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
UniFocus Survey Shows Correlation Between Employee Engagement and Guest Satisfaction
UniFocus | July 11, 2017
Best Western Hotels & Resorts Partners with UniFocus to Learn Key Finding DALLAS – July 11, 2017 – Best Western Hotels & Resorts has successfully beta-tested UniFocus' Pulse Survey solution in a group of its North American hotels to understand the impact of hotel employee engagement on guest satisfaction. Working collaboratively with a group of their independently owned and operated hotels, they gained a valuable new metric to quantify the value of hotel employee engagement. That benefit became clear when UniFocus shared aggregated summarized survey results that Best Western was able to compare with brand-level guest...
Transitioning Operations From Analog To Digital Has Been “Beyond Successful,” Says Clearwater General Manager
ALICE | July 5, 2017
New York, NY -- Clearwater institution Pier House 60 Marina Hotel and the nearby, newly opened Edge Hotel are both using ALICE's hotel technology platform to digitize their operations and provide conveniences to guests. The ALICE platform provides hotels with a full suite of task management and communication products for housekeeping, engineering, F&B, front desk, and concierge departments, as well as guest engagement tools, such as text messaging. Prior to implementing ALICE, Edge Hotel General Manager J.R. Patel, formerly GM of Pier House 60, talked about the "mounds and mounds" of paper required to manage operations at the Pier H...
Angie Hospitality Introduces Advanced Voice-Command Technology to the Hotel Industry with Official Website Launch
Angie Hospitality | June 27, 2017
Creator of world's first purpose-built, 24-hour guest room assistant debuts interactive website to educate the market on Angie's unique benefits to both hotel properties and guests. San Jose, CA – June 27, 2017 – Angie Hospitality, creator of Angie, the world's first interactive 24-hour guest room assistant, Wi-Fi and room control technology solution, today announces the official launch of its newly-developed corporate website, designed to bring Angie's full suite of capabilities to the forefront of the hotel industry. The first phase of this highly informative and interactive website offers key decision makers detailed info...
Angie Hospitality Partners with Fourteen IP’s Evolution Voice Solution to Leverage Built-in Telephone and Internet Capabilities
Angie Hospitality | June 26, 2017
Creator of award-winning interactive guest room assistant teams up with leading provider of cloud-based PBX telephone and Internet solutions San Jose, CA – June 26, 2017 – Angie Hospitality, creator of Angie, the world's first voice-activated hotel guest room assistant, purpose-built for hotels, announces the completion of a successful integration with Fourteen IP's EVOLUTION Voice, a leading cloud-based PBX solution powered by BroadSoft. Among other functionality enhancements, this new technology integration will allow guests of hotels equipped with both Angie and the EVOLUTION Voice system to make and receive calls using ...
Your Wi-Fi Is Hot! Better Get a Cold Drink out of the Minibar
Minibar Systems | June 26, 2017
Most minibar installations today are cutting the cables and going wireless. Minibars have officially become unplugged. It's about time! Many minibar installations today are cutting the cables and going wireless. Hotels are happy to have the flexibility to install minibars anywhere in the guestroom, without being restricted to the traditional armoire. This is one of the newest trends in guestroom design – put the minibar in the entryway, snacks on the desk and spa tray in the bathroom. "Having all these in-room retail devices operating wirelessly creates a nice sense of space and access to cold drinks, snacks and sundry items", say...
What Hoteliers Need To Know About Conspicuous Conservation
Larry Mogelonsky | June 21, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) If you've ever taken a course in economics, you've likely heard the term 'conspicuous consumption' tossed around to describe the purchasing of goods or services as a means of publicly showing off one's power and increasing one's social status. Yellow Humvees, gaudy jewelry and bottle service at nightclubs are first to mind as is every other drug dealer cliché you can conjure. Now, however, this term has been retrofitted to account for the 21st century trend of people wanting to publicly signal their alleged altruism through the purchase of green or sustainable products. Altho...
ADB to Showcase Streamcasting Technology at HITEC
ADB Business TV | June 20, 2017
vuCaster by ADB enables hotel guests to use their smartphones, tablets, laptops and other portable devices to project their OTT (over the top) content to the in-room TV vuTyme by ADB provides an in-room viewing experience equal to or better than home – with searchable Interactive Programming Guide, Over-the-Top services and more Visit ADB in at HITEC June 26 to 29 in Booth #337 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre June 20, 2017 – Denver, Colo. – Next week at HITEC Toronto, ADB will showcase an interactive TV solution for in-room entertainment that enables guests to stream content directly from their mobile devi...
The Top 5 Questions Hotel Companies and Tech Suppliers Need to Ask When Looking for a Development and Consulting Partner
Andrew Sanders | June 20, 2017
By Andrew Sanders, VP, Travel & Hospitality - North America for DataArt Long gone are the days when a company would "off-shore" its software development requirements as a regular course of action - especially within the travel and hospitality industry. As our industry becomes increasingly dependent on technology to support operations, there is now the need to find a technology and consulting partner that understands not only the inherent complexities but also has the development resources required to truly deliver. Our industry can be viewed, at times, as being somewhat 'Schizophrenic' due to the influx of new platforms and ...
Angie Hospitality to Showcase Revolutionary Guest Room Technology During Entrepreneur 20X Competition
Angie Hospitality | June 19, 2017
Creator of interactive guest room assistant to compete in leading start-up competition at HITEC Toronto 2017 San Jose, CA – June 19, 2017 – Angie Hospitality, creator of Angie, a revolutionary voice-based hotel guest room technology solution, will be competing in the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) competition, taking place during day one of HITEC Toronto on June 26 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Angie Hospitality is one of 13 start-up contenders and will be pitching its innovative voice command solution with a four-minute presentation detailing Angie's key features, as well as her significant impact o...
Treat Guests Right With Welcome Refreshments
Larry Mogelonsky | June 14, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Certain tactics never fail. Offering your guests a little amuse bouche or free beverage upon arrival is an excellent way to get them in a good mood after the stress and exhaustion of travel, helping to set the pace for the rest of their stay. Most hoteliers are aware of this in a general sense, but it is the execution where we often stumble. The expected welcome refreshment is a bottle of wine, a small cheese tray, a fruit place, crackers, cookies or any combination of the five. Nowadays, though, you must look beyond the perfunctory and truly own this aspect of the guest experience ...
Two-Minute Tune-Up: Don’t Keep Your Customer Guessing What’s Next
Jana Love | June 9, 2017
By Jana Love We often talk about customer loyalty, the importance of how to get there, and how to successfully maintain the relationship. This Two-Minute Tune-Up is to challenge you to re-think and re-focus whether or not you have the very best plan in place so your customers are not asking, "What's next"? Consumerism today can be somewhat fickle. The winners in that race are the establishments that take the time and effort to build a customer lifecycle plan so all customer steps, year after year, are defined and anticipated. Customers will try out your business for many reasons, but they will stay and become loyal custome...
Six Questions For Your Marketing Team
Larry Mogelonsky | June 7, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) No matter the time of year or how well your occupancy figures look for the quarter at hand, the prep and planning for next year's marketing budget is never too far away. Undoubtedly, it will include the usual spattering of KPIs established at the start of the fiscal period, which will be scrutinized and massaged to death until all senior executives are happy. This process makes me yawn. Not that it doesn't work, but it can take up too much time which would be better allocated elsewhere. How about a different approach? Here are six questions that I am encouraging you – as a gen...
7 Tech Tips to Improve Your Guests’ Experience
Chamberlin Public Relations | June 5, 2017
With a seemingly endless and ever-changing array of technology available for hotels, how do you know what is worth your time and money? Fortunately, the wealth of options means that you can find the perfect fit for your hotel's needs. After extensive research, here are a few of our top picks to help you connect with your guests before, during, and after their stays – and most importantly, keep them coming back. Before the Stay Get Social: It's imperative for hotels to have a social media presence, especially on Facebook and Instagram. Potential guests will not only visit your website, but will also check out your social media plat...
CustomerCount Forms Alliance with Buchanan Creative Solutions
CustomerCountTM | June 1, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – June 1, 2017 – CustomerCountTM which offers the timeshare and hospitality industry's most highly regarded online customer feedback system has formed an alliance with Buchanan Creative Solutions, LLC to market "On Site Service Request by CustomerCount (OSR)." CustomerCount collects, measures and reports customer feedback through branded, customized online surveys. Its innovative technology provides ongoing customized updates to survey content, and quickly and easily accommodates report formats and other features. According to Yuri Duncan, President of Buchanan and a veteran of the timeshare industry who sp...
Unsung Heroes of Hospitality – Security Director
Larry Mogelonsky | May 31, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) While most of us in hospitality focus our efforts on finding ways to enhance our guests' comfort (and make more revenues!), we can only do so in an environment where both safety and security are assured. We often take the role of our security department for granted. After all, this is a department where reports stating 'nothing has happened' are considered the norm, and management tends to respond to incidents versus the status quo. It is also hard to measure the performance of the security department when assessments are largely binary. How do you know if team members are meeting y...
Your Guests’ On-Property Experience Is Your Best Marketing
ALICE | May 30, 2017
ALICE provides the tools hoteliers need to optimize their guests' experience in-stay. Stop by Booth 1245 at this month's HITEC for a live product demo. Marketing to your guests isn't just about winning them over at planning and booking. Given the influence of TripAdvisor and social media in a guest's decision to book with you over the competition, the "stay" phase of the customer journey is your biggest opportunity to win a loyal guest review. Indeed, "service" has been ranked the #1 most influential factor in a guest's decision to leave a review. But winning reviews isn't the only game in town. Learn how ALICE - the hospitality ind...
The Downfalls of Overcharging for Bottled Water
Larry Mogelonsky | May 24, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) You've trained your bellman, concierge and front desk staff to a tee. Your guests immediately feel welcome at your property with the awful nightmare of security lines, air travel and bag collection finally behind them. They enter their guestroom, just starting to unwind, and then prominently displayed is a bottle of water with an unmistakably exorbitant price tag. And it is all for naught. Why is it that this one markup grinds guests' gears more than almost everything else? Perhaps the wording of 'unmistakably exorbitant' offers a clue. When a commoditized item like bottled water, i...
How Hotels Can Aid In Biodiversity
Larry Mogelonsky | May 17, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) As an avid supporter of the locavore movement, there is one other related and seldom discussed food initiative your property can take to both elevate your cuisine and to further help the environment. Firstly, the advantages for promoting local foods are clear. They strengthen your bonds to the community (which can result in additional business via word of mouth), they help reduce food miles as less petroleum (or other form of energy) is devoted to their transportation and, above all, they taste better. The moment you uproot a vegetable or pluck a fruit from a tree, the flavor clock ...
Questioning Skills: Learn How to Work Smarter, Not Harder
Jana Love | May 16, 2017
by Jana Love Not all questions are created equal. Learning how and when to utilize different types of questions and questioning techniques will mean the questions do the heavy lifting for you. You need to think: work smarter, not harder. What are the basics of qualifying? Questions, and more questions. You won't learn much if you don't ask questions. Plus, you won't learn anything useful, and you won't learn it quickly if you don't ask the right questions. So, consider again, not all questions are created equal. A great sales person recognizes which important steps in the sales process to master to win the sale. One...
Intelity Recognized by Info-Tech Research Group as an In-Room Tablet Technology Champion
Intelity | May 16, 2017
Hospitality's guest-engagement platform provider was recognized for its broad features capabilities and extensive integration partnerships [Orlando, Fla. – May 16, 2017] — Intelity, an innovator and leader in hospitality guest-service technology, was recently recognized by Info-Tech Research Group for its in-room tablet technology. In its In-Room Tablets Vendor Landscape report, Info-Tech Research Group compared nine in-room tablet vendors of which Intelity was designated a "Champion." The report states that "Intelity is the only vendor to deliver on every advanced feature evaluated and offers an extensive catalog of availab...
A Tale of Two Hotel Experiences
Katie Scheer | May 11, 2017
By Katie Scheer In the last two months we had two very different hotel experiences in two different beach towns. The impressions that were left with us are so contrasting. I have now truly realized how my overall happiness, like many of today's travelers, is driven by the experience rather than the money I spend or save. There is much for every business to learn from this, which I will summarize after you first read the snapshots of our two hotel stays... #1- Less is Definitely Not More Construction blocked the easiest arrival to the porte cochere, but we found our way to the entrance where the valet attendants were attending to oth...
The Secret to Giving Hotel Guests What They Want
May 8, 2017
By Jos Schaap, CEO, and Founder StayNTouch Gazing into a crystal ball to see the future has always been alluring. Imagine if a person could truly see the future. What an incredible impact this would have on our world. Hoteliers today are all trying to gaze into their own distinct crystal ball to better understand what guests want and how they can deliver on these guest needs and desires. In a recent Phocuswright Research Report titled, U.S Traveler Technology Survey Sixth Edition, travelers are looking for more engagement with the hotel property and those who run the hotel. When it comes to apps, 49% of travelers wanted to use their mob...
Should You Attend Hotel Tradeshows?
Larry Mogelonsky | May 3, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Hotel tradeshows and conventions are an excellent opportunity to keep pace with all the latest products, news and concepts in our ever-evolving industry. There are many such events happening on a year-round timetable and all around the world, so much so that you could hypothetically spend every week in another city and at another hospitality conference or symposium. Practically, though, you hardly have the time to attend more than five of these events each year, and a 'divide and conquer' approach would work even better. That is, by sending various associates and senior executive te...
Airline Service: Stop Complaining, Start Complying and Be Grateful For Super Low Fares!
Doug Kennedy | May 1, 2017
By Doug Kennedy As a hotel industry customer service trainer and conference speaker, I am on the road nearly every week. Being based in a large metropolitan area such as Ft. Lauderdale / Miami, FL, it is not logical to stay loyal to one airline; I find it better to fly on whichever one has non-stops. Although I am a Platinum level flyer on both Delta and American, I also frequently fly all the major airlines including United, Southwest, Jetblue, and even some of the low-cost ones such as Spirit and Frontier. I'm sure I fly at least 200,000 miles every year and have for more than 25 years. Of course I encounter delays, typically due to w...
