Familiar Places

Hi folks,

I had the pleasure of taking a tour of the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto with some members of my fraternity two days ago. The hotel's name is a little long, I have to admit, but it truly was a wonderful experience walking around and getting to know the property.

I've spent some time at the company's outpost in Hong Kong, so I'm familiar with the "people culture" that the hotel's employees like to talk about all the time. We were met by Albert, the group sales manager at the property. He took us around the different meeting facilities, Quattro (the hotel's sole restaurant), and a variety of different rooms. I felt goosebumps as I walked through the hotel rooms because the patterns and setup all were very, very familiar. It was a pity that the presidential suite was occupied that day, because that really is the most interesting room in any hotel. Spent any time in housekeeping, anyone?

On a side note, I was pleased to see that the hotel has its own herb garden around back. There seems to be an increasing trend towards farm-to-table cuisine and it's great to see that Four Seasons is leaning in this direction as well.

We got a chance to meet Bjorn, the assistant director of human resources, and Joerg, the director of finance. Joerg spoke to us about a career in the finance-side of hotels, touching on everything from accounting to budgeting. He calls himself the GM's right-hand man. I found it funny that both Albert and Joerg got their interest in hospitality because their families ran restaurants.

Two things that Joerg spoke about really struck a chord in me. "Be open to new ideas," and "listen to what people have to say." Haha, simple, right? These are easy things that people nowadays find so hard to do. Let's not talk about these things from a career perspective, how about a couple of day-to-day examples? It's so tempting just to stay in your comfort zone. To eat in the same place every day. To talk to only that guy or girl who sits next to you in class.

Try this. Switch it up a little, sample an exotic cuisine, read a new book, hang out with different people. Listen carefully to what people are talking about. I find that if you ask the right questions, people will actually reveal quite a lot about themselves. That's the first step to building a good relationship. After all, being open and personable are two of the keys to success in the hospitality industry.

Thanks for checking in, and we'll see you again soon.