• Holiday Inn Club Vacations consolidated golf reservations for its four courses through a single phone number. Plus, resort restaurants removed less popular menu items and added options that were frequently requested and also created $5 value meal program for employees, to ease the cost of lunches at work. • Tricom Management, Inc., increased room night bookings by calling to remind guests of upcoming reservations and informing them that they can add a day at the beginning or end of their stay; guests are reminded again during their stay that they can extend vacation by a night or two if they like. • SPM Resorts saved significantly on uniforms by not going through traditional vendors and doing most repairs and upgrades inhouse—thanks to employees who have been encouraged to speak up and bring their personal home improvement skills to the resorts. These are just a few of the ideas that surfaced when workers were invited by management to share their ideas on improving the guest experience and cutting costs. Faced with lower revenues, management and staff are increasingly coming together to find creative ways to meet tighter budgets, often with fewer workers. Surprisingly, companies are meeting and often 50 Developments • September 2009 evelopments