Multicultural center combines near-shore cost efficiency with superior process to deliver highest conversion rates and caller satisfaction scores
Chicago, IL (March 2, 2017) — With 20% or more of booking revenue flowing from the direct channel, hotels are reassessing their call center strategies, choosing high-performance value over lowest cost outsourcing. As OTA and Airbnb disruption continues to challenge traditional hotel business and push down both ADR and margins, the direct channel provides an opportunity for hotels to take control and deliver on their brand promise. Responding to these market trends, Cloud5 Communications has launched a new contact center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, capable of delivering conversion rates six-plus percentage points higher than industry average with increased caller satisfaction, all based on Cloud5’s proprietary process and force of highly-trained multilingual/bicultural agents.
Large brands and boutique chains alike have chased call center wage arbitrage around the world and learned that the direct sales value proposition must be based far more on process and talent management rather than low cost wages. Cloud5 has seen many clients and brands who have experimented with non-hospitality “low-cost” alternatives, and experienced the disappointment of lower conversion and caller satisfaction, and ultimately, reduced hotel revenue.
“We are opening this new site based on demand from our clients who have realized that when it comes to value-add services that impact client happiness and your own hotel revenue, you truly get what you pay for,” commented Robert Post, CEO of Cloud5. “In this current political environment, Puerto Rico – as a U.S. territory – makes total economic and performance sense for hotel businesses. The ability to dynamically manage skilled staffing to demand, together with Cloud5’s proprietary process, is an ideal solution for hotels that want to drive direct channel revenue.”
Cloud5 Contact Center clients include major hotel groups and independent chains for economy, mid-range, and luxury brands, as well as fine hotel and resort loyalty programs. The Contact Centers provide a unique range of revenue generation services including central reservations, sales optimization, loyalty services, OTA rate management, and social media engagement.
Cloud5’s unique brand advocacy approach helps build rapport with callers by translating each agent’s travel knowledge into passion for the guest experience. The proven personalized, high-value process generates improved caller satisfaction for the contact center investment, resulting in higher conversion rates, greater guest loyalty, and in the end, higher direct revenue growth.
“We are excited to launch our new Puerto Rico contact center where we expect conversion rates at 6-20 percentage points above what our new hotel clients are used to,” said Lionel Riley, Vice President of Operations, Cloud5 Contact Center. “Our proprietary systems and proven training regime are built around a guest-centric strategy that immerses travel consultants into the client’s brand and culture. And because of our commitment to training, benefits and support, our agent attrition rates are exceptionally low and job satisfaction high, which contributes to even more positive call results.”
Focus on metrics and continual process improvement is a core value for the Cloud5 Contact Center. The company believes in transparency of KPIs, so clients understand the performance that drives their success, such as gross and net conversion rates, length of stay, average daily rate (ADR), service level, abandon rate, average call time and Net Promoter Score (NPS) or “how likely are you to refer our organization to a friend?”.
The company leads the industry in caller satisfaction and minimal attrition, translating into more reservations and higher per booking revenue for its hotel clients.
For more information on how Cloud5 can increase direct sales through higher conversion rates, request a free Contact Center consultation.
