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
Seven Critical Steps to Making Service Excellence a Reality
Kanav Mata | October 22, 2019
By Kanav Mata The dictionary defines “Experience” as “an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone”. In my early days as a Hospitality Trainer, I always told my trainees that when a guest walks into your restaurant and pays a certain amount for your sandwich, he or she is not paying for the sandwich. They are paying for the “Experience”. Today, this holds true for so many other interactions. Whether that be buying a pair of trousers from a store, visiting the bank to open an account, walking in to a car showroom, visiting a clinic/hospital, the list could go on, but essentially any interaction which has a ...
Remaining Relevant in the Age of Airbnb
Travel Outlook Hotel Reservations Call Center Services | October 17, 2019
By John Smallwood, CEO, Travel Outlook Help travelers identify with your brand on an emotional level Noted Harvard Business professor Theodore Levitt once said that “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want quarter-inch holes.” This expression gets to the heart of marketing and the desire not just to sell but to gain and foster a customer. Defining products or services as being defined by their practical use has since been seen as a critical feature in how advertisers go about selling. But in addition to their practical use, Levitt also wanted advertisers to focus on the customer and their needs, rather than just see them ...
Live Up to a Higher Standard of Service
Shep Hyken | October 9, 2019
By Shep Hyken A friend of mine recently told me about their bad experience at a restaurant. The server was very nice and extremely apologetic about the problems that happened throughout the evening—but there were still problems. The food took a long time to get to the table. When it got there, it wasn’t prepared properly. On the next attempt, the food came out uncooked. The drinks were mixed up. And there were a few other issues, too. The manager came over and apologized profusely. Finally, it was time to pay the check. When my friend opened the leather portfolio there wasn’t a check. Instead, there was a note that read, “Thank you...
Nomadix Rolls Out Generous Upgrade Program to Encourage Adoption of Its EG 6000 Gateway’s Higher Security and Performance
Nomadix | October 9, 2019
Advanced gateway platform provides the latest security and even faster internet speeds at 50 percent reduced cost to hoteliers still using older discontinued models. AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – October 9, 2019 – Nomadix, Inc., a provider of guest-facing cloud-managed network edge devices, has announced the launch of its EG 6000 Upgrade Program to provide hoteliers with the advanced capabilities and bullet-proof security offered in this top-rated gateway platform. With today’s hotel networks having to support multiple guest devices that access massive amounts of data, the Nomadix EG 6000 Upgrade Program ensures that hotels and convention c...
In Search of a New Hotel Revenue Stream
Paul West | September 30, 2019
by Paul West Once upon a time in the hotel business, someone connected the coaxial cable from the new cable company to their guest room televisions and began promoting their HBO and Showtime amenity to guests. Sounds funny now; but, even funnier because you can still find hotel/motel entrance signs as you drive around the country that actually still promote Free HBO and SHOWTIME. Those types of antiquated signs usually include a notice that also reads ALL UNITS AIR CONDITIONED. There was also a time when call accounting systems added 25%–45% to the cost of guest local/long distance calls yielding a nice chunk of change from a captive ...
E.P.I.C Hospitality™ Training
Doug Kennedy | September 24, 2019
This is the first in a series of five train-the-trainer articles contributed by Doug Kennedy Most hoteliers I speak with clearly understand that hospitality and guest service excellence are more important than ever before in the history of the lodging industry. Everyone knows that “word of click” has long since replaced “word of mouth” and that the old adage that “an unhappy guest will tell 9 or 10 others” has turned into 900, 9,000, 90,000 or even more. Yet for the most part, the impact of hospitality on profits has been anecdotal. However, a recent survey caught my eye that provides empirical evidence to validate what eve...
The Risks in Relying Solely on Guest Reviews
Jochen Ehrhardt | September 24, 2019
By Jochen Ehrhardt In today’s world, everybody seems to have an opinion about the quality of hotels and there is no shortage of avenues for voicing those opinions. Online booking sites, (meta-) search platforms, as well as the hotels themselves encourage hotel guests to share their impressions. Hotels have long realized that guest reviews are valuable information that needs to be taken seriously and is indeed quite helpful feedback for improving their offerings. However, this is only the second-best guest feedback there is, after, of course, collecting it face-to-face during the hotel stay. Collecting face-to-face feedback obvio...
Global CRM Study Preview: The Top Challenges When It Comes to CRM
Nicki Graham | September 19, 2019
This is the first article in a preview series of H2C’s Global CRM Study, a collaborative report that leverages interviews and a global survey to explore the current state of CRM in the hospitality industry. The importance of a single source of truth as the centerpiece of a profitable customer relationship management strategy is one of the key takeaways from H2C’s Global CRM Study. The vendor-agnostic study combined findings from an online survey of 62 executives of both global and regional hotel chains and interviews with 25 hotel executives and 11 technology providers. Here are the first set of takeaways from H2C’s far-reaching re...
The DAYTONA Opens With the Full INTELITY Platform
INTELITY | September 19, 2019
The motorsports-themed hotel takes the lead by integrating the hospitality technology platform into its operations Los Angeles, California (September 19, 2019) – INTELITY®, provider of the broadest enterprise guest engagement and staff management platform for hospitality, is pleased to announce it now powers The DAYTONA’s mobile app and in-room tablets, giving guests access to hotel amenities and services on demand. The DAYTONA is located adjacent to the Daytona International Speedway and anchors ONE DAYTONA, the brand new retail, dining, and entertainment district. The hotel pays homage to Daytona’s rich racing history and feat...
How Hoteliers Can Create ADA Compliant Content
Paul DeHart | September 12, 2019
The internet was not what it is today when The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. This law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life – jobs, schools, transportation, access to areas that are open to the general public - and has been extended since then to include websites and web applications. Courts today are interpreting Title III of the ADA, which requires places of “public accommodation” like hotels, to ensure that their web presences are accessible. A study published by Open Doors Organization found that American adults with...
How to Enhance Your Hotel’s Guest Experience From Start to Finish: Part One
September 11, 2019
Amy McNeill | GCommerce Solutions | Director of Account Services Part One: Experiential Travel “It’s when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event." Welcome to the Experience Economy, Harvard Business Review. For this series, made up of six articles, we are going to start where the hotel guest experience journey actually ends. As we know, experience plays a very large role in driving travel and entertainment sales. “Over the past few years, personal-consumption expenditures on experience-related services—such as attendi...
Trending Now: Music in Hotels
Jessica Frost | September 6, 2019
By Jessica Frost The sound of a hotel can either welcome guests with enthusiasm or signal that your property is simply a place to sleep; and in such a competitive marketplace, is that the message you want to send? Fortunately, music--wherever it’s played--can both welcome guests and not break your budget. But playing music in a hotel requires more than just turning it on or hiring musicians. Music, like all intellectual property, is owned by the songwriters or composers who create it. This ownership is protected under U.S. and global copyright laws, which state that businesses that use music must first get permission from copyright ow...
Employee and Talent Experience Measurement Latest CustomerCount® Application
CustomerCount® | September 5, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (September 5, 2019) –Mobius Vendor Partners, has launched yet another enhancement to its CustomerCount® enterprise customer feedback system. Already well-known and highly respected in several industries to survey, measure and report on customer experiences, facilitate onsite service requests and analyze Key Performance Indicators (KPI), CustomerCount has added a new area of focus. [caption id="attachment_202555" align="alignright" width="300"] Bob Kobek[/caption] “Many components of Employee Experience Measurement are already within CustomerCount’s capabilities. Our system is so flexible that very few adjustments...
Montage Los Cabos Enjoys Increasingly-Positive Guest Reviews Through ALICE Partnership
Alice | August 27, 2019
Montage Los Cabos has chosen ALICE as their primary platform to implement a guest concierge system and streamline staff and resort communications. ALICE is the hospitality industry’s leading operations technology, connecting every department of the hotel with one platform for all staff communication and guest requests. With spectacular views and immediate, walk-in access to the finest swimming, diving and snorkeling in the region, Montage Los Cabos features 122 spacious guest rooms, suites and casas, along with 52 Montage Residences. Since May 2018, ALICE has helped Montage Los Cabos see an improved communication flow across this expansi...
OpenKey Expands in UK at The East London Hotel
The East London Hotel | August 27, 2019
Trendy Resort and Spa Elevates Guest Experience with Mobile Key DALLAS, TEXAS (August 27, 2019) – Tourists know there’s nowhere better than the East End to experience London at its most vibrant and diverse. Now travelers can experience the safest and most convenient form of room access at the modern East London Hotel. The property has implemented mobile keyless entry from OpenKey, the industry standard for universal mobile key in hotels. Set on busy Cambridge Heath Road, the hotel is an ideal base for a weekend spent exploring East London. The V&A’s Museum of Childhood is just across the road. Other East End delights are close...
Up Closer and More Personal
Roger Wolkoff | August 21, 2019
By Roger Wolkoff I walk into the newest branch of my credit union, and I am immediately drawn to the design. Lots of open space, thick wood beams surrounded by steel, and lots of light thanks to the plethora of glass. Stunning only begins to describe how it looks. Intimate describes how it feels. As I approach the teller area, it becomes apparent that there is something different about this space. There is no wall separating tellers from customers. Camille stands in front of her station with a welcoming smile. She extends her hand to greet me and guides me to the table that juts out from the side of her station. I stand at a 90-degree a...
Winning Decisions Are Sometimes Tough Decisions
Shep Hyken | August 15, 2019
By Shep Hyken I enjoy going to a baseball game. I live in St. Louis, and the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are known throughout the sports world as being some of the best fans in all of baseball. Many fans remember Albert Pujols as one of the most skilled—not to mention beloved—members of the St. Louis Cardinals team. He was one of our best—and still is one of the best to ever play the game. The fans loved him, and he loved our city. But eight years ago, he left the Cardinals to play for the California Angels. Why did Pujols leave? The Angels offered him LOTS of money and the Cardinals wouldn’t match the offer. It was a sad da...
Dogs Had Their Day at Aloft Orlando Downtown
Aloft Hotels | August 13, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla. (August 13, 2019) — On July 27, the Aloft Orlando Downtown hosted a special party to mark a warm-and-fuzzy milestone that is dear to the hearts of hotel associates, guests and people in the community. It’s called the Bow Wow Luau, and it celebrated the 100th dog to be adopted in a partnership with the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando. The luau was not your everyday canine mixer. The event included two Hawaiian-themed food trucks, live music, a Pawaiian costume contest and other fun activities. Special drinks such as Whisker Sours and Barky Marys were served at the bar. Hotel staff reached out to people who’ve...
Customer Service May Not Be Your First Priority, and That’s Okay
Shep Hyken | August 8, 2019
By Shep Hyken Tony Hsieh is the CEO of the online shoe and clothing company, Zappos. The company’s reputation for amazing customer service is almost a cliché in the customer service world. Zappos stories have become customer service legends. The Zappos phone call that lasted 10 hours and 43 minutes is one such legend. There are many others, and this is just one of the reasons Zappos is recognized as one of the top customer service companies on the planet. Their secret to success? Contrary to what you might think… Customer service is not the first priority. WHAT?! How can that be? This is what Zappos is known for. Well, hold on! ...
Applying the Art of Storytelling to How You Sell Rooms
Larry Mogelonsky | August 7, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Emotions underpin all travel purchases, so it's a given that to enhance sales you should seek out ways to elicit greater positive sentiments for your property. For this, consider deploying the storytelling technique of revealing specific details about your product, particularly for your guestrooms which, as your primary revenue source, need a personalization boost through how you depict their attributes. Specificity Is the Story Vague language doesn’t excite our imaginations. It doesn’t give us a morsel to latch on to and connect with past memories. In other words, it la...
Sava Holdings Maximizes Hotel Security and Design With VingCard Essence Door Locks
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions | August 6, 2019
Hotel development company implements stylish door locks with advanced encryption technology and the ability to upgrade to digital key functionality. Stockholm -- August 6, 2019 -- Sava Holdings, Ltd, a boutique hotel development company with nine properties currently flagged under several major hotel brands, has implemented VingCard Essence at two of its properties. As new construction projects, both the Aloft Fort Worth Downtown and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Plano East implemented Essence to present guests with a secure and convenient hotel environment along with a modern and enticing lock design. To maximize guest safety and...
The Customer-Free Zone
Shep Hyken | August 2, 2019
By Shep Hyken There’s often a disconnect between organization leaders and customers. Leaders live in a customer-free zone where they don’t interact with customers on a daily basis and therefore don’t know what customers most desire. I had the great opportunity to interview John Brandt, the author of the new book, Nincompoopery: Why Your Customers Hate You—and How to Fix It. I love the title of that book and its content, including his concept of the customer-free zone. Here’s my take on this interesting concept—or, should I say, problem. The most important factor to customers is that they feel heard and cared about by the c...
It’s Your Fault
Shep Hyken | July 29, 2019
By Shep Hyken The other day I was leaving a parking lot that required me to pay on the way out. It was an automated system. I put my ticket in the slot, the machine calculated what I owed, and then asked me to insert my credit card to make the payment. There were even some convenient instructions on how to insert the parking ticket and credit card into the machine. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Even worse, it took my card and didn’t give it back. The screen read, “Error. Ticket Jammed.” A little frustrated, I noticed a button to push for help. Within moments a woman’s voice came over the speaker asked what the problem was. I ...
Get Over It and Move On
Shep Hyken | July 19, 2019
By Shep Hyken Something bad happens. There’s nothing you can do about it. It happened—and now you have a choice. You can let it bother you. Let it fester inside of you. Let it impact your mood. Let it ruin your day or your week. Make you irritable and not pleasant to be around. Or… you can get over it and move on! Just a few weeks ago the St. Louis Blues hockey team, which I’m a huge fan of, won the Stanley Cup championship against the Boston Bruins. They went all the way to Game Seven. For those that don’t know, all the Stanley Cup games leading up to and including the finals are played as a best of seven series. The first t...
