By: Mickael Damelincourt

An exceptional guest experience is the key to a successful hotel. During the holiday season, when guests are tired from traveling, little touches can make a huge difference. Hotel associates are the most important elements in a great guest experience. By anticipating needs, personalizing the experience and responding to requests at lightning speed, guests walk away impressed. However, not surprisingly, if your associates do not have the tools and processes in place to effectively communicate and coordinate services, your guests’ experience can, and often will, suffer.

At Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto®, our goal is to ensure every guest has an exceptional, personalized experience. To exceed guest expectations, we implemented an internal communication system that utilizes lightweight, voice-controlled wearable communication devices that seamlessly integrate with our Hotel Service Optimization System (HotSOS) software. This integration ensures guest requests are discreetly sent to the appropriate team member at the right time, improving associate response times and creating a ‘wow’ factor for our guests. The following are three examples of how implementing wearable technology into our associate’s workflow has improved our guests’ experience.

1. Treating All Guests Like VIPs

Trump Toronto associates shape the customer experience from the moment guests arrive. The doormen identify the guest’s name and broadcast it discreetly into the wearable badge so the reception team greets the guest by name, which makes them feel valued and recognized. With this technology, associates can instantly and quietly communicate with one another to provide seamless service and a memorable guest experience.

2. Creating a Personalized Experience

In addition to greeting guests by name, the subtle announcement of a guest’s identity via a group-based calling function on the wearable device allows associates to prepare for that guest’s arrival. The reception agent can retrieve registration information and view not only the assigned room, but also if a guest is celebrating a special occasion or has event tickets or dinner reservations. This automatic communication, which is essentially invisible to guests, lets us create a thoughtful and unique experience for each individual guest.

3. Anticipating Needs

When a bellman escorts a guest to the room, he may notice they have a beverage or bottle of champagne. Utilizing the push-to-talk function on the wearable device, the bellman asks, “May I get some ice for you?”- and discreetly confirms the request as it’s being broadcast to the rest of the service team. Another associate then coordinates delivery of ice to the room, where it is waiting when the guest arrives.

Providing guests with exceptional service using wearable communication technology can lead to a great experience. We often see this improved level of service reflected in high TripAdvisor rankings or Forbes star ratings, which boosts credibility, loyalty and new guest reservations. By focusing on our associates and providing them with tools to enhance team collaboration and the guest experience, Trump Toronto achieved a number one ranking on TripAdvisor in North America and was ranked number 10 worldwide within 18 months of opening.