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
Shep’s 2021 Top 10 Business Predictions
Shep Hyken | January 7, 2021
By Shep Hyken Every year I write my customer service and customer experience (CX) predictions in my Forbes.com column. This year, I thought I would share a brief version of them with our Shepard Letter subscribers. So, here are my Top 10 Predictions for 2021: 1. Customers continue to get smarter. This has led to my list of predictions for several years. Our customers keep getting smarter about customer service and experience. They tolerate fewer customer service failures and demand better because they know it’s possible. 2. Customers are becoming impatient. They want what they want NOW. Consider the result of the more than 1,00...
Reexamining the Communications Hierarchy for Centennial Guests
Larry Mogelonsky | January 6, 2021
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) It seems like just yesterday we were talking about how to adjust your method of communications to better appeal to millennial guests. Now that the first of this cohort is about to turn 40, it’s time to turn over a fresh leaf and look at the next rising star in spending power. When discussing a ‘communications hierarchy’, what we are first trying to do is rank all forms of communication from most to least influential. Even with special considerations for COVID-19 safety, it’s nevertheless a matter of guiding potential customers up this ladder, knowing that the more influentia...
Technology at the Service of the Customer
Rémi Walbaum | January 5, 2021
By Rémi Walbaum Although fears that technology will wipe out jobs and human relationships in its wake, market trends show that as the world becomes more digitalized, consumers are looking for a real, concrete and personalized service. The hospitality industry has always been committed to putting people at the center of its concerns, and this is not about to change. However, it is clear that new technologies can help to further improve the customer experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) at the service of the customer Artificial intelligence (AI) unveils new data that can be analyzed to personalize the experience, predict behavior, ...
INTELITY Receives 4th Patent for Its Award-Winning Hospitality Technology Platform
INTELITY | January 5, 2021
The new patent reflects INTELITY’s deep commitment to innovation in the space of staff collaboration and platform integrations. Los Angeles, CA (January 5, 2020) - INTELITY®, the provider of hospitality’s most comprehensive guest experience and staff management platform, has today announced its fourth patent, granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent was awarded to INTELITY for its staff collaboration and optimization tool GEMS® (Guest Experience Management System), and reflects INTELITY’s long history of leadership and innovation in hospitality technology. Founded in 2007, INTELITY was the first comp...
Q : What Is Disintermediation?
EHL Insights | December 3, 2020
In the modern age, how businesses engage their customers continues to evolve rapidly. Consumers have changed how they search out the brands they want to buy from, how they choose between options and what they expect with regards to service. Hotels need to make sure they understand the concept of "disintermediation" (the reduction in intermediaries between producers and consumers), so that they can better grasp customer needs, make the necessary changes and continue to exceed their customers’ expectations in order to thrive as a business. A keen understanding of the latest trends allows professionals in the hospitality industry to adapt ...
Accessible Tourism Identified as ‘Game Changer’ for Destinations
UNWTO | December 3, 2020
Ensuring accessibility for tourists with specific access requirements can be a ‘game changer’ for destinations around the world as they look to bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic. A new set of Inclusive Recovery Guides from the World Tourism Organization, produced in partnership with the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the ONCE Foundation of Spain and Travability from Australia, makes clear the importance of placing inclusivity at the centre of recovery plans and provides key recommendations for achieving this. Launched on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the UNWTO Inclusive Recovery Guid...
Zoox Smart Data Selected by Choice Hotels to Oversee Wi-Fi Landing Pages With Latest in Guest Experience Personalization
Zoox Smart Data | December 1, 2020
Solution deployed across 4,141 Choice Hotels to host and manage internet landing pages should lead to enhanced guest satisfaction and loyalty. Alpharetta, GA — December 1, 2020 — Zoox Smart Data (“Zoox”), an international provider of technological solutions that harnesses big data to build customer profiles from existing Wi-Fi networks, announced today that it has successfully deployed its Zoox Media solution across 4,141 Choice Hotels branded hotels along with the Zoox Smart Data platform at 197 properties. Zoox Media integrates with the hotel’s guest Wi-Fi landing page, providing a fast and direct communications channel to the...
Quality Inn Montgomeryville Adapts to Future of Streamed Guestroom Entertainment With BeyondTV GuestCast™ by Hotel Internet Services
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. (HIS) | November 10, 2020
MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. — November 10, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions, has been selected by Quality Inn Montgomeryville to provide its guests with the industry’s latest in fully customizable in-room entertainment with the implementation of BeyondTV GuestCast. Identifying a need to modernize its television content offerings to mirror what guests are accustomed to when at home, Quality Inn Montgomeryville with BeyondTV Guestcast now joins a growing segment of the industry that recognizes the importance of providing guests with both complete and secure control over their viewin...
The New Executive Position: CLO (Customer Love Officer)
Shep Hyken | October 30, 2020
By Shep Hyken The word love is not used that often in the corporate or business world. It may have been Tim Sanders in his revolutionary book, Love Is the Killer App, who helped bring the word love to the forefront for leaders trying to build a stronger culture and create a better experience for their customers. People were scared to use the L-word in business. Some still are. Some people say it’s “too soft,” but my take is that it just makes you real. If you truly love your people, love your customers and love what you do, it shows. It’s obvious. Love becomes part of the culture. My buddy and professional gifting ge...
Amadeus Is Breaking Data Silos With the First Integrated E-Commerce Platform for Hoteliers
Amadeus | October 27, 2020
The Amadeus Integrated Booking Suite is the first technology bundle to offer a complete e-commerce experience across reservations, guest management, and web, allowing hoteliers to acquire, convert, and retain guests. As the future of hospitality moves steadily towards personalization and guest loyalty, it remains a challenge for hoteliers to capture and apply the full value of guest data in an actionable way across disparate systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic it has become even more important to be able to easily leverage data to drive booking and loyalty and ultimately increase revenue. To benefit both hoteliers and guests, Amadeus is ...
Hotel Internet Services Showcases Advances in Contactless Guest Service and Entertainment Personalization Along With Latest in Wi-Fi Connectivity at C
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | October 26, 2020
CLEARWATER, Fla. — October 26, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, is set to offer an opportunity for industry professionals to learn about the latest technologies capable of meeting new guest expectations for safer, more connected and personalized hotel experiences at this year’s Cyber HITEC. As an official exhibitor of the virtual event taking place October 27-29 and with attendees able to visit the virtual booth until November 25, HIS will demonstrate how comprehensive in-room entertainment and guest service solutions such as BeyondTV can enhan...
Hotel Zena, a Groundbreaking Hotel Dedicated to Female Empowerment, Opens With Volara + Google in Every Guestroom
Volara | October 21, 2020
Integration and implementation of the Google Hotel Solution expands Volara’s corporate relationship with Viceroy Hotels & Resorts and launches a new relationship with the Pebblebrook Hotel Trust October 21, 2020 — New York and Washington D.C. — When Hotel Zena opened its doors this month in downtown Washington, D.C., Volara was there to get guests talking via Google Nest Hubs in each of its 191 guestrooms. Implementation of Volara’s contactless guest engagement and touchless room controls solution is part of a systemwide rollout by Viceroy Hotels & Resorts to voice-enable all guestrooms at its luxury boutique hotels. Thi...
What Paranormal Tourism Reveals About the Human Psyche
James Houran | October 15, 2020
By James Houran, Ph.D., Dallas October is ‘Halloween season’ – a fun cultural holiday for many people worldwide. It represents a socially sanctioned time of year when children and adults alike can escape to a realm of fantasy and mystery that involves the simultaneous expression of the ‘lighter’ and ‘darker’ sides of human nature. In addition to carving pumpkins, dressing in costume, and the nightly ritual of trick-or-treating, a favourite activity this month for many people is the psychosocial phenomenon known as ‘paranormal tourism.’ In fact, these excursions are very popular throughout the entire year. Over the past de...
Ritualizing The Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | October 15, 2020
By Shep Hyken I love hanging around smart people, and my friend Todd Hartley is one of the very smartest. He runs WireBuzz, an agency that uses videos to help their clients sell and service their customers, clients, guests, etc. He was interviewing me for his podcast and used the phrase, “ritualize the experience.” He used it in passing, but I realized this is a rock-solid concept that is appropriate for everyone in any company and any industry. I wrote those three words down so I wouldn’t forget them and then thought about them for the next few hours. Ritualizing the experience starts by understanding the process around y...
Nomadix Casting Enables Guests to Personalize Their In-Room Entertainment Experience
Nomadix | October 14, 2020
Simplified for Guests; Right Sized for Hotels LOS ANGELES, Calif. – October 14, 2020 – Nomadix Inc., a technology leader in hospitality and MDU, today announced its new cost-effective solution Nomadix Casting, which enables guests to choose the content they want to watch and cast it with their devices directly to the in-room TV. As more people “cut the cord” and stream their own content at home, the guest preference to access the same content when they travel has significantly increased. Nomadix Casting modernizes the guest experience while providing an affordable and secure solution for hotels to meet this new demand. ...
Customer Disservice
Shep Hyken | October 7, 2020
By Shep Hyken One of our loyal subscribers, Warren Danziger, shared a story about how a delivery was made to his home and placed between the screen door and the front door. The delivery person never knocked or rang the doorbell to inform him his delivery was there. He was waiting for the package, which contained medicine that was temperature-sensitive. Sitting outside in the heat, baking between the two doors, was not customer service… it was customer disservice. This phrase has no definition. It is not merely the opposite of customer service—that would be bad customer service. This scenario was more like “no customer service....
Hôtel de Verbier Partners With INTELITY to Enhance Their In-Room Guest Experience
INTELITY | October 7, 2020
The luxury Swiss property is supplying guests with brand new in-room tablets for a completely seamless guest stay Los Angeles, CA (October 7, 2020) - INTELITY®, the developer of hospitality’s most comprehensive guest experience and staff management platform, announced today its partnership with Hôtel de Verbier in Verbier, Switzerland. The four-star property nestled in the majestic Swiss Alps will deploy key elements of the INTELITY platform, including beautiful 10” tablets for contactless in-room dining, a full digital compendium, amenity and activity reservations, messaging, and more, along with INTELITY’s staff operations solu...
Zoom With a View: Displaced Workers Fuel the New Work-From-Hotel (WFH) Trend
Ted Helvey | September 29, 2020
By Ted Helvey The world froze due to COVID-19, and the hotel industry is still in a bit of shock. While business travel is mostly stalled and vacations are slowly picking back up, there’s another category of guests that shouldn’t be ignored: Work-From-Hotel (WFH) guests. Whether displaced by the pandemic, floods, fires or other extreme circumstances, a growing number of professionals are using hotel rooms for temporary shelter and as home offices. Another group of guests are the thousands of university students seeking temporary housing due to campus social distancing measures. The expectations of these unlikely guests are more demandi...
Hotel Internet Services Launches BeyondTV MyRemote to Provide Guests With Ultimate in In-Room Convenience and Contactless Service Control
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | September 29, 2020
Mobile web-app offers personal smart device access to full range of BeyondTV features to reduce shared surface risks, including controlling TV functions, communicating with staff, requesting amenities and much more. CLEARWATER, Fla. — September 29, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has unveiled the latest in guestroom entertainment and contactless convenience with the launch of BeyondTV MyRemote. Designed to be instantly accessible by a wide range of personal devices without the need to download software, MyRemote is simultaneously able to ca...
Following the Shot In
Shep Hyken | September 23, 2020
By Shep Hyken Much of my life is spent traveling. Lately, I’ve been home more than usual, along with most other people in the era of COVID-19. When I am home, I play hockey three or four times a week. This is hardcore cardio training with some friendly competition worked in, which makes for an exhilarating workout. Before we go further, you should know this isn’t a super-competitive league. We’re just out there to get some exercise and have fun. We all agree that we’re going to work the next day, so we agree to no physical contact, known in the game as “checking.” We just skate hard, pass a lot and occasionally score a goal...
Gansevoort Meatpacking to Upgrade Guest Experience With Comprehensive Mobile Capabilities
INTELITY | September 23, 2020
The iconic Manhattan hotel will offer guests a custom mobile app equipped with check-in, key, and dining functionality through the INTELITY platform Los Angeles, CA (September 23, 2020) - INTELITY®, the provider of the hospitality industry’s broadest guest experience and staff management platform, has signed a deal with Gansevoort Meatpacking to provide mobile capabilities to both guests and staff. The Meatpacking District’s landmark hotel will implement the INTELITY platform, including a new, branded mobile app that delivers control to guests and GEMS®, a back-office tool that streamlines operations. Opened in 2004, Gansevoort Me...
Tourism Tidbits: Dealing With Difficult Customers and Situations in a Post-Pandemic World
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | September 2, 2020
By Dr. Peter Tarlow Traditionally in most of the northern hemisphere the month of September is called the "dog days" of summer. The name derives from the fact that it is often too hot for even a dog to want to wander along the streets. During previous years, September was a time when people returned from vacations, schools reopened, and business returned to a more normal routine. The summer’s end was also high tourist season in much of the world. The transition period between summer and autumn seemed to many to be a period of full airplanes and hotels and a period when travelers had frayed nerves. This description was the “then...
What Is Service Design?
EHL | September 1, 2020
With this in mind, service design can be applied to both new services and existing ones. Possibilities and opportunities for best-case-scenario service provision are analyzed and stakeholder expectations assessed. According to the Institute of User Experience Design, considerations of personas, the customer journey and touchpoints help feed into the ideal service provision outcome – for customers and service providers alike. This distinction between customers and service providers draws our attention to an important concept in service design: the differentiation between “frontstage” and “backstage”. As the terms suggest, the key ...
Hotel G San Francisco Adopts BeyondTV GuestCast™ by Hotel Internet Services to Maximize Competitive Edge in Guestroom Entertainment Content Personal
Hotel Internet Services | September 1, 2020
Upscale and trendy San Francisco property caters to latest guest preferences for convenient access to personal streaming subscriptions on guestroom televisions. SAN FRANCISCO — September 1, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions, has announced the successful implementation of BeyondTV GuestCast™ at Hotel G San Francisco, a trend-setting lifestyle hotel located in the heart of San Francisco. Also offering a simple and relaxed design within each of its 153 guestrooms, Hotel G San Francisco provides its guests with a home-away-from-home experience that now with the implementa...
