Hotels looking for new forms of training

September 08, 2010 |

Before two luxury hotels, the Andaz 5th Avenue in Manhattan and the Elysian Hotel in Chicago, opened their doors in recent months, both added something extra to their usual employee training practices: they hired improvisational comedy experts.

The Benjamin, an upscale business travel hotel also in New York, took a similar tack to help its staff better serve guests, offering them a series of life-coaching sessions this summer.

Other hotel brands - including Hilton Garden Inn, Aloft, Homewood Suites and SpringHill Suites - are using devices like iPods and the Sony PlayStation Portable to help with staff training.

The courses, which are offered in addition to more traditional classroom and online training, are part of an effort by hotels to distinguish their brand, said Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University.

Get the full story at The New York Times

E-Mail Newsletter


Visit our sponsors: