Month: May 2008

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To Market! To Market To Buy! Condo Hotels Overview

While condo hotels and variations thereof in the fractional ownership market are expanding in brand affiliation, geographical offerings and emerging residence alternatives such as private residence clubs and deeded destination clubs, the plethora of choices has necessitated ongoing educational seminars to offer advice to developers, financiers, prospective owners and managers and service providers to this niche industry. Information Management Network (“IMN”) offered its biannual symposium 2nd Annual Florida Symposium on Financing, Developing & Operating Condo Hotels at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida May 22-23.

The two-day conference attracted more than 650 attendees from the national and international sectors and featured practical working sessions for participants attending the moderated panels and presentations. The Hollywood conference featured 28 sessions including specialized programming for New/Prospective Owners, Small Property Owners, In-Depth Regional Market Roundtables; Unit Rental Management, Sales Compliance.

Workshop Leader for the Condo 101 Panel and Session Chair for the Amenities agenda, David J. Schwartz, managing principal, The Management Consortium, Inc. Hospitality Advisory Services based right there in Hollywood comments: “I grew up in the business,” Schwartz notes, “When I was 8, I handed out towels at the pool deck to people like Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. My family’s background was resort hotels. This is the kind of business you love or hate because it’s 24/7. My circle included many apartment and Condominium developers who never did hotels. It was only natural that I became an Advisor to them on Condo Hotel development.”

Schwartz discusses some basic differences between condo hotels and hotels: “With condo hotels, you’re dealing with guests and owners. Owners believe they can go any place, do whatever they want, and at no extra charge-They think they own it allŠThus the average hotel manager is not equipped to deal with this and often fail. In fact, in Florida you must have a CAM(Community Association Management license. Some will have separate buildings for the condo portion and the hotel.”

Regarding branding, Schwartz continues: “Some areas like South Beach, Florida are considered brands unto themselves. Most of South Beach hotels are not branded and have their own cachet People from certain walks of life identify with that. In this case, the area becomes the brand. Adding a hotel brand on top of that may or may not give the hotel saleability. Banks believe hotel brands lend saleability and thus be a good loan candidate.

Schwartz recalls: “Back in the late 90s when I was part of a real estate and hospitality group based in NYC, I would see the same people flying down to Florida every Fri night and flying back up Monday morning. If I am coming down to Florida a lot and spending $250 a night on a hotel, while pulling in $.5 million on Wall Street, I can buy a condo (which can be the very same room) and not only have a place to stay but also own something that appreciates in value… The people who buy these things are not stupid.. They know the management company will rent it out when you’re not there.”

On the subject of brands, Schwartz comments: “Brands have a large guest data base and sophisticated reservation systems. The brand is the flag- the identity of the project. Some won’t give you the right to their brand without hiring their company to manage the site. (You can also hire a third party to manage your property or do it yourself.) Flags cost a lot of money, and therein lie some of the problems: PIP (property improvement program)‹you have to be able to afford that flag. The paradox is: brands are going to cost you as a developer, and you have to determine if the brand will be profitable after you do your PIP to bring it up to brand standards. Most condo developers look to sell out a project and this is a way, they believe they can have an enhanced product and sell it faster. With hard contracts, the bank will give the funding. Speed is of the essence since you, as the developer, have your money tied up in stages. You want to work with OPMs (Other People’s Money). The objective is to get the development 40-50% sold out.”

On the subject of sales, Schwartz notes: “Most Condominium Developers only care about selling units…not about the running of the hotel condo. Hotels are most often apartments with hotel amenities.” Schwartz adds that in Miami Beach owners did indeed sell hotel rooms as opposed to apartments in the 40s, following a pattern that still is in vogue in Latin America and Europe. SEC regulations in the USA changed that. Schwartz notes: “The successful hotel brand will always yield a bigger market for renting hotel rooms…it is chic to say you have an apartment at The Ritz Carlton…”, Schwartz points out. “Along with that, you have a definitive high level of FF&E and services.”

When it comes to service, Schwartz is more guarded: “Five-star service: Everybody claims that’s what they are presenting but nobody knows what that service involves. At the upper levels of service, there is a greater proportion of staff to guest ratio, and only at that high level do brands substantially invest in training.”

Service is a part of branding, and Schwartz notes brands help drive sales. “Buyers don’t know from standards. They invest in a name, e.g., the Trump brand draws. The Trump organization does its own standards enforcement.” Schwartz explains, “That’s when the brand is actually important: to make money.”

There are different branding arrangements as well. Schwartz says: “In Florida and some other states, you can be a CHA (the highest designation of hotel training) but that doesn’t mean you can manage a condo hotel. One of the necessary requirements in Florida is CAM (Community Association Manager’s) license in Florida. Even if you were from The Pierre in NYC, it doesn’t mean you are licensed to run a condo hotel.” Schwartz notes requirements vary but that most training is through experience. “It’s a matter of licensing more companies and practicing good managememt,” Schwartz comments.

You can brand your own management; buy the brand and have a third party use their company management or use the brand’s management company. The brand’s property management company often puts investment rights of its brand and a percentage of ownership into the management contract. Schwartz believes management companies today should share some of the risk as well as the rewards.

Additionally, owners need to find something unique to sell. The typical condo hotel needs to have at least a kitchenette “even to make a cup of coffee in AM or nuke a corn muffin,” says Schwartz.

The condo hotel industry segment as we know it today is still experimental in many ways. “History is still being written in all these things…all the answers are not there yet but will unfold as more and more hotel properties come aboard.”

Session Chair for the Private Residences, David M. Disick, Esq., president of David M. Disick & Associates capital raising and business planning for development, explained the difference between condo hotels and private residence clubs (PRCs):

“The PRC is a higher, upscale form of fractional ownership and usually single site… I’ve spent time researching city clubs and the club industry in America at the high end resort development. PRCs offer the same real use of home ownership at a fraction of the price. Options are non equity; indirect equity.”

Disick points out: “Non-equity and indirect equity are generally multi-site clubs of single family homes, but there is no individual fractional fee simple real estate interest.”

Disick has created an alternative ownership structure with Elysian Deeded Destination Club. Owner-Members own a fractional fee, simple real estate interest in the vacation home of their choice with priority use rights in that home plus use rights throughout the network. Thus, Owner-Members can have all the advantages of individual real estate ownership such as mortgage financing leverage, ability to sell their interest on the open market through real estate brokers whenever and to whomever they wish and benefits of potential real estate appreciation without feeling tied down to only one vacation property.

Moreover, under Disick’s structure where acquisition of homes is phased according to membership sales, investors have secure hard asset values in the cost of the real estate.”

Disick says, “There are interesting synergies between Private Residence Clubs and Deeded Destination Clubs on the one hand and the hotel condo upscale products as they appear to investment motivation.” Disick notes with regard to the PRC and Deeded Destination Clubs: “While people want it to appreciate, it’s really a personal use product.” All options to residential alternatives are quickly becoming a mega segment which Disick believes “if you market them together, there will be economies of scale and management.”

Disick illustrates the phenomenon of a return to urban sites as competitive purchase options for suburbanites and/or business clients. “DC and NY…are a reflection of the current lifestyle buzz,” he says. “They’re good for business or suburbanites’ desire to eat drink and be merry on the weekends.”

As a Panel participant on the financing involved in the condo marketplace, Disick notes: “We need to demystify the business of raising money. Everyone asks, “How do you raise money?” I reply: “Hotels sell rooms, airlines sell travel; banks sell money. Rather than genuflect before the authority figure, the developer is responsible for generating the confidence of the capital sources in his commitment to the project and his business plan.”

Disick refers to his recent publication, “The Art and Science of Raising Capital for Developers” and recommends: “As an art, commit your passion for your deal. With the science, anticipate every possible thing that might go wrong. Show this to investor. Lay out the plan in detail.” Attendees’ interests centered around the exploration of financing options, development alternatives, security concerns and sales and marketing recommendations.

Disick illustrates that versus the 50% traditional costs of sales and marketing for the timeshare segment, the Deeded Destination Club varies between approximately 10% for a club of single-family residences or up to 15-20% for a multi-unit project.

Disick also illustrates the importance of the Relationship sales. Disick advises: When you learn the ins and outs of the client’s psyche, you discover what they are looking for…there’s a dynamic established that can be cultivated.” Disick has many strategies for creating a sense of urgency after establishing the client bond, and he advises those interested in this aspect of hospitality services to keep themselves apprised of opportunities by attending and conducting seminars such as the May Florida event.

Disick also believes the subject of service is the distinguishing characteristic that complements upscale properties. “Generate a feeling of belonging” for the owner. This can vary from airport pickup to specific family celebrations and commemorative Tiffany personalized gifts or monogrammed skis/golf bags, or choosing to devote a portion of profits to charity.

The segue to out of the box thinking was actually a programmed topic to conclude IMN’s two-day seminar, and Steven Ferry, Founder and Chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers was one of the panelists. Commenting on the panel, and previous presentations, Ferry notes that everyone is trying to articulate the concept of “home” for this niche of the hospitality industry. Ferry says, “It should be a slam dunk!” Of course, the butler concept is not a top-of-mind awareness in the USA, and seems to be somewhat alien to the pragmatic outlook of Americans. However, for those who regard this aspect of service conducive to the cultivation of the wow factor and the sizzle in service, the butler concept seems consistent with the fact that investors in this aspect of hospitality are investing, often, in second “homes” as well as in a security/investment.

For Ferry, marble baths and luxurious appointments are not the essence of the upscale sector; they’re expected. “Service is private,” and such amenities as spa, personal treatments and skills a butler brings occur within the personal space, “en suite”. “Butlers have what it takes for the wow factor,” quips Ferry. “They create the home within the hospitality environment. At the international level, butler service is a traditional part of cultures; it’s only in the USA it needs to be cultivated as a non-intrusive component to the upscale residential sector.”

As residential alternatives expand and investor expectations become more defined, the emergence of more sophisticated product and service offerings will guarantee a better quality of life as well as a more clearly defined differentiation of the client experience.

Maureen Herron

This article also appeared on hotelinteractive.com

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Taking Big Brother On Vacation

Next time you stay in a hotel, you may be surprised to find that Big Brother has tagged along: not yours, everyone’s. That’s because hotels are solving a problem with fraud that reportedly costs them $100 million each year. Strictly speaking, of course, it doesn’t cost them anything…they pass the cost on to you. So in effect, there’s a trade-off: Big Brother is invited on your vacation and you save some money.

This invitation follows the publication in hospitality trade magazines of three articles written by Steven Ferry, Chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers (www.modernbutlers.com) drawing attention to the excesses of the “Guest from Hell.”

As he tells it, “Guests from Hell complain about everything and when it comes to checking out, they complain some more and loudly enough for an alarmed duty manager to comp them (cancel their bill). Such guests travel from hotel to hotel repeating the same MO. Sometimes, Guests from Hell set up employees to fail, such as happened once when a guest ordered breakfast from the butlers I was training at a newly opened hotel, and also from room service. This gentleman (if he deserves such a title) requested different items for different times. When the butlers and room service independently delivered the requested items at the requested time, the guest complained they were early/late and had forgotten/brought unnecessary items. This upset the employees but worse, at checkout, the guest listed these and many similar “failings” and demanded the entire week’s stay for himself and entourage in the Presidential Suite be comped. It was. This incident first alerted me to this violation of fair play.”

One hotel manager reported a couple had complained the toilet flushed all night and they couldn’t sleep. He complained the cooling didn’t work and she complained it was too cold. Afterwards, maintenance found the toilet flapper had been moved off by 90 degrees and the A/C thermocouple had been bent out of shape and was unusable. The couple filed an official complaint that counted against the hotel, and yes, their bill was cancelled. The manager’s final words: “This database of Guests from Hell means we won’t lose so many good people to less stressful jobs, like bomb squads and hostage negotiations.”

Ferry’s articles called for an international database to be established to flag and put an end to criminally inclined guests. When one magazine editor offered his organization to run the program, Ferry provided them with the template and the Sales and Marketing director, who was tasked with establishing the identity and web site, was off and running, bringing in investors and setting up what was to become HotelSafeguard. It is testament to the need for such an organization that within half a year of launch, 14,000 hotels, motels, and resorts globally had subscribed to the database and submitted no less than 60,000 guest compensation reports.

It’s unlikely you will see a credit in your check:

“Guest from Hell program deduction, $5”

But rest assured, the bill would be higher without this program. What you may well see, if your hotel is a member, and if you look in the compendium (hotel information pack), is a small disclaimer stating that the hotel is a member of HotelSafeguard. That should be warning enough to the criminals (hopefully they are paying attention) and for the rest of us, it has no real impact.

Putting an end to the free ride for Guests from Hell is a laudable goal. It’s hardly a Big Brother intrusion when compared to the highly intimate scans one can be subjected to at airport security lines, for instance. But the tendency to expand the reporting brief to include behavior—whether rude, angry, complaining, jocular, or anything that some little Hitler may take exception to or use as a smoke screen for his own failure to serve—is palpable. Such would obviously throw cold water over the very concept of hospitality. In the early stages of setting up HotelSafeguard, bad guest behavior was one of the things hotels would be expected to report on, but this was later removed and the Web site currently mentions only guest comp histories being maintained.

Making sure it stays that way is a job consumers have, as well as hotel managements; for bureaucracies have a tendency to grow (the IRS was founded in 1913, taxing 1% of the US populace).

The program definitely deserves support for the peace of mind of the hoteliers who are hardly motivated when Guests from Hell are allowed free reign. So next time you see Big Brother on your vacation, just smile, because those serving you will be more inclined to.

 

Maureen Herron

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Thin Red Line Or Red Ink? Fighting Terrorism in the Hospitality Industry

The likelihood that any single hotel will be the target of a terrorist act is very small indeed, given the number of hotels in the world.

The risks increase with the size of the hotel, its location, it being a trophy building or the destination of guests whose views are antipathetic to those of any of a variety of terrorist groups. Or perhaps the fact that it is an easy, soft target and offers a way of doing what terrorists do best: destroy buildings and lives, undermine the peace of mind and economies of whole nations. So how safe does that make any hotel?

While the hospitality industry is experiencing lower occupancy rates since that pivotal day in September 2001, it is at the same time being forced into spending money on higher insurance premiums and/or greater security measures. Perhaps not vast sums of money in the overall scheme of things, but certainly insurance rates doubling in three years is at odds with the need to reduce expenses. The JW Marriott in Jakarta didn’t hesitate to do the right thing, however, instituting more stringent security procedures and so saving the day. Not the lives of some of its security personnel, but certainly of the majority of its guests and the integrity of the building itself, which was structurally intact after the car bomb exploded on that day in August 2003. The October 2004 bombings in Egypt showed what can happen when inadequate security measures are in place.

In August 2004, the hotels on the Strip in Las Vegas (including 18 of the 20 largest hotels in the world) were accused of withholding from the general public the fact that Al Queda low-lifes had been “casing the joint.” There was concern reportedly that a public warning might hurt tourism or increase legal liabilities. The casino hotels apparently did increase what was already arguably the tightest security in the industry, but their experience and systems were designed for criminals, not terrorists. One thing is certain, their approach resulted in a PR flap that did little to enhance their image. The fact that these hotels also handed over names and other information on quarter of a million guests to the FBI over the New Year’s Eve celebrations 2003/2004 may not have endeared them to those and future guests, either. Dealing with the threat of terrorism isn’t easy and was certainly not covered in any great depth during any hospitality training for American hoteliers.

For a look at effective anti-terrorist measures in the hospitality industry, Sea Island provides a better example during the G8 summit in June 2004. A tour-de-force in terms of electronic gadgetry and armed security forces, it was the government not the hotel that drove (and paid for) that security event. Nice if you can get it, but hardly within the budget of any hotel, and certainly the siege mentality was not conducive to the ambiance that generally draws guests to hotels.

So where does this leave hotels? Certainly, terrorists do not make it easy, presenting the prospect of any of a number of ways of creating their effects via an unknown individual at an unknown time. As the homeland security advisor to the governor of Nevada is reported to have said, “We have so little information. We pray a lot.” Not to argue with the power of prayer, but a concrete plan would probably sit better with guests, insurers, owners, and employees alike.

Fear is a third-rate motivator employed by weak individuals, so perhaps a better approach to this whole subject of combating terrorism is to view it as a challenge to our intelligence and resourcefulness. Our purpose as an industry is to provide comfort and pleasure to our fellow man and woman. Maybe our goal in providing adequate security, then, should be the retaining of our freedoms and joys, not the fighting of psychotic individuals or the purveying of fear. This may seem like an extraneous piece of philosophy, but any lesser goal on our part lets the terrorists set the rules, makes us play their miserable game.

What’s the Problem?

Perhaps the first point to establish is, what is one protecting against? Ill-intended individuals or groups coming onto the grounds and into the premises in any of a variety of ways: by stealth as overnight guests, day guests, guests of guests, convention attendees, vendors and service personnel, employees, ex-employees, on business (whether as reporters, law enforcement, or any number of guises); or by brute force as a swarm of invaders or behind the wheel of a truck or car‹the favored method of the terrorist. And what is one concerned they may do once they have access? The most obvious is use explosives, or weaponry. Then there is the possibility that they may use biological or chemical weapons.

How would these elements be brought into the hotel space? By people on their person, in their luggage or vehicles, or via packages delivered. The next question then is, how does one ascertain that these routes are clear of threat without a) invading privacy and upsetting guests, b) inordinate expense, c) creating a siege mentality and ruining the ambiance, d) delaying guests or tying up employees with added tasks.

The task for security then is to monitor these routes for these harmful elements in a way that is not only effective, but does not interrupt the flow of guests arriving and deliveries being made, and which maintains the ambiance of the hotel. If we were being real smart, we’d find a way to turn the need for security to advantage for guests, possibly even making it fun.

What’s the solution?

Let’s consider a possible ideal scenario based on existing resources in the market and industry. When guests arrive, their vehicle drives over a simple wireless camera system with infrared capability that beams the license plate and picture of the driver to the security office, while also surveying the undercarriage for bombs attached. The guests disembark at a slight remove from the hotel structure, where bollards have been placed to prevent vehicular access, and are given their favorite beverage served on a tray. They walk through a metal detector at the front entrance (or even part of it) without even noticing it, and through a detector that can sense explosives carried in the plume of hot air that wafts upward naturally from their warm bodies. Their bags are removed from their trunk and the seats of the vehicle and carried up to their room via a scanning machine such as is seen in airports, as well as one that detects the possible presence of biological or chemical weapons or explosives. The valet then inspects the trunk and under the hood before parking the vehicle. Those dealing with the guests are trained to look unobtrusively for tell-tale signs of explosive belts, shifty guests, etc.

Impact on guests? Improved service. Impact on hotels? Slightly larger payroll with more personnel hired to cover valet parking and bellhop, and a better rating for security and service. A bite out of the budget initially for the detection equipment.

What about the employees and ex-employees? Set up parking away from the hotel and institute an ID card that has to be scanned, together with the employee’s face, before entry to the grounds/hotel is authorized. These scans are recorded and transmitted in real time wirelessly to the security office.

And tradespeople? Set up a similar procedure that requires their vehicle undercarriage be scanned as covered above at a distance from the hotel, and then a security employee inspects the cargo container (again, this can be done using a camera system with infra red and wireless capability, so unlit areas can be viewed at a command center removed from the truck being inspected). And only then have the driver bring the vehicle to the hotel building, where he or she can be asked to scan his driving license into a machine that snaps a photo of his face and sends both images to a command center. Invaluable for determining that any unexpected or unusual driver is legitimately at the location on behalf of the company he claims to represent.

Looking for Eyes and Ears

When the terrorist alert was raised in Las Vegas, taxi cab drivers were given photographs of wanted terrorists. That was a good idea and capitalizes on the basic truth about all law enforcement: the police cannot possibly maintain the law without the cooperation of the populace. Which means they rely on the general public’s eyes and ears to be law enforcement’s eyes and ears.

So why not take this one step further? Let guests and employees be kept up to speed on law enforcement needs, as well as public service announcements? Similar to the reality TV shows that highlight America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. Imagine then a TV screen embedded in a piece of equipment positioned strategically in a hotel lobby or staff entrance, that shows terrorists and felons, provides Amber Alerts, the latest updates from Homeland Security, and when those are not being broadcast, which shows PSAs (such as hurricane alerts) or ads. Ads, incidentally, which can pay for the equipment. How about if that piece of equipment also provides two-way intelligence? If it took images of people coming and going and relayed these wirelessly to a security office. They could check these against databases, especially where an individual behaved suspiciously (such as hiding his face and walking away rapidly) when he notices the images on the screen.

How about a similar machine that was also a cellphone charger, and which a guest could also stand in front of, call a family member who would log onto a Web site and then be able to see the person calling on his cell phone from the hotel lobby (or convention space)?

This kind of wireless, 2-way intelligence equipment is coming onto the market now (see for instance www.homelandintel.us), driven by the need to use technology to respond to the threat of terrorism at home. This equipment goes beyond the old security cliché of stringing wires to multiple cameras and hoping to catch someone in the act.

The common denominator of these solutions is an intelligent use of technology to ferret out not just terrorists but also criminals. The smarter rationale, however, is one that preempts or discourages anything destructive from occurring by being more overt or obvious. What self-respecting criminal or terrorist would walk into an environment in which his physiognomy was likely to be flashed in a hotel lobby or staff canteen, or snapped in real time and compared within seconds to a data base which he has the misfortune to be featured in? In other words, the real desired product is incident-free days, more than thwarted terrorists. The intelligent approach also solicits the cooperation of guests and employees alike, not because they are frightened, but because they are informed and even pampered a bit.

It takes surprisingly little green in the long term to build a thin red line around a hotel when one goes beyond the idea of snooping cameras, bollards and personnel as the weapons available. It is certainly better than drowning in red ink because guests are sufficiently unimpressed with antiquated or invisible security systems to look for safer ports of call, or because terrorists perceive a soft target in their sights.

This article appeared in:
Hotel Executive Magazine October 4, 2004
Hotelonline.com on October 21, 20044
Hoteliers.com on October 23, 2004
Hotel News Resource
Syndicated on HSyndicate.com, October 21, 2004
Airline News Resource, November 2005

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A Royal Butler Disgraced

Being a butler is guaranteed to involve one in animated conversations with Americans fascinated with the possibilities and glamour of anyone close to the wealthy and famous. The lifestyle does rub off, but the whole point about being a butler is that one keeps ones focus on serving: in the end, it is all about the employer, not the butler. That’s why good butlers are always making things right discreetly in the background.

Which is also why I’d like to break ranks and the silence of the profession to set the record straight on one of the ex-members of our profession. Much media in the United States has been devoted to glorifying Mr. Paul Burrell, from newspaper articles to TV shows. I am not going to discuss his reported sexual indiscretions or his self-confessed perjury recently at the inquest in London. What is a concern to the profession is his capitalization on his former employers good name, and the breaking of confidences. In “A Royal Duty,” Mr. Burrell draws upon private letters sent to and from Princess Diana. He claimed, “My only intention in writing this book was to defend the princess and stand in her corner.” From a logical standpoint, this raises some questions:

  1. Does a significant portion of the world’s population actually think badly of Princess Diana, that Mr. Burrell should feel compelled to intercede? My understanding is that she was and still is one of the most popular women in the world. So why is Mr. Burrell tilting his lance at this windmill?
  2. How does revealing the details of Princess Diana’s private life and affairs make people think better of her?
  3. Would Princess Diana welcome the effect Mr. Burrell created on her sons, who have stated of Mr. Burrell: “… abuse(d) his position in such a cold and overt betrayal. It is not only deeply painful for the two of us but also for everyone else affected and it would mortify our mother if she were alive today. And, if we might say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul.”

From other statements made by Mr. Burrell, he published his book because he was angry at the Royal Family for not helping him during his time of need while undergoing trial (for allegedly taking items belonging to Princess Diana). His anger may or may not be justified, but the way he chose to remedy the situation was not the path a true butler would have chosen.

From an ethical standpoint, Mr. Burrell has unfortunately broken the written and unwritten code of conduct of a butler: If every butler made public the private life of his employer, nobody would ever hire a butler.

Put another way, if Mr. Burrell hired a butler (which he can probably now afford to do from the wealth he has amassed of late), would he feel aggrieved or well served if that butler later wrote a book revealing every intimate detail of his private life? It’s the old golden rule at work.

It is for this reason that I feel compelled, in the light of the barrage of media concerning Mr. Burrell’s actions, to reaffirm the basic principle and ethic of butling. It is based on trust and confidence. Writing a book and spilling the beans to the media at every turn may pay in the short term with personal wealth and fame, but the profession is weakened with each such book and utterance, as is the author and the employer.

Without maintaining our standards, butlers will cease to be a profession. This may not concern Mr. Burrell at this present time, but it does impact the hundreds of us making honest efforts at excelling in our profession, as well as existing and potential employers.

If Mr. Burrell truly feels that he is “the keeper of (Diana’s) secrets,” then I invite him to do as he says. While I doubt he will be concerned, I also invite him to make up the damage he has done to our profession in a way that will restore trust and peace of mind among employers.

Mr. Burrell began promoting his Royal Butler wine last year, saying, “I wouldn’t give my princess just anything, and I won’t give American ladies just anything either.” While his sales pitch enriches his bank account, it cheapens our profession by cheapening his employer’s good name: would Princess Diana really lend her name to the sale of cheap bottles of wine?

As a profession, we have treated Mr. Burrell for many years now in the way that butlers will do: taking note but not being so indiscreet as to say anything. However, our silence sounds deafeningly like tacit consent. I want to make it clear that it is anything but that. I believe I speak for the silent majority when I say that Mr. Burrell does not represent the profession. He may label his wine “Royal Butler,” but not himself. He has forfeited that right. There was a time when he was a royal butler, a time, I suspect, when his wealth was in personal satisfaction, friendship, service to others, and pride in a job well done, in the background.

June 2008