Martin Dishman is founder of The One Hotel collection, recently rated the world’s #1 most exclusive hotel by Forbes. (Another good story from Forbes)

In this 65-minute interview, we cover:

What inspired The One Hotel

[1:28] Why he went overseas and left the corporate scene.

[9:50] September 11, 2001 was a wake-up call. “Don’t wait until tomorrow to do what you want to do.”

[1:48] How a Thailand vacation inspired him to open The One Hotel: “Why am I not doing what I know I can do? I wanted to work for myself.”

[2:21] Why Cambodia? For starters, “Cambodia is really a unique place; people are so warm and friendly. There are a lot of misconceptions; Cambodia is on a growth trajectory.”

[5:05] How did Martin think of The One Hotel idea? “We could do two rooms, one on top of the other, but they’d be small, ordinary hotel rooms. The light bulb comes on; one room. Why can’t it be a one room hotel? I’m a hotelier; I can do this.”

[33:50] The importance of developing a unique concept: “If I hadn’t opened the One Hotel, if I’d had a three or four room hotel, I would have gotten 90% less press. But it wasn’t by design; [First] I found a place, then turned it into a one room hotel. 70% of the people we can’t get into the One Hotel can stay in Hotel B.”

Exceeding guest expectations, and “throwing the cookie cutter out the window”

[7:00] “In large hotels, there are things that are cost-prohibitive. The idea was to basically make it perfect… as perfect as you can. Everything fits together well, everything’s designed well, the finishes are fantastic.”

[13:38] On delivering exceptional guest experiences: “At the beginning, I met every guest at the airport; usually, I see them sometime after they arrive. I tell them, ‘my job is to get you here, then I turn it over to the staff.’ Cambodians, as I said, are so warm and friendly and sincere. It’s a great place to be a hospitality manager.”

[44:13] How does The One sound-proof their rooms? “We’re right in the middle of this walking street. People stop and think, ‘Oh the rooms are gonna be noisy!’ Well, I would be a really bad hotelier if I opened a hotel and had noisy rooms…”

How to define your niche

[21:52] Martin tells us about his target market: “Our guests are active; they’re engaged, engaging people. Because we don’t have a pool, we don’t get the kind of people that just lay by the pool all day. That’s not what they come to Cambodia for.”

[23:10] How does he find out what guests want? “I’m always trying out hotels, seeing what I like, what I don’t like, I like unique hotels. I think being unique is just about the best way to do it; give them something that they can’t experience anywhere else, something personalized that they’re not going to get at a chain hotel, and we really get to know the guests. We’ll go out with you and do things just for fun. It’s that kind of engagement with your customers that I think they really appreciate.”

Martin’s most essential amenities

[26:22] His #1 pet-peeve: hotels that charge for internet service. “It’s the whole ‘nickle and diming effect’ of hotels like that. And if you want to check out at 4, well that’s gonna cost you more money. At the One Hotel, if the room’s available, you can check out at 7 o’clock. There’s revenue I could be making, but to me it’s giving the guests value.”

[43:28] Another pet-peeve: “Nothing’s worse than a non-functioning hotel room.”

[28:54] Does it make for a better guest experience if you charge a little bit more for a room and give away more free amenities? “Every major hotel has a rack rate, but they never actually charge the rack rate. I don’t do that. I said, this is what my room is worth, this is what guests will find a good value.”

[30:00] The One’s amenities include airport transportation, breakfast, a fruit plate in the room when you arrive, and “more”. Martin describes how a few surprising touches and personal mementos can make a big difference in your guests’ experience.

How to successfully manage your team and collaborate with creative professionals

[14:40] “If you don’t like your job, find another line of work.”

[41:35] Martin’s team-member criteria: “I look for people who I respect for their abilities. John McDermott is a fantastic photographer. I know what I need from the hotel side, and he knows how to achieve it. John and I have got it down to a science. Also, I want to enjoy working with these people, right?”

[12:10] He’s a people person: “I’m the one that answers all of the emails and does all of the correspondence. I enjoy doing it, but I know I need to teach the staff, as well. But … I don’t want to let it go. It’s my baby. I can’t remember how many people I’ve interviewed; I’m a real people person; you have to be when you’re in this business.”

[39:40] “I’m so in tune with what we’re doing that I can manage it from a distance.” What’s his “secret weapon”?

[48:51] On setting standards and addressing problems; how does he communicate his vision and values to staff? “I care about them, so when there’s a problem that’s interfering with teamwork, or the customer service we provide, I’ve gotta solve that problem.”

[52:00] The One’s staff succession plan: “We usually take people that don’t have experience, and teach them in one position, they improve themselves, and move up to another position.”

[45:34] How to balance vision and creative freedom when working with creative professionals.

Martin’s marketing insights

[54:26] How and why the One’s opening generated good word-of-mouth: “Our only marketing budget is doing the website.”

[57:15] The One’s unique online strategy: “We don’t want to be on the big mainstream sites, listed with a bunch of other hotels in this location. We’re a niche property; we’re looking for a niche guest. We’re not a mass-market place, so I don’t wanna be on a mass-market website.”

[10:35] On being named “the most exclusive hotel in the world” by Forbes: “I was watching it when I was back home for Christmas with my mom and nephew…”

[58:09] How to tell if travel companies don’t understand your concept: “One of the local travel companies made a booking request for The One Hotel, and it came through with a request for an upgrade to a deluxe room. If they can’t sell us properly, we’re going to get guests that don’t want to be here.”

[58:52] Martin likes London-based site i-escape.com and Tablet Hotels but, “80%-90% of our bookings are direct.”

[1:01:00] When asked whether he encourages guests to write about his hotel online, Martin answers, “I think it’s a personal decision; it has to come from them. Those are going to be the genuine reviews, right?”

Here’s the conversation:

[Prefer to listen on the go? Download the mp3 recording]

Last Monday, I wrote about the one-line recipe for social media success. Today, I came across a post from Craigslist founder Craig Newmark that inspired me:

Folks, people ask me why I’m permanently committed to my job as  customer service rep at craigslist.

Also asked: why I’m not interesting in selling the company.

The deal is that my personal mission, my twist on public service, means that I gotta stay firmly part of the grassroots, the virtual street.

My permanent personal commitment to customer service helps make that happen.

Days ago, I realized that I’m not interested in selling because too much money tends to sever one’s connection to the grassroots.

Money can change you, and I resist that kind of thing.

For a company with (rumored) revenue over $100 million, that’s impressive.

Bravo, Craig!

How do you stay connected to the grassroots?

A few years back, I read quite a few personal development books by Jack Canfield and others.

Perhaps the biggest thing I took away from their teaching is the value of planning your day the night before. Watch why this is so important:

As hotel marketers, this little tip can give you the edge. Try it!

People with a lot of passion about what they do are sometimes a little odd. You may laugh at them:

But when someone is completely obsessed with what they do, they’re probably pretty good at it.

The big challenge

A common challenge I face with hotels beginning a social media program is finding that excited person to champion the whole social initiative.

And it’s really, really hard to install that passion if it’s not there.

You can give tactics, but at the end of the day, you need someone who “gets it.”

Lack of passion creates boredom….for all of us

Even if a disinterested group of people begins social networking, it’s likely to be boring.

They’ll just talk about themselves.

They won’t take time to engage their audience.

They’ll be afraid to show their personality.

Building a fanbase will be a chore. If it ever happens.

Pay attention to your organizational culture

if you’re working with a team of people who are only in their role for “a job” it’s going to be awfully difficult to sell them on innovation.

If you’re an employee in a place like that, you should probably leave. (There are plenty of hotels out there with a great culture)

If you’re the owner or manager, you need to think what changes you can make to fire up your people. It’s why Zappos offers new employees $2,000 to quit before they start.

When I open my hotel….

I’m only going to hire people who are SO EXCITED about what they do, it’s contagious.

After you decide to try something new, what do you hear?

• This might work, or
• This better work!

“This better work,” is the thinking of safety, of proven, of beyond blame. “This might work,” on the other hand, is the thinking of art, innovation and insight.  – Seth Godin

Building a culture of innovation requires you try things that might work. If they ‘better’ work, you’re up against a wall. You’re not going to try anything new.

I talk with people at a very diverse group of hotels around the world: small and large, independent and branded, budget and luxury.

What’s interesting is that I see new media marketing success stories in each of these categories.

I just hear them saying “This might work!” a lot more often.

[Photo credit: andy_c]

What we do with digital communications is so much more than experimental marketing. It’s really all about brand stewardship.

Stewardship may be defined as “The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”

And this is the position we usually find ourselves in as we manage marketing for a hotel, resort – or anything else. We are stewards of that brand, tasked with upholding and communicating the values it stands for. What does that include?

Attention

Attention to what the brand stands for. Attention to to what your guests expect of you. Attention to how those two things can come together practically.

Supervision

Supervision of your reputation. Listening to what people say – online and off. Safeguarding it from threats.

Maintenance

Taking action based on what you find. Refusing to ignore problems just because that’s easier in the short term.

Management

Providing strategic direction on how to move forward while staying true to your identity. Making sure everyone on your team understands why you do what you do: your core values.

Upkeep

Doing what is needed to maintain world-class standards. Introducing innovation to stay ahead of the game.

Are each of these roles included in your to-do list for this week?

A few days ago I had the opportunity to discuss social media for luxury hotels with Terry Kane. Terry is Director of Digital Strategy at the Jumeirah Group – which includes some of the most iconic hotels in the world, including Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Essex House in New York. Here are some excerpts from our conversation.

Is social media useful for luxury hotels? Do you know if your guests really even use it?

We know our guests use social media before, during, and after they stay with us.

Peer review sites are especially important for everyone in hospitality. We know our guests use the likes of TripAdvisor consistently across all our properties. And we’re not afraid of that. If you have a good product, you have nothing to be afraid of.

So we try to incorporate elements of social media throughout our websites. We encourage them to leave the hotel site and see what people are saying, but also to share information that they find on the site with their friends or family. It is about feeling comfortable, in your own environment and we like to ensure that we are open to this.

Read more…

Who should be on your social media team? At least one person from every department…

The ‘social media ambassador‘ may be the public face of your social media presence – but building a team with someone from each department will make participation more effective.

[Feel free to download and use the full size version from Flickr]

This illustration was planned with Michael Hraba and drawn by the talented Carlo Tolentino – our new artist. Making digital communications simple is very important to me, and we look forward to sharing more illustrations like this.

“Just let us get our website re-designed, and then we’ll think about social media”

I hear that way too often. It’s the wrong way to think.

Loic Le Meur and other new media pioneers go so far as to say you don’t need a website – social media is enough.

I don’t know if I agree with that yet. What I do agree on is that you shouldn’t delay social media participation until your website is just right.

Your website will never be perfect.

Meanwhile, your hotel is probably losing money each day. Perceptions are being formed on a constant basis.

Would you rather influence the discussion about you right now around the web – or wait until the perfect moment?

Stop thinking about generating revenue from social media for a moment. Instead, take advantage of the opportunities for feedback – it’s better than any focus group you could ever assemble.

• Use it to find out what your next promotion should be
• Use it to find out which services and amenities you should add
• Use it to find out what your web presence should look like.
• Use it to find out which loyalty rewards they value

The best ROI you’ll get in social media is from the insights you can receive.