front desk training
How To Implement a Front Desk Upsell Program That Outperforms Your Prearrival Email Campaign
Doug Kennedy | August 22, 2024
Despite what digital marketing and tech providers may say, I believe upselling can best be accomplished when warm, welcoming, front desk colleagues have authentic, human conversations. That’s not to say that pre-arrival emails that market upsell options in advance do not serve a role, because they do. For one, whatever upselling revenue they produce is a plus, especially since it is automatically generated. Also, pre-arrival emails tee-up a conversation-starting question that a well-trained receptionist can use to open the door. The challenge is that these days, guests who book travel in advance are inundated with pre-arrival emails explai...
Reservations Sales Agents: It Is NOT Our Job To Tell Them What’s Available; It IS Our Job To Help Them Decide! Complimentary Registration Now Open f
Doug Kennedy | May 9, 2024
Sponsored By Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Friday, May 17, from Noon – 12:45pm EST. REGISTER HERE “As evidenced by the pre-training mystery shopping our team provides for new clients, an awful lot of reservations sales agents do little more than find out the caller’s dates and number of people, and then quote them the same rates the caller has already seen online prior to calling,” said KTN President Doug Kennedy. “When you think about it, this approach is like treatin...
Do Your Hotel Leaders Truly Understand the Difference Between “Hospitality” and “Guest Service?”
Doug Kennedy | October 11, 2023
By Doug Kennedy My job as a hospitality industry conference speaker and training facilitator affords opportunities to speak with lodging industry leaders from a broad spectrum of management companies, brands, and independents. Based on my observations, I think there are a lot of leaders, including some with decades of experience who work at top-tier companies, who do not fully understand the difference between “hospitality” and “guest service.” I often hear these terms used interchangeably, yet while they are related, and while guest satisfaction requires both, they are fundamentally different concepts. Understanding the differe...
Doug Kennedy Announces Next Topic in His Webcast Training Series: Reservations Sales: Remember, Ring-Ring Means Cha-Ching!
Doug Kennedy | August 3, 2023
Complimentary Registration Sponsored by Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Kennedy Training Network Inc. (KTN) announced today the topic for Doug Kennedy’s next training webcast: Reservations Sales: Remember, Ring-Ring Means Cha-Ching!, scheduled for Friday, August 18 from Noon – 12:40 pm. REGISTER HERE According to Doug, “Smart revenue and marketing leaders know that the voice reservations channel is alive and thriving. Of course, resorts, luxury properties, vacation rental agencies, and boutique hotels all know this. Even at branded, select-service hotels, front desk associates regularly field calls fro...
Does Your Reservations Call Scoring Criteria Need To Be Updated?
Doug Kennedy | July 25, 2023
By Doug Kennedy When our KTN team onboards clients for either traditional mystery shopping or for call scoring of actual recordings (as captured in our clients’ various cloud-based platforms), part of our process is reviewing their existing call criteria. As a result, I get to peek behind the scenes and see what their reservations, front desk, and/or contact center staff are being trained to say. What I find is that most organizations are still using the same reservations call handling criteria as they did long ago, despite the fact that so much has changed on the caller’s side of the conversation. When it comes to information, t...
KTN President Doug Kennedy Addresses Questions About His Monthly Training Webcast Series
Doug Kennedy | July 11, 2023
Each month, Doug Kennedy presents a live webcast from the KTN headquarters office in Florida, reaching hotel and lodging professionals of all levels around the globe. The rotating menu of topics includes content for all disciplines within the industry, including rooms operations, sales, and even F&B. Some topics have a broad-based theme, such as hospitality & guest service excellence, while others are very specific such as training tips, transient reservations sales, and hotel group and event sales. Everyone who registers receives a link to a live recording which they can view later if they missed the live event, or select segments...
Train Your Hospitality Staff to Elicit Kama Muta (Commonly Called That “Warm, Fuzzy” Feeling)
Doug Kennedy | May 11, 2023
By Doug Kennedy It’s something that virtually all humans have experienced in our lives, especially those who work in guest-facing jobs in the hospitality industry when we make an authentic, personalized, and heartfelt connection with another human. For me, it seems to happen more often with strangers, rather than with loved ones we routinely see. It is a mutually experienced feeling, felt across cultures, nationalities and languages. There is even a common gesture that humans around the globe use when the feeling arises, which is raising the right hand and placing it over the heart. Recently while preparing for a conference keynote...
Doug Kennedy Announces Next Topic In His Webcast Training Series: Maximizing Textual Sales & Service Opportunities
Doug Kennedy | May 3, 2023
Complimentary Registration Sponsored By Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software Kennedy Training Network Inc. (KTN) announced today the topic for Doug Kennedy’s next training webcast: Maximizing Textual Sales & Service, which will train your team on using personalized, persuasive writing for chat, email, and in-app messages. This webcast is scheduled for Friday, May 12 from Noon – 12:40pm. REGISTER HERE According to Doug, “The reality is that most reservations offices have become ‘contact centers,’ because most agents are spending as much time typing than talking these days.” This KTN traini...
