And the Work Begins

Preparing for the Hotel Operations Management course has reminded me that I am indeed a visual learner.

While researching hotel business models, I was constantly scribbling down notes and making graphic organizers. Unfortunately, most of them are only decipherable by me, so I have made a cleaner chart to share with all of you.

It compares the business models of the different hotels that one of our to-be instructors, Reneta McCarthy, suggested we study up on. It is probably missing some information, so if any of my fellow Hotelies would care to add to the chart, that would be great.

Hotel	Notes on Business Model
Marriott	franchise, chain manages hotels, does not own hotels
Hilton	developed idea of franchising, also does chain, owns property
Starwood	franchise, brand management, owns vacation ownership resorts & residential properties
IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group)	chain, franchise, brand management, also manages hotels owned by other groups, owns properties
Wyndham	franchise, brand management
Choice	franchise, brand management
Best Western	chain
Hyatt	franchise, owns hotels, resorts, residential, and vacation ownership properties, brand management
Accor	franchise, brand management
Carlson	franchise, brand management

*I was a bit confused by some of the hotels' websites since some of the hotels were listed as “franchise chain” while others were listed just as “franchise.” I looked up “franchise” and “chain” and found them to be different, so I’m not quite sure what a “franchise chain” is.

Fortunately, reading Isadore Sharp’s Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy, (also in preparation for the course), was simpler, mostly because the book is pretty personal even though it is about a “business philosophy.” And that makes sense, since Sharp’s business philosophy is personal.

It made me hopeful that seemingly small events in Sharp’s life, like building concrete steps incorrectly, made it into his tell-all book about his hugely successful business. Sharp does, after all, stress the importance of personal character and integrity. Sharp also takes pride in the Four Season's service; impeccable service is only possible when good personal character and integrity are present. Personal is good, but I also felt that in terms of the book's content, Sharp goes into detail a little bit too much, and covers some irrelevant topics. Including how he courted his wife Rosalie was unnecessary.

Incidentally, it was nice to read about Sharp's mention of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration graduate Yuji Odagiri, just because that's where we're going.