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
We Work Hard to Make It Look Easy
Shep Hyken | March 28, 2024
By Shep Hyken My friend Norman Beck recently shared a quote that inspired him: We work hard to make it look easy. Isn’t that what the best people do? Whether it’s sports, entertainment, or business, some people are so good that what they do looks easy. I Googled the quote to find out who to attribute it to and found numerous variations: In sports, Ken Griffey Jr., a professional baseball player, said, “Just because I made it look easy doesn’t mean that it was, and you don’t work hard and become a Hall of Famer without working day in and day out.” In entertainment, Ben Mitchell, a fictional character from t...
How To Manage Cultural Diversity in Hospitality – A Quick Guide
EHL | March 25, 2024
Globalization, increasing freedom of movement between countries, and the growing interdependence of national economies have boosted cultural diversity in many industries. Nowhere is this paradigm shift more evident than in hospitality. How to manage cultural diversity effectively in hospitality is crucial in light of these changes. The hospitality industry is a unique melting pot of cultural diversity, both in terms of the workforce and its customers, with people from all over the world coming together. But while diversity brings great opportunities and is something to celebrate, it also creates significant challenges. Hospitality staff...
You Can’t Do What You’ve Always Done (Anymore)
Shep Hyken | March 21, 2024
By Shep Hyken Recently, I read a RetailWire article about Macy’s shutting down 150 of its 500 stores. For those in other parts of the world, Macy’s is a department store chain, and its stores often anchor large shopping malls. However, while that describes more than 25% of its stores, it represents less than 10% of sales. Some might say Macy’s is “trimming the fat” or “getting rid of the dogs.” From a financial perspective, that may be true. But it’s more than that. What they are doing is what any good business would do, and that’s changing to keep up with customers’ ever-changing habits and expectations. As Macy...
The Growth of Hotel Leisure and Entertainment With Ronn Niccoli, CMO of Resorts World Las Vegas
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | March 20, 2024
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky What can other hotels around the world learn from the thousand-plus-room resorts along the Las Vegas Strip? As an entertainment mecca, these gargantuan hotels reveal the growth of L&E alongside other non-room revenue verticals like F&B and spa. Perhaps no other resort on The Strip epitomizes the need for strong L&E programming than Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV). Launched during the pandemic, this 3,506-key property has had the uphill battle of competing against established players amidst ongoing travel uncertainties as well as cultivating the best possible lineup of talent, nightlife, and F&...
Defining Service Excellence: Setting the Highest Standards of Service in 2024
Kimberly Yoong | March 18, 2024
By Kimberly Yoong Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a time when excellent service was the hallmark of a luxury experience – one that was desired by the people and delivered by the best of companies. Today, it is an aspect of the service sector that has come to be expected by customers. Companies in the service industry have claimed their adherence to the words ‘service excellence’ since time immemorial. One of the best examples of service excellence is the Ritz-Carlton's Gold Standards, with their famous $2,000 rule which employees are empowered to spend to delight a guest above and beyond fixing problems. How m...
A Healthy Revenue Mix From Guests and Locals With a Mexico City Case Study
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | March 13, 2024
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky Hotel properties all over the world are embracing the concept of ‘stewardship’ – that is, acting as a pillar of support for sustaining and invigorating the neighboring community, culture and environment. In addition to supplying jobs and supporting charitable causes, a commendable way to go about this is to introduce amenities and programming that allow for locals to participate and mingle with incoming travelers. What we contend is that when a hotel fosters this strong sense of community, the results are nothing short of magical, and this is reflected through a positive impact on guest satisfaction, d...
How The Japanese Concept Of Omotenashi Can Elevate The U.S. Hotel Industry
Anna Marie Presutti | March 13, 2024
By Anna Marie Presutti, VP and GM of Hotel Nikko San Francisco In today's competitive landscape, hotels are constantly seeking innovative ways to distinguish themselves and enhance their guest experience. One approach that has gained traction in recent years is the adoption of Omotenashi, a Japanese concept of hospitality that emphasizes sincere and heartfelt service. At its core, Omotenashi is a philosophy deeply rooted in Japanese culture embodying warmth, sincerity, and an unwavering commitment to guest satisfaction. Unlike traditional Western notions of hospitality, which may focus primarily on meeting guests' needs efficiently, Omo...
How Better Personalization Builds Relationships That Last
Amanda Cole | March 7, 2024
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Do You Give Your Customers an Experience – Or Just a Transaction?
Shep Hyken | March 7, 2024
By Shep Hyken In the past few months, I’ve been to several concerts. I’d say the entertainers were legends in the industry. Two of them were Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr (of the Beatles). Both are talented beyond words. They both have successful careers. They have both been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s important for you to know this, just in case you don’t know who they are. It’s a generational thing. If you were born in this century, you probably don’t know either of them, but trust me, they are rock stars and legends! There was a difference in their shows. Bob Dylan came out and played. He barely spoke ...
Three Customer Service and CX Metrics Every Employee Needs to Understand
Shep Hyken | February 22, 2024
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The Critical Role of Leadership in Championing Guest Service in the Hospitality Industry, Guest Service in the Hospitality Industry
Alan Young | February 22, 2024
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InnSpire Achieves Certification With New BU-Series Samsung Guestroom Televisions, Paving the Way for Enhanced In-Room Entertainment Experiences
InnSpire | February 21, 2024
Leading provider of in-room entertainment solutions becomes first hospitality provider to integrate and go live with Samsung’s groundbreaking new series of TVs Stockholm & Washington, D.C. – February 21, 2024 – InnSpire, the leading provider of innovative hospitality technology solutions that help drive seamless, world-class guest experiences for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, today announced that the company has been awarded certification by Samsung Hospitality, establishing its status as a Certified Samsung Partner. The new certification enables the seamless integration of InnSpire's award-winning InnS...
Ford Versus Ferrari: A Lesson in Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | February 15, 2024
By Shep Hyken Functionality versus customer experience: Do they belong together? Yes! And here’s a story to make the point: Two guys are buying new cars. One buys a Ford EcoSport, and the other buys a Ferrari Roma. The Ford costs about $25,000. The Ferrari costs about $250,000 – 10 times more! Both guys live in the same neighborhood. They both drive downtown to work. They use their cars for the same reason: daily transportation. Both vehicles go back and forth to work without any problems. And because of the speed limit, both take about the same amount of time to do so. And both dealerships – Ford and Ferrari – provide...
Medallia Research Finds 61% of Consumers Are Willing to Spend More for Personalized Experiences, But Only 25% of Experiences Are Highly Personalized
Medallia | February 15, 2024
In hospitality and retail, consumers say the least personalized parts of their experiences are during their stay and while in store, providing key opportunity for brands PLEASANTON, Calif.--Medallia, Inc., the global leader in customer and employee experience, today announced the findings of its new research report, Understanding Personalization Efforts in the Hotel and Retail Industries. In a research study of 1,749 hotel guests and 1,905 retail consumers, Medallia found a strong link between personalization and overall satisfaction, validating earlier research that showed 61% of consumers are willing to spend more with companies if...
Data-Driven Hospitality Success: Empowering Decisions & Guest Experiences
Priya Rajamani | February 14, 2024
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Rip the Band-Aid Off Communication
Shep Hyken | February 13, 2024
By Shep Hyken It’s time to come back to a very important topic in customer service and customer experience. It also falls under leadership and management. The topic is communication and transparency. I was recently interviewed by Megan Jones, an editor for Call Centre Helper magazine. We were talking about how to turn Moments of Misery™ into Moments of Magic™. Her story is an interesting one. Megan had boarded an easyJet flight from Madrid to London. Everyone was on the plane, and the flight was about to leave the gate when one of the passengers spotted a scorpion that quickly disappeared. I don’t know about you, but I mi...
Overcoming the Huge Disconnect Between Service Mottos and What Guests Actually Experience
Doug Kennedy | February 12, 2024
By Doug Kennedy I have always been a huge fan of articles written by Alan Young, CEO of Puzzle Partner, but I was super happy to read his most recent article entitled Has the ‘New’ Service Culture Become the ‘No’ Service Culture? In this publication. I definitely suggest that my readers click and read the full article wherein Alan calls out and challenges major, iconic brands to live up to their lofty company mottos and read his pointed questions to them. His work has inspired me to write more about the disconnect between brand messaging and operational delivery, along with discussion questions for your next leadership meetin...
Embracing Technology Without Losing the Human Touch in Hospitality
Alan Young | February 8, 2024
By Alan Young I have been chatting with a number of hotel operators over the last few weeks, and one thing is constant between each and every one of them: we must continually improve our service delivery as the adoption rate of technology is moving at lightspeed. Why? Because when technology is so incredibly prolific, we need proof of humanity and authenticity. Hotel operators want to embrace technology to help them run their businesses more effectively, but not at the cost of losing their hotel's “human touch.” In a world increasingly dominated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technological advancements, the hospitality in...
The Importance of Lobby Renovations for the Guest Experience
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | February 7, 2024
By Adam Mogelonsky, Larry Mogelonsky Renovations are necessary, but so is controlling expenses. This can often lead to value-engineering where every element needs a quantifiable justification towards revenue performance. And yet, hotels don’t quite work that way. Even as data scientists, revenue managers and the like extol their metrics as the be-all and end-all of operational success, true hospitality nevertheless perseveres as an artform. The lobby is one such area where emotions run high and there’s no clear line between capex and profit. Numerous properties that are already in, or aspire to be in, the hospitality hall of fame ha...
Beyond the TV: Hotel In-Room Entertainment Has Evolved
Robert Mandelbaum | February 6, 2024
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Why the Marketing Budget Should Include Customer Service Training
Shep Hyken | February 2, 2024
By Shep Hyken Many companies still believe that customer service is what happens when something goes wrong. However, that is only one part of customer service. The bigger picture is that customer service happens throughout a customer’s entire experience while doing business with you. It starts the moment they interact with your company, and that might not even be with a live human. It could be an interaction they have with your website. Companies spend a lot of money to get you interested in what they sell and eventually get you to buy. Traditionally, that is marketing and sales. Then, throughout the journey, you have an experience....
How Consumer Insight Is a Driving Force in Navigating CSR
EHL Insights | February 2, 2024
It used to be the case that organizations were only responsible to their owners and shareholders. The primary goal was to make a profit, and as long as the business met that objective, it was deemed a success. Now all that has changed: Consumer insight is now a crucial driving force in corporate decision-making. Today, consumers increasingly seek to support organizations that align with their own moral and ethical views. That is particularly true of younger consumers, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge. According to one study, 91% of Millennials would switch brands to one associated with a cause they believed in, while 94% of G...
A Simple Fix To Stop Wasting Customers’ Time
Shep Hyken | February 1, 2024
By Shep Hyken Duplicate or triplicate (or more) effort is a waste of time! If you’re making your customer go through the same process multiple times, you’re creating a negative customer experience. I recently had to get an MRI for a medical issue and was asked to fill out some online forms before my appointment. (And in case you’re concerned, don’t worry. I’m okay!) Every form required me to input my name, address, phone number, and Social Security number. There may have been other requests for similar information, but those were the ones that I remember being on almost every form – and there were plenty of forms to fill o...
Meeting the Evolving Consumer Demands in Hospitality
Nandika Udupihilla | February 1, 2024
By Nandika Udupihilla New trends are emerging in the hospitality industry, and it is vital to understand what the market changes and disruptions are to stay ahead in the competitive landscape. Keeping up with the trends that affect the global hospitality industry is the only way to deliver the experiences that consumers expect. The needs and priorities of hospitality consumers underwent heavy changes over the course of the last few years. As a result, more complex and diverse consumer expectations are on the rise. What are the new hospitality consumer expectations? According to industry experts, the top preferences that will shape ser...
