Gary Hogan and Tom Bell with Chaminade student and Hogan Entrepreneur, Haelee Tallett
The Hogan Program kicked off its Wednesday evenings this fall with Mr. Gary Hogan, CEO and President of Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts and Royal Pacific Air, and Mr. Tom Bell, President of Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts. The topics of their presentation were entrepreneurship and hospitality.
Mr. Hogan began by sharing his family stories and journey to starting their first company, Pleasant Travel Services. He stressed the importance of having a competitive advantage, having fun and being passionate about your job and ideas.
Mr. Bell emphasized the importance of customer service. He best describes the importance of customer service with the quote, “if the bed is hard, and the eggs are cold, how nice the building was, makes very little difference.” For example, a big chain restaurant may be nice and fancy but you wouldn’t recommend and return if you received bad service. Yet, you will return to a small and simple café with great service. He also shared with us a formula to success: “Experience – Expectations = Value.” This means in order to leave a positive impact, customer experience must always exceed their expectation.
The presentation ended with 5 basic rules to entrepreneurship:
1. Have a Vision
2. Stay Nimble
3. Three C’s - Consultation, Consultation, Consultation!
4. Entrepreneurs Give Back
5. Prepare to Fail
Written by: Haelee Tallett