ARTICLE Max Hitchins What flying teaches about running a hotel Because of the untimely death of our father, my brother and I, as teenagers, were pitchforked into running a hotel in the NSW country town of Moree. Our Dad, worked his way up through small leasehold hotels. Then he bought a freehold in his beloved hometown of Moree. Dad, who was just 52 years old, had borrowed heavily to buy the hotel. He certainly had no plans on dying. And it wasn’t fair that he should die so young. But cancer doesn’t play fair! Three weeks after Dad died the Bank Manager (who looked like Alfred Hitchcock) called us into his Office and, looking at us over his glasses, said “We are going to have call up your loan. You are too highly geared.” The only good thing about this was we had no idea what that meant! We just knew we were in some kind of trouble. Some day I hope we meet and I can share the whole story with you. But, for now, I will shorten the narrative by telling we managed, to trade out of trouble. As well, we strarta-titled the building and in doing so quadrupled the value of the property. Some time after, I leaned to fly a plane. The more I think about flying the more I realise how several lessons from flying are so applicable to running a hotel...and many other hospitality industry related businesses. Here are the lessons: Proper preparation prevents poor performance for pilots A few years ago three pals and myself flew a light aircraft around the coastline of Australia. It took two years to plan what became an awesome journey. ‘Proper Preparation’ required me to research: The best time of the year to do do the trip; Suitable airstrips around Australia; Suitable places to refuel the plane - preferably with ‘bowser’ fuel as against drum fuel; Locate emergency airstrips in case of engine failure; Carrying sufficient water in case we crash landed and Medical supplies and knowledge in case of an emergency. Absolutely nothing went wrong. I find this usually happens when you do the ‘Proper Preparation’. Think ahead of your airplane The most dangerous part of flying is when taking off and landing. At this time aeroplanes are ‘out of their comfort zones’. They are designed to fly…not to be driving alone the ground. Hence it is important to be thinking about what is ahead of you. It is vital to be always checking: Weather reports; Full fuel tanks; Distance to travel; Headwinds and tailwinds; Airspeed; Direction of the runway you are approaching and weather at destination.
It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were down here. Accidents, injuries and deaths in flying light aircrafts usually come from setting dangerous deadlines…often trying to ‘beat’ the weather. Ex Prime Minister Turnbull’s father was killed in a light aeroplane accident. He was a hotel broker in the Hunter Valley in NSW. His firm had sold a hotel on the North Coast of New South Wales. They planned on flying to the destination to save time. But the weather on the day they crashed was very questionable. The pilot did not have enough experience to fly through the heavy clouds sitting on top of the Great Dividing Range. Their plane spiralled out of control after losing a wing and crashed in the town of Gloucester. Three people killed.
When you do a strategic planning for 2020 I hope these ideas help.
By line: Max Hitchins is an hotelier, author and professional speaker. He is known around the world as the Hospitality Doctor. He has twice presented at the world’s largest hospitality convention held annually in Chicago. More info: HospitalityDoctor.com.au
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Yours sincerely
Max Hitchins The Hospitality and Memory Doctor Author - How To Develop A Memory Like An Elephant www.HospitalityDoctor.com
PS. My Dad used to say “Showing is better than telling.” Hence I invite to to click on link below to check out ‘live memory testing' by Channels 7 & 9 on Australian Television. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1cdy9X-1fk
Voted #1 in the World's first 'Top 30 Hospitality Gurus' list.
February 2020 www.tha.asn.au
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