News Briefs

Meyer Jabara Hotels is reporting a 24.20% turnover rate through the first half of 2023. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics citing 70% to 80% turnover annually as the industry norm, this 46-year-old hotel ownership and management group is obviously doing something right. With hotel operators still feeling the sting of the “Great Resignation,” MJH is revealing its secret to employee retention success.

“Our biggest competitive advantage is what we call The Journey,” said Justin Jabara, president of Meyer Jabara Hotels. “It’s our culture and it was dreamed up with Bill Meyer, Richard Jabara and former author, consultant and speaker, Dr. James Belasco. The cornerstone of The Journey states that ‘all of us collectively are better than just one of us. We don’t just talk about it; we live It at all levels of the organization.’”

In his book “Flight of the Buffalo,” Dr. Belasco writes: “What leaders really want in the organization is a group of responsible, interdependent workers, similar to a flock of geese. I could see the geese flying in their 'V' formation, the leadership changing frequently, with different geese taking the lead. I saw every goose being responsible for getting itself to wherever the gaggle was going, changing roles whenever necessary, alternating as a leader, a follower, or a scout. And when the task changed, the geese would be responsible for changing the structure of the group to accommodate, similar to the geese that fly in a 'V' but land in waves. I could see each goose being a leader.”

It is this paradigm on which MJH has built its Journey leadership principles:

• Leaders transfer ownership for work to those who execute the work.
• Leaders create an environment for ownership where each person wants to be responsible.
• Leaders coach the development of personal capabilities.
• Leaders learn fast themselves and encourage others also to learn quickly.

Empowering Employees

Empowerment is a key theme of The Journey at Meyer Jabara Hotels. Employees are given the Power to make skilled decisions once trained, the Permission to act in the moment for the good of the guest, and the Protection that their decisions will not be chastised, knowing that further instruction may be required if questionable actions were taken.

“We don’t just say, ‘you’re empowered,’ and that’s that,” Jabara said. “Rather, we give our associates the ‘3 Ps’ to help them make decisions and act appropriately and professionally. We also spend a lot of time training on this to ensure that we never put our people in a position where they don’t have the skill or training to be successful.”

A case in point: If a guest comes to the front desk and is upset, the front-desk associates are empowered to resolve matter and do what it takes to make it right – without calling a manager. Provided the agent makes decisions (based off their training) they are not penalized if a decision backfires.

Employee engagement is also encouraged and appreciated. For instance, rather than having Corporate Director of F&B Guy Reinbold dictate all menu items at each Meyer Jabara hotel, he sits with F&B teams and asks them about local favorites, family recipes, and what has worked previously. This approach of engaging the whole F&B team is cultivating an environment that is increasing F&B Sales year over year.”

Reflecting Great Service, ‘No Stuffy Left Behind’

MJH is serious about recognizing and rewarding exemplary performers. The company’s annual executive retreat features a formal dinner honoring the Mirrors of MJ who best represent the company’s culture.

“Last year the Courtyard by Marriott North Canton’s head of housekeeping won a Mirror award after noticing that many children accidentally leave their favorite stuffed animals behind,” Jabara said. “Each time a forgotten stuffy was found, the housekeeper wrote a coloring book featuring that specific stuffed animal’s adventures at the hotel – riding down the laundry chute, eating at the breakfast bar, etc. – with illustrations drawn by a friend. Then, the housekeeper would mail the stuffed animal, book, and crayons to the child all at her own expense.

“The selfless actions taken by this valued employee is a true embodiment of our Journey culture,” Jabara said. “This is a guest service that goes above and beyond what is required of our associates, and it exemplifies the benefits of empowering our people to act for the good of our guests. We commend her for her creativity and dedication to service and are extremely proud of this initiative.” 

Numbers Don’t Lie

The latest Unifocus report shows that Meyer Jabara Hotels’ employees are the happiest they’ve ever been, with scores from its recent Associate Opinion Survey the highest on record. Jabara said he attributes this achievement to the fact that 90% of associates are trained and certified on living – or leading – The Journey.

Spearheading The Journey culture at MJH are Gail Clarke, senior vice president of human resources – a position she has held for the last 37 years – and Terri Tucker, a consultant and thought leader facilitating Dr. Belasco’s Journey Management System.

“The Journey culture creates differentiated and repeatable experiences for guests – if a service touch succeeds at one property, it likely will work at others,” Clarke said. “I have seen housekeepers put Christmas trees in guests’ rooms during the holidays and heard about GMs placing sports team hats on beds of guests who come into town to attend ballgames. Those small gestures make a BIG impact, resulting in both staff and guest loyalty.”

Tucker said she heard a newly onboarded employee describe Meyer Jabara Hotels as “the most bizarre company he ever worked for.” Inquiring why, the new hire said: “I went to my first staff meeting this week and everybody was high-fiving and hugging each other. Where I worked before, everybody was out to get each other. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s amazing!”

“It’s these heart connections that are binding people to management and each other, and it’s why they choose to stay with Meyer Jabara Hotels,” Tucker said. 

Shiji, a global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.

The integrated iOS and payment device solution simplifies guest service for hotel restaurant servers, providing them with an effortless tool to cater to their guests' needs. As a certified Apple partner, Shiji and IPORT guarantee exceptional performance and reliability. Hoteliers can choose from multiple device options, including iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and iPhone, ensuring flexibility and compatibility with their operations.

“IPORT products are built around modularity and flexibility that empower our hospitality customers to do more with the iOS platform. We are thrilled to partner with a leading iPad and iPhone cloud PMS and POS platform provider like Shiji,” said Chris Lawson, Head of Partnerships, IPORT. “We look forward to innovating with Shiji in disrupting legacy, monolithic providers who have limited the industry from harnessing the power of iOS and mobility. The future is bright, and the possibilities are endless with IPORT, iOS, and Shiji.”

"The partnership with IPORT is a significant milestone for Shiji in our commitment to provide innovative technology solutions for the hospitality industry," said Ryan King, Senior Vice President of Shiji in the Americas. "By combining our expertise with IPORT’s hardware solutions, we empower hoteliers to streamline restaurant operations and deliver exceptional guest experiences. This collaboration represents another step forward in our dedication to driving success in the Americas, and globally."

The tablet and payment device solution seamlessly integrates with multiple payment gateways, allowing hoteliers to choose the system that best suits their needs. By simplifying the payment process, it reduces operational complexities, minimizes errors, and saves valuable time and resources for hoteliers.

Steak n Shake will offer PopID Check In and PopPay on its self-ordering kiosks in select locations in the Orlando market, with plans to expand to more than 300 corporate locations. PopID Check In is an opt-in service that enables consumers to scan their face to automatically sign into their loyalty reward account and see their past orders, making the ordering process as convenient as possible. When a guest checks in with PopID, they also have the option to use PopPay to automatically complete their payment.

• 57% of respondents say enabling new payment options is a  top business driver impacting POS upgrade decisions, according to HT’s2 2023 POS Software Trends Report.

“Our partnership with PopID is a key part of our effort to provide guests with a fast and seamless ordering experience," said Keith Correia, Chief Information Officer. "When using PopID Check In, a guest does not need to use their phone or take out their wallet as part of the ordering process. They will automatically be checked in for loyalty rewards, and they can choose to make an automated payment with PopPay. A guest can even see their past orders and quickly reorder their favorite menu items. Ordering at Steak n Shake has never been easier or more convenient.”

In addition to enhancing the guest experience and improving order throughput, PopPay helps to reduce fraud and offers lower payment processing fees.

InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, announced a strategic partnership with Bodhi, a cloud-based, fully integrated, property-wide building management platform purpose-built for hotel guest rooms and amenity spaces. The new partnership integrates InnSpire’s guestroom IPTV solution with Bodhi’s advanced room control platform. This allows hoteliers to elevate the guest in-room experience, while driving ancillary revenue through the guestroom TV, providing guests with access to a host of property services such as in-room dining, spa reservations, marketplace, merchandise, experiences and gifts.

InnSpire’s award-winning IPTV in-room entertainment solution provides full TV remote control with optional smart TV connectivity for standard televisions, as well as Chrome casting and video on demand for IOS and Android devices. Additional features and capabilities available via the TV system include mobile check-in/out, room service ordering, hotel commerce, guest requests, concierge, Wi-Fi connectivity and authentication, promotions and payments.

Through the integrated GRMS (Guest Room Management System) hotel guests have the ability to control climate, lights and shades, connect to housekeeping, valet, and reservations, and use a chat bubble for hassle-free communications with property staff.

The new integration with Bodhi adds the ability to automatically trigger guestroom systems to provide the perfect welcome scene, including climate, lighting and background music when guests first enter the room. This process can be streamlined through a simple method of powering up the TVs to display a personalized video welcome message. In addition, Bodhi provides substantial energy savings via occupancy-based setbacks of climate, lights and other systems, including the ability to power down the TV when rooms are not occupied.

Through the integration with Bodhi, InnSpire clients can now add:

• Full-property integration
• Energy savings of up to 45%
• Welcome scenes
• Event scheduling
• A multi-platform dashboard
• Predictive maintenance
• Expanded OMS and device integration

“Our exciting new partnership with Bodhi allows our hotel clients to create the ultimate guestroom entertainment offering for their guests, while enjoying significant energy savings and streamlined operations,” said Martin Chevalley, InnSpire CEO. “The combined solution also enables unprecedented personalization features and cloud-based mobile convenience for both staff and guests. This helps our clients to stand out and stay ahead through the most advanced technologies.”

FLYR for Hospitality is excited to announce a new data sharing collaboration with STR, a provider of data benchmarking and competitive insights for the global hospitality industry.

Hotel revenue managers often struggle with disparate data from different sources, with no easy way to pull the data together into one place – making it difficult to inform key decisions on pricing and strategy.

Bringing together FLYR for Hospitality (formerly known as Pace Revenue) and the new STR Benchmarking software will arm customers with a single source of truth and the ability to view their hotel data and benchmarking data directly in one intuitive investigative solution. This combination will put hotel revenue managers in complete control to drive productivity and revenue. Hotels using FLYR for Hospitality and STR Benchmarking together will be able to better understand their data and make informed business decisions that provide more accurate forecasting and increased revenue.

“Being able to understand and contextualize performance data is crucial for any hospitality business,” said Jens Munch, Co-Founder and CEO, FLYR for Hospitality. “By collaborating with STR, we’re thrilled that our customers will have a single source of truth for their hotel and benchmarking data – enabling users to not only design their own dashboards in our Commercial Intelligence Suite, but also include benchmarking performance data which is essential for executive stakeholder reporting.”

“Our new market share solution was built for real-time decision making and strategic optimization,” said Sara Murias, Director, Data Operations at STR. “That makes for a fitting collaboration with FLYR for Hospitality as we give hoteliers a single source of truth to access and analyze their data and make the most informed business decisions.”

Now, all FLYR for Hospitality customers who subscribe to STR Benchmarking will be able to view their performance data directly in the FLYR Commercial Intelligence Suite for hospitality, eliminating the need for revenue managers to switch between platforms and different sources of data. Complete with Benchmarking data, hotel revenue managers can design, export and create scheduled reports from a single source of truth, unlocking actionable insights that inform smarter commercial decision-making.

Virtual Dining Concepts  LLC and Celebrity Virtual Dining  LLC  is suing Jimmy Donaldson, the YoutTuber known as MrBeast and Beast Investments, LLC.

The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York on August 7.

Last week, Donaldson and BI sued affiliates VDC and Virtual Concepts Holdings, Inc. in the Southern District of New York, claiming the virtual burger brand damaged Donaldson’s reputation by serving customers “low quality” food;  VDC said in a statement it expects to move to dismiss that case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

VDC alleges that Donaldson's and BI's actions have materially damaged the reputation of MrBeast Burger and VDC, turned away customers, and shattered hard-won relationships with vendors and suppliers, damaging the bottom lines of hundreds of restaurants across the country and around the world, and causing damages to VDC that, according to VDC's evidence and Mr. Donaldson's own estimations, are in the "nine-figure" range.

In the meantime, it is business as usual for MrBeast Burger and VDC to the greatest extent possible, and VDC looks forward to serving many more satisfied customers and continuing to help the restaurant industry.