Lately, hotels seem to be falling short on people parts
'While all of the staff I encountered was polite and efficient, their service style was overall reactive and not proactive'.
At the time of this writing, I'm on a plane ride back from attending four lodging industry conferences in 10 days, which caused me to be staying at four different large, branded hotels in Minneapolis, Dallas and San Antonio, all of which were close to the convention centers. While all of the staff I encountered was polite and efficient, their service style was overall reactive and not proactive. Notably absent were some core essentials of hotel hospitality excellence that used to be part of "Hotel 101" orientation.
Much has been written about the challenges of finding qualified staff, but in each encounter there seemed to be plenty of help and again they were polite and well-spoken. Given all the recent obsession with "contactless" guest service and providing the latest and greatest "guest tech," I suppose I should not be surprised.
Here are some of the things I noticed, along with related training tips.
After picking up my key at a well-staffed Hilton front desk, I just wanted to drop my bag ASAP and head over to the opening reception for the conference, as my flight had been delayed. At first I did not even notice that the front desk colleague failed to direct me to the elevators, but as I walked away and didn't see them, I returned and asked. "Straight ahead and just to the right" were the instructions. So, I headed across the lobby and took the first right, which took me on a long detour past the bar and into a meeting room area.
Training opportunity: Provide more specific instructions such as "Just past the bar on the right you will see the elevators," or even better, walk the guest over if possible.
On the next day at the same Hilton, I realized I had forgotten a dress belt that I needed for the following day's attire, so I asked if there was a department store nearby. The staffer was able to tell me there was a Target very close by, but they did not inform me that it closed at 6pm. Since every Target I have even been to is open at least until 9pm or 10pm, I waited until after dinner to go, but when I got there I learned that it closes at 6pm.
Training opportunity: Be prepared to direct guests to the best places to purchase items they commonly leave at home such as belts, socks, laptop chargers, and personal items. Proactively offer details such as the hours of operations.
Arriving at a large Marriott, my wife and I unloaded 5 pieces of luggage from our Uber. The valet parking attendant ignored us, so we struggled on into the lobby and got in line at the desk. It was then that we noticed two bellman standing inside. Apparently they did not notice us, nor did the front desk associate offer luggage assistance, so at that point we just took it the rest of the way ourselves.
Training Opportunity: Bell staff should proactively offer assistance, versus waiting to be asked. This provides an opportunity to familiarize the guest with amenities and services and to show them how certain features work in the room. Use phrases, such as "May I assist you with that?" or "May I show you to your room?" and NOT "Did you need help with your luggage?" Similarly, the front desk colleague should say "May I have Chris show you to your room?"
Walking out of the same Marriott hotel later that evening, we needed to get to a Hyatt for a keynote presentation. Google Maps showed .5 miles, but my wife was debating whether to walk that far in dress heels, so we asked the valet attendant if there were any shortcuts. "Oh, the Hyatt? its right over there..." pointing to the building across the street. After walking a few yards in that direction, thankfully I thought to recheck Maps because he was pointing us to the Grand Hyatt across the street not the Hyatt Regency around the corner. Had I not done so we would have been late and my wife would not have been happy.
Training Opportunity: Always confirm the specific details on where a guest is going, especially if there are multiple hotels with the same flag, multiple restaurants with similar names, or two airports in a major city.
Upon entering the correct Hyatt, now running barely on time, I was pleased to see a lobby attendant who looked like a manager greeting guests at the door. "Where is the Rio Grande room?" I asked. "The Rio Grande room?" she replied politely, but with an uncertain look, making me wonder if in fact I SHOULD have gone to that other Hyatt. "Yes," I said, to which she replied, "It should be right up that escalator." Her uncertainty caused us to have a bit of anxiety until we saw the room. It turns out that the Rio Grande Room is actually a fairly large ballroom with sections A, B, and C, not a small breakout room, so for her to not immediately recognize this space by name stood out that much more.
Training Opportunity: Make sure all staff is quizzed regularly on their knowledge of the hotel facilities and amenities. Train the staff to reply with confidence "It is..." vs. "It should be..."
To be continued.
Doug Kennedy is President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. a leading provider of hotel sales, guest service, reservations, and front desk training programs and telephone mystery shopping services for the lodging and hospitality industry. Doug continues to be a fixture on the industry’s conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and associations, as he been for over two decades. Since 1996, Doug’s monthly training articles have been published worldwide, making him one of the most widely read hospitality industry authorities. Visit KTN at www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com or email him directly doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com Doug is the author of “So You REALLY Like Working With People? - Five Principles for Hospitality Excellence.”
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