4 Important Tips to Succeed in the Hospitality Industry- Mark Birnbaum

If you are in the hospitality industry, you need to learn that customer satisfaction is the recipe for a positive and successful outcome.

Every business owner must understand the value of its customers, instead of underestimating it. If you want to succeed in the hospitality industry, make sure that you keep an eye on 4 important factors:

1. If any of your customers had a bad experience with your services and notifies you about the issue, do not just apologize, instead get it fixed as soon as possible, and in order to show the customer/ customers how much you care, offer them something complimentary.
2. If you want your visitors to keep on coming, you need to make sure that you are delivering what you have promised. Moreover, customer referrals will only come, if they have received what they expected. 
3. To ensure that each and every customer remains happy with your services, it is critically important to be realistic. Do not make promises that you can’t keep, just for marketing purposes, otherwise your will surely end up going nowhere.
4. If you want loyal customers, it will be your responsibility to make them happy. You can expect them to be loyal only when they are happy with the services you offer them. Therefore, do not hesitate to go the extra mile in order to keep them happy with your products and services.

Mark Birnbaum is a famous name in the hospitality industry. His role has been very important in the making of many renowned restaurants and lounges, in New York and Miami. Follow us on Instagram

Mark Birnbaum- Which is the best way to market the nightlife industry?

The right marketing technique is crucial, when trying to get the word out about a nightlife venue, and make it sound promising. There are many factors that should be taken into account, in the promotion and marketing of the nightlife industry.

Those factors are essential, in order to grab the attention of the intended customers. Such campaigns are usually aimed at a certain population and hence are niche-oriented. Therefore, the campaign should be devised according to the niche.

The layout of the message being delivered, should be easy on the eyes, and should convey the key points easily.

There are many ways to send or convey these messages to the public such as; fliers, ads which will be published on social media channels, on posters, or in newspaper ads.

The basic structure should appeal instantaneously. Start the offer with the main image, which should tell the core of what is being promoted. The Image should be relevant and related to the theme of the nightlife event.




What follows next is the action area, which should guide the target audience in terms of what to do. For example, the action should prompt the reader to buy the tickets, and the ways to do it. Lastly, give all the details about the event, in the description box. 

Mark Birnbaum is an iconic figure, in New York’s hospitality industry, whose impeccable marketing and management style has brought him and the EMM group, great heights of success.
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Areas where nightclubs have the most financial expense

The nightclub industry is surely a lucrative business, but only if you are able to unlock the key to a thriving success. Once you are able to make your club a sought-after destination among tourists and locals, the big bucks will start pouring in.

However, there are some important requirements to comply with first, like; a substantial financial investment.

Running a nightlife venue demands a lot of expenses. This major financial investment is needed to purchase or rent a nightclub, and to run the business properly.

In terms of daily expenses, a nightclub owner has to take care of purchasing things like the adequate amount of alcohol, and everything else that is needed for the bar, like; the proper bar equipment. Bar equipment includes; different types of drinking glasses, cocktail shakers, bottle openers, etc. Apart from that, every year club owners have to renew their liquor license.

Another expense for club owners includes payroll, which can be a big expense as it includes; managers, bartenders, and cocktail servers. To keep the club at peace, doormen and bouncers are also required. All these people have to be paid on a monthly/weekly basis.

If a nightclub regularly features live bands, DJs and Emcees, early booking is required.

The Cost of booking DJs and bands can vary depending on how famous they are. A local DJ is going to cost less, than a popular one.

Mark Birnbaum is the proud owner of multiple nightclubs throughout New York City.

His nightlife venues have always been a big hit among partygoers. Follow us on Pinterest and Google plus

Mark Birnbaum with Forbes

Mark Birnbaum's feature with Forbes on how he became where he is today. Mark Birnbaum is part of the EMM group that has created the next generation of successful nightlife business personalities.

FINALE is one of the star attractions of the famous EMM group

The EMM group is known as one of the most prominent event management companies in New York. Over the years, they have made a huge mark for themselves; by establishing world famous night clubs and fine dining restaurants.

FINALE is one of the main attractions of the EMM group. Two other famous EMM group outlets; the General and the Jazz room, are also accommodated in the same building as FINALE. The building itself is considered a landmark in its own right.

FINALE’s 6,000 sq. ft. area is one of its most outstanding attributes. The space is ready to host any kind of event or party at any time. It boasts of superior audibility with a 12’ X 6’ video wall.

Mark Birnbaum was one of the founding members of the group, and he has played a vital role in taking the group to new heights, which is where it is today.

Music, food and live performances, are a mainstay factor in all of the outlets of the EMM group including; lounges, clubs, and restaurants. And it’s thanks to Mark Birnbaum’s contribution, that this dream became a reality.

Mark Birnbaum: The New Kings of New York Nightlife

The New Kings Of New York Nightlife
Steven Bertoni, 05.10.10
Eugene Remm, 31, and Mark Birnbaum, 32, don't believe in quitting while they're ahead. As economic disaster swelled in 2007, Tenjune--their swanky, 5,000-square-foot nightclub in Manhattan's Meatpacking District--kept on rocking. On one raucous evening a real estate developer bought $75,000 worth of Perrier-Jouët champagne for the house, then told partygoers to shake up the bottles and coat the room in suds. Tenjune opened in August 2006 and generated $12 million of revenue in 2007, making Remm and Birnbaum's combined 50% stake worth millions of dollars. Says Remm, "Everyone was saying we were one-hit wonders"--meaning they should take their money and run.


Instead, the pair doubled down. Their nightlife empire, EMM Group, now includes restaurants, lounges, a luxury concierge service and a house in Sag Harbor, L.I. used for hosting private parties for VH1 and the cast of Gossip Girl. Headquartered in a sunny loft near Tenjune, EMM, now with 30 head-office employees, had $30 million in sales in the last 12 months. Credit that performance to Birnbaum's aesthetic eye and Remm's attention to detail. A third partner--Michael Hirtenstein, 47, who sold his Westcom Communications, which supplied secure voice and data networks to Wall Street firms, for $270 million in 2005--joined in 2008 and negotiates contracts. "They have their eyes on everything but never look stressed," says MTV Programming President Tony DiSanto, a regular EMM customer. "I see them more as producers than club owners."
Remm, the son of Russian immigrants, had a taste for risk at Long Island's Hofstra University, where he ran a bar and speculated in real estate. During his senior year he bought five houses, putting down a combined $10,000 he had pocketed in tips. ("I was the definition of subprime," he quips.) After graduation Remm joined B.R. Guest Restaurants and ran its lounge, Level V. Birnbaum promoted Manhattan clubs as a high school senior on Long Island; at Ithaca College he ran a 22,000-square-foot nightclub. After hawking insurance and hating it, he started a consultancy aimed at new club owners.


Remm and Birnbaum hooked up after throwing competing birthday parties--both were born on June 10 (hence Tenjune)--and became fast friends. They raised $800,000 from college friends and club clients to open Tenjune just in time for Fashion Week and the MTV Video Music Awards. They threw a book launch party for celebrity stylist June Ambrose, hosted by rapper Sean Combs (a.k.a. P. Diddy). Penelope Cruz, Jay-Z and Beyoncé showed up. Emboldened, Remm and Birnbaum opened a concierge service in 2007 with annual dues of $7,500. That summer they took out a $3.9 million mortgage on an eight-bedroom Sag Harbor mansion, which hosts five blowout events a summer. In the spring of 2009 EMM signed on to run the Chandelier Room in the W Hotel in Hoboken, N.J.


Their biggest bet came on Sept. 15, 2008--the day Lehman Brothers filed Chapter 11--when Remm and Birnbaum plunked down $2 million, their entire savings, to secure a three-floor restaurant and club space a block from Tenjune. It needed renovation, which involved expanding the mezzanine and relocating the furnace room. Expected total cost, including renovations, furniture and permits: $7 million. They raised the other $5 million, mostly from happy Tenjune customers, in eight months. Abe & Arthur's, which serves $88 porterhouse steaks, and its basement club, SL, opened last September. The combo has since done $10 million in sales.
If Tenjune is EMM's blockbuster film, SL is the art house flick--small, intimate and ultracool. The stone walls feature a collage of human X-rays that change color with every fabric-rippling thump of the bass. The markups are adequate to cover the renovation costs. A 1.5-liter bottle of Grey Goose ($57 wholesale) goes for $1,000 at SL. A 6-liter bottle of Ace of Spades champagne is $30,000.


Diversification is crucial. "Robert Downey Jr. won't party at Tenjune, but he'll eat at Abe & Arthur's," says Remm. EMM's special events group opened American Eagle Outfitters' Times Square shop; it handled stage design, music and security, and also produced the video looped on an outdoor Jumbotron. Abe & Arthur's later hosted a dinner for American Eagle execs.


Behind the scenes, this business is a grind. The workday ends at 5 a.m., and Remm and Birnbaum are fielding e-mails by 9 a.m. The two are sticklers about consistency--from the way hosts greet customers and how quickly reservations are confirmed to the scent in each venue. (EMM pumps in a custom perfume through its air ducts.) Employees, who get BlackBerrys, must reply to e-mails within five minutes; they're also encouraged to maintain a healthy diet and slog through daily workouts, involving weights, treadmills and yoga sessions. "There are opportunities to have lots of bad habits," says Remm.


Revenues are broken down, daily, by customer. A 20,000-name spreadsheet--cobbled with help from waitresses, floor managers, publicists and Facebook--tracks minutiae on heavy hitters who drop at least $2,000 a night, including their professions, birthdays, favorite drinks and seating preferences. Each gets a follow-up call to see how the night went and what EMM can improve. "They know what people want and how to look after people," says Karolina Kurkova, the former Victoria's Secret underwear model.

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EMM also analyzes the performance of its promoters--freelance pied pipers who march in lookers to fill the clubs. Many joints pay promoters by the volume of patrons they corral. EMM demands a good-looking crowd with high energy and deep pockets. Promoters get $500 for a stylish table of ten. Duds often get docked half their pay.


Remm, Birnbaum and Hirtenstein aren't done yet. They are in the midst of signing leases for three new venues--two restaurants and club. "You've got to stay fresh and keep your name relevant," says Birnbaum. "If I'm not opening the next place that looks amazing, someone is."