Walking in someone else's shoes is the best way to understand the other person's challenges. That was one reason corporate and property executives from Expotel Hospitality spent time recently doing line-level jobs at the 12 hotels the company operates. The other purpose of Expotel's Back in Time initiative was to identify best practices and find ways to improve property-level operations.

“This exercise allowed our managers across the country to engage first hand in what associates see every day through their eyes performing their tasks, while giving us all some insight into the priorities of enhancing the delivery of a fresh product and great service to guests,” says Mark Kucera, executive vice president of operations, who worked in a utility job at the Denny's Restaurant at the company's Best Western in New Orleans.