Characteristics and Behavior o f Top Chain-Restaurant CEOs by Christopher Muller and Crist Inman pp. 64-69 This study reveals the function and characteristics of a restaurant CEO. Based on 85 CEOs' responses, including 37 from the quick-service segment and 25 from the midscale (family) segment, the CEOs exhib- ited some fairly consistent attributes and traits: a reliance on a reason- ably short-term planning horizon, an entrepreneurial rather than "rational" or hierarchical management style, and an operations- or field-management-based perspective of the critical skills necessary for success. When asked what are the most important issues facing them, they most frequently mentioned hiring quality people, rising to the challenge of greater competition, meeting government mandates, and identifying changing consumer needs. When they focused on the com- petitive nature of the restaurant business, they enlisted such terms as market saturation, risk aversion by their boards of directors and own- ers, and the changing market environment. Only three out of four thought that they would be as successful in the future given the changes they foresee in the critical skills required of restaurant CEOs. IN Brief Hotel Management and Marketing on the Internet: An Analysis o f Sites and Features by ffamie Murphy, Edward) Forrest, C. Edward I~Votring, and Robert Brymer pp. 70-82 Many hotel managers and hotel-operating companies are attempting to use the internet and worldwide web as an effective management and marketing tool. An exploratory survey finds thousands of hotel-related sites. Most such sites are hotel guides, chain hotels, and individual hotels, in that order. Current WWW hotel sites vary tremendously. Available functions of a web page include: travel information, reserva- tions and payment, special promotions, links to partners, direct con- sumer feedback, employment opportunities, audio and video ads, gift certificates, shareholder information, newsletters, frequently asked questions, and a list of and links to individual hotels. The costs of establishing and maintaining a web site vary considerably, depending on the site-owner's commitment and objectives. The most effective hotel sites are those that give the consumer the easiest, most reward- ing access to relevant and related information. For any web site, there are five important considerations for its successful management: defin- ing the mission, calculating the margins, addressing the mechanics, planning the marketing, and performing the maintenance. P R O F I L E o l o executive summaries of this issue's feature articles Lessons o f a Lifetime: The Development o f Hilton International by Curt R. Strand pp. 83-95 Hilton International began on a comparative shoestring, with $300,000 in preopening money and an offer from the Puerto Rican government that Conrad Hilton could not refuse. With no further financial support from the parent company, a small staff expanded judiciously using profit-sharing leases and, later, management contracts. Each deal had to make sense on its own, and the company was ever sensitive to the potential impact on its good name of a bad deal. Cut loose from the domestic Hilton organization in 1963, Hilton International is now a multibillion-dollar company. In addition to pioneering leases and man- agement contracts, the firm created an employee-development institute in 1968 that was instrumental in developing its key employees, which is one of the major contributions a management firm can bring to a hotel deal. June 1996 • 7