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
Customer Service Tip: A Positive Response Formula
Jana Love | December 5, 2016
By Jana Love When handling a customer inquiry, it's our response that can often make or break a customer's experience or opinion of the experience. A delayed response, or no response, is also very dangerous when talking with a customer. Luckily, positively acknowledging the inquiry and stating an eagerness to assist is very simple. Most often, you can follow this formula, as shown above, to easily inform the customer that you understand and will assist, which is all they want to know. Here is an example of how well this works. When a customer calls a hotel and asks to make a reservation, the agent can confidently reply by saying...
Ten Considerations To Fix Your Property’s Balance Sheet
Larry Mogelonsky | November 30, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) "Ownership is disappointed with the results." Through over 30+ years in the hospitality industry, this phrase is one that I hear all too often. Glass half full, it should open a further discussion as to why top or bottom line financial data is not living up to the plan, which usually then leads to spending cuts in a mad dash to restore the P&L to some sort of fiscal profitability. But why does this have to happen? In the packaged goods business, my vocation prior to entering the hospitality world, cutting expenses was rarely considered a primary solution to a brand's challenges. Rather,...
Avoid These Worthless Questions in Customer Service or Pay the Price
Dr. Dennis Rosen | November 29, 2016
by Dr. Dennis Rosen As a former university professor, I figured out a while ago that a common classroom question my colleagues and I had been asking for years is pretty much worthless. Go ahead - guess what the question is. Sorry, your time is up. The most worthless question we ask in the classroom is, "Are there any questions?" It's worthless because it almost never gets a response, maybe because the students are embarrassed to ask (or think asking will lengthen the class). Even worse, when I would get no response, I assumed that meant there actually were no questions - that everything I had said had been understood. Late...
Guest Experience: Moments of Difference
David Dann | November 28, 2016
New Approaches to Customer Service By David Dann We are learning from psychology that if we want to retain customers, then merely good or even excellent service is not enough. Because of the ways in which the brain remembers we must create 'moments of difference' which differentiate the customers' experience. The psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains that the brain tends to remember specific moments rather than the total experience. Kahneman discusses the relationship between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and these concepts have a direct impact on the ways in which we offer customer servi...
New Innovations In Hospitality HSIA Elevate Guest Experiences Through Relentless Network Monitoring & Management
Sunray | November 23, 2016
SAN DIEGO, CA — Sunray, the network provider widely regarded as the hospitality industry's HSIA visionaries, will unveil the next phase in hotel network management innovation in December, 2016. In addition to Sunray's Umbra service suite, this next phase includes real-time wireless connection quality monitoring and an intelligent auditing system. Hotel IT teams will now be able to receive real-time readings from thousands of devices across every level of their network. This provides accurate, easily digestible reporting, alerting and trending of events that can significantly disrupt network performance. The auditing system runs hu...
With Google, Second Place Is The First Loser
Larry Mogelonsky | November 23, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) "Second place is the first loser." -Dale Earnhardt, American Racing Legend (1951-2001) This is a bold prediction I am about to make, and so I've channeled one of the boldest (and wealthiest) sportstars of our time. We all admire Google. While much is made of their self-driving car, Google Glass and other audacious new devices or applications, Google is also hard at work refining its core business – internet search. And this refinement has but one primary goal. However much the company espouses its noble goal of helping people find just about anything on the web, it is accountable to i...
How To Serve A VIP: 30 Tips to Earn & Re-Earn Your Customers’ Loyalty
Bryan K. Williams | November 21, 2016
by Bryan K. Williams It's finally here! My latest book is called, How To Serve A VIP: 30 Tips to Earn & Re-Earn Your Customers' Loyalty. This book is designed for you and everyone on your team who loves to serve others. Each of the 30 chapters will reinforce the importance of giving your best service to all customers. Whether those customers are called colleagues, employees, guests, clients, tenants, patients, residents, students, visitors or customers is irrelevant. This book will highlight that the same caliber of service excellence must be given to all. Each of the 30 chapters ends with a powerful activity that is designed to...
Rethink What You Call A Lifestyle Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | November 16, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Just what exactly do we mean when we call our property a 'lifestyle hotel'? Is it an expression that is readily understood by all our customers? I began wondering these questions and more during one of my all-too-familiar-yet-never-frequent-enough trips to sunny Los Angeles. Withholding its name so we can keep this discussion neutral, the property itself was a one-time Hyatt that had seen a recent – and what I am told was, extensive – renovation. The open concept lobby's enormous size was augmented by its sleek, reflective tile surfaces and made only more inviting by the vibrant...
Engaging Millennials: How to Get America’s Largest Workforce Invested, Retained and Performing to Their Full Potential
Karen Leland | November 16, 2016
By Karen Leland You know who they are. Those unengaged employees who simply show up, do their jobs and then go home, not giving their work a second thought. However, also fairly obvious are fully engaged employees—those who are clearly passionate about what they do, why they do it and, particularly notably, the impact their work is having on the world around them. Unfortunately, high employee engagement among Millennials—the largest workforce in the U.S.—is proving to be the exception and not the norm. A recent Gallup poll of more than one million participants revealed that less than one-third of Millennials—only...
Mobility and the Hotel Property Management System: Ending the Epidemic of Guest Experience Complacency
November 15, 2016
Jos Schaap, CEO, StayNTouch Hotel technology has come a very long way over the past decade and yet it still has a very long way to go in order to catch up with other industries. Companies such as SAP and Infor, in the ERP space, have taken the user experience to the next level by implementing social and mobile aspects to their platforms. This new movement ensures that the platform is truly engaging, the user is more productive, and the educational curve is largely diminished - resulting in cost savings. When we think about mobility within the hotel and travel industry, our minds immediately gravitate to the hotel room or air travel book...
Do You Have A Suite Tooth?
Larry Mogelonsky | November 9, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Over the past year, I've stayed in 40 hotels and many fine properties have upgraded me to their suite products. With a nod to all those hoteliers who have graciously provided this bonus, I say thank you. Attempting to learn from these experiences, I ask: what makes a suite special? And, if properly differentiated, how can you fashion your suites as a truly differentiated product set? First, let's define a suite. Whereas many hoteliers may consider it as just a larger guestroom, a true suite has a door that physically separates the sleeping quarters from the living/dining area. Note, many ho...
Train Your Hotel Sales Team to Tell Stories Not Just Quote Rates
Doug Kennedy | November 7, 2016
By Doug Kennedy As marketing professionals across all industries know, the concept of storytelling is an integral component for success in today's environment. You can see this approach playing out across all mediums from print to web to radio and television. Car ads are no longer about the features and benefits of the car, but rather about all of the places that car can take you. Soda ads are not so much about the taste, but about how happy you will be by sharing it with friends and family, showing bottles labeled with real names or "dad" and "grad." Maybe the best example is the new Liberty Mutual Insurance advertising campaign where ...
Hey Independents! Are You Thinking About Joining An Association?
Larry Mogelonsky | November 2, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) For most independent hoteliers, the decision to join an association such as Leading, Preferred, Small Luxury or Relais & Chateaux is a critical and complex decision. All of these organizations have stepped up their game of late, with grand improvements to both their web and sales offerings so that they can all stay relevant as traveler behavior changes. Moreover, the impetus to participate is exacerbated by the proliferation of inventory in the alternate lodging sector – that is, Airbnb – coupled with the marketing behemoths that are the OTAs. The costs of joining an associa...
Doug Kennedy Announces His New Book On Hospitality Training and Guest Services Excellence
Doug Kennedy | October 31, 2016
"So You REALLY Like Working With People?" Is a fun and fast moving book that will inspire both frontline colleagues and top-level hospitality leaders. Greetings readers, clients and hospitality industry friends! Well it took me 10 years to finally finish this project that only runs 70 pages, but maybe that is an indicator of how important it was for me to get the message just right. My new book "So You REALLY Like Working With People?"- Five Principles For Hospitality Excellence contains the core essence of all of my hotel and lodging industry training workshops and conference presentations. Readers so far have said it's a fun and fast ...
Consider Traditional Marketing To Differentiate Your Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | October 26, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) When was the last time you took a serious look at a traditional advertising campaign, by which I mean print (newspapers and magazines), broadcast (radio and television) and outdoor (billboards, bus shelters, posters and so on)? Given that we are well into the digital age, you may be under the belief that advertising has moved exclusively into the online domain where automated programs such as Google Adwords, retargeting and SEO programs dominate. With traditional dissemination continuing to subside in perceived value year-over-year, many have come to rely solely on digital channels which al...
Arnold Palmer ~ A Life Well Played
Jana Love | October 21, 2016
By Jana Love From someone that spent 19 years as Arnold Palmer's neighbor from October to April each year, his passing hit me hard. Most of us know him as the "King of Golf," which is very true, but, with or without the golf status, there is no denying the impact that he had on the very young, to the very old, and across many industries. His statistics in golf are indisputable, and the respect and admiration he commanded as a human being are nothing short of extraordinary. Pete Jansons wrote an article in the HiringSite blog powered by CareerBuilders called, 5 Small Business Leadership Lessons from Arnold Palmer, and it go...
Breakfast Foods for Lunch and Dinner
Larry Mogelonsky | October 19, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) In a very general sense, I'd like to make the case for you to offer breakfast foods on your lunch and dinner hotel restaurant menus. While I realize supply chains may be an issue, there is indeed a demand for this type of cuisine at all hours of the day and night. Think late night diners in New York City or 24-hour restaurants along the Las Vegas Strip. Next, consider McDonald's which experienced substantial fiscal growth in 2015 attributed to the expansion of breakfast foods beyond the 11am cut-off. Non-scientific in my sample base, I reviewed the collection of menus acquired from hotels I...
How Long is too Long for a Hotel to Respond to Guest Requests?
ALICE | October 13, 2016
ALICE Consumer Research Says Guests Expect Staff Responses to Text Messages in About 12 Minutes, 26 Minutes for Email NEW YORK, October 13, 2016 – Guests have a right to complain if hotel staff does not respond to their text requests in about 12 minutes, to emails in 26 minutes, and via social media in 27 minutes or less, according to research compiled by hotel service innovator ALICE, info.aliceapp.com. ALICE commissioned the research to help hotels understand how to serve guests better at a time when text, email and social media are quickly becoming the communication channels of choice for guests at upscale hotels and resorts. E...
Putting Guest Interactions Into Accounting Terms
Larry Mogelonsky | October 12, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) To those who have taken a course in accounting or general finance, both of these four letter acronyms should be instantly familiar. Adapting these terms beyond bookkeeping and into the realm of hospitality, we can lever such terminology for a completely different purpose – guest interactions. First, a refresher for those who have been away from the financial texts for a while. FIFO, or 'First In First Out', is the generally accepted means of assessing the costs of inventory. With FIFO, inventory valuation is based upon a calculation that infers that products being sold are the oldest ...
How to Handle Customer Complaints Properly to Build Business
October 5, 2016
No business likes to get complaints. However, we have to accept the fact that complaints will happen. Customers may complain about our products, service, or may simply be confused about an issue. Is the customer always right? No. But the customer is still the customer and deserves our best efforts to make him or her happy. While a few customers may be chronic complainers or trying to take advantage of the system, the vast majority are simply looking for a solution to some problem they have encountered with our business. Handle Complaints Quickly How important is it to properly handle complaints quickly? One statistic often quoted is tha...
The Future of In-Room Technology
Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company | October 5, 2016
From cord-cutters whose primary source for entertainment is streaming services to business travelers who demand high-speed internet, hotel guests are expecting more and more when it comes to in-room technology that seamlessly integrates into their lifestyle. That being said, in-room technology upgrades should be prioritized based on what impacts the guest's buying decision and return intent, and if prioritized correctly, can raise hotel revenue. For example, hotels are using new systems to move their printed guest room directories into an electronic compendium accessible through in-room TVs. This gives properties a new distribution chan...
Generational Differences In Social Media Usage
Larry Mogelonsky | October 5, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) Young people and old people use different social media platforms and behave differently online. Everyone knows this…or at least they should. And it has powerful implications for your digital marketing strategies. It all started from the very onset of social networks which were peer-to-peer outlets for early millennials while boomers were still completely in the dark. Facebook played a big role in changing this dynamic. What started as an interface for university students soon took on high school pupils, college alumni and then everyone could sign up. As Mark Zuckerberg's character in...
How Silent Are Your Hotel Rooms?
Larry Mogelonsky | September 28, 2016
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca) I'm fascinated by the sounds of a hotel or, should I say, the distinct lack of sound. But before I delve into this topic, here is a quick basic primer. Sound travels in waves and you can't see them. The amplitude of a sound wave is a measurement of how forceful the sound wave is. This measurement is expressed in decibels, or dB of sound pressure. A decibel meter allows you to measure just what level of sound exists in any environment. We all hear (pun intended) about extremely loud noises and the dangers of prolonged exposure to such cacophony. In fact, there are maximums to the acceptable ...
Why Customer Loyalty Should Not Be Your Goal and What You Want Instead
Dr. Dennis Rosen | September 27, 2016
By Dr. Dennis Rosen Loyalty has become a goal of many businesses. Many consultants claim they will help businesses accomplish this goal. However, it is important that we define our goals correctly since they represent where and how we will direct our efforts. So consider, is customer loyalty what you are really after? What is Loyalty? The problem that exists is with the definition of "loyalty" that is generally used. Loyalty is usually considered a situation in which customers come back to the same business repeatedly over time. If they routinely use the same business or buy the same product, they are said to be "loyal.&q...
