ALICE, the hospitality industry’s leading operations platform, partnered with Forbes Travel Guide during their annual Luxury Summit, to create the event’s first text messaging-powered concierge service. By offering the Summit’s hundreds of attendees concierge service at the push of a button, ALICE demonstrated just how convenient and compelling text messaging with hotel staff is as a way to deliver a superior guest experience.
ALICE attended the Luxury Summit to celebrate its designation as the Forbes Travel Guide’s Official Staff Operations Technology Provider for 2018. Thousands of hotels across the country and around the world use ALICE to improve guest communication and staff operations, and, in the case of ALICE’s Forbes hotel partners, ensure the rigorous 900-point Forbes property checklist is met. In the five years since the company’s inception, ALICE has taken the hospitality industry by storm. ALICE’s vision of a single, unified hospitality operations platform that bridges communication and data silos between departments is helping the company’s hotel partners deliver consistently exceptional service and guest experiences.
ALICE was the perfect text messaging technology for the Luxury Summit, as it allowed the tech-savvy, but very busy crowd of hotel general managers, owners, and managing directors to request concierge-style services and information in between a packed schedule of events. ALICE’s Customer Success Specialist and former concierge, Valerie Coello, who was previously concierge at the Gansevoort Park Avenue in New York City, was there for every attendee’s beck and call. Coello received text requests from 24% of attendees, which included requests for dinner and spa reservations, event logistics and information, confirming RSVPs, and even a very last-minute tux fitting.
The 450 text conversations Coello exchanged during the Forbes event reveal the extent to which technology can help facilitate hospitality. Coello emphasizes that ALICE’s messaging service, which is intended to connect hotel staff with guests and vice versa, is, at its core, a way to connect people with people. “With the rise of chatbots, I think people were pleasantly surprised to receive real-time information from a real-life person and not just get an automated, impersonal response,” says Coello about attendee reception to the service. “I was able to personally tailor the message with the information provided, resulting in the attendees feeling like their needs had been met.”
Today, giving your guests a convenient way to get in touch with hotel staff and concierges has become table stakes for luxury brands, and hoteliers are increasingly recognizing that text messaging needs to be part of the mix. “Guests’ expectations are evolving and we're constantly looking at ways to communicate with our guests in the way that is most comfortable to them,” General Manager for Le Parker Meridien, Sylvie Fayolle, emphasizes. “We use ALICE for pre-arrival, to say, 'Hey, your room is ready, we're ready for you to come by the front desk to pick up your keys.' We're also continuing this interaction with them throughout the day. That has really enhanced the communication we have with our guests." Hotels using ALICE’s Guest Messaging are also finding consistent communication pre-, during- and post-stay heightens guest satisfaction and leads to increased brand loyalty.
Beyond facilitating concierge service and front desk requests, texting can be an effective channel to engage with guests in other ways, such as helping to build post-stay relationships and expedite lost and found requests. On most occasions, for example, lost and found inquiries happen after a guest leaves the hotel, clouding the memory of an otherwise possibly wonderful stay. Texting allows direct interaction between guests and hotel operators, meaning the request can be both immediate and effective. Once the item has been found, the hotel can quickly next advise next steps for the guest to secure their items back. “ALICE gives us one centralized place for all guest messaging and guest request management, which has made our lives at the front desk a lot easier,” said Stella Garces, Director of Rooms at The Montauk Beach House. “Even text messaging, which is intended for guests, has made things better at the front desk, allowing us to provide personalized service quickly. It’s evident how much our guests appreciate these new tools… .”
Head here to learn more about how ALICE Guest Messaging can improve your guest experience.
