The Tricycle of Guest Service Excellence: A Perfect Model For Remarkable Experiences
Doug Kennedy | October 4th, 2024
The Art of a Great Arrival for Luxury Hotels
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | May 22nd, 2024
How Hotels Can Earn Guests’ Trust and Encourage Data Sharing
Ellis Connolly | December 20, 2022
By Ellis Connolly Offering value in exchange for data will resonate more deeply with guests, inspiring engagement, revenue, trust, and loyalty As privacy concerns related to data capture reach a fever pitch, consumer data – perhaps better described as the critical currency which powers personalization – is becoming a protected commodity. For a long time, brands across industries could collect and store online data without explicit disclosure of that capture and, more importantly, without first obtaining consent. This was a discreet and arguably invasive practice. Over time, privacy and personal data protection concerns began comp...
Why It Pays for Hotels to Work With a Managed WiFi Service Provider
Gary Patrick | December 20, 2022
By Gary Patrick Internet connectivity has only become more vital to hotel business operations as guests continue to increase the number of devices that they travel with and as more property systems and amenities go online. Yet while an overwhelming 80 percent of Americans say that they can’t live without WiFi while on vacation, internet access and performance is something that many properties continue struggling with to get right. Online review sites are filled with a multitude of guest complaints over poor WiFi service, while surveys repeatedly list WiFi as among one of the leading pain points diminishing the quality of guest experience...
FOMU…The Fear of Messing Up
Shep Hyken | December 14, 2022
By Shep Hyken You have most likely heard people use the expression FOMO, an acronym for Fear of Missing Out. People have a hard time deciding what to do or where to go and worry about missing out on a fun experience, a business opportunity, and more. Recently, I interviewed Dominic Constandi for Amazing Business Radio. We talked about different customer service and experience topics, and he casually mentioned FOMU. I knew what FOMO meant but wasn’t sure about FOMU, which, as it turns out, stands for Fear of Messing Up. Specifically, he talked about how the stakes are higher than ever in business. Faced with the pandemic, suppl...
IHG Hotels & Resorts Set to Debut Philips MediaSuite TVs in Guest Rooms as Part of New Global Partnership With PPDS
PPDS | December 13, 2022
Turning hotel rooms into homes-from-home: Global partnership between PPDS and IHG® Hotels & Resorts will bring Philips MediaSuite TVs, designed especially for the hospitality industry with Chromecast™ built-in, into IHG hotels for the first time, delivering unrivaled entertainment choice, personalization and control for fully tailored guest experiences. December 2022: PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips digital signage, interactive displays, direct view LED and professional TV products and solutions, is delighted to announce a brand new partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts, bringing its advanced Chromecast™ built-i...
Is Hospitality Moving Towards Zero-Touch With Service Automation?
Alan E. Young | December 12, 2022
By Alan Young The journey to high tech vs high touch has begun, but studies show that brands risk losing trust, and business, by neglecting human connection With each new technological breakthrough and innovation, what once may have seemed dystopian or impossible is now simply a modern-day reality. Let’s take, for example, Amazon Go stores, which allow patrons to select the products they need, and effectively check out by simply leaving the store – no cashier interaction or self-checkout kiosk required. The store uses an Amazon Go app for iOS or Android linked to individuals’ Amazon accounts for automatic billing to ensure a truly...
Our Customers, Not Our Competition, Are the Reason Customer Service Is Important
Shep Hyken | December 8, 2022
By Shep Hyken When a client is interested in engaging me to speak at their meeting, I’ll usually ask in our initial call, “Why is hiring a customer service speaker important to you at this time?” We get many different answers that include low customer satisfaction, ratings are slipping, we are great and want to stay great, and our competition is always trying to catch up to us, and we need to stay ahead. Of course, there are other answers, but for today I want to focus on the last one, which is about the competition catching up. First, if we’re worried about the competition catching up to or surpassing us, it...
Foxwoods Resort Casino Chooses Agilysys Point-of-Sale Technology to Elevate Its Retail and Food & Beverage Outlets’ Capabilities and Maximi
Agilysys | December 6, 2022
The Largest Resort Casino in North America Invests in Innovative, Customizable Solutions to Provide More Personalized Interactions and Stays ALPHARETTA, GA. — DECEMBER 6, 2022 — Even amid inflation, millions of consumers are going all in on revenge travel — making up for lost or canceled vacation time brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestically, 85% of Americans were expected to travel this past summer and planned to spend nearly as much money on such excursions as they did before the global outbreak. Foxwoods Resort Casino, the leading premier resort casino in the Northeast, wants to ensure it is providing guests and staff ...
HVS Monday Musings: Hotel Industry Tapping the Metaverse
Mandeep S. Lamba | December 5, 2022
By Mandeep Lamba, Dipti Mohan The global revenue from the metaverse* is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 44% between 2022 and 2030, reaching US$1.5 trillion, and is expected to transform a number of industries around the world. Technically speaking, the metaverse is a shared interactive virtual environment where users can create virtual identities and avatars by combining various emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), spatial computing, etc. It is a fully functional virtual environment that coexists with the actual physical world, supported by digital money, items, and assets,...
Don’t Forget What Got You to the Dance
Shep Hyken | December 1, 2022
A restaurant took its most popular item off the menu. It had been on there a long time, and the owner decided it was time to make a change, even though it was his guests’ favorite dish. A company changed its invoicing terms. It wanted to tighten its terms to get paid sooner, with larger penalties for late payment. A retail store changed its return policy. What was once considered a flexible, customer-friendly return policy became a hassle for the customer. These changes are the reasons some customers shared when they were asked, “Why don’t you come back anymore?” If any of these businesses had taken the time t...
Amadeus Partners With Hilton on New API to Enable Faster and More Advanced Connectivity
Amadeus | December 1, 2022
Amadeus is the first GDS provider to integrate Hilton's own API to enable the chain to distribute content faster. The single API gives improved connectivity between Hilton and the Amadeus GDS to enhance sales opportunities for the hotels. As demand for travel continues to grow, hoteliers want to ensure they reach high volumes of customers through their Global Distribution System (GDS) connection. The ability to distribute inventory and rates through various channels, including the GDS, is critical in today’s operating environment. It assures hotels that their inventory and rates are being seen by as many potential sellers and customer...
The Clifton Adopts GuestCast by HIS to Address Growing Guest Demands for Modern and Personalized In-Room Entertainment
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | November 29, 2022
Boutique hotel deploys GuestCast to ensure that guests can effortlessly and safely access personal streaming subscriptions on guestroom televisions. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — November 29, 2022 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has been credited with boosting guest satisfaction rates at The Clifton in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the adoption of its GuestCast streaming platform. A historic 20-room inn embodying the charm of its local surroundings, The Clifton with GuestCast can now also provide its guests with a modern and instantly personalized gue...
Three Ways to Be Amazing
Shep Hyken | November 23, 2022
By Shep Hyken Creating customer amazement is a foundational concept I cover in almost every one of my customer service keynote speeches. I’ve always preached that to amaze customers, we must simply be better than average all the time. While I’ve thought a lot about this over the years, lately I have been trying to make it even simpler for people to understand. To do that, you must understand the three ways you can be amazing for your customers, including your internal customers, who are the people you work with. Over the Top – This is about delivering an “above and beyond” experience. It is impossible to make every int...
Don’t Let a Process Get In the Way of Making Smart – Even Common Sense – Decisions
Shep Hyken | November 16, 2022
By Shep Hyken Here is another customer service horror story about a woman who was so fixated on a process that it almost cost her “customer” his life. My friend Jerry went to the emergency room of his local hospital. He was in excruciating pain. Something in his abdominal area was not right. He truly felt like he was going to die. Doubled over in pain, he limped through the waiting room to the registration desk and begged to see a doctor. The woman behind the desk said, “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. There are two people in front of you, and you’ll have to wait your turn to register. If you sign in with your na...
JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel Upgrades to Contactless Mobile Access and Enhanced Guest Security With ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions | November 15, 2022
Luxury Romanian hotel destination leverages future-proof door lock technology to seamlessly and affordably replace magstripe locks with the latest in RFID and digital key functionality. Stockholm – November 15, 2021 – ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions with its commitment to staying ahead of the latest security technology trends, has announced the successful upgrade of its VingCard Classic locks at the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel to now feature both Mobile Access and advanced RFID security capabilities. A 5-star property situated in the heart of Romania’s capital, JW Marriott Grand Hotel Bucharest’s decision to upgrade its locks to ...
La Casa del Camino Selects INTELITY to Improve Their Guest Experience
INTELITY | November 14, 2022
The historic Laguna Beach hotel plans to deploy smart-room tablets and the INTELITY platform to enhance guests’ stays Los Angeles, CA (NOVEMBER 14, 2022) - INTELITY®, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, announced today a new deal with La Casa del Camino. The historic property will implement INTELITY’s smart-room tablets and guest messaging as well as GEMS®, INTELITY’s Guest Experience Management System, which includes a suite of rich staff-facing tools for streamlined service and engagement between the hotel and guests. Located in the heart of Laguna Beach, California, La Casa del ...
Three Powerful Ideas From a Former Amazon Exec
Shep Hyken | November 10, 2022
By Shep Hyken Whenever there is a chance to learn from an iconic brand like Amazon, I jump at the chance. Founder, Jeff Bezos, was an early adopter of a relentless focus on the customer experience. Did Bezos really believe that Amazon should be so good they didn’t need a customer service department? Did he really have an empty chair in his meetings to represent the customer? Those are questions I asked Bill Price, Amazon’s first global vice president of customer service and the founder and president of Driva Solutions. I interviewed Price on Amazing Business Radio, where he shared some powerful insights and lessons from his...
Enhance Your Hotel Team’s Autism Awareness
Rod Clough | November 4, 2022
By Rod Clough We at HVS have long valued the importance of embracing diversity, celebrating our differences, and building a better consulting team as a result. Exceptional teams do this: embracing, accepting, and understanding these differences to become more deeply connected and effective. When a hotel operations team is similarly understanding and celebratory of differences, guests can feel the difference and often become repeat guests as a result. Autism awareness is an effort HVS supports by engaging with Autism Double-Checked, an organization that provides education and training about this disability. We encourage you and your hote...
Five Ways to Make Customers Feel Special
Shep Hyken | November 3, 2022
By Shep Hyken An important goal of a good customer experience is to make the customer feel special. That special feeling can come in many different forms. I was reading an article about customer retention, and it prompted me to start a list of ways to make customers feel special, want to come back, and even want to share their experience with friends, family, and colleagues. I’ll bet there’s an entire book that can be devoted to this topic, but for today we’ll keep it to the first few that came to mind. With that, here are five ways to make your customers feel special: Stop selling and start nurturing relatio...
The List Will Make You Believe in Sleep Tourism
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | November 2, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Hotels have long touted a good night’s sleep to drive bookings and to ensure guest satisfaction. But with the growing awareness for sleep science, hotels are staying to capitalize on sleep tourism – brands that use new technologies or other amenities proven to enhance a guest’s sleep as well as sleep’s health benefits. Why not your hotel? Programs like this are an arm’s race. Right now, there are examples of success including, but hardly limited to, Six Senses’ Sleep Doctor, Zedwell at Piccadilly Circus (on the economy end), The Belmond Cadogan’s Sleep Concierge and Viceroy’s Healing Experien...
CEO of the Moment
Shep Hyken | October 27, 2022
By Shep Hyken The Awesome Responsibility is a concept I came up with a number of years ago. It describes the role an employee has when interacting with a customer. In that moment, one person in the company represents everything about the company. When people walk away from doing business with a company, they will often say things like, “I enjoy doing business with them,” or, “They are so helpful.” Typically, the word they is used to describe the individual who helped the customer. That person was responsible for delivering the experience that represents the company. That’s a pretty important job, which is why I refer t...
P3 Puts the Key Into Kiosk to Provide Hotels With Completely Contactless Online Check-In Capability
P3 Hotel Software | October 25, 2022
New affordable feature means guests can avoid front desk queues October 25, 2022 — Dublin & Denver — Hotel software solutions provider P3 has rolled out a new service which allows hotel guests who check-in online to collect their room key at a kiosk rather than join a queue at the front desk. The ‘collect your key’ kiosk service was initially integrated into self-service kiosks at selected properties in the UK and Ireland, and is now being implemented at properties in additional regions. Using the new P3 solution, guests arriving at a hotel can independently check-in and collect their own room keys in less than a minute before ...
The Echo
Shep Hyken | October 20, 2022
By Shep Hyken There are many definitions of the term brand. One of my favorites is this: A brand is a promised delivered. Is what you’re known for delivered consistently? Consider Ace Hardware, whose brand promise is The Helpful Hardware Place. When you visit an Ace Hardware store, do they keep their promise? Are they helpful? Based on all their awards and the comments from happy customers posted on social channels, they deliver. Those comments and awards are what I refer to as The Echo. As you “shout” your brand promise, the feedback you get in return is the echo. And you want that echo to reflect your words. ...
GrayMatter Networks Partners With Tyme Global
Tyme Global | October 19, 2022
GrayMatter Networks maximizes SIP trunk power with Virtual Agent AI and live remote agents New York, NY – Today, telecom technology provider, GrayMatter Networks, and remote customer service company, Tyme Global (TG), announce their official partnership. GrayMatter Networks’ VoIP solutions will now be enriched with Tyme Global’s virtual agent and smart IVR system, “Skye.” This partnership allows both companies to offer a unique solution to the hospitality, transportation, and healthcare industries, by providing a comprehensive communications and customer service package. David Maayani, GrayMatter Networks’ CEO, said recen...
Quest Apartment Hotels Deploys Mobile Access for Enhanced Contactless Guest Convenience
ASSA ABLOY Group | October 18, 2022
Leading apartment hotel operator leverages strategic relationship between ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and Liverton to introduce digital key services to New Zealand-based locations. Stockholm –October 18, 2022 – ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, has today announced the successful adoption of Mobile Access by Quest Apartment Hotels for several of its properties located throughout New Zealand. Implemented via an integration with the Quest mobile app and ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions’ Certified Partner, Liverton, Mobile Access is now able to ensure instant room acc...
