Cathy Cook’s Articles

When I started my management career at the Front Desk, I had no problems working side by side with my associates on the front lines taking care of our guests, and putting on a show for my audience every day! But when it came to be standing up in front of my department [...]

Attention Hotel Corporations, This Is How You Will Lose A 25+ Year I had the pleasure of working 27 years for not only the BEST hotel company in the industry but by the time I left the company it was indeed the largest in the world. I loved this company like a family [...]

5 Presentation Tips for Leaders Who Fear Speaking at Meetings or Conferences In my early years as a Front Office Manager I remember how confident I used to be at running a meeting while I sat down at the conference table with my staff all circled around me. I had my agendas all [...]

Why I STILL Pick Up The Trash In Hotel Lobbies I have worked in the hotel industry for 35 years (27 of them at Marriott International) where my mentors indoctrinated me to the philosophy of taking ownership of the physical hotel product. It became intuitive to me to be keenly aware of the [...]

Hospitality Requires Stepping Into 'Character' Like An Actor On A Stage In the hotel industry we all know how important it is to deliver hospitality, which is the key to a positive guest stay. Otherwise we are simply in the 'room rental business' and our guest rooms devolve into a commodity like a [...]

5 Easy Ways To Reduce Turnover At The Front Desk With one of my main roles at KTN being to conduct front desk hospitality training worldwide, one issue that always seems to surface is turnover at the front desk. Turnover everywhere in the hotel staff is a major challenge in tight labor markets [...]