What is the most important question hoteliers should be asking themselves as they weigh how to differentiate in a sea of sameness? Most would think it’s about customer satisfaction. Many would drill down into issues related to their NPS (net promoter score). But new research from CEB has shown that the key question to ask is: How effortless is it to do business with your hotel? The predictive power of customer effort has proven to be strong. CEB found that of the customers who reported low effort, 94% expressed an intention to repurchase, and 88% said they would increase their spending. Only 1% said they would speak negatively about the company. Conversely, 81% of the customers who had a hard time solving their problems reported an intention to spread negative word of mouth. Today, effortless trumps “wow.” Read on...
There is much said today about the importance of business savvy strategy—that constant stream of new platforms, plans, and programs. Well strategy is certainly important, but as Peter Drucker said, “Culture will eat strategy for lunch.” We believe the right culture executing on the right strategy is what will deliver the key results organizations are chasing. It is culture that should take the lead. Culture that delivers strategy to your guests. And culture that produces results. In this piece we deal with that mandatory marriage of culture and strategy and how a consciously managed culture begins with leadership. Read on...
In the past 20 or more years, the striving for an attainable and visible goal, or a successful career, as we know it, has been in decline. Humanity is on the verge of a huge awakening and psychological advancement. As result of this paradigm shift there is great change of the traditional work environment and fundamental adjustments on the economic landscape. This shift has affected the lives of millions of people, families and companies around the world. More and more people ask themselves why they should do what they currently do and what would the benefit of their doing be if the products they produced and the service they have offered will be no longer useful, applicable or required, by tomorrow. For most people this circumstance conditional change has become a struggle for identity. Read on...
While defining a “hostile work environment” is generally commonplace for HR professionals, one new, emerging trend in the workplace is the filing by employees or their attorneys of assault and battery charges. The law regarding assault and battery in the civil context has existed for decades, but in recent years, lawyers representing employees have started to make use of these claims with increasing frequency. This article lists five primary reasons for this shift, along with enumerating six steps an employer should follow to protect his company against an assault and battery claim. Read on...
According to a recent study by Deloitte entitled Hospitality 2015: Game changers or spectators? , mobile applications will be a key area for technological development in the industry over the next year. As more consumers than ever before are equipped with smart phones and tablets to aid in booking travel, hoteliers are finding new ways to interact with guests and build brand awareness via mobile devices. Read on...
Digital beacons in hospitality continue to guide travelers through an ever-increasing maze of travel challenges. These technologies are ever more deployed in hotels to assist though various stages of the guest-life cycle. Hoteliers are facing challenges as well as opportunities. It is imperative to offer an attractive value-proposition for the guests so that they are encouraged and motivated to engage with such technology-based services. Hoteliers are tasked with utilizing science along with the art of hospitality and determining the best way to engage guests in an era defined by social, mobile, cloud and analytics. No different than the bright lights that guided ships across the ocean in the night, or the radio waves that assisted planes in the sky, digital beacons will guide hotel guests throughout their stay and engage them in a way they will want to return again. Read on...
In today’s lean hotel industry, managers can’t afford to be desk-bound. They need mobile tools that allow them to manage operational issues immediately and efficiently from any location as they engage with guests and staff. Other factors that will drive demand for mobile in 2015 are regulatory compliance and the rise of app-savvy millennials as a key and growing segment of the labor force. The tech world is responding with mobile solutions that promise to transform the way hotels manage their employees while empowering those employees with the tools to better control their own schedules. Read on...
The mobile eCommerce space in the hotel industry is growing and changing rapidly. With the massive influx of new distribution apps and mobile sites, it is vitally important that hoteliers stay educated and able to make informed decisions about their hotel participating (or not) in these new channels. Hoteliers must be able to take a pragmatic view of both their hotel(s) and these channels, with their specific customer profiles and compensation structures, to determine if they will be able to benefit from their participation. Read on...
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