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
Hotels Are Bringing Enhanced Style to Increase Their Guest Experience
Kacey Bradley | March 12, 2018
By Kacey Bradley Today's consumer is flooded with choice when it comes to finding the perfect lodging. It could be a hotel, or it could be a rental property, and either would be simple to preview and book online. One huge advantage that hotels have over personal property rentals — think: Airbnb — is that they tend to have larger budgets to provide the updates consumers crave. Both interior design and technology fall under the umbrella of a place's overall style, and a boost in this realm can make your property much more appealing to potential customers. With better guest experiences and reviews, a hotel's prestige can grow, ...
Why Customer Service Is the New Marketing and How Live Chat Makes It Possible
Lodging Interactive | March 12, 2018
At any given moment, there's a half dozen marketing buzzwords floating around in the advertising industry. We hear about growth hacking and gamification and wearables, all of which are (or have been) popular strategies designed to help businesses build their brand and market themselves. That's all well and great, but sometimes the most effective forms of marketing are also the most straightforward. This is true when you embrace customer service as an essential component of your hotel's marketing strategy Why Is Customer Service Important for Marketing? Customer service and marketing have traditionally been two very separate departments,...
Angie Hospitality Introduces New and Enhanced Features in Next Generation Voice-Enabled Guest Room Assistant
Angie Hospitality | March 12, 2018
Latest version of industry's only purpose-built interactive AI-powered guest room assistant provides enhanced functionality and added features SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 12, 2018 – Angie Hospitality, developer of the world's first voice and AI solution purpose-built for the hotel environment, announces the release of its next generation enterprise-class, cloud-managed interactive guest room assistant, Angie. After winning the HTNG TechOvation Award in 2017 for its initial release, Angie has since been outfitted with a variety of enhancements and additional features that are designed to make the solution even more robust and au...
The Future of Technology, Content and the Hotel Guest Experience
Nikolay Malyarov | March 8, 2018
By Nikolay Malyarov To address one of the strategic priorities of the guest experience — access to quality content (e.g. newspapers and magazines) — PressReader partnered with Forbes Travel Guide to survey executives of hotels from around the world to gain insights into their plans for the future. Here are some of the highlights: According to Ben Peacock, founder of the sustainability and innovation company Republic of Everyone, millennials prioritize purpose and sustainability over financial rewards, "if companies fail to prove that they are sincere about environmental and social sustainability, they risk alienating th...
Green Is the New Black
Katie Scheer | March 7, 2018
By Katie Scheer Hotels- this one's for you! In 2017, we asked >2,500 hotels what they are doing to "go green." So we have good info for you... If your hotel isn't already pursuing green rankings and certifications, you are behind the "go green" trend. It's time for you to step up to the plate and make some changes to become better friends with our planet. It's a fact that hotel guests of today want to stay at hotels that are eco-conscious. This means more gained business for you from those guests ($ ca-ching, ca-ching $). Also, by going green, you also reap these two benefits (there's several m...
Bridge as a Niche Opportunity for Hotels
Larry Mogelonsky | March 7, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Anyone who's met me knows how crazy I am for the game of duplicate bridge. Our local club is honored to have Isadore Sharp of Four Seasons fame as one of our midweek, afternoon regulars. For those unfamiliar with the game, duplicate bridge involves multiple teams of two (or four) taking a crack at the same series of card deals, the winners being those who do the most with what they're dealt. Importantly, I'm far from the only avid player. In fact, the game's popularity is growing at a considerate rate, so much so that many clubs are now looking for new facilities to host their e...
Deliver Superior Guest Experiences: The Convergence of Guest Facing Mobile and Service Request Management Systems
Guestware | March 6, 2018
Executive Summary Technology continues to transform the way guests want to communicate with your property. The latest trend is guest-facing mobile communication, a new channel for service requests. These systems allow travelers to bypass the traditional voice call to the front desk. Guests today can make requests via smartphone texts, in-room tablets, television sets, and voice-controlled devices like Amazon's Alexa. Despite its rapid growth, guest-facing mobile is an emerging technology. That means most travelers still ask for extra towels, HVAC repair, or luggage assistance the traditional way – with a phone call or face-to-...
Bringing Experiential Travel to the Americas
JLL Real Views | March 1, 2018
By Maggie Nichols From sharing a yurt with a nomadic family to sleeping among the monkeys in jungle treehouses, today's travelers are increasingly on the lookout for authentic experiences and exotic adventures. This shift has created and fueled demand for experiential travel – a form of tourism where people focus on experiencing a destination by connecting to its nature and landscapes, culture, residents and way of life. Experiential travel first took off – and is still most prevalent – in Africa. Think luxury tents on the Serengeti plains of Tanzania or a safari in the wilderness of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Now...
The Importance of Bottle Design in Selling Wine
Larry Mogelonsky | February 28, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) A riff on the classical adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," let's first examine this more common expression a bit closer to see how it applies to wine, spirits and the pursuit of restaurant profits. We are told not to base our opinions or conclusions about objects and individuals solely on their outward appearance because there is often far more happening beneath the surface worthy of our consideration, if you were only to give said object or person a chance. It's a valuable piece of advice, hence why it sticks. But its popularity, aside from its terse and catchy qualities, ca...
How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Game for the Hotel Industry
Hotelogix | February 26, 2018
Artificial Intelligence has already made a mark across varied businesses and the hospitality industry is fast catching up with this trend. While the hotel industry is an already crowded market, innovation is the key element for hotel owners to stay ahead of the competition. Technologies such as artificial intelligence are vital to maintain a constant growth and to generate more revenues. Hoteliers are already striving for new methods to reach out to customers, know them better, engage them to earn their loyalty. If you are a hotelier, the sooner you embrace smart technologies, the better it would be for your success. Wouldn't it be grea...
Bringing Data to Life: How a Deeper Guest Understanding Drives Revenue
the Author | February 22, 2018
By Terri Miller, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Concilio Labs Business today is all about choice — a surplus of choice. In this world of abundant choices, consumers hold the cards as they equip themselves with information to make educated buying decisions. The digital age has also created an ever-evolving online forum for both positive and negative consumer-generated reviews. As a result, the standard of business offerings must remain competitive, or risk being painted in a negative light by vocal consumers. This understanding holds true for the hospitality industry more than ever before, as hotels look to data-driven i...
ALICE Named Forbes Travel Guide’s Official Staff Operations Technology Provider for 2018
ALICE | February 21, 2018
With new hotel products and technologies emerging at a dizzying rate, hoteliers need a simple way to learn about the ones that can make meaningful improvements to the guest and staff experience. That's why Forbes Travel Guide introduced their Brand Official Program in 2017, designed to point the world's best hoteliers towards products and services worthy of endorsement. ALICE, the industry's leading Hospitality Operations Platform, was named the Guide's Official Staff Operations Technology Provider for 2018. CEO of Forbes Travel Guide Gerard J. Inzerillo expresses his confidence in the newly-appointed brand official: "We are extremely p...
Hotel Guests’ Most Common Complaints and How to Prevent Them
Victoria Lim | February 21, 2018
People who travel often know that hotel service isn't always as seamless as they've grown to expect. Furthermore, people who do travel a lot tend to notice some things that regular customers maybe wouldn't. Hotels that do everything in their power to prevent common problems from occurring have a better chance of retaining their customers and keep an undamaged reputation. It's vital for hoteliers to know how to deal with every situation and train their staff to be up to the task if any of the problems occur. Here's our list of common issues that hotel guests encounter when staying at a hotel. Unclean Rooms This is a c...
Connie Rheams Takes on Executive Role at Beekeeper
Beekeeper | February 20, 2018
Rheams calls Beekeeper the 'missing mobile link' to connecting 80% of our hotel industry's non-desk hotel employees SAN FRANCISCO, CA February 20, 2018 - The global hospitality industry is doing a tremendous job of leveraging mobile technology to enhance the guest experience. What isn't being addressed is using the power of mobile to share real-time staff/hotel/brand/management company information with the 1.9 million front- and back-of-house hotel employees who don't sit at a desk or have a company email address. As such, Connie Rheams, named one of the most influential women in hospitality technology by HFTP (Hospitality Financial &a...
Hotel Websites: The Lights Are on but Nobody’s Home
Sudheer Thakur | February 19, 2018
By Sudheer Thakur In an industry reputed for service excellence, it's ironic that most hotel websites today remain impersonal, unhelpful and unresponsive. Hotels spend vast amounts of resources to attract prospective guests to their website, only to abandon them to find their own way around. If visitors can't find the information they need, they must call or email the hotel, risking being put on hold or not receiving a reply at all. Or worse, they are obliged to complete a Contact Us form or comb through an FAQ. Malay Blowjob a Foreigner Meanwhile, it's 2018 and the rest of the world has moved on to digital messaging and cha...
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Is Your Hotel Culture Blame or Appreciation?
David Lund | February 19, 2018
By David Lund In my career, I have seen both. Lots of appreciation for hard work and a challenging workplace. On the flip side a horror story of the blame for "mistakes" and lack of preparedness. Blame is the easy one to master. Management by embarrassment as I like to refer to it. One of my past hotels was a classic blame game hotel. After a much-publicized error or screw up or service interruption the GM would warmly ask, "Where is my victim?" or state, "Bring me the victim." What usually followed was paramount to a public flogging. Everyone got their turn and the others would just watch in stunned disbelief only being thankful that i...
Get Your Hotel Operations Team Onboard The Tricycle of Guest Service
Doug Kennedy | February 14, 2018
By Doug Kennedy As hospitality industry trainers know, using symbols and models can help trainees grasp abstract concepts and make seemingly-complex paradigms easy to understand. Seems like is a good time for the hotel industry to update its model, so let's get your team onboard The Tricycle of Guest Service. When you think about it, a tricycle is the perfect model for a positive guest experience. For one, it has three wheels, just like the three components of a memorable guest stay. The back wheels represent Technology and Systems Efficiency and a quality Physical "Product," while the front wheel stands for Hospitality and Guest Servic...
Learn the Four C’s of Successful Selling
Katie Scheer | February 14, 2018
By Katie Scheer It is a very competitive and fast paced consumer world. For your business to thrive, you must take the time to learn (and know) your product, competition, market trends, economic factors, and current events. Customer relationships have to be built, AND accounts must be qualified. How can you qualify and build customer relationships? First, inquiring about the customer's key needs and objectives are questions that must be asked during the sales process. Then, by understanding the needs of the customer, your sales process and pitch can be custom designed to match his/her key needs. What's better? Your customer will kno...
What Winesday Teaches Us About Restaurant Marketing
Larry Mogelonsky | February 14, 2018
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) One clever practice used in restaurants to drum up sales during the midweek druthers is to devote a given day of the week or period of each day (otherwise known as 'happy hour') to a special promotion, either in the form of unique offerings or unbeatable deals. While this a good start for boosting those slow midweek cycles, numerous other eateries already have these types of programs fully set up with established marketing engines. And when everyone else is running something like this, how will you stand out by directly imitating your competitors? You can't, not unless you change th...
ALICE Named a “2018 Best Place to Work in Hotel Tech”
ALICE | February 13, 2018
ALICE is excited to share it has been named a '2018 Best Place to Work in Hotel Tech' by HotelTechReport, for creating and maintaining a culture that fosters employee satisfaction along with business growth. HTR surveys thousands of hotel tech employees around the world about what it's like inside the operations of the industry's greatest technology companies. Being on this list is truly and honor and a testament to our commitment to our people. Like the industry we serve, hospitality is one of our core values. We continually aim to anticipate needs, build empathy, be generous, and most of all, be genuine. We believe it's important to a...
ALICE Voted Best Concierge Software in the 2018 HotelTechAwards
ALICE | February 11, 2018
"ALICE makes awesome hotel software. The more you use ALICE, the more useful it is." Feb 12, 2018 -- Concierges from across the country and around the world voted ALICE "Best Concierge Software" in Hotel Tech Report's 2018 HotelTechAwards. Over 100 of the industry's most popular hotel technology brands competed for a chance to win this prestigious title. ALICE scored a perfect 100 on the 100-point "HT score" scale, beating out the nearest competitor by over 30 points. The HotelTechAwards leveraged real user data - ratings and reviews - to determine the winning products across the twenty-eight categories of hospitality products Hote...
Brand Finance Hotels 50 Claims Marriott Closer to Checking In as Most Valuable Hotel Brand
Brand Finance | February 8, 2018
Hilton remains world's most valuable hotel brand but lead over Marriott shrinks 74%; Premier Inn and Holiday Inn are strongest hotel brands as consumers appreciate value for money; Airbnb's disruptive presence only set to grow as it targets business travellers For the third year in a row, Hilton is the world's most valuable hotel brand, with a brand value of US$6.3 billion. However, recording a 24% fall from last year, Hilton has seen their lead at the top over Marriott shrink from more than US$3.3 billion to just US$865 million, a staggering 74% reduction. As Hilton's brand value decreased, Marriott improved its brand value 8% to just...
5 Hospitality Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2018
Jana Love | February 8, 2018
By Jana Love Where did January go? Are you still focused on your New Year's resolutions? Looking back through the rear view mirror (if you will) is an exercise I find interesting each year. What happened, what didn't, what is inevitably going to continue to happen, what do I want more of, less of, that sort of thing. Lot's of trend articles will surface about the previous year. In fact, here was ours last year: 2017 Trending. This year, as I was reading through some of the top trends, I came across a very interesting article by Simone Puorto, called Five hospitality trends to keep an eye on in 2018. So instead of looking bac...
Use Data to Unlock Meaningful Guest Insights
the Author | February 8, 2018
By Terri Miller, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Concilio Labs Today's hotelier is constantly bombarded with information. In the ongoing effort to keep guests happy, a single hotel may maintain many different systems and solutions in place to keep operations running seamlessly—everything from the PMS to various POS platforms to a CRM and more. Each of these systems, solutions, and platforms represent a potential data goldmine to glean information about guest preferences, purchase habits and even sentiment. Sometimes, more data is just that – more. Access to this data reveals a larger question for hoteliers: How...
