The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4, 2024
The Art of a Great Arrival for Luxury Hotels
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | May 22, 2024
Guest Experience
Adding a Guest Experience Management Mobile App Is Aiding the Labor Crisis
Thomas Zarikian | December 8, 2021
5 ways a task-oriented mobile app can help hotels attract and retain talent while improving operations, driving revenues, and ensuring positive online reviews By Thomas Zarikian In today’s world there is an app for almost anything, and one can’t deny that apps have greatly simplified our lives. Just think of how many apps you’ve used today! Some you may even deem essential to your daily professional life. Yet, for some reason, it seems the hotel industry has fallen behind in adopting the technology and leveraging the increased productivity that apps bring. Contrast that with the airline industry, which is at the forefront of technol...
Zoox Smart Data Unveils Advanced Facial Recognition Capabilities With Launch of Zoox Pass
Zoox Smart Data | December 7, 2021
Industry-leading provider of guest profile technology engineers ultimate combination of big data and guest identification technology. Alpharetta, GA — December 7, 2021 —Zoox Smart Data (“Zoox”), an international provider of technological solutions that harness big data to build customer profiles from existing Wi-Fi networks, has today announced the launch of Zoox Pass, hospitality’s latest advancement in the field of facial recognition technology. A cloud-based service that seamlessly integrates with Zoox’s big data profile technology, Zoox Pass instant facial recognition is set to provide industry professionals with the enhance...
Renovating Your Hotel? Don’t Overlook Baby Boomers
Cicero Construction Group | November 8, 2021
PLAINFIELD, IL – November 8, 2021 – While Millennials have received the bulk of the travel industry's attention of late, the baby boomer generation still represents a wealthy niche for hotels to pursue. On average, this generation takes up to five trips and spends over $6,600 annually on travel, making it a market segment that the hotel industry ignores at its own peril. Born between 1946 and 1964, the so-called "boomers" spent a whopping $157 billion on travel in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Besides their spending power, boomers have also proven to be highly loyal to hotel brands that meet their needs, taking advantage of loyalty ...
When Your Customer Experience Hits a “Bump in the Road”
Shep Hyken | November 3, 2021
By Shep Hyken One of our faithful subscribers sent in a question. While he’s in the hospitality industry, this could apply to any type of business. There have most likely been times that many of us have fallen short in taking care of our customers. It could be an isolated incident, which is easy to fix. But what happens when it becomes a trend? With that in mind, here’s his question, followed by my answer and comments. He writes: I would love to get some service-related feedback. My hotels have struggled this year with our service scores. In years past both of my locations were consistently in the top 30% of brands. This ...
Tripadvisor Content Moderation Transparency Report Reveals New Data in Fight Against Fake Reviews
TripAdvisor | October 27, 2021
2021 Review Transparency Report analyzes a full year of traveler contributions — over 26 million reviews — to examine how review trends shifted during the pandemic A total of 3.6% of all review submissions in 2020 were identified as fake – Tripadvisor’s robust platform protections ensured the vast majority never made it onto the platform In-depth report findings coincide with launch of new Trust and Safety information center on Tripadvisor NEEDHAM, Mass. - Tripadvisor, the travel platform trusted by hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide for its traveler reviews, has today published its 2021 Review Transparency Rep...
Silverware POS Improving the Guest and Employee Experience for Dallas-Based Makeready Hotel and Restaurant Brands
Silverware | October 26, 2021
Hotel and restaurant operator seeing a rise in employee and guest satisfaction as Silverware POS is easy to use and drives consistency across all hotel restaurants Markham, Ontario — October 26, 2021 — For hotel and restaurant operator Makeready Experience, creating unique local concepts for travelers and satisfying work environments for employees across their multi-property portfolio is key to brand success. Recently, the company began standardizing the point-of-sale systems at its hotels’ restaurants with Silverware. Today the Alida Hotel in Savannah, Ga., (Rhett restaurant, Trade Room bar, and Lost Square rooftop), Emeline Hotel in ...
Six Crazy Wellness Ideas for the Decade Ahead
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | October 20, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky While everyone is still looking to mitigate the ongoing staffing shortages, it’s also important to ponder what’s possible in the years (or decades) to come and to ask the question, “What if?” After all, if you don’t think about what the future can hold for your hotel, then the market will choose for you, and the result may not be in the favor. As the ‘wellness’ industry recovers from the pandemic, it’s simultaneously branching out into new niches by incorporating new trends or technologies to maintain branding moats and offer more lucrative services. The world is only going to get crazier, so...
How Digital Transformation Is Facilitating Servitization in the Hospitality Industry
EHL | October 19, 2021
Today, guests expect to be provided with a consumer-centric hotel experience from the word go, including when they are choosing a destination. They also want new experiences, faster customer service, the utmost comfort, ... and the list continues to grow. So, how can hotel operators meet these needs? An industry that is ready As various new technologies crop up and market disruptors get to their climax, businesses across various industries are faced with the need for a major overhaul. The hospitality industry is no exception. In 2020, the global hospitality market hit the $3486.77 billion mark and is forecasted to grow to $4132.5 ...
The Cadence Hotel Selects BeyondTV for Advanced Guestroom Entertainment and Future-Proof Guest Service Compatibility
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | October 19, 2021
Newly opened luxury hotel provides instant access to personal streamed content while leveraging BeyondTV’s comprehensive service design to deploy additional experience-enhancing capabilities. NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y — October 19, 2021 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has announced the adoption of its BeyondTV content streaming and guest services solution by The Cadence hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. A recently opened boutique luxury property within walking distance of the Niagara Falls State Park, The Cadence’s implementation of BeyondTV ser...
Sense of Arrival Back at the Forefront
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | October 13, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky A keyword to keep in mind in this post-coronavirus era of travel is ‘friction’. While vaccine statuses will soon become ubiquitously digitized via uploads to a mobile wallet or shared amongst governmental databases referenced at each passport swipe, it’s the COVID-19 tests that present far greater an obstacle, in turn broadly impeding the hotel industry from reattaining 2019 occupancy figures. Until such time as antigen or rapid PCR tests are no longer required, getting across international borders is a steep burden in both the time taken to arrange the test prior to departure and the cost of the test ...
Wellness Travel Association’s 2021 Wellness Travel Survey Reveals Future Booking Motivations
Wellness Tourism Association | October 6, 2021
Denver, CO – October 6, 2021 – Just under 2,500 consumers from 52 countries and territories took part in the Wellness Tourism Association’s (WTA) 2021 Wellness Travel Consumer Survey to help the hospitality industry, tour operators and travel agents/advisors have a clearer understanding of wellness-minded consumers’ priorities as they begin planning their post-pandemic travels. This latest survey from the WTA was designed to reveal what assets, amenities, activities, and other offerings are “extremely important” to key consumers as they plan their future wellness travels, what is “not important at all,” and what might influenc...
The Culture Challenge
Shep Hyken | September 29, 2021
By Shep Hyken Culture is one of the most important parts of customer service and customer experience. I’ve written numerous articles about this and have included a chapter on this topic in my latest book, I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again, which by the way, is finally out. (Shameless plug: Get it today!) It’s always been my philosophy that customer service is not a department. It’s a philosophy to be embraced by everyone in an organization. It’s part of the company’s culture. In the past, I covered six steps to creating a customer-centric culture. These are still the right steps. B...
The Future of Customer Experience Is Human, Meaningful & Transformative
Dr Andreea Antonescu | September 8, 2021
By Dr Andreea Antonescu The concept of Customer Experience has become quite popular lately and it is used in discourses, storytelling, advertisement campaigns, business strategies, and research cross-disciplines. Therefore, at Institute of Customer Experience Management (ICEM), we decided to take a closer look at the concept and try to deconstruct it in order to generate a better understanding about its composing elements and attributes. CX becomes HX: The Human Experience The questions we asked ourselves were at first of an epistemological nature and slowly shifted into more operational ones. So what is an experience...
Guest Satisfaction Declines Among Hotels Operated by Largest Third-Party Management Companies, J.D. Power Finds
J.D. Power | September 8, 2021
Throughout the pandemic, hotel operators reduced staff and services as they adjusted to reduced demand. Guests often reacted negatively to these changes as evidenced by lower stay satisfaction in branded hotels operated by the top third-party management companies, according to the J.D. Power 2021 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark,SM released today. Driving the decline in guest satisfaction are food and beverage and staff service. “As hotel demand increases, guests are expressing not just a desire, but an expectation of a return to brand standards,” said Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice ...
Terranea Resort Shares Leisure and Group Luxury Travel and Event Insights
Terranea Resort | August 31, 2021
Southern California’s Premier Oceanfront Resort Redefines Connectivity, Wellness, and Unparalleled Experiences Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Terranea Resort continues to evolve and redefine its leisure, group, and wedding offerings within the luxury segment to satisfy and exceed guest expectations. As Southern California’s hidden gem on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the destination resort has invested in the evolution of its enhanced standards of safety and well-being, advancements in technology, reimagined indoor and outdoor spaces, and experiences to promote integrated wellness, reconnection, and rediscovery. “Our industry is resili...
Don’t Make Me Repeat My Story!
Shep Hyken | August 26, 2021
By Shep Hyken I’m always frustrated when I call a customer support number that I’ve called before and have to retell my story. The same goes for when I’m transferred to another person. There is no need for this. I recently posted that message to social media. My friend and fellow customer service and experience expert Jason Bradshaw responded that the same thing happens with online chat. Specifically, he wrote, “This is also why I have never advocated for online chat – I’ve yet to find a company that uses online chat and doesn’t have the customer repeat their story numerous times. The customer wants success, not pain...
Personalizing the Customer Experience Is a Competitive Differentiator
Shep Hyken | August 25, 2021
By Shep Hyken I recently released my 2021 Achieving Customer Amazement research. We surveyed 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and asked them numerous questions about topics related to customer service, customer experience, loyalty, reviews, and more. One of the questions had to do with creating a personalized experience. We asked customers to rate various customer service experiences on a scale of one to five, in which a score of one signified not important at all with five being very important. Of the experiences that customers listed as very important or important, a personalized experience was number eight on the list. ...
Volara Brings Multimedia Interactive Voice-First Solution on Google Nest Hub to Iconic LEGOLAND® Brand
Volara | August 18, 2021
Guests staying at LEGOLAND® Hotels in New York and California are speaking with LEGOLAND® characters and engaging with all aspects of the brand, hotel, and theme parks from inside their rooms using Volara’s hands-free, voice-first, guest-engagement platform with Google New York — August 18, 2021 — In every guestroom at the newly opened LEGOLAND® Hotel at LEGOLAND® New York Resort in Goshen, N.Y., as well as in each guestroom at LEGOLAND® Hotel and LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel at LEGOLAND® California Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., guests are engaging with Hotel staff and services through Google’s voice-first hote...
StayNTouch Expands to Gulf Region, Selected by Riyadh Based Hotel Management Company, IRIS Hotels
StayNTouch | August 18, 2021
IRIS Hotels, one of Saudi Arabia’s premier hotel development and management companies, selected StayNTouch, a global leader in guest-centric technology and mobile hotel property management systems (PMS), to implement their PMS technology at the collection of the boutique hotels in Jizan, Taif, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This partnership marks StayNTouch’s first hotel customer in Saudi Arabia and an expansion into the Gulf region. Founded in 2011, IRIS Hotels is a premier, full-scope hotel management, acquisition and development company headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and centered around six major brands 一 IRIS Hotel, IRIS Boutiq...
Where Are All These Guests Who Supposedly Prefer Humanless Hotel Experiences?
Doug Kennedy | August 17, 2021
By Doug Kennedy For probably a decade now, I have almost daily been reading articles and blog posts about how today’s hotel guests prefer to interact with technology rather than humans. Of course, it is not by coincidence that most of these are authored by executives who are peddling the latest “essential” guest technology. Often these articles and blogs are accompanied by survey results to supposedly support the theme. Yet when I look for details on sample size and methodology, I usually find there is no mention of these, or I find that the survey was conducted “online” with a very small, self-selected sample size. At fir...
New Booking.com Research With LGBTQ+ Travelers Reveals Both Significant Barriers and Opportunities for Everyone to #TravelProud
Booking.com | August 5, 2021
Over half (61%) of LGTBQ+ travelers report that they have experienced some form of discrimination when travelling Almost two-thirds (63%) have had less-than-welcoming or uncomfortable experiences at a property where they were staying Booking.com introduces Proud Hospitality program to support accommodation providers in delivering more inclusive and welcoming experiences for LGBTQ+ travelers NEW YORK — August 5, 2021 — Today leading digital travel platform Booking.com released new research revealing that more than half (61%) of LGBTQ+ travelers have experienced some form of discrimination when traveling. Conducted wit...
Innisfree Hotels Chooses StayNTouch to Deliver Guest-Centric Mobile PMS Across 5 Independent Properties
StayNTouch | August 5, 2021
Innisfree Hotels, an owner and operator of both full and focused service properties throughout the United States, selects StayNTouch, a global leader in guest-centric technology and mobile hotel property management systems (PMS), as the PMS provider for their 5 independent Gulf Coast Properties, totaling more than 590 rooms. Innisfree is currently the largest beachfront hotel owner-operator on the Gulf Coast, with over 3,191 hotel rooms, $800 million of assets under management, and $175 million in annual hotel revenue. Innisfree chose StayNTouch to implement an intuitive mobile PMS across their independent portfolio, facilitate more effici...
Five Ways Tech Builds the Next Stage of Local Authenticity for Hotel
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | July 21, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Coming out of the pandemic, guest demands have irreversibly changed. They don’t want cookie-cutter rooms; they want experiences. This harks back to the push over the previous decade to make our properties more ‘locally authentic’. Now, with lean teams and skeleton crews, the only way to effectively meet this demand is through technology. For the post-pandemic travel landscape, local authenticity means more than just a cursory immersion in the arts, culture and heritage of one’s locale. It also equals peace of mind because, in light of the residual anxiety over COVID-19, guests need to feel as though ...
Creating the Better Hotel Guest Experience Without Breaking the Budget
CLOUD COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS | July 21, 2021
By Greg Black Hotel businesses live and die by the satisfaction of their guests. As customer expectations rise, so does the complexity and cost of delivering an experience they'll enjoy while looking to drive more business and increasing revenues. Travel technology is growing increasingly complex and is forcing hoteliers to balance their business needs versus investment in new or updated technology. With savvier, more resourceful tech attitudes of travelers, there continues to be a natural increase in mobile travel-related technologies led by the traveler behavior and expectations. A hotel's visibility is their cornerstone of booking ...
