How far is very good from superb?
The distance between very good and superb is actually quite far and it requires a highly motivated team, attention to every detail, and, above all, creativity to break out of the commodity service delivery crowd to get there.
Hoteliers talk of wanting to build closer connections with their customers – be it at the pre-selecting stage, at the time of making that decision, while the guest is subsequently on property and after checking out. Whilst expressing good intent, only a few prosper in following through, in engaging with travelers at every touchpoint throughout their entire hotel journey.
To succeed, hoteliers need to give their teams the right tools to do their jobs and automate repetitive manual processes so that employees can focus on the things that deliver exceptional guest experiences. I.e. spend more time on people and less time on processes.
That’s when technology comes into play. Facilitating, not standing in the way of delivering great hospitality leading to that elusive wow factor. As I said in my earlier article, titled Optimising Guest Personalization, hoteliers should leverage tools that feature mobile accessibility, releasing staff from being tied to the front desk and go to meet guests where they are.
Similarly, hoteliers need to ensure that the right data gets to the right people. Data gathering should not be confined to touch points revolving around reservations, sales and marketing. It needs to be drawn from many diverse sources - from food and beverage to recreation to housekeeping, etc. Managers sharing data that pertains to their department or guest information received during an interaction can provide key insights, solutions and opportunities to delight the guest.
A familiar scenario is where, when a guest checks in, his or her email address is captured by the front desk. The good hotel would send the guest a ‘thank you for staying with us’ email, after check out. A very good hotel would include a link to the direct booking website –especially where the guest had previously booked through an OTA. A superbly organized hotel would include an invitation to return with an offer of a $xx drink coupon, (after gleaning that the guest purchased from the bar, during every evening of his/her stay).
Cherry on the cake
Jason L was in Switzerland on an overseas business trip. Whilst writing something on a picture postcard during dinner in the hotel restaurant, he confided to the stewardess that since Robin, his eight year old son collected stamps; he never failed to send him a stamped postcard whenever he was abroad. Imagine his amazement then, when he found an envelope addressed to Robin containing several Swiss stamps of various denominations, with a handwritten note from the hotel’s manager, placed on his hotel bed the following day.
Gerard W, a regular visitor to the hotel, logs an average 60 room nights annually, since his job as regional sales manager in real estate requires him to travel every month to the region where the hotel is located. An avid golfer, he invariably played a round of golf at the golf course near the hotel, during each stay. It helped him network for potential buyers too. Whenever he made his hotel reservation, it was standard practice for the hotel to arrange for his game of golf and Gerard was quite content to pay the relatively exorbitant non-member fee to be able to get in a game of golf.
No sooner the hotel’s Sales & Marketing manager became aware of this, he secured from the golf club ‘overseas’ membership for Gerard, at a nominal rate. The first year’s membership fee, which was less than 5% of what Gerard spent on average at the hotel, annually, was also paid for by the hotel. This gesture converted him to become a lifetime customer of the hotel.
It’s such extraordinary service in a hotel that separates the ‘best from the rest’; where every single member of staff from the concierge to the waiters to housemen/maids to the fitness centre attendants and colleagues need to be on top of their game and focused on what the guests are saying.
Having such staff is the cherry on the top of a deluxe offering.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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