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	<title>Opus Hotel's Blog</title>
	<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog</link>
	<description>UNIQUELY STYLISH AND ALWAYS FRESH / UNIQUE, CHIC ET NOVATEUR</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:59:42 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Olympics come to a city only once in a lifetime, and Vancouver was lucky to enjoy a perfect confluence of spring-like weather, an unexpected surge in patriotism and enough gold medals for Canada to break the world record.
About 250,000 people visited the city during the Games, and judging by the herds that streamed past [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/a-hotel-prepares-for-the-winter-olympics/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: A hotel prepares for the Winter Olympics'>A hotel prepares for the Winter Olympics</a></li><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-before-the-winter-olympics/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Behind the scenes before the Winter Olympics'>Behind the scenes before the Winter Olympics</a></li></ol>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/with-glowing-hearts-a-post-olympics-wrap-up/</link>
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		<title>Behind the scenes before the Winter Olympics</title>
		<description><![CDATA[With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games due to start in Vancouver this Friday, I decided to pay a surprise visit to Opus Hotel to check in on frantic last-minute preparations. I didn’t exactly find what I expected!
 



Related posts:A hotel prepares for the Winter OlympicsWith glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/a-hotel-prepares-for-the-winter-olympics/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: A hotel prepares for the Winter Olympics'>A hotel prepares for the Winter Olympics</a></li><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/with-glowing-hearts-a-post-olympics-wrap-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up'>With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up</a></li></ol>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-before-the-winter-olympics/</link>
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		<title>What to do when things go wrong in a hotel</title>
		<description><![CDATA[



People often corner me at social functions to tell me about a problem they’ve had in a hotel. It doesn’t matter if I’ve never worked for the hotel or the incident occurred seventeen years ago; apparently, it’s my duty to listen. Sometimes I get the impression they think I’m somehow to blame. 
I don’t mind, [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/what-to-do-when-things-go-wrong-in-a-hotel/</link>
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		<title>A hotel prepares for the Winter Olympics</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After a sleepy year, the hotel industry in Vancouver and Whistler is about to get a blaring wakeup call. From February 12 to 28, the 2010 Winter Olympics are expected to draw 250,000 spectators, plus top athletes, foreign dignitaries and international media. Hotels are now sold-out for sixteen consecutive nights.
Given the sheer volume and related [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-before-the-winter-olympics/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Behind the scenes before the Winter Olympics'>Behind the scenes before the Winter Olympics</a></li><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/with-glowing-hearts-a-post-olympics-wrap-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up'>With glowing hearts: a post-Olympics wrap-up</a></li></ol>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/a-hotel-prepares-for-the-winter-olympics/</link>
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		<title>“A Hidden Gem” or “LAME!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch out for</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In 2007, a traveler wrote the following review of Opus Hotel Vancouver on TripAdvisor: “The GM who thought he was Ian Fleming was a real detriment to a great trip. Shame – let’s hope the hotel sees sense and releases Daniel to make another movie.”
Ouch. The comment was a reference to my James Bond namesake [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/%e2%80%9ca-hidden-gem%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9clame%e2%80%9d-online-travel-reviewers-to-watch-out-for/</link>
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		<title>Online Reviews: The Bane of Hotels’ Existence or an Unprecedented Opportunity to Engage Travelers?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A few years ago at Opus Hotel Vancouver we relocated a couple who had driven up from Washington state to celebrate the husband’s fiftieth birthday. It was a nasty thing to do, but it happens in the hotel business, more frequently than most travelers think. Like the airlines, hotels overbook when demand is high, banking [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/%e2%80%9ca-hidden-gem%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9clame%e2%80%9d-online-travel-reviewers-to-watch-out-for/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: “A Hidden Gem” or “LAME!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch out for'>“A Hidden Gem” or “LAME!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch out for</a></li><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-tyranny-of-the-mistreated-traveller/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The Tyranny of the Mistreated Traveller'>The Tyranny of the Mistreated Traveller</a></li><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/emerging-trends-in-the-hotel-industry-a-lighthearted-approach/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Emerging Trends in the Hotel Industry: A Lighthearted Approach'>Emerging Trends in the Hotel Industry: A Lighthearted Approach</a></li></ol>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/online-reviews-the-bane-of-hotels%e2%80%99-existence-or-an-unprecedented-opportunity-to-engage-travelers/</link>
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		<title>So You Want to Work in Hotels, Part II: The Interview</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When I last wrote a post about how to get a job in the hotel industry, the economy was booming and hotels were so desperate for staff they were stopping just short of dragging passersby off the street and slapping uniforms on them. These days, occupancy rates have tanked, room attendants are dozing on beds [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/so-you-want-to-work-in-hotels-part-ii-the-interview/</link>
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		<title>Lifestyle Hotels: Gotta Have Soul</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that luxury is a bad word, hoteliers are scrambling for ways to reinvent their hotels without spending a whack of money. The quick fix? Simply delete all references to “luxury” in marketing materials and replace them with “lifestyle”. Magically, the hotel’s image transforms from visions of champagne baths and gold-plated toilet seats to a [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/lifestyle-hotels-gotta-have-soul/</link>
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		<title>The Day the Earth Stood Still</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For the residents, businesses and visitors to Yaletown who have endured construction of the Canada Line underground rapid transit station these past three years, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, it’s a speeding train—a Canada Line train. Whether it will flatten us with a railcar of problems—traffic, parking, security—or will transport [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-day-the-earth-stood-still/</link>
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		<title>Emerging Trends in the Hotel Industry: A Lighthearted Approach</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The hotel industry is built on cheerfulness and spirited optimism, yet in these challenging economic times it’s getting increasingly difficult for employees to hold their smile. Amidst all the doom and gloom I thought I’d take a more lighthearted approach to identifying some of the trends emerging in the hotel industry.

1. Everything learned in revenue [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/emerging-trends-in-the-hotel-industry-a-lighthearted-approach/</link>
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		<title>The Devil, the Details, and Pierre</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A recent guest took our Lifestyle Concierge quiz and was so surprised by his similarities to Pierre he sent us this letter. We thought you’d enjoy.

To: Mr. Nicholas Gandossi, General Manager
I have just spent an evening at your trendy little address in Vancouver and felt I should convey my observations for the sake of fellow [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-devil-the-details-and-pierre/</link>
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		<title>Home Sweet Hotel</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The increasing popularity of condo-hotel developments has put within reach a lifestyle previously reserved for the rich and famous: living in a hotel. Having been living in a hotel myself for the past few months, I’ve discovered that it’s not as always as glamorous as it sounds. For any aspiring Donald Trumps out there, a [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/home-sweet-hotel/</link>
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		<title>See you on the flipside</title>
		<description><![CDATA[December 28 will be my last day at Opus. And wow, what an amazing six years it’s been. For those not interested in hearing me get all sentimental, feel free to fast-forward to previous posts about misbehaving guests, mini-bar sex toys, and makeup-smearing drag queens. For the rest of you, kindly allow me a moment.
There’s [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/see-you-on-the-flipside/</link>
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		<title>Hotels in Space</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently there’s been a lot of hype in the media about a hotel that plans to launch in 2012—in space. It’s called Galactic Suites, and reservations lines are expected to be open next year. I would be the first in line if it weren’t for the astronomical price: $4 million for a three-day stay. Now [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/hotels-in-space/</link>
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		<title>Chain conformity and other foreboding phrases</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Sorry for the long absence, but I have a good excuse. In case you somehow dodged the salvo of announcements issued by our media team, Opus has adopted a younger sister. She&#8217;s gorgeous, speaks fluent French and, fortunately, lives far enough away from Vancouver that we won’t be too jealous. Her name is Opus Montreal.
On [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/chain-conformity-and-other-foreboding-phrases/</link>
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		<title>So you want to work in hotels&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I get lots of messages from hospitality students and aspiring hotel workers who read this blog. In fact, an associate professor at San Francisco State University recently emailed me to say the General Manager’s Blog is required reading for his class. For some time now I’ve been promising to write a post about how to [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/so-you-want-to-work-in-hotels/</link>
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		<title>Back to the Scene of the Crime</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Just back from New York and Canada’s Media Marketplace, where my fellow Canadians and I mercilessly flogged our country’s wares in the hopes that media will write gushing stories. I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel for the first two nights, Ian Schrager’s latest hotel project in collaboration with artist Julian Schnabel. I’d heard mixed [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/back-to-the-scene-of-the-crime/</link>
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		<title>Technical Challenges for the Technically Challenged</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It seems my recent posts have not been going out to the subscriber list &#8211; a travesty! Our web designer extraordinaire Pierre seems to have fixed the problem, so this is a quick post to see if it&#8217;s working. Check out the latest, and thanks to all my loyal readers (make that reader, Dad got [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/technical-challenges-for-the-technically-challenged/</link>
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		<title>Multiple Personalities</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Opus has never claimed to be the clichéd “home away from home”. Unless of course your bathroom at home has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street. I like to compare Opus to “a cool friend’s apartment”, a phrase I appropriated from one of our frequent guests. It captures the hotel’s residential feel and some key design [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/multiple-personalities/</link>
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		<title>The Cream In My Coffee</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In our relentless pursuit of world domination, right on the heels of assuming control of Elixir and Opus Bar, last week Opus management took control of Café O. Until now, this sunny northeast corner of the building was leased to a third party. It’s earned a reputation for making a mean cup of coffee, but [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-cream-in-my-coffee/</link>
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		<title>Deconstructing Mini-bars</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
It’s time for our annual mini-bar program review at Opus, so it was quite timely that a little package arrived for me by courier yesterday. Upon opening it I found a “Mile High Kit” complete with lubricant, condoms and a “whisper-quiet massager”. Curious, I turned the massager on. The vibration was so powerful it almost [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/deconstructing-mini-bars/</link>
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		<title>SOS From Island Paradise</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An important step in a well-rounded hotel manager’s career is getting overseas experience. I’m proud to say that I have overseas experience – all of one month’s worth. I alluded to this story last June, and since then a number of readers have asked for the sordid details. So here goes.
In 1996, a hotel company [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/sos-from-island-paradise/</link>
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		<title>Together at last</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s December 29 and I’m feeling sorry for myself because for weeks now, while friends and colleagues in the industry have been stumbling from one holiday party to another in a boozy haze, I’ve never been busier. While they&#8217;ve been Christmas shopping during work hours, I&#8217;ve been shopping for a director of food &#38; beverage. [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/together-at-last/</link>
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		<title>Guests Behaving Badly</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last weekend was a challenging one at Opus. You would have thought it was a full moon. Maybe the incessant rain and contaminated water seeped into our brains. Whatever the reason, by Sunday three of our guests had been blacklisted. They won’t be welcome back.
Of course, I never divulge the identity of guests, but I [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/guests-behaving-badly/</link>
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		<title>Lysol comes to the rescue</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the past few months I’ve received lots of great stories from readers about their hotel experiences: the good, the bad, the ugly and the hilarious. I encourage you to send me yours by clicking any of the “comments” link below. All comments are monitored, so please keep them clean and brief. Oh, and try [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/lysol-comes-to-the-rescue/</link>
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		<title>I&#039;m baaaaack! Did you miss me?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[First up, thanks to Katrina for filling in for me during my vacation. When I read her posts and saw how brilliant they were, I thought, “That brazen little upstart is so fired.” But I’ve since learned to accept being upstaged, and I quite like the idea of a backup for times of low inspiration [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/im-baaaaack-did-you-miss-me/</link>
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		<title>Appropriation, the Highest form of Flattery</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I miss the days when I was in sales. I got to travel all over the continent at the company’s expense and – my favourite pastime – check out other luxury hotels. This job keeps me chained to Opus most of the year. But this fall will be a heavy travel month for me.
On [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.opushotel.com/blog/im-baaaaack-did-you-miss-me/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: I&#039;m baaaaack! Did you miss me?'>I&#039;m baaaaack! Did you miss me?</a></li></ol>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/appropriation-the-highest-form-of-flattery/</link>
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		<title>The Tyranny of the Mistreated Traveller</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I’m still smarting from a review posted on a travel website recently by an unhappy guest. It’s hard not to take these comments personally. I’m passionate about the hotel, as are my staff, and we want everyone to love Opus. The frustrating thing is the review is anonymous, so I can’t respond and try to [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-tyranny-of-the-mistreated-traveller/</link>
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		<title>Rates and favours</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After meeting Stephen Perrine recently, Editor-In-Chief of Best Life magazine and all-around great guy, I picked up the current issue and came across an article by Peter Greenberg, author of Hotel Secrets From the Travel Detective. Mr. Greenberg advises readers looking for hotel room upgrades to call ahead to the general manager or director of [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/rates-and-favours/</link>
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		<title>Hotel Confidential</title>
		<description><![CDATA[At Opus we host lots of media, and in return they write stories about Vancouver and (we hope) say great things about us. Recently I’ve been approached by writers of travel blogs like vagablond.com who want write a review. Tech companies and celebrity publicists have long recognized the ability of popular bloggers to generate buzz. [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/hotel-confidential/</link>
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		<title>Something fishy around here</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s room inspection time at Opus. Every manager, from sales manager to controller, gets a block of rooms and a detailed list of items to check off. Walls, mirrors and artwork free of smudges? Check. Toilet paper roll folded into a perfect triangle? Check. Magnum Opus CD playing at turndown? Check. Mini-bar liquor bottles watered [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/something-fishy-around-here/</link>
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		<title>Miscellaneous thoughts of little consequence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[How’s that for a gripping lead? A few months ago, when Katrina, our director of sales &#38; marketing, came up with the idea of a general manager’s blog I thought it was brilliant. Back then I didn’t realize how hard it would be to come up with new material each week, and to find time [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/miscellaneous-thoughts-of-little-consequence/</link>
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		<title>We want our word back</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Several years ago, the term “boutique hotel” arrived on the travel scene. Today, it seems like every second hotel is calling itself boutique, from 800-room properties to highway motels to mega chains. There are also boutique salons, ad agencies, law firms, hardware stores and pet stores. Everywhere, businesses are pilfering this precious term to distinguish [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/we-want-our-word-back/</link>
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		<title>Must Love Smiling</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week was a busy one at Opus, with 4 perfect fills in 7 days. We’re currently hiring for positions in reservations, guest services and housekeeping. So if you know anyone who is experienced, has a great attitude, is well mannered and exceptionally competent, we’d like to hear from them. I have friends who might [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/must-love-smiling/</link>
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		<title>Silent Shoppers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Once a year at Opus we recruit “silent shoppers” to stay at the hotel anonymously and evaluate the experience. They book a room like a regular guest, pay full rate, have drinks in the lounge and dinner in the restaurant, order room service, and test the hotel’s facilities and services. To preserve anonymity, we rebate [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/silent-shoppers/</link>
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		<title>The holy grail of the hotel business</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
It’s been a busy week at Opus. The hotel has been sold out all week. Well, almost. The holy grail of the hotel business is the “perfect fill”, when every room is occupied and no guests are relocated. It&#8217;s proven elusive this week.
Relocating is the hotel industry’s equivalent of an airline bumping a passenger. But [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/the-holy-grail-of-the-hotel-business/</link>
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		<title>Courting divas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[People often think that being a general manager is a glamorous life.It certainly has its moments, but sometimes it’s like having your dream job at Disneyland – in the accounting office. You know you work for Disney because you see the logo on every bill you send out. And you can tell people you work [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/courting-divas/</link>
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		<title>Does that room come with a midwife?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[People often ask me about the strangest request I’ve had as a hotel manager. Having been in the business for over 12 years, I’ve encountered my share. The one that comes to mind happened recently, here at Opus.
A woman – a seemingly rational, articulate, sane woman – contacted me to ask if it would be [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/does-that-room-come-with-a-midwife/</link>
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		<title>Never a dull moment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So. A hotel manager’s blog. Maybe a first in the industry, likely not the last. This blog is inspired by a series of columns I wrote in the National Post about the daily life of a hotel manager. There is an enormous amount of interest in the behind-the-scenes workings of luxury hotels. Or so I [...]


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		<link>http://www.opushotel.com/blog/never-a-dull-moment/</link>
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