The Customer Is King, and Service Culture Is His Queen
André Mack | June 12, 2019
Business Travel and Millennials: How We’re Changing the Travel Industry
Hotel Tech Report | June 10, 2019
Guest Experience
“Heart Failure”: The Leading Cause of Bad Reviews
Doug Kennedy | March 20, 2019
By Doug Kennedy When you read a cross-section of negative comments from online reviews and guest surveys, it's easy to recognize a common theme across all lodging operations: "Heart failure." More specifically, I am referring to the failure to understand the true heart of hospitality, which is "caring about as well as caring for others." When we care "for" others, we provide the minimal requirements of a positive guest stay, the foundation of which is a clean, well maintained "physical product," (the accommodation and public facilities), delivered promptly and efficiently. Yet when we care "about" others, we understand the hospitality b...
Profiting From Prearrival
Larry Mogelonsky | March 20, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Every hotelier knows that tech-enabled personalization is crucial to the future success of one's brand. In reality, though, these customized experiences are very difficult to put in place, often requiring complex software integrations, significant CapEx and a fully trained team – both at the supervisor and frontline levels – to properly act upon any insights or recommendations gleaned from a unified CRM. The nauseating pain point here is that travelers are now expecting hotels to dedicate more effort towards making their time on property personal and meaningful, irrespec...
5 Unique Experiences Hotels Can Use to Attract Guests
HEBS Digital | March 20, 2019
By: Kerryn Gower We've all been there. You finally wake up from the dreaming phase of the travel planning journey and pick on a destination to visit. Now the planning begins. We all have our go-to travel booking websites and apps, and they each present a lot of information, packages, and special offers convincing you to make a booking. Beyond just rate, hotel shoppers consider plenty of other factors, such as amenities, activities, and nearby restaurants. But these factors aren't always enough to capture the attention of a traveler long enough to secure a booking. Today's travelers expect more. They expect unique experiences every time ...
“We Love ALICE Because It’s a One-Stop Shop”
ALICE | March 19, 2019
ALICE has helped eliminate teething pains for the recently-opened EXchange Hotel Vancouver by introducing seamless internal communication for staff and a convenient application for guests. The newly-opened EXchange Hotel Vancouver has chosen ALICE to optimize hotel operations and enhance the guest experience in Vancouver's first LEED Platinum Heritage Conversion. ALICE is the hospitality industry's leading operations technology, connecting every department of the hotel with one platform for all staff communication and guest requests. Housed in the original Vancouver Stock Exchange, EXchange Hotel prides itself on being both green and te...
INTELITY Partners With The Howard Hughes Corporation® on New Voice Technology Program
INTELITY | March 19, 2019
The company celebrates successful use of innovative voice request skill in property's pilot program Los Angeles, CA (March 19, 2019) – INTELITY™, the provider of the travel industry's broadest enterprise guest engagement and staff management platform, announced today that its voice solution has been successfully utilized during a voice technology pilot program conducted by The Howard Hughes Corporation®. Using INTELITY's in-room tablets and unique, customizable voice request skill, the pilot program tested the ability to request services, place orders, and request information about the local area, weather, events, an...
Can Hotels Sue Their Governments Over Home Sharing?
Larry Mogelonsky | March 13, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) This is a special case that I've been waiting to write about since it hit the airwaves here in Canada in late October. Most interesting here is that it has a few powerful implications for the fight traditional hotels are facing against industry disruptors coming in the form of home sharing. Taxi drivers working in the City of Toronto launched a $1.7 billion CDN (about $1.4 USD) class action lawsuit against the city itself, claiming damages that reflect how much licensed taxis have lost – what is sometimes coined as 'plate value' – since these ride-sharing services came i...
Learn How To Approach & Engage in Difficult Conversations at the STRONG Leader Institute
Bryan K. Williams | March 11, 2019
30-Second Video By Dr. Bryan K. Williams One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "How do I handle difficult conversations with my staff?" I've found that leaders want to address subpar (and even mediocre) performance with their teams, but lack the skillset for how to do so effectively. One of our multiple sessions at the upcoming STRONG Leader Institute will be led by Alicia Santamaria, who is a subject matter expert on all areas of Workplace Conflict Management. Her session is called: Leadership Best Practices for Approaching and Engaging in Difficult Conversations In this session, she will explore four practi...
Want More Direct Bookings? Give the Best Answers
Tambourine | March 6, 2019
Driving direct bookings on your hotel's website isn't just about using tactics like social advertising, PPC campaigns and SEO to ensure a steady flow of visitors to your homepage. It's equally important to ensure that once those viewers arrive, your site is anticipating and answering the questions potential customers have, which in turn moves them along through the booking funnel. According to research by the Nielsen Norman Group, you have about 10 seconds to convince a visitor to stay on your site and potentially make a purchase, before they bail and look elsewhere. That's true for customers looking to buy a hotel stay or a new pair of...
The Employee Benefit Hotel Businesses Can’t Afford Not to Offer
Andrew Hazelton | March 5, 2019
by Andrew Hazelton and Matt Peterson Hotel organizations in today's global marketplace compete heavily, not just among one another but also with other service-focused verticals and customer-facing businesses, in attracting and retaining top talent. Robust compensation and benefits packages certainly help meet candidates' conditions of satisfaction, but these are not enough anymore for retention in the absence of one specific benefit – namely, a company culture devoted to "employee engagement." Defining Employee Engagement Employee engagement is a very old premise, but it has become an increasingly hot topic for our industry over t...
The Need for Hotels to Embrace a Cause
Larry Mogelonsky | March 4, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) As World Wildlife Day has just come and gone (it was this past Sunday, March, 3, 2019), it's a good time to reflect upon what environmental efforts your hotel is planning to undertake as well as those already in full swing. With climate change intensifying with each passing season, large corporations are becoming all the more vital through their collective resources in the movement to champion wildlife preservation. I don't mean to get preachy but between rampant deforestation, pollution, invasive species and a slew of other manmade problems, nearly every ecosystem has been thrown o...
Building Better Customer Satisfaction in a World of Technology
Chris K. Anderson | February 28, 2019
by Elizabeth Martyn and Christopher Anderson As the hospitality and service industry makes greater use of computer applications and virtual technology, personal contact with employees becomes increasingly important for customer satisfaction. In a recent report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), we explore how those customer contact employees can be trained in the "how" of service, especially when employees are involved in service recovery. We are specifically looking at training in the key skills of employee engagement, communication, and attitude, because they have a strong effect on customers' evaluation of servic...
What Hotels Can Learn About the Guest Experience From Starbucks
Larry Mogelonsky | February 27, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Starbucks has thousands of outlets. Nowadays if you find yourself in nearly a major city center anywhere in the world, you're never more than a few blocks away from your next americano. The long-term and strategic vision for Starbucks may surprise you, though. It's not just about coffee and compelling you to consume every ounce of caffeine exclusively from them; it's about the culture. There have been several books written about the brand and their business approach. True, there are issues and growing pains, as there are for any corporation of this size and stature. Let's set those ...
It Is Impossible to Walk on Our Heads… And yet…
Georges Panayotis | February 27, 2019
Georges Panayotis A little logic, a little common sense, and we quickly understand that it is impossible to walk on your head. So why do we keep trying? Our businesses and our industry have slowly shifted towards a development model that is increasingly disconnected from reality. An overgrown head with atrophied hands and feet. Operational staff who most of the time have to muddle through regardless, whether they are ambidextrous or handless, long-distance runners or disabled. Careful not to upset the pyramid In our sector, operational people - the feet and hands of the trade - are essential. It is on the ground that the product and se...
Weaving Your Way Through Vendor Madness: What Should the Perfect Hotel Tech Partner Look Like?
David Millili | February 27, 2019
By David Millili, CEO of Runtriz There's some truth to the increasingly ubiquitous saying that all companies are technology companies now. Certainly some more than others, but I'd say hotels have officially waded into—or, perhaps, been shoved in—to tech waters so deep that it's an apt notion worth considering every time a new technology vendor is up for consideration. Look at the numbers. Hotel technology budgets have been on the rise for many years, and 2019 is no different. While 38% are satisfied with where the technology budget currently stands (or have no choice but to keep it, as is, which is more likely the case), 54%...
INTELITY Named ‘Official Mobile and In-Room Technology Provider’ by Forbes Travel Guide for Third Year
INTELITY | February 26, 2019
The company's innovative mobile and in-room solutions are considered best-in-class Los Angeles, California (February 26, 2019) – INTELITY™, the provider of the travel industry's first and broadest enterprise guest engagement and staff management platform, has been awarded Forbes Travel Guide Brand Official status for the third year running. Named the luxury hospitality industry's Official Mobile and In-Room Technology Provider by Forbes Travel Guide in 2017, 2018, and again in 2019, INTELITY is recognized as the best-in-class provider of mobile and in-room tech. "When choosing Brand Officials, Forbes Travel Guide looks ...
Hyphen Joins Beekeeper Marketplace to Provide Advanced Survey Analytics
Hyphen | February 26, 2019
Hyphen enables executives, HR and hotel admins to create robust surveys with more question types, then target and analyze feedback based on profile field data from Beekeeper; Webinar introducing integration planned for March 26 Los Angeles, Feb. 26, 2019 — Because surveys are proving to be an essential component of employee engagement, Beekeeper has added Hyphen – a cutting-edge feedback solution for conducting employee surveys – to its off-the-shelf integration suite. With Hyphen, hoteliers and human resources teams can capture employee feedback and use the responses to analyze satisfaction and performance trends or ...
Forbes Travel Guide Chooses ALICE as Their Official Staff Operations Technology for 2019
ALICE | February 26, 2019
The hotel operations startup has held this distinction since Forbes Travel Guide began their endorsement program in 2017 ALICE, the hospitality industry's leading operations platform, has been chosen by Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) as their Brand Official Staff Operations Technology for 2019. ALICE has held this distinction since FTG created their Brand Official program in 2017. This recognition is, once again, confirmation of the platform's ability to meet and promote the highest standards of hospitality at some of the world's most excellent hotels. The FTG Brand Official program is designed to point the world's best hoteliers towards pro...
Hilton Launches New Brand, Signia Hilton, Focused on Meetings and Events
Signia Hilton | February 22, 2019
MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the launch of Signia Hilton, its dynamic, new meetings-and-events-focused brand. The portfolio of hotels is setting out to transform the industry for meeting professionals and sophisticated business travelers by infusing state-of-the-art technology and design into every aspect of the guest experience. The brand further reinforces Hilton's commitment to innovation that meets the evolving needs of today's travelers and will bring premium experiences to top urban and resort destinations around the world. "In our 100th year of hospitality, we are more focused than ever on providing exceptiona...
broughtonHotels’ Park James Opens With INTELITY’s Complete Guest Experience and Hospitality Management Platform
Intelity | February 22, 2019
High-tech, high-touch Silicon Valley hotel uses the INTELITY platform to provide a cutting-edge connection between guests and staff Los Angeles, CA (February 22, 2019) – INTELITY™, the provider of the travel industry's first and broadest enterprise guest engagement and staff management platform, is now live at the Park James, operated by broughtonHotels, in Menlo Park, California. Park James guests now have access to the INTELITY platform including, a mobile guest app, mobile key, and in-room tablets, while their staff is using INTELITY STAFF to organize, manage, and track requests, communications, and work orders on the...
Evaluating Housekeeping in Minutes per Room
Larry Mogelonsky | February 20, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) While you may know your operations so thoroughly that you can trust your intuition to prudently guide your next move, we have now found ourselves in the age of measurement and analytics, letting us fall back on the data to make sound inferences to hone each and every task. Just as you would evaluate your rooms in terms of RevPAR or your guests in terms of RevPAG, there's another metric for your housekeeping department that can help give a reliable snapshot of the current state and where improvements are needed. As many executive housekeepers and management companies that already use...
Dr. Bryan K. Williams Selected as Keynote Speaker for Les Clefs d’Or Canada Congress in Banff
Bryan K. Williams | February 20, 2019
Washington DC (February 20, 2019): Les Clefs d'Or Canada recently held its 12th National Congress in stunning Banff, Alberta. The Congress welcomed elite concierges and travel professionals from throughout Canada for a 4-day event to Engage, Educate and Elevate. The golden keys worn by Concierge signify their membership in our organization and are granted exclusively to those who have not only consistently demonstrated an unsurpassed knowledge of their respective communities, but by those who demand excellence of themselves when meeting the needs of their guests. Dr. Bryan K. Williams was the keynote speaker and challenged all attendees...
Free Service Excellence Training at the Baltimore Convention Center, Led by Dr. Bryan Williams
BWTV | February 18, 2019
Washington DC (February 18, 2019): Delivering world class service is what separates a good experience from a world-class, memorable experience. Visit Baltimore and its partners the Baltimore Convention Center and Centerplate invite the Baltimore business community to join us for a Day of Customer Service Training. Dr. Bryan K. Williams, a service excellence and leadership effectiveness expert will lead these sessions (Watch Bryan's Video). The goal is to assist organizations in various industries to elevate their service experience to world-class levels for both internal (team) and external customers. Bryan noted, "I'm looking forwa...
The Mobile-First World Creates Tremendous Revenue Potential for Hoteliers
HEBS Digital | February 14, 2019
By Max Starkov Hoteliers face a challenge in 2019: Creating and managing a robust digital presence in an increasingly mobile-first environment. This means investing in mobile technology and marketing that enables the best user experience while achieving maximum engagement, regardless of device. The explosion of mobile customer engagements creates a tremendous upside opportunity for smart hoteliers who invest in and take advantage of this rising tide of mobile-obsessed travel consumers. The shift from desktop to mobile and tablet devices continued its steady pace in 2018. More than 58% of web visitors and more than 51% of page views wer...
The Hidden Benefits of Tasting Events
Larry Mogelonsky | February 13, 2019
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Finding myself away at a mountain resort for a food and wine festival last year, it was the perfect opportunity to not only participate in a wine tasting conducted by a vintner from a prominent Oregon winery as well as reflect upon the staying power of these types of events. For the two dozen participants, it was a chance to get close and personal with the wine. Here, we were guided through the nuances of several wines of the same grape variety, allowing us to understand the nuances created by the vintage and cellaring processes as well as furthering our knowledge and appreciation o...
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