— Chief Sloth at The Gluttonous Sloth
Martin Kubler FIH
About
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Martin Kubler is a seasoned professional with 20+ years of experience in the hospitality industry across Europe and the Middle East. From running hotels to consulting, teaching, mentoring, and writing, he’s a versatile expert. After selling his stake in sps:affinity, he’s now a “Partner at Large,” splitting his time between the Middle East and Europe, where he’s established The Gluttonous Sloth, a boutique consulting firm with a unique attitude.
Martin’s expertise lies in guiding start-ups, family-run businesses, and customer-centric industries. He’s an eclectic mix of business, science, and art enthusiast, with a passion for communication, innovation, and design. With extensive international experience, he’s your go-to consultant for executive-level management and board-level consulting. However, he’s not one for mundane assignments – he craves challenges.
— I create. I consult. I connect.
Chief Sloth
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— I create. I consult. I connect.
Chief Sloth
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Get slothed! Business, marketing, and PR consulting, coaching, and training for the real world. The Sloth refuses to dumb it down, is fiercely independent, unashamedly political, and dares you to "expect different".
Services
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Here’s a quick overview of what the Sloth can help you with.
Marketing & Comms
Brand Creation & Strategy ● Marketing Strategies ● Brand Management ● Market Research ● Visual & Creative Services ● Marketing Workshops ● Copywriting & Content Creation
Digital Marvels
PPC, SEO, SEM ● Social Media Marketing ● Email Marketing ● Websites & Landing Pages ● Digital Strategies ● Remarketing ● Reputation Management
Design Thinking
Graphic Design ● Social Media & Website Content ● Logo Creation ● Brand Guidelines ● Brochures, Templates, Stationery
Training & Coaching
Innovation & Change Management ● Frontline Customer Service ● Startups & Business Expansion ● Digital Marketing ● Social Media ● Leadership ● Personal Branding
Troubleshooting
Innovation & Change Management ● Frontline Customer Service ● Startups & Business Expansion ● Digital Marketing ● Social Media ● Leadership ● Personal Branding
Talks
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As a respected industry expert, Martin Kubler has had the privilege of speaking at various conferences and events, where he shares his insights and expertise.
Articles
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Martin has achieved impressive success in his industry and is also a prolific author. His work has been published in various prestigious journals.
Optimise Your Restaurant’s Google my Business Listing in 5 Easy Steps
What’s better than a dinosaur with a yellow hat and a big sign standing at the street corner and directing people to your restaurant? Why, a fully claimed and completed Google my Business (GMB) listing, of course.
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The latest trends in restaurant stock control and inventory management
Driven by the COVID-19 effects on businesses, I can see a few inventory and stock management trends emerge, which restaurateurs should probably pay attention to over the course of the coming year.
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Will 2022 be the year non-alcoholic spirits really take off?
A few years ago, diners had to answer the question What to drink if youre not drinking with either non-alcoholic beer, mocktails, or soft drinks and juices. How times have changed! The past year, other than bad news on the pandemic front, has seen non-alcoholic spirits burst onto the dining scene in many markets. If youre still thinking sickly sweet mocktails, youre firmly mistaken. Nielsen data shows that the no- and low-alcohol sector has grown an impressive 506% since 2015 and suggesting that the non-alcoholic sector (including soft drinks) will reach $280 million in revenue this year. Annual growth for the category is expected to hit 7.1% by 2025.
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Get ready for (more) home-made talent!
I wrote about the recent UAE labour and residency law changes for Hotel & Catering News Middle East in December 2021. Is it possible to turn the UAE from talent importer into an exporter?
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New horizons at the click of a button: How COVID brought us closer together
There’s little doubt that COVID has wreaked havoc on our industry worldwide. Furloughs in the UK, lockdowns everywhere, limited (if any!) in-outlet dining, cancelled cruises – you name it. I’m not known for laughing challenging trading conditions in the face and shouting “Hey, but look at the bright side!”, but I readily admit that the pandemic has also brought certain positive changes to our industry – the most important one, in my opinion, being that we’ve come closer together
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Duck Ramps or “What’s my Role as a Mentor”
I remember thinking, that it says a lot about my new neighbourhood that local authorities go to the trouble of installing duck ramps, so little ducklings (or older ducks, which feel less energetic), can enter and leave the water effortlessly, but I also realized that the image fairly aptly symbolizes my role as a mentor.
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Musings on Office Life
There’s no denying it, many of us spend a lot of time in offices. Although the nature of work and the definition of offices are changing and home-working and work-shifting (third place working & work spaces) are on the rise, we still spend many hours every day in “office environments”.
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Isn’t it Time to Digitally Enable your IT Manager?
Socially and digitally, 2015 has certainly been an exciting year for the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries in the Middle East and it was great to see many companies making great strides towards becoming more personable and engaging online. There’s certainly been a considerable increase in better-put-together Facebook adverts, including in some cases, very intelligent re-targeting, and many organizations also embraced the new self-service Twitter and Instagram advertising options. Perhaps most importantly, we finally moved away from using the number of “Likes” or “Followers” as a serious performance measurement and saw the focus shift towards engagement and message reach.
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Reputation, Reputation, Reputation
In many cities around the world, hoteliers are fighting for market share with rock-bottom rates. Every guest counts, but if you take “price” and “location” out of the booking decision equation, what are you left with? Reputation. Faced with two or more hotels in the same location and for roughly the same price, travelers will obviously book the property that has the most positive reviews. The thing is, it’s not always TripAdvisor they go by. The online review behemoth is strong in many markets, but considerably lacks in others (e.g. many Arabic countries, some European countries, China, etc.). Besides, today’s connected travelers aren’t necessarily only checking one website, but rely on reviews and recommendations across a much wider spectrum including social media. Add to that the ever-increasing usage of mobile devices and apps and you’re likely to face a reputation management challenge.
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Should I Tip My Robot Butler?
A while ago, the news that Starwood is rolling out robot butlers in Aloft hotels in the U.S. hit the headlines of industry websites and magazines. I’m generally very fond of innovation in our industries, yet I'm somewhat skeptical about robot butlers and, indeed, robot anythings. It all comes down to lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners.
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