September 22, 2006
How do you possibility satisfy 28 family members & some not so immediate family members from the ages of 4 to 88? For starters you select the best box office chateau in Paris "Château Villettet"" as seen in the Da Vinci Code film, & experience royalty.
I had the honor of traveling with mostly all my relatives this last June with the purpose of the trip to visit the D Day Museum & the coast of Normandy where my father was stationed during WW II. Of course, my dad, Frank Lembi, created this memorable vacation to take place when he allowed his fingers to do the walking in a local SF fancy neighbor news paper Nob Hill Gazette where he discovered the Chateau Villette. >From the chef, to the staff to the accommodations, to the grounds, are summer vacation of 2006 was a memory to be cherished.
Being in the hospitality business I watch staff members closely, & at Chateau Villette everyone really made us feel like we were the special ones ALWAYS! It was not just the food that the chef Damien Noble prepared, but the genuine smiling & warm faces of the staff that truly made a difference to European hospitality. Now my 15 yr. old daughter wants to return for her future wedding reception. Oh, what a seed her grandfather planted.
For me who adores fashions & buying the latest trends & the coolest antiques, this trip brought such special places in my heart for the genuine togetherness of a complete family, even the bickering, the love, the jokes, the raids etc. demonstrated what a family is in this fast pass society. Oh, don't get me wrong, most of us were on our lap tops, our Blackberries, our cells, but when it came time to family values, lessons to be learned, & the meaning of family travel we shared, we laughed, we fought, & we even had some food fights. That is what great hospitality offers for young & old, near & far. Home Sweet Home!
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
September 4, 2006
Hotels open so many doors. Think about it. Not only do the guest room doors open to accommodate my very special guests who
select Personality Hotels, but doors in life open up. The wedding honeymoon, the get-a-away in a new relationship, the weekend
trip so desperately needed by parents taking a break from their kids, the rendezvous a.k.a. the affair, the girls get-a-way, the bachelor
party, the urgent "need a place to stay" due to an in emergency, the business "home away from home" destination and many more.
What I love most about my job & the industry is the relationships that build from the doors that open. Hospitality will never be a thing
of the past it is getting more sophisticated and friendlier. I know I can vouch for that with PH's. Come & see for yourself...
Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3? You choose.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
August 5, 2006
Two heads are better than one, don't you agree?
Would you even imagine how much work is behind the scenes of marketing in the hotel business? Right now on a Saturday afternoon, while the kid's are baking cookies with melted Godiva chocolates (from another hotel package we created... V.I.P. Hook Up) Queen Diva had this idea to create this recipe with Godiva's gone wrong. Can you imagine her in a checkered apron?
Our minds never stop thinking, creating, & recreating. Of course our goal is to be the cutting edge of the boutique hotel marketing industry & to know what our guests want even before they know. So we are even celebrating the holidays right now in the heat of the summer. Ho! Ho! Ho!
So just make it easier on us, & call our 800-553-1900 or book on line @
www.personalityhotels.com & then we don't have to work so hard.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
August 4, 2006
What does it take to get the phone answered correctly? When we were kids our
parents would tell us, "Don't say yah, say YES" "Don't say can I help you,
say MAY I help you" OK, so we have had this drilled into our heads for
years, and then you go into the real world of work, & suddenly the phone
rings. Oh my! And to top it off, the phone is ringing in the reservations
department of the hotel company... Personality Hotels.
Now the drilling is coming from me because on the other end of line is my children a.k.a. my customers, my guests, my business, my passion.
The phone etiquette now is not just about "YES & MAY" it is about engaging with the guest, asking them for their name in the beginning of the conversation,
finding out exactly what they are shopping for in a boutique hotel, AND closing the sale with an up sell
that the guest is so excited about.
Now, am I asking too much? I know your parents would be proud.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
July 18, 2006
Have you wondered where I have been for so long? I just returned form Chateau Villette in France as seen in the Da Vinci Code.
I am not sure who had more viewers, the film or the my "BIG Italian famiglia" (wasn't that a movie too, but Greek?).
We traveled with 28 of us. All was an experience not to be forgotten, & most everything was a memorable experience,
especially The Chateau & the warm hospitality from the French. I found one thing apparent. Here in America we are an
instant-gratification driven society: drive thrus, quick tans cell phones, instant pudding, toast your breakfast...
the most important meal of the day! etc. Our society is so much more fast-paced; evident especially at restaurants when
they give you your check before you've even finished eating. In most of Europe, and France especially, eating out is time savored.
People spend hours sitting with friends and loved ones, eating, talking, and drinking wine. You have to ask for the check, and
even then it is a slow process. At first I found myself questioning the quality of service, but as I realized that it was beyond service,
but the very nature of their culture, I let myself immerse in it: replaced the e-mail with wine and cell phone with good company.
So if you can't make it to France this summer, pop open a bottle of vino, and spend the evening with close friends and family.
You will be amazed at the result!
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
May 25, 2006
A funny thing happened on the way into the office the other day.
While passing through one of Personality Hotel's lobby, I listened to a guest complain about the street noise.
Now how do I make this one right? There are just certain things us hotel operators have no control of. Even double
paned windows do not do the trick. So what did I do? I said hello! Introduced myself & just gave up my agenda for
that moment for them. I listened. That is the importance of hospitality... listening for so many reasons. This is the real
training ground, the pulse, the energy, the love of the business.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
May 9, 2006
All the good reasons to Blog.
Blogging has opened new doors for me. It has allowed me to go back in time & refresh my skills on "Dear Diary" writing. It has introduced me to new & old acquaintances, & reminded me what the human side to the internet is all about. The word BLOG sounds so foreign & untouchable, yet in my world BLOG stands for "Being like our Guests!"
When ever I write my blogs I really try to get into my guests minds & try to get to their way of thinking & their ways of wanting. I love to watch my guests arrive. The arrival is the beginning to a great ending of a hotel stay. Arrival is important & makes the guest feel important. That is my goal.
BLOG: NOW a.k.a. "Being like our Guests!" acclaimed by me on 5/8/06 is the secret of all good hospitality.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
May 2, 2006
Is there local San Francisco designers out there that really want to partner with a innovative boutique hotels to create a single
suite at the famed Hotel Diva & yet another opportunity at the original boutique hotel... Hotel Union Square? I am looking for a
partnering relationship with a very hard working designer that really wants to leave their mark on the hottest opportunity of boutique
hotel design. The expectations are HIGH & the pay is LOW, because the recognition will be HIGH & pr'd by Personality Hotels.
The opportunity will be endless. If only I could tell you the doors that opened for our past designers. But this time, I am really looking
for something different. Where are you???
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
April 24, 2006
Isn't it funny, now a days when you are face to face with someone & they describe the communication they just had in an email
& they tell you the story moving their hands around as if they were typing? Remember when a story was told about a telephone
conversation & it was described as a motion with the telephone receiver next to the ear??? I might be dating myself (46 that is) but
one thing still holds truth for the hospitality industry... people "our future guests" want to talk to the a real live individual.
The potential guest has lots of questions that they can only feel comfortable talking to a real live human. Isn't that what hospitality is all about?
Personal service with PERSONALITY! 1.800.553.1900 You ask & we answer!
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
April 1, 2006
What is Cook' in with Personality Hotels nationwide?? Well, for the starters, I will be kicking off the week
with my first digital radio show interview ( Details -> http://www.crni.net/?module=profiles&eid=708 ) .
I have conducted many radio interviews, but never in digital. What should I wear & I wonder how I will look?
(just kidding) It is always fun to start the work week off with a 20 minute radio show where all I get to talk
about is PH's design/chic boutique hotels. I must tell you though, there is always that fear of what will I forget
to say, will I start coughing, choking, will there be back ground noise or interruptions, or what if I disconnected
the phone on accident. Being popular & having a great product to talk about is worrisome in so many ways,
but being honest & shooting from the hip & heart is what listeners want to hear, especially when it comes to
travel in SF. Listen up on Monday a.m. 8:30 CA time
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
March 9, 2006
Carving the time for blogging... It is almost impossible to find the time to blog, as you can see from the lapse in time from my last blog.
If I could only remember to write a daily diary of my life in times of President/CEO of Personality Hotels. I would truly have a best seller.
A real human story of interest in the real world. In the meantime, I can compare my occupation with all the tasks you have at home.
As you look around your house, you say "I will take care of that "or "I am planning to get to that."
Reality is though, too many other exciting clutter gets in the way. Challenges of improvement, fixing broken situations,
grabbing hold of positive situations, & best of all conversing with real human guests. So here we go. I made the time to blog &
hopefully it is something you can relate to, because the hotel business is human, real, gratifying and best of all a real job we can
all relate to. I am sure we all have spent the night in a hotel. But, Personality Hotels is what you are reading about.
Thank you!
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
February 8, 2006
What do a bed, desk, chair, lap top & good bottle of wine have in common with the hotel industry & at home?
These pieces of furniture at home, AKA in the hotel world as F.F.& E., have so much in common. At home we really live in them. We plop ourselves down in our favorite sweats, our work out clothes, our PJ's, and maybe even in the nude and go to work. We read our emails, write to our friends & accomplish our work load. And if it's that evening hour, you can't tell me that little glass of vino isn't sitting right next to you. I am enjoying mine right now. Kudos to those who have a cup of tea or diet soda instead.
As far as the F.F.& E. in a hotel room, depending upon where you are staying, the comforts of home may or may not feel the same. Especially if that hotel does not provide a wireless hook up, & especially if it is not free. Low & behold it is FREE at every Personality Hotel and it comes with a desk too (no joke)
Now the vino is also another F. F. & E. hotel supply we list as a VIP welcome gift It really is a F& B item, but the label has more to offer. Aren't the abbreviations fun?
In closing, a desk is a desk, a chair is a chair, but a comfortable bed, your own laptop & a nice bottle of wine is a luxury of home. This is what you will find at Personality Hotels. I promise you, are beds are VERY comfortable with no abbreviation. Sleep well after an evening of work where ever you are.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
February 2, 2006
Recently an executive of mine was so shocked at how much work had gone into a new hotel project development/new build called M31, The Hotel, (ready to break ground in 2007) He was unaware of how much time and energy was put forth into this project, & how thick the binder was with all the reporting and all the pretty pictures.
I guess these things just stay hush, hush until the real ribbon cutting takes place & the guests arrive. Then, the owner sees the glory of the hard work & all the hours spent getting it to the opening phase. Who would think that talking about the traffic reports, the shadow reports, the soil testing, the layout of room types, the endless conversations about concrete and shear walls would interest any one? But I guess this is what makes it seem more real, more tangible, more energized.
I know you cannot read everyone's mind, their personality or their hotel fantasies, BUT imagine if you could?... What a hotel I could design.
Well, now that my thoughts are blogged, why not email me with your thoughts, your hotel fantasies, & your wishes. Is anyone reading me?
Only M31 will be the tell tale.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
January 26, 2006
You are damned if you do & damned if you don't! Renovation of an existing, operating hotel is a huge ordeal.
Especially when it is the lobby of the hotel. What you think will go as planned... forget it!
Nothing ever goes as planned. Even trying to expect the unexpected in the renovation & preplanning for the guests reaction, You just cannot please everyone. But through this interruption I have found out one thing, one very important lesson: If you include the guests, make them feel important by asking them for their thoughts & ideas, telling them what to expect for their return visit, you have made friends. Guests want to be guests. They want to feel welcome in your home weather it is clean or messy. I really think they like surprising you with their arrival when it is messy vs. clean. Not to mention this happened to me last Saturday night.
So how do I make up for the interruption, the surprise, the naked feeling? A bottle of wine sent up to the room never hurt, especially when their room IS renovated & complete. A gesture of an apologetic smile does the trick, and a simple invitation to come back with a discount or upgrade never hurts either. I mean, wouldn't you want your friends or family to see your house in its prettiest form? Well, the hotel business at Personality Hotels feels the same way. Beauty before the beast.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
January 19, 2006
2006 BLOG
It has been exactly one month from my last blog, & you wonder why???? Probably for the same reason you have not made an entry into your diary... the holidays got to all of us. Now, I am happy that all is tucked away, holiday decorations packed in Target rubber containers, & the unclaimed, wrapped holiday gifts finally brought to the basement until those distant friends finally come to visit.
So what is to blog about now? A new edition into the life of President/CEO of Personality Hotels for 2006. Believe it or not, this is harder than you think. While I blog, I wonder what exciting, yet critical individual is reading my blog. The truth is though, a day in the life of mine is not as glamorous as it may appear to read & critique.
It all starts with what I think will take place in the day, then I begin to visit my hotels & everything changes. That is the frustrating but interesting part of the job. I want my team to take ownership in what they are doing, but every moment I am thinking ownership & results. This is a tough equation to work out. Bottom line, the answer is in the guest experience. And that is what makes my day so different, so unplanned, so "Guess Who's coming to dinner?" I know, but I never really know. Every personality is so different. On our arrival list their names sound like one kind of personality yet upon arrival, their face and demeanor is another. But in the hospitality business it is our job to cater to ALL, and to expect the unexpected.
This kind of human interaction cannot be tucked away, nor brought to the basement or even carefully wrapped in a rubber container.
Hospitality is real, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, non-stop, and I LOVE IT! Glamorous or not.
I look forward to welcoming our 2006 expected & unexpected personalities.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
December 17, 2005
Where do the holidays really take us?? Is it all about the stress of decorating, finding the right wish list presents, having your
dining room table covered in wrapping paper & plastic ornament boxes half emptied, a Christmas tree that has the lights half
working & fuses blowing? Are we running & running AND running out of time?
I don't know what happen to that long drawn out waiting & anticipation we all experienced when we were kids, that Christmas
& the holidays were never going to come. It took FOREVER! Now it is just here & gone.
Perhaps we should all put ourselves in the mind frame of kids. Act like kids, be carefree like kids, write our own wish list ,
eat chocolate from an advent calendars & not worry about the calories, and eat raw sugar cookie dough.
Now I haven't even begun to talk about the stress of work. That would just take us all in another holiday tizzy.
The purpose of this blog is to remind you that you are not alone in the search for peace this holiday season. Be
good to yourself & take a big deep breath, close your eyes, remember when you were a kid waiting for the holidays & DREAM.
Of course another great place to dream is in the beds at Personality Hotels on Union Square. Gift certificates for an overnight
stay at Personality Hotels are another great gift idea for friends & family. Happy Holidays to you!
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
November 16, 2005
It is always so exciting & fascinating to watch a guest check into my hotels. Their facial expressions always in the
beginning tell me if they enjoy the feeling of arrival. The magic of it all is that they can easily be persuaded to change
their body behavior or their facial expression with a very simple smile and a warm greeting by our staff. This changes
everything! BINGO, there is a contact made. I can spend all the renovation dollars I want to try & impress every guest
who check into a Personality Hotel but the universal smile, "Say Cheese!" does it all.
Now making it happen every moment of the day & with every single check in is the real key that opens the guest room door.
This is the true renovation of a hotel, the building of boutique hotels, the true meaning of hospitality. SMILE
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
November 15, 2005
The Reality of a Day in the Life of the Lady who owns all the rooms. It does sound glamorous doesn't it?
And I wouldn't change it for anything, but the reality of it all this is that nothing ever seems to go as planned,
not one day is ever the same, the creative ideas cannot be implemented fast enough, and communication is
everything & STILL it doesn't seem to clearly get communicated. Glamorous you think? Well, the true survivors
survive because it is in our blood & we love it. That is what makes us & the job glamorous. Is this why all the
celebs are investing in hotels, to become even more pretty? Huh! Wait until they really have their first test with
purchasing, creative thinking, riding the so called "Wave" Employee relations, shutting down the E Channels,
design issues, guest issues, the listening ear, training, improvement programs, the goal behind up-selling.
I could go on & on. The reality of this all though is very simple... it is for one goal that is a very glamorous one.
It is all about creating a glamorous experience for guest satisfaction. Why else?
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
November 6, 2005
What is the first thing you think about when booking your hotel stay? How big is the room, what is the décor really like,
location, bathroom & amenities. I bet you don't even think about how comfortable is the bed? Well, I can guarantee you
that once you have checked into a Personality Hotel & slept on our beds, you will fall in LOVE. Our #1 compliment from
our guests is about our beds. And why not, when you think about it you are paying for sleep... eventually that is. I know
this sounds so basic & doesn't have an exciting story behind it, but imagine if all those beds could talk? Maybe that is
what really makes PH's beds so comfortable... it is the bed time stories they tell to our guests when they lay their heads to rest.
Sleep tight. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
October 20, 2005
Travel is an interest to everyone. Either people are sharing their latest vacation spots or what they plan to be their dream vacation;
Travel is something we can talk to anyone about. It is great party talk, great passing the time talk amp; a perfect way to break the ice talk.
People love to brag about their latest experience or even talk about their most unfortunate experience. Travel is certainly a universal topic.
I love knowing my guests have something to talk about.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
October 18, 2005
What really is the boutique hotel experience about? Lately it has taken off in so many different directions.
First it was the non cookie cutter image, and then it was THE experience.. a home away from home feeling,
then a new place to find how to redecorate your apartment or home, then it moved to what is the best price I
get the hotel room for but buy the products in the room almost double the room rate, AND NOW it has all fallen
back to the experience for the best value. Buying a hotel room is almost like carousing the market for a new love.
The relationship goes off in so many different directions but ends up some place in the middle...
SATISFACTION & PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR LOVED ONE. This is the love story of boutique hotels.
Lose your heart & hear it pump again at Personality Hotels in San Francisco.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
October 7, 2005
One might think that the President & CEO of a Personality Hotels can have her home/work computer repaired without
having to face the grueling problems of scouting out help, but not true. Today, I called the "Geek Squad" owned by Best Buy.
You know what the funny thing was? Because all of us are so desperate to get out lap tops, computers & printers to work,
we will do ANYTHING. They have now become our security blankets of our childhood. What I am getting at is there was no
hesitation what so ever to let this Geek/ "stranger" into my house, & allow him to just start pushing buttons on my computer.
I did not feel threaten or uncomfortable by this geek. Bottom line is that I got what I needed & was very satisfied by the
Geek Squad services. This is truly what service is all about. It is what makes the world go round & what makes a happy customer.
This is a great reminder of the importance of great customer service in the hospitality industry & how I should always remind myself,
my staff & myself again that a customer is everything in this competitive world of hospitality. Personality is what makes it happen
at Personality Hotels on Union Square.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
October 5, 2005
Guest comments are the best way of really gauging the performance of your staff, décor, amenities, reasons why guests select
your hotel & just overall true comments. One thing people probably think that those comments cards are never read. WRONG!
It is a weekly ritual that my daughters & I separate the 4 different hotel comment cards & put them in FABULOUS, SPECIAL,
JUST OK & URGENTLY NEEDS ATTENTION PILES. Because PH's is a family owned business this sort of nepotism allows
my daughters to really understand guests needs & thoughts about their mom's hotels & it also gives me..Mom, a good infusion
of energy from the young at heart to wake up & smell the coffee! Guests comment cards at Personality Hotels are never ignored.
In fact, we take a negative experience & turn it into a positive one with a return value of many more happy returns. These guests
are the best word of mouth advertising ever.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
October 1, 2005
When I finally lay down to sleep, I think of all my guests sleeping & say good night to each one. Good night John Boy!
ENERGY! Where does it come from & why is it so necessary in the Boutique hotel world? Guests want something different, they want to be entertained & the need of feeling special is SO important, especially when traveling with a new pair
G-STAR RAW jeans, new shoes & a new tooth brush.
What makes you tick in the a.m.? Is it the ceiling you stare at in a new hotel room? Is it the double sheeted bed that you don't do at home or is it the worry free feeling of not having to turn off the lights in your room or endless sheets of toilet paper you can use? Better yet, it is the diving on the bed & MESSING IT ALL UP FOR THE HOUSEKEEPER TO MAKE UP FOR YOU THE NEXT DAY.
Yvonne Lembi-Detert
President
Yvonne@PersonalityHotels.com
Our hotels fit your personality: sexy, grand, timeless, authentic, and vivid
|
