94. Karen Baldwin on Challenges within the Accommodation Industry, Guest Perspective and Prioritising Staff Needs

Karen Baldwin is the owner-operator of Best Western Kennedy Drive Airport Motel, in Tweed Heads, NSW. Adrian and Karen met at the Best Western Australasia conference, where Karen and her husband Steve won a ‘Quality and Service’ Award. The couple also proudly hold a number one in customer service award. In addition to these impressive accolades, they boast the third cleanest hotel in the Best Western Australasia region. Adrian was eager to chat with Karen to find out the secrets behind her and Steve’s success.

In this week’s podcast episode, Adrian and Karen discuss the awards the Best Western Kennedy Drive Airport Motel team have received. This leads them to a conversation around the challenges faced by accommodation providers and methods used to overcome them. They have a great chat about the importance of looking at your business from a guest’s perspective and the similarly important task of prioritising the needs of employees. Karen shares with listeners why it’s so important to be a visitor in your own region and how doing so can help exceed guest expectations.

Each Monday join Adrian Easdown as he has enlightening chats with successful leaders within the accommodation, tourism & hospitality industries around the globe, on the first podcast of its kind in the southern hemisphere. If you’re involved in any way with hotel or resorts, operating a service-based enterprise or managing any kind of tourism or hospitality business, this is one podcast you won’t want to miss.

Other topics Adrian and Karen discuss in the episode: