Connected Conversations

Ep. 12: Premium Service Delivery

Description Join Sharon Kilmartin, Regional Director of Operations at IHG, based at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas) and Amr Awad, General Manager at Crowne Plaza® Moncton Downtown in New Brunswick, Canada as well as Ken Knight, General Manager at Crowne Plaza® Knoxville Downtown University in Tennessee. They discuss exceptional service delivery and how to preserve the essence of human-centered service while still continuing to innovate. Meet Your Host & Guest  Host: Sharon Kilmartin has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience to share. Sharon has a passion for equipping the Crowne Plaza® community of colleagues. Want to connect with Sharon? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkilmartin/%20] Guest: Amr Awad has 35+ years of experience in hospitality, mostly within IHG.  Want to connect with Amr? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrawad/] Guest: Ken Knight has 32+ years of experience in hospitality and has primarily worked in at the Crowne Plaza® in Knoxville.  Want to connect with Ken? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-knight-2550b435/]

Episode 11: Female Leaders in Hospitality

Description Join Sharon Kilmartin, Regional Director of Operations at IHG, based at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas) and Sandra Dias, Director General at Crowne Plaza® Madrid as well as Yvonne Hyde, Regional Operations Manager, Crowne Plaza®  East Midlands Airport, as they discuss cultivating a culture that delivers premium experience at their hotels. Meet Your Host & Guest  Host: Sharon Kilmartin has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience to share. Sharon has a passion for equipping the Crowne Plaza® community of colleagues. Want to connect with Sharon? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkilmartin/%20] Guest: Sandra Dias has 33+ years of experience in hospitality and has been based in Spain for the last 20 years.  Want to connect with Sandra? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-dias-24478919/] Guest: Yvonne Hyde has nearly 40 years of experience in hospitality and has primarily worked in hotels throughout England.  Want to connect with Yvonne? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-hyde-6851b524/]

Ep. 10: Creative Problem Handling

Description Join Sharon Kilmartin, Regional Director of Operations at IHG, based at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas) and Maurice Janssen, GM of the Crowne Plaza® Budapest as they discuss Creative Problem Handling and what that looks like in their hotels. Resources:  IHG Problem Handling  [https://mylearning.sumtotal.host/core/pillarRedirect?relyingParty=LM&url=app%2Fmanagement%2FLMS_ActDetails.aspx%3FActivityId%3D21837%26UserMode%3D0] Course ID# IHG056045 Meet Your Host & Guest  Host: Sharon Kilmartin has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience to share. Sharon has a passion for equipping the Crowne Plaza® community of colleagues. Want to connect with Sharon? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkilmartin/%20] Guest: Maurice Janssen has nearly 20 years of experience in hospitality and has worked in hotels from San Francisco to Rome to Amsterdam.  Want to connect with Maurice? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mafgmjanssen/%20]

Ep. 9: How to Improve Recruiting, Hiring, and Retention

Description Join Sharon Kilmartin, Regional Director of Operations at IHG, based at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas) as she discusses best practices related to recruiting, hiring, and retaining talent with Nic DiLillo, Vice President of Hospitality Relations Playhouse Square & Crowne Plaza Cleveland, OH, Christo Botha, GM Crowne Plaza® Belfast, and Kevin Hill, GM Crowne Plaza® Atlanta NE - Norcross. Resources:  * People Tools [https://me2.ihgmerlin.com/web/our-people-tools]   Meet the Host & Guests:  Host: Sharon Kilmartin has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience to share. Sharon has a passion for equipping the Crowne Plaza® community of colleagues. Want to connect with Sharon? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkilmartin/%20] Guest:  Nic DiLillo has many years experience in hospitality and believes in the importance of hiring the right people and then investing in them. Nic has twice been named Ohio’s General Manager of the Year. Want to connect with Nic? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicdilillo/%20] Guest: Christo Botha has served in hotels on multiple continents and thus has wide range of experiences and knowledge to share. Christo is now a part of Andras Hotels, Northern Ireland’s largest hotel group. Want to connect with Christo? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christo-botha-49a06534/%20]

Ep. 8: Loyalty and Enrollments

Description Join Kristin Klebanov, Vice President of Loyalty Strategy & Performance at IHG, Sharon Kilmartin, Regional Director of Operations at IHG, based at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas), and Raffi Torikian, General Manager at Crowne Plaza® Dubai Marina as they discuss Loyalty, Enrollments and what that means for employees and guests.  Resources: Link for the IHG One Rewards App  [https://www.ihg.com/content/us/en/support/mobile] Loyalty Training & Training Resources [https://me2.ihgmerlin.com/web/init-ihg-rewards-club/article?id=207878701]  Loyalty Quick Links & Contact Information [https://me2.ihgmerlin.com/web/init-ihg-rewards-club/article?id=210460707]  Meet Your Host & Guests:   Host: Kristin Klebanov has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for almost 10 years and offers a specific expertise in Loyalty Planning, Member Insights & Experience, Program Strategy and Performance Strategy.  Want to connect with Kristin? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-klebanov-4766503/]   Guest: Sharon Kilmartin has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience to share. Sharon has a passion for equipping the Crowne Plaza community of colleagues. Want to connect with Sharon? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkilmartin/]   Guest: Raffi Torikian has worked with brands within IHG Hotels and Resorts for almost 9 years and has a total of 22 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Raffi is skilled in developing and training teams, effectively controlling cost, and achieving revenue while ensuring high guest satisfaction ratings in competitive environments. Want to connect with Raffi? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffi-torikian-62a5a224/]    Special Mention: Tyler Forsyth, Guest Relations Manager at the Crowne Plaza® Ravinia (Americas) is mentioned during this episode. Want to connect with Tyler? LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-forsyth-1ba490268/]