Bright and early, the 2019 Cohort walked to the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel to meet with the General Manger, Michal Chour.

The Alcron is a historical hotel in the City of Prague. Built in 1932, it remained independent during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia only to be seized by the communist government after the war. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the hotel returned to private ownership and closed. In 1996, it changed ownership and the new owners partnered with the Radisson Group to help manage and brand the hotel. The hotel was renovated and restored, and the partnership worked…for awhile. Over time it became apparent that to stay competitive in the growing and challenging Prague market, the Alcron would need to ask for forgiveness from the Radisson corporation after Mr. Chour's strategies proved positive than to ask for permission in the first place.

The Alcron has a unique set of circumstances. First, the unemployment rate in Czechia is almost zero. This means that all businesses are constantly competing for employees. And, with a slew of major hotel chains opening up in Prague after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Alcron has to be willing to offer very lucrative compensation packages to hire and maintain a quality staff. Second, because of the intense competition from new hotel chains (who have built new hotels), the Alcron has had to change focus. They cannot expand their building or add new enmities. Their only course of action is to become the best at customer service. This was done by increasing staff motivation, hiring slowly, firing fast,and focusing on each guest's feedback to ensure that the best is being provided.

Time and again, over the course of the partnership with Radisson, Mr. Chour has made successful decisions for the hotel and only mentioned it to the Radisson folk what exactly was done to make the hotel successful when asked. The partnership expires next year and the owners of the Alcron have decided to not renew with the Radisson. No one is more happy to have to rebrand (from Radisson Blu Alcron to just Alcron) than Mr. Chour because he will be free to manage the hotel openly.

After listening to Mr. Chour's presentation, the Cohort sampled the Alcron's hospitality by having lunch on the patio at the hotel; gourmet Czech cuisine served in the warm, European sunshine.