Sense of Arrival Back at the Forefront
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | October 13, 2021
Where Are All These Guests Who Supposedly Prefer Humanless Hotel Experiences?
Doug Kennedy | August 17, 2021
Guest Experience
Amadeus Is Breaking Data Silos With the First Integrated E-Commerce Platform for Hoteliers
Amadeus | October 27, 2020
The Amadeus Integrated Booking Suite is the first technology bundle to offer a complete e-commerce experience across reservations, guest management, and web, allowing hoteliers to acquire, convert, and retain guests. As the future of hospitality moves steadily towards personalization and guest loyalty, it remains a challenge for hoteliers to capture and apply the full value of guest data in an actionable way across disparate systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic it has become even more important to be able to easily leverage data to drive booking and loyalty and ultimately increase revenue. To benefit both hoteliers and guests, Amadeus is ...
Hotel Internet Services Showcases Advances in Contactless Guest Service and Entertainment Personalization Along With Latest in Wi-Fi Connectivity at C...
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | October 26, 2020
CLEARWATER, Fla. — October 26, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, is set to offer an opportunity for industry professionals to learn about the latest technologies capable of meeting new guest expectations for safer, more connected and personalized hotel experiences at this year’s Cyber HITEC. As an official exhibitor of the virtual event taking place October 27-29 and with attendees able to visit the virtual booth until November 25, HIS will demonstrate how comprehensive in-room entertainment and guest service solutions such as BeyondTV can enhan...
Hotel Zena, a Groundbreaking Hotel Dedicated to Female Empowerment, Opens With Volara + Google in Every Guestroom
Volara | October 21, 2020
Integration and implementation of the Google Hotel Solution expands Volara’s corporate relationship with Viceroy Hotels & Resorts and launches a new relationship with the Pebblebrook Hotel Trust October 21, 2020 — New York and Washington D.C. — When Hotel Zena opened its doors this month in downtown Washington, D.C., Volara was there to get guests talking via Google Nest Hubs in each of its 191 guestrooms. Implementation of Volara’s contactless guest engagement and touchless room controls solution is part of a systemwide rollout by Viceroy Hotels & Resorts to voice-enable all guestrooms at its luxury boutique hotels. Thi...
What Paranormal Tourism Reveals About the Human Psyche
James Houran | October 15, 2020
By James Houran, Ph.D., Dallas October is ‘Halloween season’ – a fun cultural holiday for many people worldwide. It represents a socially sanctioned time of year when children and adults alike can escape to a realm of fantasy and mystery that involves the simultaneous expression of the ‘lighter’ and ‘darker’ sides of human nature. In addition to carving pumpkins, dressing in costume, and the nightly ritual of trick-or-treating, a favourite activity this month for many people is the psychosocial phenomenon known as ‘paranormal tourism.’ In fact, these excursions are very popular throughout the entire year. Over the past de...
Ritualizing The Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | October 15, 2020
By Shep Hyken I love hanging around smart people, and my friend Todd Hartley is one of the very smartest. He runs WireBuzz, an agency that uses videos to help their clients sell and service their customers, clients, guests, etc. He was interviewing me for his podcast and used the phrase, “ritualize the experience.” He used it in passing, but I realized this is a rock-solid concept that is appropriate for everyone in any company and any industry. I wrote those three words down so I wouldn’t forget them and then thought about them for the next few hours. Ritualizing the experience starts by understanding the process around y...
Nomadix Casting Enables Guests to Personalize Their In-Room Entertainment Experience
Nomadix | October 14, 2020
Simplified for Guests; Right Sized for Hotels LOS ANGELES, Calif. – October 14, 2020 – Nomadix Inc., a technology leader in hospitality and MDU, today announced its new cost-effective solution Nomadix Casting, which enables guests to choose the content they want to watch and cast it with their devices directly to the in-room TV. As more people “cut the cord” and stream their own content at home, the guest preference to access the same content when they travel has significantly increased. Nomadix Casting modernizes the guest experience while providing an affordable and secure solution for hotels to meet this new demand. ...
Customer Disservice
Shep Hyken | October 7, 2020
By Shep Hyken One of our loyal subscribers, Warren Danziger, shared a story about how a delivery was made to his home and placed between the screen door and the front door. The delivery person never knocked or rang the doorbell to inform him his delivery was there. He was waiting for the package, which contained medicine that was temperature-sensitive. Sitting outside in the heat, baking between the two doors, was not customer service… it was customer disservice. This phrase has no definition. It is not merely the opposite of customer service—that would be bad customer service. This scenario was more like “no customer service....
Hôtel de Verbier Partners With INTELITY to Enhance Their In-Room Guest Experience
INTELITY | October 7, 2020
The luxury Swiss property is supplying guests with brand new in-room tablets for a completely seamless guest stay Los Angeles, CA (October 7, 2020) - INTELITY®, the developer of hospitality’s most comprehensive guest experience and staff management platform, announced today its partnership with Hôtel de Verbier in Verbier, Switzerland. The four-star property nestled in the majestic Swiss Alps will deploy key elements of the INTELITY platform, including beautiful 10” tablets for contactless in-room dining, a full digital compendium, amenity and activity reservations, messaging, and more, along with INTELITY’s staff operations solu...
Zoom With a View: Displaced Workers Fuel the New Work-From-Hotel (WFH) Trend
Ted Helvey | September 29, 2020
By Ted Helvey The world froze due to COVID-19, and the hotel industry is still in a bit of shock. While business travel is mostly stalled and vacations are slowly picking back up, there’s another category of guests that shouldn’t be ignored: Work-From-Hotel (WFH) guests. Whether displaced by the pandemic, floods, fires or other extreme circumstances, a growing number of professionals are using hotel rooms for temporary shelter and as home offices. Another group of guests are the thousands of university students seeking temporary housing due to campus social distancing measures. The expectations of these unlikely guests are more demandi...
Hotel Internet Services Launches BeyondTV MyRemote to Provide Guests With Ultimate in In-Room Convenience and Contactless Service Control
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | September 29, 2020
Mobile web-app offers personal smart device access to full range of BeyondTV features to reduce shared surface risks, including controlling TV functions, communicating with staff, requesting amenities and much more. CLEARWATER, Fla. — September 29, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has unveiled the latest in guestroom entertainment and contactless convenience with the launch of BeyondTV MyRemote. Designed to be instantly accessible by a wide range of personal devices without the need to download software, MyRemote is simultaneously able to ca...
Following the Shot In
Shep Hyken | September 23, 2020
By Shep Hyken Much of my life is spent traveling. Lately, I’ve been home more than usual, along with most other people in the era of COVID-19. When I am home, I play hockey three or four times a week. This is hardcore cardio training with some friendly competition worked in, which makes for an exhilarating workout. Before we go further, you should know this isn’t a super-competitive league. We’re just out there to get some exercise and have fun. We all agree that we’re going to work the next day, so we agree to no physical contact, known in the game as “checking.” We just skate hard, pass a lot and occasionally score a goal...
Gansevoort Meatpacking to Upgrade Guest Experience With Comprehensive Mobile Capabilities
INTELITY | September 23, 2020
The iconic Manhattan hotel will offer guests a custom mobile app equipped with check-in, key, and dining functionality through the INTELITY platform Los Angeles, CA (September 23, 2020) - INTELITY®, the provider of the hospitality industry’s broadest guest experience and staff management platform, has signed a deal with Gansevoort Meatpacking to provide mobile capabilities to both guests and staff. The Meatpacking District’s landmark hotel will implement the INTELITY platform, including a new, branded mobile app that delivers control to guests and GEMS®, a back-office tool that streamlines operations. Opened in 2004, Gansevoort Me...
Tourism Tidbits: Dealing With Difficult Customers and Situations in a Post-Pandemic World
Dr. Peter E. Tarlow | September 2, 2020
By Dr. Peter Tarlow Traditionally in most of the northern hemisphere the month of September is called the "dog days" of summer. The name derives from the fact that it is often too hot for even a dog to want to wander along the streets. During previous years, September was a time when people returned from vacations, schools reopened, and business returned to a more normal routine. The summer’s end was also high tourist season in much of the world. The transition period between summer and autumn seemed to many to be a period of full airplanes and hotels and a period when travelers had frayed nerves. This description was the “then...
What Is Service Design?
EHL | September 1, 2020
With this in mind, service design can be applied to both new services and existing ones. Possibilities and opportunities for best-case-scenario service provision are analyzed and stakeholder expectations assessed. According to the Institute of User Experience Design, considerations of personas, the customer journey and touchpoints help feed into the ideal service provision outcome – for customers and service providers alike. This distinction between customers and service providers draws our attention to an important concept in service design: the differentiation between “frontstage” and “backstage”. As the terms suggest, the key ...
Hotel G San Francisco Adopts BeyondTV GuestCast™ by Hotel Internet Services to Maximize Competitive Edge in Guestroom Entertainment Content Personal...
Hotel Internet Services | September 1, 2020
Upscale and trendy San Francisco property caters to latest guest preferences for convenient access to personal streaming subscriptions on guestroom televisions. SAN FRANCISCO — September 1, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions, has announced the successful implementation of BeyondTV GuestCast™ at Hotel G San Francisco, a trend-setting lifestyle hotel located in the heart of San Francisco. Also offering a simple and relaxed design within each of its 153 guestrooms, Hotel G San Francisco provides its guests with a home-away-from-home experience that now with the implementa...
Mohegan Sun Adopts Wireless eTray Technology by Bartech to Provide Guests With Convenient and Safe In-Room Purchase Options
Bartech | September 1, 2020
Casino hotel leverages standalone guestroom point-of-sale solution to enhance revenues, while providing guests with contactless access to non-refrigerated items. Las Vegas — September 1, 2020 — Bartech, the leader in automatic minibar solutions for the global hospitality industry, has partnered with the Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort to implement its advanced eTray solution, an innovative platform that allows hoteliers to sell non-refrigerated products within the guestroom without the need for an existing minibar. As reopening properties face the need to adapt services to address guest concerns over potential health risks, Mohegan Sun...
Hotel Carmichael Caters to Latest Guest Connectivity Trends Using BeyondTV With Voice Activated Technology and Enhanced Wi-Fi by Hotel Internet Servic...
Hotel Internet Services, Inc. | August 18, 2020
New luxury property set to open in summer 2020 will provide guests with seamless content casting abilities and contactless control over hotel amenities while guaranteeing a fast and responsive Wi-Fi connection. CARMEL, Ind. — August 18, 2020 — Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has been selected by Hotel Carmichael, Autograph Collection to provide its guests with the latest in in-room entertainment and virtual assistant technology with the implementation of BeyondTV alongside advanced Wi-Fi capabilities. A newly built boutique hotel opening during ...
Value Reigns in the Hotel Recovery Phase
Larry Mogelonsky | August 12, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) The summer of COVID-19 for hotels has meant a dominance of local leisure guests and road trips as we await the return of group travel to boost our occupancies and our margins. With the approaching next normal of autumn, winter, more properties reopening and less overall desirability for a vacation to a domestic location during the colder months, it would be all too easy to succumb to a price war. Fortunately, we know the ramifications of a price reduction, notably that it erodes your customer base by making it harder to return to your standard rates. And yet, market forces will dict...
How to Avoid Roadblocks to Great Customer Service
Shep Hyken | August 5, 2020
By Shep Hyken What gets in the way of creating a great customer service experience for you and/or your organization? Is it a process that is clunky, inconvenient and difficult for the customer? Is it people who aren’t properly trained or don’t have the right people skills? It’s easy to ask yourself these questions and self-diagnose your organization, but have you ever asked your people? That’s exactly what my friend and client, Diane Kniowski, did. Diane is president and regional general manager at Univision. As she moved into this role, she realized the opportunities that would come from providing a better customer experienc...
5 Reasons Guests Matter More Than Ever
David Berger | July 30, 2020
Hotels hamstrung by operational limitations, dizzied by government mandates, and sensitive to traveler anxiety are challenged, but will rise again through continued focus on the guest experience By David Berger Providing a quality guest experience is more important than ever for hoteliers seeking to compete in the post-COVID-19 world. Much has been said over the past six months about social distancing, mask etiquette, and the need for greater vigilance in protecting public health. No question this is table stakes, but the goal of hospitality—providing a positive guest experience—is more paramount than ever. Here are ...
A Boring Customer Service Experience—That’s What Our Customers Want
Shep Hyken | July 29, 2020
Call me boring, but I want the same thing every time—at least when it comes to customer experience. I want it to be good. I want it to be consistent. I want to predict the experience I’m going to have with the people and places I do business with. If you ask the CEO of a big company or the owner of a small business, I bet they would say the same. We want our customers to always have a good experience with us—one they can count on always happening every time they do business with us. We want them to find that our people are always knowledgeable, always helpful, always friendly and always respond quickly. We want our products to alw...
Brand-New Boutique Resort at the University of Florida to Deliver a Mobile-First Guest Experience
INTELITY | July 29, 2020
Hotel ELEO at the University of Florida will provide guests with personalized, contactless service through a custom, INTELITY-powered brand app Los Angeles, CA (July 29, 2020) - INTELITY®, the provider of hospitality’s most comprehensive guest experience platform, has signed a deal with Hotel ELEO at the University of Florida to deliver contactless service to guests with a branded mobile app. The app will supply robust digital capabilities and another layer of safety for guests and staff at the new, upscale hotel in Gainesville, Florida. With the new app, guests will have the ability to tailor service to their preferences before, dur...
Advantage Reserve Announces Collaboration With Kennedy Training Network to Optimize Reservations Sales
Advantage Reserve | July 29, 2020
Fort Lauderdale, FL, July 29, 2020 — Advantage Reserve, the leading provider of high-quality central reservations services to the hospitality industry, has announced the launch of a new sales training partnership with Kennedy Training Network (KTN), the lodging industry’s best source for hotel training programs. This collaboration will enhance the guest experience, improve performance levels, and increase reservations conversions for Advantage Reserve’s diverse customer base of luxury hotels and resorts. During this unique period across the world in 2020, the hospitality industry faces a crucial time for reservations sales, and the v...
Humanizing Hotel Brands During COVID-19 Could Encourage Tourists to Return
| July 23, 2020
Hotels should build an emotional attachment with tourists when communicating during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic if they are to encourage them to return, according to new research. The study finds that crisis communication emphasizing shared emotional responses to risks enables tourists to humanize the hotel, which can subsequently create an emotional attachment. This attachment can then increase tourists’ intentions to visit once the crisis ends, which is crucial if the industry is to recover. Researchers from the Universities of East Anglia (UEA), Bath and West of England say their findings challenge the approach that domina...
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