Doug Kennedy’s Next Training Webcast: How to be a Lightning Rod and Truly “Ground” Guest Negativity

Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Friday, January 17, from Noon – 12:45pm EST. Register Here

While most everyone knows what a lightning rod is, not everyone knows what one actually does, said KTN President Doug Kennedy, but those who do get that it is a great model for expanding your traditional service recovery training. When lightning strikes, this rod stands tall to attract the strong bolt of negative energy and then dissipates it harmlessly into the ground. In exactly this way, Kennedy explained, Our staff can be ready when guests with negative vibes approach, to receive that strike of negativity and walk away unscathed, because they are prepared with the proper responses and coping skills to maintain mental wellness.

This webcast covers:

• When the next guest approaches or calls, it’s kind of like spinning a roulette wheel. But in place of the number, each spoke has emojis representing different guest personas.
• If you encounter 25, 50, or more guests per shift, the roulette wheel is bound to stop on the faces of difficult people. The good part is that you always get to spin again; odds are the next face is a happy one.
• By striving to understand the experiences your guests are living out daily on the other side of the front desk, bar, phone call, or guest room door, you can better remember that their frustrations are with the situations and not with you personally.
• Showing sincere empathy before offering an apology helps defuse tense guest encounters, whereas a lack of empathy and a scripted apology can ignite guests’ anger.
• The difference between having compassion and co-experiencing, internalizing guests’ trauma. (You are going to be okay!)
• Break the habit of ruminating on negative guest encounters. Otherwise, you re-live the emotional duress each time you re-imagine the situation or retell the story.
• What to do when extreme bullies cross red lines, such as using personal insults, slurs, and inappropriate language.

Everyone who registers receives a link to the recording, even if they cannot attend. The 40-minute format is perfect for “lunch and learns” or excerpts can be shared at pre-shift or daily line-up meetings. The target audience is anyone who is interested in upskilling themselves or others, and the topic areas are broad enough to be relevant for all sectors of the lodging industry.

Recordings of previous webcasts are available on KTN’s YouTube channel and are now also being distributed on your favorite podcast channel or on KTN’s Spotify channel.

We are grateful to the generosity of our sponsors who have allowed us to offer complimentary admission, said Kennedy. It takes a lot of time to design, promote, and deliver these events, and so we would normally charge at least $99 registration per person, but this series is now completely free to all.

Sponsors include: Travel Outlook, the only KTN Certified call center, and Track Hospitality Software, a TravelNet Solution, whose products include a PMS and CRM.

Complimentary registration can be accessed at www.KTNwebcast.com. Here are the additional topics scheduled so far.

Reservations QUEST Part Two

Friday, February 21 (Noon EDT)

REGISTER HERE

If you are looking to get more direct bookings this year, join in as Doug shares additional highlights from KTN’s 2025 edition of our Reservations Sales QUEST training program that has helped hundreds of hotels, luxury vacation home rental agencies, and resorts increase call conversion. Because KTN’s Reservations Sales Coaches regularly listen to cloud-based recordings of real conversations, our training has been updated with fresh ideas for uncovering and overcoming objections, securing the sale, and following up proactively.

This webcast covers:

• Defining upselling vs. rate optimization.
• Using “Storified Selling” to upsell higher-rated accommodations.
• Securing the sale is a natural next step that benefits everyone, including the caller.
• When callers decline: Is it rate resistance, or are they just not ready?
• How to overcome rate resistance, based on the current rate strategy.
• Using “rate framing” to position mid- and low-tier rates as being a good value.
• A new approach to explaining top-tier/high-season rates.
• Following up proactively when callers are interested but not yet ready to commit.

Understanding What Personalized Hospitality Is (and What It Isn't!)

Friday, March 21 (Noon EDT)

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The phrase “personalized service” is used an awful lot these days, most often to promote some new AI-powered tech solution to drop guests’ names into welcome emails and display it on their TV, or to conduct creepy-feeling research on guests’ social channels in an attempt to recommend an amenity, a local attraction or an activity. However, when you simply look at the root word, it seems quite clear that true “personalization” is best done by a person! In this webcast, Doug will share his opinions of what personalized service is not, based on his personal experience as a guest at over 80 lodging companies of all types over the previous 12 months. More importantly, he will also share examples that staff members of all departments can use during everyday micro-encounters to truly provide the kind of personalized guest experiences that encourage social media promoters and enduring guest loyalty.

For additional details, contact KTN at info@kennedytrainingnetwork.com or by phone (01) 954.533.9130 www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com

*Sponsored By Travel Outlook and Track Hospitality Software.