guest engagement
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...
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...
Is Benchmarking Really the Holy Grail of Quality Assurance in Hospitality?
Jochen Ehrhardt | December 18, 2019
By Jochen Ehrhardt Benchmarking, according to Wikipedia, “Is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time, and cost.” This begs the question, "What are companies using benchmarking for?" According to Bain & Company, benchmarking is used to: “Improve performance.Benchmarking identifies methods of improving operational efficiency and product design; Understand relative cost position.Benchmarking reveals a company’s relative cost position and identifies opportunities for improvement; Gai...
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, ...
Hotel Guests Are Becoming “Data Nodes”
Alan Young | November 26, 2019
By Alan Young Almost daily, employees enthusiastically circle a web address at the bottom of our receipt for us to complete a customer service survey, promising a chance to win a trip for two to some far-away beach, or maybe a shopping spree. Quite frankly, the prompt is so familiar most of us have grown accustomed to tuning it out as soon as the employee begins their spiel, pleasantly smiling as we gather our bags to leave the store. As we navigate a familiar app on our phone, posting to our Instagram account or playing a game, we’re frequently interrupted by a reminder to rate the app, “How do you like using _____ ?”. After we orde...
Travel Industry Apps and Websites Continue to Play Catch-Up With Digital Leaders in Other Industries
J.D. Power | November 20, 2019
COSTA MESA, Calif.--November 20, 2019--When it comes to customer satisfaction, many of the travel apps and websites created by legacy hotel, airline and rental car brands are lagging those of digital native online travel agencies (OTAs) and travel industry disruptors, such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb. But that’s not all. According to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Travel App Satisfaction StudySM and the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Travel Website Satisfaction StudySM, both released today, all travel industry websites—even those operated by digital natives—score substantially lower in customer satisfaction than do high-scoring websites in other industrie...
Fuel Adds Robust In-App Functionality to Its AI-Powered Cross-Channel Marketing and Guest Engagement Platform
Fuel | November 19, 2019
Newly released platform update makes it easier than ever for hoteliers to create personalized marketing campaigns with in-app mobile and campaign building features. Myrtle Beach, SC – November 19, 2019 – Fuel, the premier provider of hotel marketing software and digital agency services for the hospitality sector, has announced the launch of a powerful new feature set that has been integrated into its AI-powered cross-channel marketing and customer engagement solution. Powered by Blueshift, the patented platform works by aggregating guest data from every hotel system touchpoint and making it actionable, in order to create more personal...
ME Dubai Partners With InnSpire to Offer Complete Digital Guest Journey Ahead of 2020 Opening
InnSpire | November 19, 2019
InnSpire, a leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, has been selected by ME by Melia to implement its full stack of connectivity and guest engagement solutions at the much anticipated ME Dubai when the property opens in 2020. InnSpire’s award-winning digital solutions work collaboratively to allow for guest control over their entire travel experience, from guestroom access to temperature and lighting. As such, InnSpire’s offerings at the ME Dubai will include the company’s full-featured Guest Journey App, it...
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Breaking News
Milestone Inc’s Head of Hospitality Recognized as Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality for 2019
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Pegasus Appoints Keno Helmi as Chief Commercial Officer
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