Word: cosslett
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
That kind of hotel really annoys Andrew Cosslett. So do concierges who act as though they are always too busy booking dinner reservations for the royal family to talk to you. "If you're a frequent business traveler, the differences at the margin are the things that make a huge difference," he says. "So what happens to your bag when you arrive at a hotel tells you all you need to know about that hotel's understanding of you, right...
...Cosslett, 52, is a general among road warriors, CEO of InterContinental Hotel Group, the outfit based in Windsor, England, that is the parent for the 148 InterContinental hostelries worldwide, as well as Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Crowne Plaza and Indigo brands. And under his command IHG is invading new territory. Last year the company planted 26 more InterContinental flags, up 40%, including in Los Angeles, Red Square, Tokyo and Chengdu; Holiday Inn added 700 franchises...
...former consumer-goods executive, Cosslett has seen the industry from the customer's vantage point, which has made him a why guy since taking over IHG in 2005. He had the company look at not just how IHG operated compared with other hotel groups but also how it compared with other industries. "You have to sort of deconsolidate, strip down all the things we do in hotels and go and ask why. Why do we do that? Why do we play the Girl from Ipanema when no one in the bar is over...
...InterContinental. The concierge no longer stares down from behind a lectern but sits in a more relaxed setting at a desk. And there's a find-it-yourself information terminal nearby too. "People want concierges to be more approachable and want to be able to actually access them," says Cosslett. "So get off the damn phone. Get rid of all your clobber and stop intimidating me and make me welcome." In London the company extended the idea of engaging customers by taking the housekeeping and other support staff on tours around the city to see it as visitors...
That will let IHG invest in growth, because travel is on the verge of an unprecedented, even unstoppable boom, says Cosslett. In the West, baby boomer retirees will be heading for the airport, not the rocking chair. In the developing world, more than a billion people have been freed to travel. Chinese tourists alone will make 100 million trips annually over the next decade. The global village is here, and any company parked on its intersections is going to do fine. But in view of the coming tourism onslaught, Cosslett says, "it's a good time to see the Sistine...
| 1 |