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
Another Way to Amaze Your Customers: Pay Attention
Shep Hyken | July 15, 2020
Guest Experience
How to Transform the Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | February 26, 2020
By Shep Hyken Want to engage and connect with your customers more effectively? Then listen to what Matt Gillin, the co-founder and CEO of Relay Network, has to say. I had a chance to interview Matt for my Be Amazing or Go Home TV show, and he shared specific insights on how to improve the customer experience. In Matt’s words, “The world is now on-demand and highly personalized. The secret of the game is to make it easy and frictionless.” Personalization is a hot topic, and “on-demand” is about giving the customer what they want when they want it. If you’ve been following my work, then you know I’m a huge fan of the fric...
The Cult of Amazement
Shep Hyken | February 19, 2020
By Shep Hyken In the updated and revised edition of The Cult of the Customer, I cover the concept of amazement. This may be old news to my followers, but it is worth repeating. Amazement does not come from a WOW or over-the-top experience. Those happen on occasion, especially when problems are handled well. But on a day to day basis, amazement happens when you deliver experiences that are consistently and predictably above average. They could even be just a tiny little bit above average. What makes that amazing is that it is always predictable. The customer owns it because they know it’s going to happen. What happens when there’s...
Is Service Excellence the New Marketing?
Hospitality Insights | February 14, 2020
With service excellence being an abstract concept and a soft target, you may be reluctant to invest in it, but it pays for itself in many ways. The drama of television advertising… A captivating opening image followed by a series of emotive visuals. Strategically emphatic sound delivering rhetorically suave messages, with intonation so on point, it makes the hair on your arms stand up. Immersive, hooking viewers to a notion. Awakening a dormant desire or conjuring up a new one. Consumers subconsciously reaching for their wallets as they absolutely must have this essential device. How could they possibly have lived without it? And how doe...
The Worst Thing That Happens Is Your Customer Loves You
Shep Hyken | February 14, 2020
What if the worst thing a customer ever said about you was, “I love you!”? Even on a bad day, you’re still so good that they love you! Are you that good? Do customers love you even when there’s a problem or complaint? Here are six ways to make customers love you no matter what! Become customer-focused. This means that in addition to creating an amazing customer experience, every decision keeps the customer in mind. It doesn’t mean every decision will make the customer happy, but the customer is always kept in mind when any type of change is made, from price to changes in features to new and even discontinued products. Be ...
The Last Customer on Earth
Shep Hyken | February 6, 2020
By Shep Hyken What if you only had one customer left to do business with? Maybe this was the last customer on earth? Norman Beck—my friend and faithful reader of The Shepard Letter—and I were talking about this idea and he shared another way of looking at it. In his words, “It’s like the last gas station you’ll see for miles as you enter the desert. Maybe you stop and make sure you have a full tank of gas.” Of course, you don’t want to run out of gas in the middle of the desert! In business terms, maybe you’ll focus on making sure this customer is happy, filling the metaphorical gas tank with an excellent customer experi...
Make 2020 the Year Disruption Works for Your Hotel
Larry Mogelonsky | January 29, 2020
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) We no longer work in the hotel industry but rather the more broadly encompassing ‘accommodations industry’. Such is the real impact of the sharing economy and alternate lodging providers, as led by Airbnb, that they have so completely changed how the average traveler views their options when booking a place to stay. While we plebs in the traditional hotel sector have had a pretty good past couple of years from RevPAR and occupancy growth standpoints, rest assured that these numbers have been buoyed by a healthy economy and that we may suffer if another downturn is forthcoming, p...
Once Upon a Time in Businessland
Shep Hyken | January 29, 2020
By Shep Hyken Today I share with you a fable. Once upon a time a great genie paid a short visit to the town of Businessland, where he happened upon three entrepreneurs, each of whom wanted to open an ice cream shop. The great genie offered to grant each of them a wish, but only if that wish would absolutely guarantee the success of their venture. The first entrepreneur said, “I wish for the best tasting ice cream in all of Businessland.” The genie frowned and said, “I will not grant your wish. The best ice cream on earth won’t guarantee your success.” The second entrepreneur said, “I wish for the best location in Businesslan...
Batteries Included
Shep Hyken | January 22, 2020
By Shep Hyken “There are two kinds of people: Batteries Included and Batteries Not Included.” That quote comes from Dan Sullivan, founder and president of the Strategic Coach program. If you’ve been following my work, you’ll probably recognize his name. I’ve learned a lot over the years by attending his workshops and coaching sessions. He recently released a book that included many of his quotable words of wisdom. This one—about Batteries Included or Batteries Not Included—resonated with me. If it doesn’t already resonate with you, I bet it will in just a moment. I have what appears to be an endless amount of energy. ...
Return to Basics – Time to Rethink Your Guest’s Experience
John Hendrie | January 20, 2020
By John Hendrie Wow, just look at that magnificent sunset! My, that was a super ride on Flicka! Zowie, I cannot take any more of the chef’s creation! All memorable experiences one would say. However, how about these comments. Ugh – there is hair in the tub! Egad, there is lipstick on this glass! Does anyone want this condom I found in the bureau? Which series of comments would prevail in your memory? Hospitality starts with a blank tableau and we, as practitioners, apply the shapes and colors. If we do not provide for the basic expectations, we devalue the experience for our guest. Beyond the aspects of service and facility presenta...
Your Emergency Response Plan — Be Prepared
Shep Hyken | January 16, 2020
One of our Shepard Letter subscribers, Tom Korff, wrote in with an important question: how should customer support agents handle callers who are threatening to harm themselves and/or others? This is a serious topic. I will share my thoughts, but it’s important to note that the brevity of my answer does not diminish the importance of the question. If someone threatens to do harm to themselves or others, it cannot be taken lightly. If you find yourself in this situation, the first step is to inform the customer that such statements are taken seriously and that you will be informing the proper authorities. It’s important to make this s...
How To Help Your Front Desk Colleagues Overcome “Compassion Fatigue”
Doug Kennedy | January 15, 2020
By Doug Kennedy As part of the prework I do before conducting on-site training workshops for front desk teams, I always look at the existing, in-house training standards and content. Nearly all programs cover the concepts of showing empathy, and especially at Forbes rated hotels, to establish authentic, emotional connections. Yet when I look at how colleagues are trained on how to deliver on these standards, I find that most managers are simply going over scripted welcome messages and reviewing interpersonal communications techniques at their meetings. It seems to me that most front office leaders underestimate just how challenging i...
Smile and the World Smiles With You—Unless It’s Fake
Shep Hyken | January 9, 2020
By Shep Hyken One of our faithful Shepard Letter subscribers emailed me a story. He was at a store, and the employee was friendly and engaging. But when he saw her later—when she was off duty—she acted indifferent toward him, almost rude. She wouldn’t even smile, which made him wonder, “Shouldn’t people greet you as warmly outside of their work environment as they do while on the job?” When you hire someone for a job, you should understand their personality. Do they come to the job with the positive attitude you want your customers to experience? Or do they have to “fake it”? The old cliché of “hire for attitude and t...
Volara Named ‘Best Voice Activated Tech Product’ of 2020 by HotelTechReport
Volara | January 9, 2020
Hoteliers give Volara’s powerful, secure conversation-management tools positive reviews for enhancing the guest experience and enabling staff to be more efficient New York — January 9, 2020 — “The Grammy’s of Hotel Tech” – also known as The HotelTechAwards – were announced this week by HotelTechReport, a technology-driven media platform that helps entrepreneurial hoteliers find the best technology tools to solve problems and grow their business. Volara – the voice hub for the hotel industry – was named “Best Voice Activated Tech Product of 2020” in the Guest Experience Software category by a global community of ver...
Tourism Satisfaction: Importance, Measurability & Impacts
Hospitality Insights | January 8, 2020
How should we measure tourism satisfaction for businesses and destinations? And what key factors should we consider when consuming tourism indices? These questions and more were covered at EHL’s 3rd Annual Hospitality Finance & Economics Research Conference, with keynote speaker Dr. Gang Li. As a hospitality business leader, or destination management professional, what do you need to know about tourism? Does it help you to know where tourists go most and how much money that adds to the economy? Maybe so, but the most important factors for your business are what pleases tourists the most and what makes them grow your business as sa...
End on a Positive Note
Roger Wolkoff | January 2, 2020
By Roger Wolkoff Do you have a natural gift to start a conversation? Many of us in the hospitality and customer service world are quite adept at it. Think about this for a moment. How good are you at ending conversations? I'll wager you have a signature opening greeting, but do you have a signature closing? In customer service and hospitality, we devote time to make an excellent first impression. We make eye contact, smile, or lean in if we're next to the person. Then, we move on to the heart of the conversation. Our guest or customer may request service, or they need help to resolve an issue. Perhaps they want a recommendation from us. Fi...
How to Achieve 50% Direct Sales for Your Hotel (or More …)
| December 23, 2019
By Nicolas Lajambe A recent study by Walker predicts that the customer experience (CX) will overtake price and value as the most important unique selling proposition (USP) for customers by 2020. For hotels, it is therefore essential to focus on providing an exceptional guest experience. Read on to discover how you can improve your guest experience and increase direct sales by 50% to your hotel as a result. Becoming a guest experience-centric hotel The guest experience includes all customer touchpoints with your hotel. They include the following areas. 1. Online interaction Touchpoints during this period are driven by online search en...
How Digital Should the Communication With Guests Be?
Torsten Sabel | December 23, 2019
By Torsten Sabel If you check in at the Henn na Hotel in Sasebo, Japan, you will be greeted by a dinosaur. Transport robots take your luggage to the room and the door opens via facial recognition. In Cologne's Koncept Hotel, apart from housekeeping, you won't see any staff member either. Booking, check-in, opening the room door and check-out - everything is done via smartphone. Digitization Is Picking Up Speed Even though the management in Japan has already shut down more than half of the 243 robots again, it is clear that digitization has gained momentum in the hotel industry. But whether online check-in or digital guest maps - ma...
20 Ways To Create An Amazing Customer Service Experience In 2020 (Part Two)
Shep Hyken | December 19, 2019
Last week, I shared ten ideas to drive a better customer experience in 2020. As promised, I’m back with ten more tips. If you haven’t read part one yet, you can do so here. Or, you can see all these suggestions at once by reading my recent Forbes article. Without any further delay, here are ten more ways to create a better customer experience in 2020. Create your customer service mantra. This is a big one. We often spend a month preparing for a full-day meeting to help our clients create their mantra. For those that don’t have one, now is the time to create one. The mantra is a simple phrase—one sentence or less—that sums up yo...
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts Goes ‘All In’ With Volara
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts | December 19, 2019
Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills adds Volara-powered Amazon Alexa voice assistants to every guest room as part of Viceroy Hotels & Resorts’ rollout of the powerful voice-based guest engagement solution New York — December 19, 2019 — With voice technology disrupting hotel guest engagement and redefining how services are requested, Viceroy Hotels & Resorts is expanding its relationship with Volara to power in-room smart speakers and enable automated voice services at its luxury boutique hotels. Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills is the third property in the brand’s portfolio to add Amazon Alexa devices powered by Volara in...
Uptown Suites Adopts Fuel’s Interactive Mobile App Across Eight-Property Hotel Portfolio
Fuel | December 18, 2019
Extended-stay hotel innovators Uptown Suites invest in Fuel’s robust mobile app solution to improve guest communication, interaction and satisfaction Fuel, the premier software provider and digital agency for the hotel industry, today announced that it has partnered with extended stay hotel brand Uptown Suites to integrate its full-featured interactive mobile app into the company’s digital ecosystem. The app was officially launched early this month and will serve all eight existing Uptown Suites properties in the U.S. Fuel’s mobile app solution will help Uptown Suites to maximize guest service and increase satisfaction through a s...
20 Ways to Create an Amazing Customer Service Experience in 2020 (Part One)
Shep Hyken | December 13, 2019
By Shep Hyken With all the focus on how technology—including AI, data, personalization and more—can drive a better customer experience, I wanted to shift my focus back to basics. To this end, I recently published an article in Forbes about ways to create an amazing customer experience in 2020, and I thought it would be enjoyed by our Shepard Letter subscribers as well. It was quite long, so I decided to split it into two parts. If you want to read all twenty right away, you can do so here. Here are the first ten of twenty ideas as to how you can up your customer service game in 2020. Stay in touch. Too often companies focus all t...
What Does the Expectation Economy Mean for Hoteliers in 2020 and Beyond?
Alan Young | December 11, 2019
By Alan E. Young Within the hospitality industry, we are frequently introduced to new, wide-spread economic trends. First, it was the “Mobile Era,” then we got to know the “Age of the Consumer” and the “Experience Economy,” and now, the term on everyone’s mind? The “Expectation Economy.” As we open our doors and usher in the savvy and informed travelers of today, we are met with a long list of heightened expectations that apply to each and every guest touchpoint. Within this modern economy, expectations are high, and so are the stakes for hoteliers. Guests are more informed, demanding, and less patient than ever before. ...
You Shouldn’t Have Told Me That
Shep Hyken | December 5, 2019
By Shep Hyken The other day I went out to breakfast with some friends. There were eight of us, so we needed two tables pushed together. The restaurant was crowded. The hostess pointed to a table and said when that party got up, we could have their table and the table next to them, which was empty. It looked like they were almost finished with their breakfast, but we had no idea how long that might be. I noticed that on the other side of the occupied table there was another empty table. It looked like there was enough room to bring that table over to the empty one she was holding for us. I asked if she could do that. Her response was, ...
Auditing the Auditors: What Happens When Quality Assurance Morphs Into PR & Marketing?
Steven Ferry | December 2, 2019
By Steven Ferry, Chairman, International Institute of Modern Butlers If Quality Assurance had not been taken over by such interests, it would be focused on operational audits and follow-up actions that result in improved service and thus influenced guest perception based on real-world intentions and actions. This hijacking of QA could explain some very real problems that hoteliers are facing today in their operations and even with guest perceptions.... Did you hear about the case of the incredible disappearing hotel manager? No? Well, this is not so much a joke or a detective story as the beginnings of an obituary for the old-t...
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Today's News
Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Green Bay Completes Extensive $23 Million Renovation
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Pendry Hotels & Resorts Plans Spring 2021 Opening of Pendry Chicago
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