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
Five Things Every Hospitality Salesperson Should Master
Larry Mogelonsky | July 9, 2014
by Larry Mogelonsky Perhaps one of the finest hospitality sales professionals I know is David Brudney. In a career that spans 35+ years, David has had the pleasure of assessing, training and/or mentoring hospitality sales associates from major hotel chains and independents throughout the U.S. and abroad. Reflecting on his experiences, I asked David to outline some of the critical fundamentals of successful hotel selling skills. Preparation Know your product and the competition, and learn as much about the prospect as possible. Don't go to bat without a plan (e.g.: What is your goal? Secure an appointment, entertainment, site inspectio...
The Evolution of Hotel Branding: The Changing Focus of Hotel Brands
HMG Hotels | June 24, 2014
by Randy Hulce Travelers who favor a particular hotel brand know what to expect when they arrive. The rooms look identical whether they are located in Maine or California. Guests don't know, or care, if the franchising company or the franchisee owns the property. Everything is the same. This is an ideal situation for property owners who wish to identify strongly with a brand. The name attracts a predictable type of guest, and the owners have fewer decisions to make. They don't have to worry about furnishings or layouts; they just have to follow the master plan. Because of the rising popularity of this enforced uniformity, many major hot...
Doug Kennedy Reservations Sales QUEST Workshop Series in New York City on June 30
Kennedy Training Network | June 17, 2014
Seats still open for a one day train-the-trainer workshop and a half-day workshop for frontline reservations agents. Hollywood, Florida - June 17, 2014 - KTN announced today the launch of a workshop series to be presented personally by Doug Kennedy. The first stop in the series is New York City, where Doug will offer a one-day train-the-trainer workshop on June 30, along with a half-day reservations agent workshop, repeated to allow for phone coverage, on July 1, 2014. The series will continue in Los Angeles in late fall of 2014. The workshop presents KTN's popular new Hotel Reservations Sales QUEST program, which helps hotel reservati...
5 MORE Phrases That Should Never Be Used In The Customer Service Business
Steve DiGioia | May 28, 2014
by Steve DiGioia I was always taught that customer service = the "cheerful giving of attention". I doubt that these next 5 phrases will make any customer very cheerful. "We're Real Busy Today" As a customer, do we care if the business is busy? Yes, we want the business to be successful, but not to the detriment of service, especially the service I receive. This phrase leaves the impression in the mind of the customer that we will receive less than desired service and attention because the cashier, waiter, attendant, etc. is too busy to properly tend to us. Just greet me, the customer, in your usual pleasant manner and forget that phrase...
nSight Hosts Complimentary Webinar: How’s Your Hotel Performing On Third-Party Websites?
nSight | April 28, 2014
Benchmarking and improving performance for Hotel Revenue Managers and Marketers -- April 30 & May 1 NASHVILLE, TN - April 28, 2014 - nSight, the leading provider of online consumer shopping intelligence for the travel industry, will present a complimentary webinar to help hotels benchmark against their competitive set and improve performance on third-party websites by using consumer search and booking data from 5,000 global travel websites. Insights will be delivered by business intelligence industry expert, Jami Timmons, president and chief product officer at nSight. The 30-minute webinar will discuss how consumer shopping insights...
When a Customer Says – “I Don’t Care If It’s Against Company Policy”
Steve DiGioia | April 22, 2014
By Steve DiGioia Have you ever walked into a store or been a guest at a hotel and had a problem that was "out of the ordinary"? Of course you have, it has happened to many of us. It may be that the store "sale" was over and you wanted to return a product for credit or your room was not exactly to your liking. Either way, something about the product or service you paid for did not live up to your expectations, or to the advertised sales literature. So like a good customer you mention this to your salesperson or hotel front desk agent, expecting a quick resolution to your seemingly reasonable request. Your response... "It's against compan...
The 3 Levels of a Customer Experience
Jana Love | April 22, 2014
by Jana Love Something that is always relevant and seemingly misunderstood is the Customer Experience. Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine of Outside In defines this as, "Customer Experience is how your customers perceive their interactions with your company." Here's some compelling proof on why this topic deserves focus and understanding: Over a recent 5-year period when S&P 500 was flat, a stock portfolio of customer experience leaders grew 22%! To further break down what's the "customer experience," it's the product and services you offer, how you manage your business, and what your brand stands for. It 's what a customer perceives w...
Cultivating Employee Engagement Drives Growth
UniFocus | April 16, 2014
Achieving employee satisfaction and retaining loyalty is a challenging balance. When achieved the business rewards are substantial. An engaged employee leads to a satisfied customer, both of which are integral to a thriving business. In order to drive business results focus on the choices of your employees and how involved they want to be at work. Employee involvement is a necessary strategy for any organization to produce and sustain market share all year long. Disengaged employees erode the bottom line and interfere with morale in the operation. Employers with engaged employees have a higher potential to retain and promote employees, ...
Bulk TV & Internet Chosen as a Strategic Free-to-Guest Supplier for Hilton Worldwide
Bulk TV & Internet | April 11, 2014
Bulk TV & Internet (Bulk TV), a leading provider of DIRECTV services for hotels, announces their strategic supplier agreement with Hilton Worldwide to provide individual hotel owners with an option for in-room entertainment services across the company's hotels in the U.S. This agreement marks the first comprehensive and strategic relationship between a hospitality company and a TV programming provider. Bulk TV is a preferred partner to provide these services to Hilton hotels, and currently provides services to upwards of 300,000 rooms nationwide. "We're looking forward to expanding our partnership with Hilton Worldwide and to provid...
DirecTV and Weather Channel Ink Carriage Deal Ending Stormy Dispute
April 8, 2014
April 08--The storm between the Weather Channel and DirecTV has finally cleared. The network will return to the satellite television provider on Wednesday, the companies said, following a carriage dispute that had left the channel blacked out for DirecTV's 20 million customers since January. As part of the deal, the Weather Channel agreed to scale back on the amount of so-called reality programming it carries. One of the reasons DirecTV cited when dropping the channel was that it had moved too far away from its core mission of being a weather service. The loss of DirecTV was a huge blow to the Weather Channel, which tried unsuccessfully...
SONIFI Solutions Names Ken Dufault as Senior Director, Hospitality Product Marketing
MMGY Global | April 3, 2014
FALLS, S. Dak. – SONIFI Solutions, the leading provider of end-to-end interactive content and connectivity solutions for hospitality and healthcare businesses, announces the appointment of Ken Dufault as Senior Director, Hospitality Product Marketing. Dufault joins the SONIFI Solutions team from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. where he most recently served as Director of Global Property Technology Solutions. In his new role, Dufault will be responsible for ensuring that hospitality industry clients receive best of breed & industry leading solutions for their property needs. During his time with Starwood Hotels and Reso...
The New Service Recovery Paradox: Step it Up with Follow-up
Coyle Hospitality Group | April 3, 2014
The service recovery paradox is as simple as it is timeless: A dissatisfied guest who becomes satisfied is more loyal than the guest who never had a problem. What isn't so simple is the act of service recovery itself. The hospitality industry as a whole has been committed to service recovery for some time. The brands, operators and employees all understand that things happen and that part of the daily routine is handling guest complaints. What differs dramatically though is how hoteliers handle complaints, and the ones that do it well have a distinct advantage in creating loyalty. Our study reveals where the difference-makers excel. Hot...
10 Soft Customer Service Skills for a People-Focused Culture
Jana Love | March 26, 2014
by Jana Love How many times have you been in a store, restaurant, or on the phone, and questioned the proper "fit" of the person's skills in relation to the job they were working? The waiter who is unfriendly, or the person answering the phone who puts you on multiple holds, disconnects your call, or transfers incorrectly? How about the person at a home improvement store working in "lawn and garden" who can't answer any of your lawn and garden questions? One of my personal favorites is the person who works in a family fun vacation destination, such as a theme park or resort, who, based on the poor delivery of their service, alters your ...
Dealing with Customer Complaints – The A, B, C, Ds of Effective Service Recovery
Jim Hartigan | March 17, 2014
By Jim Hartigan I've been involved in customer service nearly all my life. My first foray into this area occurred when I was in elementary school. That's right, elementary school. I was an old fashioned "paper boy." You see, I provided a very valuable service to the residents in my neighborhood - I brought the daily news to their door. In a sense, I was the 1970's version of the "news feed" or #twitter. On the rare occasion when one of my customers called my home (on a land line that was called a "party line," a story for another day to be sure) to report that their newspaper was wet from the elements or the front page was torn during t...
Can Seasonal Employees Still Deliver Great Customer Service?
Steve DiGioia | February 20, 2014
by Steve DiGioia Recently I was asked to teach a customer service training class for the new hires of a ski resort. The seasonal resort just completed their job fair and had their newest set of fresh-faced recruits all ready for work; they just needed to know how to deal with their customers. In preparation, I met with the resort's management to find out some information about the new hires, if there were specific topics they want covered and what their expectations were for the class. Here is what I learned: Job Fair attendees: 200 Employees Hired: 180 Positions Hired: ski lift operator, equipment rental associate, retail store cle...
Organic Service: Adapting Experiences to the Experience by Roberta Nedry
Roberta Nedry | February 14, 2014
Organic! That word is everywhere in today's world. Consumers are seeking Organic food for healthier lifestyles. Restaurants are showcasing more Organic menu creations and even growing their own organic gardens. People are choosing more Organic lifestyles and exploring ways to simplify their lives and become healthier. Organic farming means no drugs, synthetic chemicals or hormones are used. Organic business growth means new business that comes from existing business or customers. Organic organizations are known to encourage and respect the teams within and encourage new ideas and teamwork; to encourage employees to perform at their ...
The 5 Best Ways to Deal With an Upset Customer
Steve DiGioia | February 13, 2014
By Steve DiGioia Regardless of your business there will be the inevitable situation where a customer is dissatisfied with your product or service. It is something we never want to deal with but know we must. "There is a lady out front that is unhappy with her ____________" is a phrase that no manager wants to hear from their employee but it does happen. So as any good manager we rush out to greet the upset guest and find out what is the problem. But do you know the simplest and most effective way to address the situation? Are you prepared on the spot to make the situation "right" for the customer? Are you able to alleviate all their fea...
The Key to Consistent Service by Bryan Williams
B.Williams Enterprise | February 12, 2014
Do all customers deserve great service? What about those who always find something to complain about? How about those who never tip...or never say "thank you"...or never seem to smile, ever? Up to this point, most of my writing, consulting, and training have always been based on the premise that all customers deserve the best we have to offer. After a recent encounter, however, my eyes are now open and I understand a very important truth that I never fully grasped before. At some point, we have to realize that our motivation to provide exceptional service cannot be based on the customer or whether he or she deserves it or not. Grocery s...
DIRECTV Drops The Weather Channel: What This Means to the Hotel Industry
Hospitality Upgrade | January 27, 2014
With the announcement on January 15, 2014, and the news of DIRECTV dropping The Weather Channel because of a disagreement on a market-based carriage deal, our Publisher Rich Siegel sought the opportunity to explore how this would affect the hospitality industry. Rich went straight to the source and interviewed the EVP/CIO of The Weather Channel, Bryson Koehler. "The intersection of weather and travel is tremendous," said Koehler. "In the dispute over a penny, DIRECTV has decided to drop us from their lineup. We are simply trying to ensure that there is the right communication and education out there about the impact this has for all DIR...
Customer Service: A Secret to Selling
Katie Scheer | January 27, 2014
by Katie Scheer You have heard it all before - to make a sale, you need to understand needs, have good product knowledge, find the "fit," and so on. All true; however, without delivering memorable customer service by showing that you genuinely care about the customer through treating him with respect and proving that he can trust you, you may still earn the sale, but you won't acquire a bigger sale or loyalty. This past weekend my husband, two young kids (2 and 5), and I dined at The Vineyard Grill at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. Typically, since they are so young, we would not bring our children to a restaurant this nice, bu...
5 Phrases That Should Never Be Used in the Customer Service Business
Steve DiGioia | December 16, 2013
by Steve DiGioia "Customer Service" is a term that too frequently is used as a catch-all for the experience received or given in today's business world. But what customer service is to me may be different from what it is to you and what you expect, or tolerate. It's strange that I mention tolerate since that is exactly what most of us have been doing when we are on the receiving-end of many service businesses. We wait in long lines because the business didn't schedule enough staff to work the cash registers. We search down aisle after aisle to find an employee so we can ask where something is or if they have a particular product in stor...
Kennedy Training Network Announces Hotel Reservations QUEST Video and Training Program
Kennedy Training Network | December 4, 2013
A contemporary new approach for today's over-informed, multi-tasking reservations callers who have shopped multiple channels before calling. Hollywood, Florida - December 4, 2013 - KTN announced today the launch of a contemporary new lodging industry reservations training program available in all formats including video (DVD), private webinars, on-site training and train-the-trainer versions. "When it comes to information, the balance of power has shifted to the caller's side of the equation over the last decade or so" says KTN President Doug Kennedy, the instructional designer of Hotel Reservations QUEST. "In the past most had very lit...
Go Hard on Soft Service Skills by Roberta Nedry
Roberta Nedry | November 27, 2013
In today's world, a lot of times we think HARD is better. Work hard! Play hard! Drive a hard bargain! Hard may mean strength such as "hard as a rock" versus soft which may seam weak as in "Don't be a softy." Apples taste better hard and to many peoples' tastes, so does cheese. There may be lots of things that work or seem better when they are hard but when it comes to service, it's the soft skills that will enable the most memorable results, not the hard ones. Don't get me wrong...hard skills are essential and important and will get the job done. But, it's the soft skills that will make the em...
Be Exceptional…Regardless of the work environment by Bryan Williams
B.Williams Enterprise | November 13, 2013
Some people don't like where they work...at all. They may even despise who they report to. And since their work environment is so "toxic", they choose to withhold their best quality of work. "THIS PLACE does not deserve the best I have to offer. I will come to work, only do what is expected of me, collect my paycheck, and go home." Do you know anyone like that? Bare Minimum The problem with that line of thinking is that if you repeatedly choose to give the bare minimum, then eventually you will be comfortable giving the bare minimum. Yes, you would have unknowingly formed not only a habit, but a bad habit. At some point, you may not eve...
