Hotel X Supercharges Marketing With Automation and Dynamic Content
Hapi | April 11, 2024
Overcoming the Huge Disconnect Between Service Mottos and What Guests Actually Experience
Doug Kennedy | February 12, 2024
Guest Experience
What You Need to Know About Drone Photography for Hotels
Larry Mogelonsky | October 4, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) The saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Now imagine what a video says! Last year, some 750,000 drones – known to the professional industry as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and abbreviated as UAVs – were sold through big box retailers, with a forecast of over a million transactions this year. In parallel are frequent stories on the evening news recanting tales of UAVs making close contact with commercial aircraft in tandem with the fitting calls for regulation of this fast-growing, seemingly recreational activity. If you own or operate a large resort, golf cou...
Local Measure Partners with Cisco to Offer a New Social Sign On, Building Richer Customer Experiences, Understanding Guest Behavior, and Gathering Val
Local Measure | October 4, 2017
Through Advanced Wi-Fi Integration, Hotels and Hospitality Providers Can Finally Have a 1:1 Relationship with Guests – While They are on Property Sydney and New York – October 4, 2017 - Local Measure, the leading location-based social intelligence platform for hospitality and tourism, announced a Wi-Fi integration with Cisco that enables hotels and other hospitality providers to identify and connect with guests while they are on property, personalizing the customer's experience while they are at the venue. Leveraging Local Measure's proprietary social intelligence technology, providers deploying Cisco wireless technologies- ...
Never Let Your Breakfast Be Boring
Larry Mogelonsky | September 27, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) It's about time that our chefs in the hotel industry collectively woke up to something different than the same old bacon and eggs or oatmeal and raisins. In this sense, breakfast is another overlooked opportunity to wow your guests and leave a lasting impression. Glass half empty, it's also an instance where you can irk customers by underserving them. Here's a simple test to see if your morning foodservice is staid. Order breakfast in your own restaurant and take a picture of what's served on the plate. Now, go to any Denny's – or any other well-known diner of this ilk –...
Sun Peaks Grand Hotel and Conference Centre Selects Eleven and TELUS to Improve Guest Wi-Fi Experience
Eleven | September 27, 2017
The ElevenOS guest Wi-Fi platform and TELUS Pure Fibre™ have greatly improved connectivity and simplified management for Sun Peaks front desk and IT staff 9/27/17, Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, B.C. — Eleven, the cloud-based guest Wi-Fi management leader and TELUS, Canada's fastest growing national telecommunications company announce today that Sun Peaks Grand Hotel & Conference Centre has deployed a solution that leverages the power of the TELUS Pure Fibre network and the simplicity of ElevenOS to optimize the guest Wi-Fi experience everywhere on the property. The IT team at Sun Peaks Grand needed to address multiple co...
Mobile Websites vs. Apps: The Final Showdown – Part One
Mike Murray | September 26, 2017
By Mike Murray As we discussed in our most recent article, "Millennials + Mobile: A Match Made in (Hotelier) Heaven," mobile is the best booking, marketing, and engagement channel available, to reach the world's largest generation – Millennials. So, if your property hasn't already gone mobile, what are you waiting for? Perhaps – as is the case with many hoteliers who haven't – you are wondering whether it is better for you to invest in a mobile website, an app, or both. Today, I'm here to tell you about the benefits and downfalls of each mobile channel; however, because there is just so much important information to co...
Creativity Is a Drug the Hotel Industry Cannot Live Without
Georges Panayotis | September 20, 2017
By Georges Panayotis Enthusiasm lies at the foundation of all progress. Henry Ford, a spearhead of the Industrial Revolution, showed the way to progress more than a century ago with this maxim. Society evolves more and more rapidly; we cannot predict the evolutions that will upset the hotel industry of tomorrow, we can, however, be certain they will happen. We know that new products will be developed, and new procedures and new organizations will come to the fore. Artificial intelligence and automatization will change the role humans play and how they work. They will lighten the cost of operations. Accommodations will be more ecological...
Raising Awareness for the Physical Demands of Being a Housekeeper
Larry Mogelonsky | September 20, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) Every hotelier knows that housekeeping is a vital aspect of any property's operations. All it takes is just one look at an online review site to see just how sensitive guests are to errors in this regard. Even though we all know how important the role of the housekeeper is, seldom do we managers know how to actually do what they do so that we can truly empathize with the issues they encounter on a daily basis. I decided to change that by spending a day working alongside (shadowing, really) an experienced team member of a luxury hotel property. I was asked not to reveal the name of t...
Budget Season Has Arrived: Be Smart- Spend Wisely- And Choose Your Business Center Provider Carefully!
TTI Technologies | September 19, 2017
September 19, 2017 – New York, NY – The hospitality industry's offering for Business Centers is changing rapidly. "Let's face facts," Says Steve Blidner CEO of TTI. "Business centers are still a viable commodity. However, the needs of guests have and continue to change. Make sure your provider has the capability to keep up with these changes. Never get locked into a single platform solution." Blidner offers these guidelines for choosing your business center provider: "Research the hardware carefully; make certain you are purchasing a recent model CPU, and not a discontinued one. Consumer equipment is not designed to be o...
Small Brands Are Defined by Big Stories
Michael Tall | September 19, 2017
By Michael Tall The boutique hotel customer is looking for a certain type of experience that transcends a bed in a room. This traveler is looking for a broader experience that is driven by authenticity and discovery. These two aspects directly play into a boutique hotel's story. For a hotel to be authentic, it needs to relate to something real and relevant with significant meaning. This can be achieved through its relevance to the local neighborhood, or its representation of a time period or style—if done correctly and genuinely. Defining a fully-developed story behind the hotel's unique brand identity can convey a greater sense o...
Millennials + Mobile: A Match Made in (Hotelier) Heaven
Mike Murray | September 19, 2017
By Mike Murray Most people today are aware of the HUGE impact that mobile phones have had on our everyday lives; of course, it allows us to communicate at any time via many different messaging mediums, but there is also a significant change in the way mobile has affected business. People no longer have to be at home, sitting in front of a desktop computer, to be an online consumer; today, they're online, on-the-go, 24/7, as the vast majority of people – or at least those in the Baby Boomer generation and younger - have a mobile phone or device of some sort. Heck, even my 91-year old mother has a smart phone – and she can't e...
Angie Hospitality Set to Present Latest Advances in Interactive Guest Room Technology at HTNG North American Insight Summit
Angie Hospitality | September 19, 2017
Company invited to demonstrate how voice-activated Angie platform answers the growing demand for personalized, seamless and instantaneous guest service San Jose, Calif. – September 19, 2017 – Angie Hospitality, creator of the world's first 24-hour interactive guest room assistant, Wi-Fi and room control technology solution purpose-built for hotels and resorts, has been asked to provide insight on its game changing solution at the HTNG North American Insight Summit. The event is scheduled to take place September 26-27 at the Westfields Marriott Hotel in Chantilly, Virginia. Angie Hospitality will present audience members wit...
Modern Food Service Challenges are Driven by the Modern Guest
Larry Steinberg | September 18, 2017
By Larry Steinberg, Sr. Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Agilysys Consumers want more options. For every practiced chef, there is a collective of guests eager to spend their hard-earned dollars on something exotic and different. They want to experience a bit of culture by way of their next meal, and they want to find it using the latest technology. How do businesses prioritize which technologies to embrace? How do they stay in business in such a saturated, competitive marketplace? How do they keep up with the constantly-expanding demands of consumers? This highly competitive landscape, combined with changing guest expectat...
Tips for When You Become a Semi-Retired Hotel Consultant
Larry Mogelonsky | September 14, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) For financial or a variety of other reasons, many folks in the hotel industry refuse to accept any form of clear-cut retirement, resulting in an incomplete transition from an employee to a semi-retired entrepreneur. This can be a daunting task, but it is nonetheless one that I have taken for myself within the past six months and can therefore offer some advice for them of you considering a similar move. Typically, the higher up you are in any organization, the further away you are from the basic tasks required just to manage your new 'one person' consulting operation. The myriad of ...
Intelity is Helping Hotels Meet Travelers’ Mobile Demands
Intelity | September 13, 2017
Study shows mobile technology is dictating the experience guests expect and demand; Intelity is meeting those demands with mobile check in/out, mobile key and more [Orlando, Fla. – September 13, 2017] — With the 2018 budget season quickly approaching, hoteliers need to evaluate their customers' needs today to identify which technologies will help them engage with guests of tomorrow. Those who are unaware of what their customers will be expecting/demanding in the coming year should reference Hospitality Technology's 2017 Customer Engagement Technology Study. According to the 6th annual report, 57% of hotel guests are expe...
Nominations Open for CustomerCount® Customer Engagement Professional Resort Trades Award
CustomerCount | September 13, 2017
Annual Award Contest Celebrates Resort Managers, General Managers and Assistant Managers INDIANAPOLIS, IN (September 13, 2017) – CustomerCount® and Resort Trades magazine have opened nominations for their annual "Customer Engagement Professional Award (CEP)." The coveted award recognizes outstanding leaders who exemplify customer engagement within the timeshare resort/hospitality industry. Nominations for "CustomerCount/Resort Trades Customer Engagement Professional (CEP)/ Award" opened Monday, September 11th. Nominations will be open until November, 2017 and the winner will be announced in January, 2018. The nomination proce...
What Do Guests Want From a Modern City Hotel?
JLL Real Views | September 11, 2017
By Maggie Nichols If you flip through your grandparents' old photo albums, you'll notice that their vacation pictures look very different to yours. While they may have captured the moment they sat down for a themed dinner in a hotel restaurant, your snapshots are more likely to show off your best food truck finds. It's just one of the many ways that travel and tourism have changed in recent decades. To keep up with those modern trends and preferences, hotels must identify new ways to keep guests checking in year after year. "What guests want during their hotel stay is constantly evolving," notes Geraldine Guichardo, Head of Americas Res...
3 Steps to Positive and Memorable Customer Interactions
Jana Love | September 8, 2017
By Jana Love Our world is built around speed, and because of this, any amount of waiting seems like a complete waste of time and an enormous frustration. We have drive-thru opportunities everywhere- banks, coffee shops, cleaners, and even restaurants will run your take out food to your car. With a quick search on google, just about any question has an instant answer. The responsibility and understanding this brings to all customer service providers is that asking customers to needlessly wait may be the difference between a positive or negative experience. Quick reactions and timely responses should be a part of every company's core ...
Is Room Service Dead?
Chamberlin Public Relations | September 7, 2017
Not yet, but it seems to be on the way out. While plenty of hotels still offer traditional room service, guests' tastes are evolving, and food and beverage programs must change to suit new demands. Many hotels are limiting costly room service, or completely scrapping it in favor of new F&B concepts that give guests more convenience at lower prices, plus opportunities to experience local fare. Hoteliers, here are the newest F&B trends you need to consider now. Special Delivery Room service can take many forms, and while many midscale and upscale hotels already have restaurant space on-site, not every kitchen has time (or staff) t...
ALICE Announces Acquisition of GoConcierge
ALICE | September 6, 2017
Acquisition brings together two of the most innovative concierge and front desk solutions on the market New York, NY, September 7, 2017 – ALICE, an operations platform that empowers hotels to deliver a better guest experience through consistently excellent service, announced today the acquisition of GoConcierge, a leading concierge software platform. As part of the acquisition, ALICE welcomes approximately 1,000 GoConcierge hotel customers to their community, with a promise to continue both companies' tradition of delivering industry-leading service technology. Frank Sena and Justin Hirs from Bentley Associates advised GoConcierge...
Don’t Fear The Word Sorry
Larry Mogelonsky | September 6, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) This is a word you should never have to say, and yet it is one that can have a very powerful effect when used correctly. For most well-run properties, mistakes are a rarity. While this doesn't preclude them from happening entirely (we are human after all and errors are bound to crop up during transition periods or staff turnover), apologizing is not something we do only when we are at fault. This comes down to a debate between logic and emotions. When a guest comes to you with a grievance or compliant, they are probably not in a purely rational state of mind. Regardless of whether i...
Proven Ways to Guarantee Your Hotel Tech Supplier Has Your Back
September 5, 2017
By Jos Schaap, CEO and Founder of StayNTouch The purchase of a hotel system is only the beginning of the journey. More planning is needed to use the software to its full potential. In today's hectic hotel operational environment, the one thing you don't want to worry about is the support of your technology platforms. If you need something fixed, tweaked or replaced, you want to feel secure that your technology supplier has your back. Here are a few ideas to help hoteliers maximize value from their technology investment: Dedicated Champion On-Property: Make sure that you have a dedicated individual who acts as your technology champion ...
How Would You Define Modern Luxury?
Larry Mogelonsky | August 30, 2017
By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com) How many times have you heard the word 'luxury' in a hotel description? It seems to be one of the most abused words in the hoteliers' dictionary! I've seen many hotels claim to be luxurious, when at most they are just slightly better than average. There seems to be no clear definition for luxury. Looking for some clarity in the dictionary, the word 'luxury' come from Old French luxurie and the Latin luxuria or luxus, meaning excess. In other words, something that is luxurious is an inessential – a desirable item that is more than basic but not a necessity. In keeping with this...
8 Steps to Transform the On-Property Guest Experience
August 29, 2017
Free guide from StayNTouch provides hoteliers with actionable tactics to create memorable moments during the guest stay that drive revenue, positive reviews and keep guests coming back Bethesda, MD (August 29, 2017) – Optimizing on-property guest experience is increasingly important. In fact, it frequently sits at the top of priorities for most hoteliers. Today, StayNTouch®, the leading innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for the hospitality industry, released a new guide titled, The 8 Steps to Transform Your Hotel's On-Property Guest Experience. Like most things in today's market place, guest ...
Yes—Service is Selling, Too!
Gary Hernbroth | August 24, 2017
By Gary Hernbroth I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I hear someone say, "I'm not in sales, I'm in customer service." They apparently have not seen the light as to two important tenets that I've learned over my career, being on both sides of the sales and service coin: When you are selling someone something, you are providing a service to them; When you are giving someone customer service, you are in effect selling them something too. Here's why: When you sell a service or product, you are helping the person to get what they want, what they need, what they think they need, etc. The customer's percept...
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