The Travel Surge Highlights the Need for Great Prearrival Communication
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | August 31, 2022
Studies Show That the Guest Self-Service Era Has Officially Begun
Venkatesh Sakamuri | August 2, 2022
Guest Experience
When Sales and Customer Service Collide
Shep Hyken | October 5, 2022
By Shep Hyken Lately, I’ve been thinking about how sales and customer service combine to create an experience – hopefully a positive one. And then, by coincidence, one of our loyal subscribers, Heidi Reslow, shared a story about someone buying a new car. As I read the story, I realized the salesperson didn’t just sell a car. She created an experience for her customer. This is where sales and customer service collide. And by the way, you will enjoy this story even if you’re not in sales. Here’s the short version. Brian Knight, a professional speaker on team performance, posted the story on his blog. It opened with this state...
7 Tips for Successfully Embedding Customer-Centric Governance Into Company DNA
EHL | October 3, 2022
Today's business world requires companies to put customers in the driving seat. Nurturing customer relationships is the secret to boosting your customer lifetime value, cutting down churn, leaving your competitors in the dust, and catapulting your business growth. Usher in customer-centricity. We see you wondering, "What is it and how can you hack it?" This article lays bare all you need to put a permanent smile across your customers' faces☺. Read on: What Does Customer Centric Mean? Customer-centricity is a business approach where you prioritize your customer and place them at the heart of your business operations. The goal is to...
Posters on the Walls
Shep Hyken | September 28, 2022
By Shep Hyken I’ve been working with an amazing client. We have helped the client create a customer experience vision and define five behaviors everyone must exhibit to bring the vision to life. This makes me very proud of the work we do. Communication is one reason that their vision is coming to life. The CEO has sent out videos, regularly schedules town hall meetings, and shares best-of-the-best examples of how team members are creating amazing experiences and Moments of Magic® for their colleagues and customers. In addition, throughout their halls, you can find posters and signage with their vision, their five behaviors, and...
Introducing Whistle for Cloudbeds: The New Guest Engagement Solution Powered by Cloudbeds
Cloudbeds | September 22, 2022
Cloudbeds customers can now take advantage of a fully-integrated enhanced guest engagement solution for faster response times, tailored experiences and improved communication throughout the entire guest journey (SAN DIEGO) — Cloudbeds, the hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, announced today the release of Whistle for Cloudbeds, an enhanced guest engagement solution powered by Cloudbeds. Whistle for Cloudbeds gives lodging businesses the tools to drive incremental revenue, increase guest satisfaction, streamline internal operations and deliver more meaningf...
Three Powerful and Easy Ways to Gain Employee Trust
Shep Hyken | September 21, 2022
By Shep Hyken Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about how to create trust with customers. No doubt, a customer who trusts you is more likely to do business with you. And while that is obviously important, creating trust with employees may be even more so. A company that is trusted by customers is first trusted by employees. With that in mind, here are my top three ways to create employee trust: Let employees do the job they were hired to do. If this sounds like the concept of empowerment, well, it is. After you hire good people and properly train them to do their jobs, don’t get in their way! Don’t block their capabilities ...
Sentipensante – The Perfect Word for Teaching the Spirit of Hospitality
Doug Kennedy | September 20, 2022
By Doug Kennedy Having written hospitality and sales training articles for over two decades now, I’m often asked “How do you continue to come up with new ideas every month?” Truth is that it’s actually quite easy when you’re out on the road conducting training just above every week, spending time with the real experts in this industry such as the frontline superstars who make it all happen for guests. Recently, I found my latest writing inspiration while I was back at one of my favorite stops, the amazing Nizuc Resort & Spa in Cancún, Mexico. During one of my classes, we were discussing what I have always called “the lo...
Hotel Internet Services Publishes GuestCast Usage Analytics Demonstrating Hospitality’s Growing Demand for Content Streaming Technology
Hotel Internet Services (HIS) | September 20, 2022
Leading provider of in-room entertainment solutions reveals new insight into guest streaming trends and behaviors. CLEARWATER, Fla. — September 20, 2022 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has today released a set of valuable analytics showcasing how content streaming trends continue to evolve throughout the global hotel market. Leveraging data combined from properties equipped with its GuestCast streaming platform, HIS by publishing such analytics aims to provide the industry’s hoteliers with up-to-date insight on how to adopt an in-room entertain...
Virdee and CLEAR Partner for Frictionless Hotel Check-In
Virdee | September 20, 2022
The partnership brings CLEAR’s identity platform to hotels for a seamless and secure experience directly within Virdee’s platform, solidifying Virdee as the leading solution for a fully contactless check-in experience NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas – September 20, 2022 – Virdee has announced it will implement CLEAR’s (NYSE: YOU) secure identity platform to power its industry leading digital, self-service check-in solutions. The partnership marks the first integration within the hotel space for CLEAR and its 13 million members. CLEAR is now integrated into Virdee’s suite of solutions as its preferred method for identity verificat...
Third-Party Hotel Management Companies Facing Higher Guest Expectations as Room Rates Increase, J.D. Power Finds
J.D. Power | September 15, 2022
Davidson Hospitality Group Ranks Highest in Guest Satisfaction TROY, Mich.: 15 Sept. 2022 — With average daily room rates at hotels in North America now averaging nearly $150—roughly 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels,1—hotel guests have become more critical than ever of the décor, amenities and food and beverage options provided by the world’s largest third-party hotel management companies. According to the J.D. Power 2022 North America Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark,SM released today, customer satisfaction declines 4 points (on a 1,000-point scale) this year, as higher prices drive increased scruti...
The Hotel Caribe by Faranda Is Optimizing Service With Guesthub
GuestHub | September 13, 2022
Five-star luxury hotel is leveraging the task-based guest-management solution to streamline guest requests, facilitate roomservice, and perfect guest package tracking Miami Springs, Fla. — September 13, 2022 — For five-star Hotel Caribe by Faranda Grand in Cartagena, Colombia, a member of Radisson Individuals, achieving 100% guest satisfaction through service excellence is a top priority. To reach this goal, management turned to Guesthub, a web-based guest experience management solution that facilitates everything guests may need along their journey — from reservation to review™ — and without the need to download an app. “...
How to Improve Your Existing Customer Service Experience in 7 Steps
EHL Insights | September 9, 2022
Research shows that if customers receive a good service experience, they will tell two or three people. But if they experience poor service, they will tell around ten to twelve others! Customers are the core of every business and, thus, should always be your leading priority. And since online and word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals are often top drivers of new business, companies should strive for consistently high service levels. Happy customers can help you build brand credibility and drive more business. According to research, 77% of customers will likely recommend a company if they have a positive experience. An investment in...
This Is How to Communicate With Customers
Shep Hyken | September 7, 2022
In our customer service workshops, we do an exercise in which we ask participants what their favorite companies are to do business with and why. We almost always get Amazon as an answer. One of its success traits is communication. When a customer places an order, he or she is immediately notified by email. Another email is sent once the order ships with tracking information. And another is sent to inform the customer the package has arrived. Frequent communication is one of the reasons customers have so much confidence in Amazon. One of our clients sells to businesses (B2B). When one of the employees shared that Amazon was his favorite ...
Customer Feedback on Hospitality Experiences: 5 Best Practices
Dr Matthias Fuchs | September 1, 2022
By Dr. Matthias Fuchs Why is asking for customer feedback so important and how can it be done to enhance the customer journey? The findings of a recent research project answer these questions that are vital to the success of any business, especially one based on hedonic experiences like the hospitality sector. This article summarizes five best practices grounded in consumer psychology research that businesses should consider when inviting customers to leave feedback on hospitality experiences. Collecting customer feedback is important Asking for guest feedback has become the norm in the hospitality industry. According to the travel websi...
When Pigs Fly
Shep Hyken | August 31, 2022
By Shep Hyken “When pigs fly” is an idiomatic expression, which according to Wikipedia, refers to something that is so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. It’s typically a sarcastic remark. For example, American author John Steinbeck was told by his professor that he would be an author when pigs flew. When he eventually became a famous novelist, he printed the insignia “ad Astra per alas porci” on every book he wrote, which loosely translated means, “to the stars on the wings of a pig.” In addition, in some of his books, he added the image of a flying pig, which he called “Pigasus.” Get it? Pegasus is ...
The Travel Surge Highlights the Need for Great Prearrival Communication
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | August 31, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Picture yourself going through this small, yet frustrating, scenario as a business guest. During some free time between meetings, you decide to use the hotel’s fitness center. You head up to your room, change into your gear, then walk over to the gym. The entrance is unlocked via keycard, though, and yours somehow doesn’t work. Confused, the nearby receptionist tells you that gym access is an additional $10 per day. While not extortive, it’s nonetheless a shock because there was no prior mention of this fee. This is in fact a real situation that we’ve experienced firsthand, and it highlights the impo...
Customer Experience Quality Assessment – the Essential Experiences
Ryan Laver | August 25, 2022
By Ryan Laver The essential experiences Customer experience is increasing in importance due to multiple reasons: ever-changing customer channels with high digitization acceleration, increasing demand for personalized interactions, personal choices and customer journey increasing complexity. These are just some of the many challenges managers face. It is true – especially in services – where the highly intangible defines customer experience through the deeply embedded emotional and relational aspects. In fact, a lived experience is by nature relational; it is the self in relation to something (e.g., nature) or someone (e.g., a person...
Be a “Vibe Flipper”: Blast Out 5G Positivity When You Encounter Negative Personalities
Kennedy Training Network | August 25, 2022
By Doug Kennedy For as long as I can remember, it has been common to refer to people as having a particular type of “energy” such as by saying, “Oh, she has such good energy!” or “He is such a negative person.” Yet after three decades of presenting hospitality training workshops, I have come to understand and refer to this concept in a new way: a human “vibe.” I’m not sure where my inspiration came from. Perhaps it was conversations with my Gen Z son who loves the word “vibe,” or maybe it was from my love of reggae, where musicians often sing of “good vibes.” These days, during our KTN hospitality training w...
Lessons for All From a Five-Star Travel Recovery Trip
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | August 24, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky With the pandemic over, everyone has been clamoring to get out and explore the world once more. In fact, we’d argue, in a take-a-candy-from-a-baby-then-it-cries sort of way, people are even more enthused about travel than they were in 2019, and we foresee this mindset persisting well into the decade ahead. While Adam (one of the writers here) anticipated the nightmare that this pent-up demand would cause at airports and opted to stay home during the current travel recovery summer, Larry (other coauthor) chose to brave the skies with his wife – cancellations, flight delays, lost bags and all. Good thing h...
Three Simple Ways to Get Customers to Trust You
Shep Hyken | August 24, 2022
Shep Hyken Think of the brands or companies you enjoy doing business with the most. What is it that makes you want to come back? Here are a few possible reasons: The product does what it is supposed to do. They have great customer service. They provide a great overall customer experience. You like the employees. The salesperson is knowledgeable and helpful. The website is easy to use. They always get back to you and are quick to respond. They are convenient. The experience is consistent. Every time it is great. There could be many others, but they all feed into one important reason. You t...
Personalized Guest Experiences Will Define the New Era of Travel
Shiji Group | August 18, 2022
A Special Report By Shiji Group & AWS What’s next in personalizing guest experiences? Hoteliers are re-envisioning the entire welcoming experience and moving as many touchpoints with the guest into a digital environment. This presents an incredible opportunity to learn about the guest, collect data on their preferences and begin to offer them a better guest experience. The role of data is essential: It requires monitoring an increasingly higher number of touchpoints throughout the guest journey. Modern, cloud-based software and storage allows hotel companies to harness data in privacy-compliant, secure, flexible, scalable and c...
What Mixed Signals Do You Send Your Customers?
Shep Hyken | August 17, 2022
By Shep Hyken I read Jan Carlzon’s book, Moments of Truth, many years ago. It was one of the most powerful customer service and experience books at the time, and the content aligned perfectly with my idea of creating Moments of Magic for our customers. Carlzon’s definition of the Moment of Truth was: Anytime a customer comes into contact with a business, however remote, they have an opportunity to form an impression. At the time the book was published more than 30 years ago, Carlzon’s wisdom was timely. And it turns out his wisdom is actually timeless, and I predict that 30 years from now, the Moments of Truth con...
Ten Hotel Possibilities for the Metaverse
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | August 10, 2022
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky Now that the current ‘crypto winter’ is weeding out all the cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes with no real applications or utility, it’s time to put on your futurist cap and ponder some actual use cases for what this coming technology will offer to hotels. For background on blockchain, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), web3 and all the basics related to how those work, there are lots of great resources out there, and explaining it all would make this article way too long for a casual read. On that note, here are ten possibilities to consider. 1. An Extension of the Experience Economy. We’re b...
Press One to Do This, Two to Do That … Phone Tree Abuse!
Shep Hyken | August 10, 2022
By Shep Hyken We’ve all experienced it. We’ve called the customer support line, and a pre-recorded message answers stating, “Press one for this, two for that, etc., etc. Well, it happened to me again – the third time this week – and this is how it went down. I listened to the prompts. I was at number four, thinking this one might be it, but I wasn’t 100% sure, so I kept listening. I got to number six when the recording said that I could listen to the options again. I did, and even then, I wasn’t sure which option to choose. I tried pushing “0,” and nothing happened, so I chose number four, thinking that it was th...
Skye Virtual Agent Eases Front Desk Pressure, Improves Hotel Guest Experience
Tyme Global | August 9, 2022
Tyme Global’s AI-powered virtual agent provides guest services without human interaction. New York, NY – Tyme Global today announced the launch of its virtual agent, Skye, an addition to its menu of remote staffing services. Skye uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand conversational language and recognize intent. As a result, guests can interact naturally with Skye as if speaking with a human operator. Calls, texts, and emails are answered immediately with no wait time. Skye fields frequently asked questions and basic requests so that on-site staff can focus on in-person interactions. For example, if a caller needs the c...
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