Happenings

Scott Smith presents the Spirit of Hospitality to industry professionals at
Pinnacle Grand Jomtien Resort & Spa.

The Spirit of Hospitality Seminar conducted at the Pinnacle Resort in Jomtien earlier this month encouraged team members to exceed guest expectations every time. “It's always a pleasure to talk to properties (managers) that are already committed to excellence and expertly managed, like the Pinnacle Resorts,” says the seminar's teacher, Scott. “I can offer them ideas that can take the pursuit of excellence to the next level.

“I like to present my seminar to the team leaders and let them take the message to the front line. Once the whole staff receives the information then we can incorporate it into your very important ‘New Employee Orientation' program, and I can work with the supervisors to incorporate the fundamentals into employee performance indicators.”

The Spirit of Hospitality is a commitment to exceeding expectations. The two hour seminar identifies six basic expectations that guests have; professional appearance, friendliness, responsiveness, flexibility, courtesy, and empathy. The Spirit of Hospitality framework originated from the American Hotel and Lodging Association and has been tailored for Thailand by Scott Michael Smith, Assumption University Graduate Studies Instructor in the Department of Tourism Management.

“I have been presenting the Spirit seminar to a wide variety of tourism organizations such as Bangkok Airways, Exotissimo Travel, and dozens of resort properties for hundreds of staff as well as thousands of university students in Thailand over the past eight years,” states Scott. “It's always great to see the audience nodding in agreement, and it's very easy to apply many of the principles discussed in the seminar to (their) personal and professional life (i.e., handling complaints).

“I smile when I think of a former student that I hadn't seen for many years approach me as I check into the property they were working,” says Scott. “The student said, ‘Ajarn Scott I remember what you told me about the Spirit of Hospitality and it really works!'”

The fundamentals of the Spirit, like guest expectations, may seem simple but from a management point of view they can be a challenge to measure and supervise. “I like to give the leaders ideas on how to manage the intangible side of guest service,” Scott said. Simple ideas like breaking the process for handling guest complaints into four steps can be quite valuable. Step One is listen without interrupting; Step Two is to empathize or apologize; Step Three is offer solutions; and Step Four is to follow-up.

Scott says, “It's really the follow-up that exceeds expectations. Everyone receives complaints and solves them, that's expected.” It is when the team members follow up with the guest that the guest says “WOW”.

Scott Smith, 41, Director of Young Sk ? l Thailand and originally from Hawaii has been presenting the Spirit of Hospitality Seminar to organizations committed to exceeding expectations since 2001. The Spirit of Hospitality Road Show, as he calls it, has been received in Phuket, Hua Hin, Bangkok , Pattaya and Chiang Rai over the past few months alone. For more information contact Scott Smith at youngskalthailand@gmail.com .

Industry professionals who complete the training pose
with instructors and their new certificates.