Yesterday, Isabela my youngest daughter turned 13; all day I was thinking about the advice that I should give her…

​During the afternoon I approached her and asked, “gorgeous, I am writing something about you, help me, what do you think is your best quality?"
She paused for a minute and said, “well I think that I am tough; when I play soccer and get hurt, I never cry or complain… I have strength”

You are so right! You are tough like all the women in our house, a great trait inherited from your mother. You have physical and mental strength, but most importantly, you have a unique strength, the strength of kindness. The way that you care about your family, your friends and your 5 dogs shows how special your heart is.
Now, remember kindness is a gift.  You always have to be aware that sometimes people will try to take advantage of it; 'To be kind is completely different than to be naive.'

- Beautiful, now you are 13 years old, not a kid anymore; you are a teenager, a young adult and going through new experiences. So I will give you the same advice that I gave your brother and sister on their birthdays:

“A birthday gives you the chance to begin again. Learning from your mistakes and accomplishments allows you to embark on your next year with great enthusiasm!
Follow your dreams and be willing to accomplish them. Do not be afraid of trying, risking and failing. Errors are part of life and growing up, they are your experiences! If you are not failing it is because you are not risking enough! If you are not risking, you are not living!”

Isabela, while celebrating your birthday understand, that each day is a gift and you should always cherish it. You have an incredible spirit, you are fearless, you are curious, extremely sharp and gorgeous; most importantly you are a kind and caring human being, which is key for a successful life. NEVER change! 

We Love you… Happy birthday to you!  Cha, Cha, Cha...

Today at work, I made a quick decision and ordered some changes to be made…
One of my managers, a new manager asked me, “when do you need this for?” I said “tomorrow.”
The manager perplexed replied, “I am not used to immediate changes, I like scheduled planning.”
“Me too” I said…“But the truth is that I do not have all the answers; I am always improvising!”
To improvise means to be able create something from whatever is available; it means to be able to come up with a solution to an unexpected situation.
In our business, as leaders, our job is to adapt quickly and grow with change, applying our experience and knowledge.

Change is not hardship, but a necessity!

Today is a day that we cannot forget what happened to all the innocent victims of 9/11.  Our minds take us back to that horrific day and what we were doing when we heard of this unbelievable attack on humanity.  
Today, 13 years later we do not forget!  
We can only imagine what this day brings to life to all the victims family, we can only imagine the pain, we can only imagine the brave men and women who tried to save lives, and today we send our prayers to the families of all victims of terrorism.
Thank you to all who serve to make sure no more victims!

Last week, while sitting at the airport lounge I overheard a conversation: A gentleman was reading an email from one of his customers; the customer was clearly furious. It was a strong email complaining about the service and the people.
The gentleman commented to his wife: “my mistake was not to stop by the office before coming to the airport” he was frustrated, knowing he lost a client.
We are in the restaurant business where we know how hard it is to get people through the door; it is not easy, but keeping them coming back is even harder.
- Like us, organizations know that getting a first time customer through the door requires considerable effort, time and money. 
A return client is known as a-repeat-customer, is less costly and less difficult to retain than attracting a new one.
A-repeat-customer shows that he is pleased with your business and service and would like to continue doing business with your organization.
So… 
What do we need to do to keep customers for the long run?
Simple: Keep them happy!
In any business, the secret to building a successful organization is by creating customers’ loyalty;  and in order to create loyalty, you need to keep customers happy by giving them what they want.
In our business, hospitality, a satisfied customer will keep coming back, and not alone. He or she will keep coming back with friends, which will lead to increased revenue.
These return-customers give us a great sense of accomplishment; we did something right.  Most importantly, they motivate us to work harder and to do it better!

“There is only one boss; the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton