Hotel Business Review Archives

It’s not everyday that you get an opportunity to speak to the general manager of one of the world’s finest hotels. The Four Seasons Hong Kong is one such property, and William MacKay is not only the General Manager, but as well, the Regional Manager for several Four Seasons properties. I had the opportunity to spend some time on property last fall and the best I can describe it is a “jewel box,” as everything was gem-perfect. The property has received accolades from pretty much every critical source. In my conversation with William, I wanted to discover how this property maintains this incredibly high level of excellence.

The IT or technology team is not always on the front line of attention when it comes to Guest Service skills. Their roles and guest demand for technology services has increased and is going up and yet, guest service may not be a priority in this department. How can these team members be better prepared for making the service excellence difference?

The online presence of hospitality brands has grown exponentially in the past few years, which has made comparison shopping easier, but customer loyalty more difficult to achieve. Websites are often the first experience consumers have with a hotel brand and become a frequent interaction point for return customers. Thus, the website experience can serve as a strategic tool for gathering information about customers’ perceptions based on their overall experience with the brand. Learn best practices and innovative techniques for what to do and what to avoid when using online customer experiences to build your brand.

With hotel occupancy on the rise in 2012, it’s important for hotels to deliver stand-out customer service and experiences. In the hospitality industry we understand that guests are often outside of their comfort zone, looking for a place to call home. To satisfy these desires, we at Affinia Hotels have gone back to the basics with customer service to engage in a way that makes guests feel like family, not customers. We launched Tender Loving ComfortSM (TLC) in 2011 to hone in on service, increase engagement and encourage feedback to better enhance the guest experience. It’s a unique effort that goes beyond traditional customer service to ultimately enrich the guests experience at every interaction. Here’s how to get started on your own unique customer-service program.

For decades, technology and the Internet were “changing” the world. At Noble House Hotels & Resorts we believe it has already changed. Social media has entirely transformed the way we live, through relationships, business, consumption, communication, and most importantly to us – decision making in travel and customer service.

In this article, hospitality veteran Fred Cerrone profiles five aspects of his company’s unique culture that have helped Hotel Equities, the firm he founded, achieve award-winning guest satisfaction scores at many of the properties they manage. As a prime example, the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Vero Beach recently earned the 2011 brand’s Chairman’s Award for maintaining the brand’s top guest satisfaction score. Brenda Celano, an outstanding general manager who rose through the company’s ranks, led the hotel’s team of associates. They lived the culture and used their training to find ways to serve their guests and achieve success.

The focus on quality customer service is greater in hospitality than any other industry. Poor customer service is often overlooked in a restaurant with a star chef or a creative theme. Department stores thrive despite spotty performance by associates. But hotels have no choice but to engage the guest, make them feel special.

In recent years a shift in balance has taken place that has empowered the customer. Nowhere is this shift more evident than in the hotel industry. With new technologies service recovery has become more critical than ever. Customers can offer online reviews through various social media sites that can reach hundreds or even thousands of potential customers and never even complain to the firm. In this paper several managerial recommendations are offered.

Social media has certainly given power to the people. But social has also given hotel executives the power to derive actionable strategies based on feedback from its most important data source: their own customers. Integrating social media feedback into a hotel’s customer relationship management is more than simply hanging out with your customers online. It’s about using the real-time, voice-of-customer intelligence inherent in your guests’ online conversations to understand not only what your guests are saying, but also why they are saying it and how it impacts your business strategy - and using that intelligence to deliver a superior guest experience.

The guest experience drives your income engine. What your team does and says impacts how your guests feel and helps your guests decide where to spend their money. All hospitality leaders have the responsibility to define a service culture that transcends cliché and borders amazing. Embracing five critical concepts will result in an engaged team that delivers impeccable service in all the right spots. Creating that team and that culture is not easy, but the payoff is big.

How often do you think your hotel guests, upon pulling up the covers after a hectic day of travel, say to themselves, “Boy, this hotel chain really understands me.” In fact, most hotel chains do have the wherewithal to really understand their customers. It’s simply a matter of how we gather their information and deploy it across the organization that will distinguish those of us who truly know our guests. Through the responsible and sophisticated use of data, hotels can deliver experiences that are relevant, which in turn will lead to customer intimacy and, ultimately, emotional loyalty with your brand.

Complaints have been a part of our industry since the beginning. But in our technology driven age, these complaints are now out there for the whole world to see – literally! And to top it off, they may or may not be written by actual guests. Whether real or imagined, fair or unfair, these reviews need to be handled. But how they are handled can make or break the hotel. Do not miss the opportunity these reviews present to create new relationships and solidify old ones.

Customer satisfaction is a vital component to any business, but in the hotel service industry, creating, maintaining and growing a loyal customer base is an essential element of success. From understanding your customer’s needs and training your staff to customizing your services and creating memorable moments of engagement, there are many tips to help manage and maintain a positive customer experience.

Today, travelers have more access to hotel information than ever before. Research shows that guests are visiting numerous sites and doing multiple searches before they decide to book a room. Savvy hoteliers are quickly realizing the importance of a great online reputation and recognizing the things they can do to shine online. In this article, we will look at some best practices for hotels looking to win customers doing pre-travel research.

To determine whether or not your mystery shop program is working, ask: Is it based on relevant logic? Does it measure brand delivery? Are my results objective? Can I turn my data into a plan? Can I turn my plan into action? Jesse Boles of FreemanGroup explains how to get the answers to these questions and use your mystery shops to uncover what truly drives guests to return and recommend. Quality assurance inspections and guest comment surveys aren’t enough. To measure guest service and brand delivery, you need a well-designed and well-implemented mystery shop program.