Old-world humour helps
This week's hot tip comes from Helen Hartfield of the Penobscasset Inn in Maine, USA, who brought entertainment to her guests and higher sales to her dining room. She receives £100
AS A seaside inn, we recruit about 30 staff a year to work at our 50-room hotel. Because the work is seasonal, most of the employees are college students on vacation and because I love the "old world", I recruit about half of my work force from the UK.
They come over on a work exchange programme between UK and US colleges and they spend their summers working alongside Americans of the same age. The experience is usually very rewarding. I've been hiring young British people for 10 years and they add a novel dimension to our hotel.
Guests love the quirky differences in accent, turns of phrase and ways of doing things. Most of all they love the world-famous dry British sense of humour.
When I started recruiting UK staff in 1984, I suggested I would like to hire anyone with a penchant for music or acting. I thought that this would attract lively and sociable types and that the hotel's atmosphere would benefit. The response was terrific. I had 90 applications for just 15 positions and those I selected bore out my judgement.
Once they had started work in the kitchen, dining room or on reception, I suggested that they might like to stage impromptu performances of music or whatever they fancied in our cosy but spacious lobby.
After a slow start, almost a dozen of my British and American employees began staging regular staff shows after the dining room had closed. This involved music, singing, drama and lots of comedy. The guests lapped it up. The shows usually happened twice a week and lasted about one hour.
We received local press and regional radio coverage about the shows. Dining room business climbed by 40% on average and the staff's tips reached record levels! The atmosphere was wonderful. We were making money and having fun.
The staff shows continue every year, and although the workforce varies, there are always willing participants. It has become our prized unique selling point.
If you have an idea that has cut costs, increased revenue or made life easier than why not share it with us. We will pay £100 for all the ideas we print. Write to Hot Tips, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS.
