fact, fill a hotel, but the study also clearly shows that hotels in direct competition make more money when they maintain their price structure and do not discount to fill rooms. Data drawn from over 6,000 hotels between 2001 and 2003 show that hotels with lower prices relative to their competitive set captured market share from the competition, but did not gain higher RevPAR. Conversely, those with higher prices relative to their competitive set had lower occupancy and higher RevPAR. These results suggest a strategy of holding rates constant when competitors are discounting, or even raising prices to a small degree. By raising prices above the competition a hotel will lose occupancy but make up for that loss with higher RevPAR. By offering a lower relative price, on the other hand, a hotel will gain occupancy but its RevPAR performance will be lower than that of its competitive set.
In particular, the data analyzed over the last three years, a difficult period for the industry, show that when a given hotel discounted its room rates to a greater degree than its competitive set, the result was decreased RevPAR compared to its competition (despite increased occupancy). The dynamics between price and occupancy remain quite stable from segment to segment, but the degree to which higher relative prices produce dramatic or gradual relative drops in occupancy does vary by segment. In addition, for 2003 small relative price increases did not enhance relative RevPAR for some segments.
https://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/abstract/WhyDiscountingDoesntWork.pdf