NZbackpack and Co-opetition – Working together can work well
Recently I have attended the NZ backpacker association (nzbackpack.com) meetings. The NZ backpack association has been around for a while but has been lying dormant for a few years until last years NZ backpack conference which had great attendance. One of the main goals of NZbackpack is to act primarily as a lobby group to organizations like TIA and Tourism NZ to make sure that the backpacking... [Read more]
Bar manager Checklists
Clearly I have a bit of a thing for checklists but they really make the hospitality world revolve easier. This simple bar checklist makes sure your bar manager is doing all the basics (and makes sure the bar staff are doing their basics) so everything functions okay. The general manager/owner just needs to come through and check the list every day or so and provide feedback to the bar manager on the... [Read more]
Bar Operations checklists – Checklists for opening and closing your bar
Just a quick post today with a sample of some of our bar checklists. Although short and simple these checklists are an essential part of every day and when they are not followed we notice things falling apart. If you have anything you think should be added leave a comment below. Bar Opening checklist (91) Bar Closing checklist (81) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Bar Operations checklists – Checklists... [Read more]
A career in backpacking – that has to be more fun than a hotel
The other day I did a talk to a group of tourism college students on Marketing and communications. This is something we are getting more involved with in Wellington, our Auckland manager Renée has been doing this for a while. The students had been to several hotels and we were thrown in to provide a bit of variety since our target market is different. The impression I got from the lectures afterwoods... [Read more]
Dig deep with fresh eyes and make sure your business is running okay
Image by Ian Hampton via Flickr I have had a very busy last week or two. Aside from my usual daily things one of the bars in our group has hit a bumpy road and has performed quite poorly all of a sudden. Ultimately this has been caused by a drop in standards. Standards in service, in cleanliness and in marketing. Now it’s not to say that I have not been keeping an eye on things. I wander... [Read more]
Is your hostel going to burn to the ground? – Fire safety in your hostel
“Is your hostel going to burn to the ground?”… scary title hey! But a recent fire in an Auckland hostel has brought the topic of fire safety to light. After all who wants to have a Childers in their property? This is just a quick post to get you thinking. Are your fire exits and stairs clear of obstructions which will prevent people getting out? Aside from being stupid it is likely... [Read more]
Best twitter client for business – Review of twitter clients
So which is the best twitter client for business? When googling around it seem hootsuite always comes out on top in the search results for the best twitter client but there are a few others on the market which have their advantages depending on your business needs. Let’s review my top three. Hootsuite Hootsuite is our preferred twitter client for Nomads at the moment simply because it... [Read more]
Wordpress SEO plugin – Review Scribe SEO plugin for wordpress
Recently we installed the new wordpress SEO plugin - Scribe SEO and I must say it is one of the best search engine optimization and copy writing tools for wordpress I have come across. When the Scribe SEO plugin is combined with tools like Zemanta you end up with a very powerful and optimized wordpress platform. Some of the features of this new tool include Analysis of keywords... [Read more]
Even the boss can engage with customers. Look at Marriott Hotels
Image via Wikipedia This morning I have been checking out the Marriott Hotel chains new website and I love it. The new site is such a break from the traditional hotel website and has integrated their social media efforts to help further engage their customers (they are tweeting, youtubing, and blogging among other things) It’s actually the blog that I wanted to talk about. The primary... [Read more]
Innovate or Die – Jack Collis – Book Review
Innovate or Die – by Jack Collis is a great read if you need fresh thought. I love reading books on innovation and thinking outside the square. The way I figure it is if i pick up one useful thing out of the book which can give me a leg up over the competition then that has to be a good thing. Jack Collis is an international speaker with a sales and marketing background from AMP. A big part... [Read more]