General Information What is The Hospitality Foundation Program? Before we welcome your restaurant into the system as a potential Place of Hospitality, the key leaders of the company must first complete the Hospitality Foundation Program, a week-long introduction to the intangible "secret ingredient" that makes the difference between A Place of Hospitality and just a well-run restaurant. The Foundation Program is designed to help you gain a fresh perspective on the human side of the hospitality equation. It teaches skills and principles that will allow you to eliminate chronic stress and create a closer connection with the others in your life. It helps you understand what makes people tick in a way that lets you quickly see to the heart of every interpersonal issue you face. The Foundation Program will help you create and sustain an organization that functions effortlessly and requires less of your personal time; one that also enjoys high staff morale, increased productivity, low turnover and a genuine sense of guest service. In other words, this is the foundation of understanding that will set you apart from the competition and allow you to truly become A Place of Hospitality. The Foundation Program is very different from anything you ever attended before in that it does not teach content. You learn how the system works, of course, but the primary purpose of the Hospitality Foundation Program is to introduce Principles that will lead you to individual insights -- those "Aha" moments that result in lasting personal change. Leaders are always looking for ways to increase employee productivity and the quality of the guest experience. Most have found approaches like motivational speakers, behavior modification, team-building, rewards/consequences, and values training produce results that are short-lived, leaving leaders still in search of the illusive "silver bullet." Those leaders who do gain lasting value from some traditional programs do so for reasons that seem puzzling or mysterious. The "mysterious" variable in human performance is the level of mental well-being. It's mental toughness, mental health, and "getting your mind right." We call this variable "state of mind" -- the quality of thinking that is available to someone at any given moment. In organizations, we call the collective states of mind the "climate" or the "tone." When you permanently improve your level of performance -- whether from a book, tape, program or personal insight -- it is the result of a shift in your state of mind. When an insight leads to that shift, you immediately have a wiser view of virtually every business situation and personal interaction you encounter. You instinctively know what to do ... and it works. For example, you may know that trusting your staff will build better working relationships, but you cannot trust people as a technique. True change takes a shift of perspective, not just an intellectual grasp of the concept. You will trust people naturally when you truly see them as worthy of your trust. The Hospitality Foundation Program will not load you down with more things to remember. Rather, it is about fundamentally changing the way you see your business, your staff, your relationships ... and ultimately, your life. In fact, you will realize how to accomplish everything you want ... and more ... without the need for any clever "management techniques." It is an elegantly simple solution to a previously "unsolvable" problem. The shift that occurs when the simple power of these notions really hits home for the first time is the most critical element in creating a positive work climate that draws patrons and top workers. The organizational climate determines how long your staff will stay with you, how productive they will be while they are there, what level of hospitality they will deliver, how much (or little) trouble they will be, how much of a magnet you will be for current and future customers ... and on and on ... Our vision is to awaken a realization of how you can make the "feeling" of your restaurant a positive (and profitable) point of difference in the market. Then What? If the Hospitality Foundation Program does not leave you with a fresh understanding of how you could actually become A Place of Hospitality -- if you don't "get it" -- there is no point in continuing our relationship. You are not likely to achieve the end result. However, most participants come away with an exciting sense that the picture we present is suddenly possible, even if they don't always have a clear understanding of how to go about achieving it. A Place of Hospitality will give you a track to run on and assist you to realize your dreams faster than you ever imagined. We know that the nine functional areas of the program are far too many balls for one person to juggle. We also know the shadow of the leader sets the tone for the rest of the operation and that lack of time and conflicting priorities contribute to stress and can lead to a dysfunctional organization. These factors cause many owners to burn out and throw in the towel ... and for those reasons we will not let an owner or GM go it alone. Once the owner(s) commit(s) to becoming A Place of Hospitality, the next step is to select a cadre to coordinate the functional areas of the program. In a smaller operation one person might take responsibility for more than one area but there must be at least three key staffers involved to assure success. This forced delegation is as close as we come to telling you how to run your business, but it is a necessary step. Being certified as A Place of Hospitality is all about the results. We will not support any behavior that is likely to perpetuate overload. Burnout is definitely incompatible with hospitality. Each Coordinator will receive more detailed training followed by step-by-step implementation processes for their area(s) of responsibility. This helps assure that all the details are being handled and frees the owner to focus on the care and feeding of the business environment. (NOTE: Because the Ohio graduates will be the first group to participate in this new program ... and because the full system as I envision it will be quite extensive ... we will first deal with Fiscal Fitness, Seamless Service, Leadership and Community Connection. The other pieces will follow shortly thereafter. This will make the start-up process less confusing (for both of us!) ... and allow us to apply your early feedback to refine the remaining elements of the system). When? The Hospitality Foundation Program will start at 9:00am on Monday, April 12th and finish at noon on Friday, April 16th. Rather than racing back to the restaurant, I encourage you to stay an extra day or two in Granville. You will benefit greatly from having some quiet time to reflect on the insights you gained during the week. In any event, do not book a return flight before 3:00pm on Friday. If you fail to complete the entire program we will not be able to move ahead together. Your time and investment will have been for naught. Where?  We will meet at The Granville Inn, a delightfully tranquil historic inn complex located under the trees on the
main street of Granville, Ohio, about a 30-minute drive east of Columbus, Ohio. Granville is straight out of
Norman Rockwell, with the wide streets, big trees and a college on the hill. The pace is relaxed and the
distractions minimal ... and that is the reason we chose this property. Best of all, I talked the owners into
a rate of just $89 a night for our group! To get that rate, be sure to mention "A Place of Hospitality" when
you make your reservation.One More Thing: The purpose of the Foundation Program is to quiet your racing mind and allow your understanding to shift in a more productive direction. That shift is what will ultimately make it possible for you to stand out clearly in the market and realize the promise of A Place of Hospitality. In my experience, you may find it harder to "shift gears" if you have to fight traffic twice a day ... plus, separating from the group is more likely to keep you stuck in old ways of thinking ... and that will definitely be counter-productive. For that reason, we highly recommend that you stay at Granville Inn during the program and not commute in from elsewhere. Who Should Attend? Any meaningful change must start at the top, so the owner(s) of the business -- the folks who write the checks -- MUST attend the Hospitality Foundation Program. In addition, we recommend that you include the GM and any other key managers who have a material impact on how the restaurant runs. What About Tuition? When A Place of Hospitality (APOH)is fully implemented, the tuition for the five-day Hospitality Foundation Program will likely be $5000 for the owner and $2500 for additional key leaders. However, because we are asking this group to help us fine-tune the system, tuition for the November program is just $2950/$1450. To help manage your cash flow, tuition is payable over four months. Based on what we see as this first group proceeds, we will tweak the system as necessary. Assuming no major modifications are needed, I expect to schedule the second Foundation Program in the summer, certainly by fall. Since the system itself will be farther along at that point, expect tuition to be proportionately higher. If it appears that we have reached a meeting of the minds after our week together, we will begin our work and there will be an ongoing monthly fee for participation -- an investment that I fully expect will be offset by reduced costs and increased sales volume. In fact, I would be willing to bet that you will make back more than the tuition within two months ... and not really know what you did differently. I appreciate the front-end investment we ask you to make, but it will clearly identify those who are serious about transforming their operations. Should you elect to move forward to become certified as A Place of Hospitality, in exchange for the inital commitment, we promise to keep monthly maintenance costs as low as possible and not continually pitch you to buy more "stuff." My hope is that we can actually reduce fees as the group size increases. Participating in the APOH system itself is your choice to make, but at the completion of the Foundation Program, you will understand the incredible potential of putting this understanding to work in your business ... and the value of having a system to help you do it. For now, understand that you are under no obligation to continue past the Foundation Program. I will have more details for you in Granville. OK, What Now? If you have the courage to step off into the unknown with us, register your team for the Hospitality Foundation Program in April, then make your reservations at the Granville Inn (888-472-6855). Mention A Place of Hospitality to get the discounted rate. I fully expect this note will raise as many questions as it answers but I have already written more than I intended and there is no way to anticipate every question you may have. So send me an e-mail with your queries. I will give you an immediate answer and start assembling a FAQ page for the website. Speaking of the website, it would be worthwhile to review the information on the site to refresh your understanding of what A Place of Hospitality is intended to bring to the world ... and why you would be wise to be part of it sooner rather than later. Thanks again for being part of this adventure.  Bill Marvin The Restaurant Doctor 800-767-1055 PS: Just a heads-up -- the size of this program is limited to a group of 12-15. Of necessity, that means that once the available spots are filled, we will start a waiting list. If nothing opens up, we will refund any payments made and give you priority position on the next Foundation Program. | ||
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