High-quality prospects must be given the motivation to apply and be part of the team. If a candidate performs well in the selection and application phase, subtle techniques can be used to sell the candidate.
Design Creative Job Announcements
Foster Relationships with Educational Institutions
Participate in Career Events
Encourage Employee Referrals
Utilize 360-Degree Interviewing
Use Panel-Style Interviewing
Encourage Multiple-Day Interviewing
Assess Applicant Conversational Ability
Assess Applicant Creativity
Assess Applicant Team-Mentality
Assess Applicant Problem Solving Skills
Assess Applicant Innovativeness
Incorporate a Walk-Through During an Interview
Incorporate a Slideshow During an Interview
Reinforce Reputation During an Interview
Therefore, daily gatherings can be used as tools to foster a culture in which associates will be motivated to surprise guests. Finally, because adults learn through repetition, daily shift huddles can end up reminding the group of a core company value.
Ingrain the Ten Feet Rule
Help Employees to Remember Guest Names
Offer Body Language Training
Incorporate Surprise Stories in Shift Huddles
Incorporate Encounter Stories in Shift Huddles
Conduct a Core Value Rotation in Shift Huddles
Incorporate Local Area Quizzes in Shift Huddles
Use Foreign Language Greetings When Appropriate
Ingrain the Drama Metaphor
Train the ‘Again’ Effect
Express Gratitude to Guests
Teach Proper Response to
Thank You’
Set the Tone During the Reservation Process
Smile While on the Telephone
Do Not Unnecessarily Disclose Overbooking
Use Hospitable Responses to
How are you?’
Tell Jokes and Riddles to Children When Appropriate
Use Strong Telephone Greetings
Make Guests the First Priority
Check Websites for Accuracy
Learn the Language of Guest Segments
Eliminate Hairs
Offer Luggage Assistance
It is this culture of excellence that ultimately translates into high guest satisfaction and loyalty. That is, the proper use of reviews and ratings can be used to drive service excellence just as easily in an economy brand as in a luxury brand.
Incorporate Service Assessment in Performance Evaluations
Mystery Shop Telephone Etiquette
Offer a Balance of Positive Feedback
Mystery Shop Customer Service
Set Cross-Training Goals
Allow for Self-Assigned Goals
Such a thin cut is considered a psychological emphasis, which is aimed at the hotel check-in experience. Through the lens of the guest, both verbal and non-verbal cues guests are exposed to during the check-in experience serve as signals of the impending accommodation experience. If the check-in experience is bad, the negative emotions created in the guest's mind often carry over as a halo effect and affect the judgment of other hotel aspects and amenities.
By the halo effect, we refer to the ability of impressions made in one area to carry over and influence impressions in another area [9]. Whether rational or irrational, justifiable or not, first impressions made at check-in influence guest impressions and judgments in other areas. It is this confirmation bias that lays the foundation for the halo effect that the check-in experience has on subsequent aspects of the hotel experience.
Because of the importance of the sign-in experience, this chapter provides a number of techniques for creating a high-quality first impression. Some techniques focus on verbal cues and others on non-verbal cues, but when used in combination, these techniques can foster a reception culture where strong and welcoming first impressions are the norm.
Use Strong Verbal Greetings at Check-In
Eliminate the View of Employee Trashcans
Offer Infused Water at Check-In
Dispense Information on Tour Bus
Designate a Children’s Check-In Spot
Use High Quality Pens at the Front Desk
Incorporate a Guessing Game for Children
Offer a Pet
Have Word Search Puzzles and Coloring Sheets at the Front Desk
Offer a Sticker Treasure Hunt
Host a Nutella Party
Offer a Dog Training Class for Children
Allow Guests the Opportunity to Jog with Members of the
Management Team
Roll Out the Red Carpet
Offer Treat Bags for Pets
Remember Pet Names
Offer Aromatherapy
Offer Free Upgrades on Occasion
Google Image’ Guests with Unique Names
Create a Strategic Alliance with a Car Wash
Record Guests’ Preferences
Drive Bookings to the Proprietary Website
Even if just for one night, the bedroom is the guest's home away from home. The bedroom is the space in which rejuvenation takes place - a place where batteries are recharged. If we relate these discussions to guest satisfaction, why do some hotels consistently receive high guest satisfaction scores while others consistently receive poor ratings when all hotel rooms offer similar products (e.g. a bed, a commode, a shower).
If so, then why is it that a budget hotel with an ADR of $109 can achieve higher guest satisfaction ratings than a luxury property with an ADR of $219. A typology of customer satisfaction developed by Professor Noriaki Kano in the 1980s can be used to shed light on some of the above questions [11]. On the other hand, other guest room features such as bathroom cleanliness can increase satisfaction ratings up or down depending on performance.
Due to variations in performance on such dimensions, which are called unidimensional in Kan's model, positive performance raises satisfaction scores, and negative performance lowers them. There are also what Kahn's model calls attractive attributes in a hotel guest room that increase satisfaction when present but do not decrease satisfaction when absent.
Use Solid White Bed Linens
Place a Follow-Up Call
Have Different Color Towels Available
Encourage Guests to Take Hangers Home
Display Towel Animals
Have a Celebrity Make Your Wake-Up Calls
Have Surprise Amenity Bags Available
Send Surprises to Rooms
Recognize Special Events
Offer Photo Opportunities for Guests
Have Occupation Costumes Available
Surprise Toddlers with Bath Toys
Pose Stuffed Animals in Fun Positions
Encourage Postcard Usage
Surprise Guests with Personalized Candy
Replace Old Coffeemakers
Review In-Room Information for Accuracy
Check Telephone Labeling for Accuracy
Offer to Name a Room After a Frequent Guest
Atmosphere in public spaces - managing all five senses - plays a major role in shaping the guest experience. Managing all five sensory perceptions affects guests on a subconscious level as they move through the hotel's public spaces. Subconscious is the key word here, because it is unlikely that a guest will declare that they are in a good mood because there is jazz playing or because the hotel lobby is fragrant - these signals usually trigger responses without the guests consciously realizing the effects. .
Consciousness plays only a small role in our experiences 'as big as a snowball on top of an iceberg'”. If an empty Starbuck's cup is left on an end table in a hotel's public space, the time it stays there says a lot about the management of the hotel. Will the first hotel associate who passes through the area be trained well enough to realize that he/she should be on the lookout for such litter and dispose of it.
The answers to both questions largely depend on how well the hotel is managed and the culture fostered by management. In addition, it is also wise to note that a number of surprise tactics can be creatively implemented as guests move through the public areas - especially if children are in the group.
Display High Quality Outdoor Furniture
Keep Elevator Flooring Clean
Offer Branded Rubber Duckies
Create a Photo Zone
Routinely Eliminate Scuff Marks
Play Music in the Lobby
Scent the Lobby
Afford Adequate Attention to Restroom Cleanliness
Use Bright Lighting in the Restroom
Give Back-of-the-House Tours
Provide Employees with Business Cards
Offer Branded Gloves
Display a Looking Glass
Screen the Outdoor Break Area from Guest View
Offer Wagon Rides for Small Children
Have a Child-Sized Luggage Cart Available
Escort Guests to Local Attractions
Make Bicycles Available
Denote Empty Parking Spaces
Encourage Clutter-Free Storage Areas
Conduct Signage Audits
Print Hometowns on Nametags
Display Photos of Famous Locals
Offer Swimming-Related Amenities in Pool Area
Offer to Augment Diving Toys with Gold or Silver Coins
Keep a Well-Stocked Bookcase
Sure, most hotel veterans can probably name a handful of hotel restaurant success stories, but hotel restaurants operating in the red and rationing. In every weakness there is an opportunity: low guest expectations can create opportunities for hoteliers. According to EDP, if a person's actual experience falls short of expectations, he/she will remain dissatisfied, but if a person's actual experience exceeds expectations, he/she will remain satisfied [12].
Not only the financial margins are in favor of the hotel for such business, but also the potential to shine is abundant in such scenarios because the organizers of such functions have high levels of psychological involvement - you as a hotelier have their full attention. High levels of psychological involvement are not only a consequence of the financial expense (financial risk) that a group function entails, but are also a consequence of the social risk—. This psychological involvement of the customer driven by financial and social risk is a key opportunity for the hotel and must be capitalized.
Host Menu Tastings for Staff
Hang a Mirror in the Service Area
Use Strong Language When Checking on Tables
Identify Congestion Points in the Breakfast Buffet
Improve Efficiency at the Made-to-Order Egg Station
Improve Efficiency at the Belgian Waffle Station
Have a To-Go Breakfast Option Available
Offer Customizable Chef Hats to Children
Offer Origami Kits to Children
Let Small Children Play with Dough
Inscribe Surprise Messages Inside Coffee Cups
Use Strong Language When Greeting Restaurant Guests
Extend VIP Invitations to Valued Guests
Play Peek-A-Boo
Promote Table Bussing Efficiency
Have a Children’s Treasure Chest Available
Use Language That Encourages Dessert Upselling
Guests do not need to check out at reception: it is perfectly acceptable to leave the key cards on the bedside table and continue on your way. To be effective ambassadors and salespeople for the hotel, all associates must truly believe that the hotel provides experiences that are meaningful and valuable to guests. As a result, front desk associates checking out guests should trust his/her colleagues that the experience offered was a valuable one that a competitor could not immediately provide.
Such confidence should be used in the check-out conversation to achieve three goals: (i) express gratitude to the guest for choosing the property; (ii) establish a level of rapport in which the guest feels comfortable. In this chapter, it is also important to mention that colleagues can contribute to a meaningful check-out – even if they are not working at the front desk. All hotel associates, from housekeepers to restaurant servers, should be aware that when a guest carries a suitcase in the morning, they are checking out.
It is the last part of an interaction that is likely to linger in the mind of the consumer the longest [15]. Because of the amount of attention our minds place on the closing parts of transactions.
Encourage Fond Farewells from Housekeepers
Clean Guests’ Windshields
Offer Auto Snow/Ice Removal Tools
Offer Room Keys to Children as Souvenirs
Offer Children Coins Inscribed with the Hotel’s Logo
Let Guests Take $1 Bills
Inform Guests of Potential Bank-Related Issues Associated
Offer to Store Items for Frequent Guests
Send a Gift Home to a Child
Give Some Fresh Vegetables or Herbs
One of these key areas is service failure recovery – when something goes wrong, the hotel has the guest's full attention. The second critical area is forecasting/contingency plans – the hotel must accurately forecast business levels and have plans in place to deliver peak service when actual business levels exceed expected levels. The third key area is perceived wait times – first at the hotel, guests do not like to wait to participate in the various stages of experience consumption.
In fact, it's often possible to get higher satisfaction ratings from a guest after an outage than if the situation never happened. Put another way, if you offer a top-notch recovery, your guests may feel a stronger connection to you than they did before the failure. It is important to note that correctly handling a failure can cause a recovery paradox, but conversely, not handling the failure correctly can result in a double deviation effect.
Double deflection is the term used to describe a situation in which your hotel is made aware of a problem, but the solution provided by your staff is so poor that, in the eyes of the guest, the solution is seen as a second failure . [21]. Some techniques focus specifically on situations in which the failure was beyond the hotel's control, because providing assistance to guests in such situations is a particularly effective means of creating recovery paradoxes.
Ask About Travel Experiences
Thank Guests for Complaining
Ask What Would Fix the Problem
Organize Recharging Cords
Be Ready for Clean-Up
Have Shower Chairs and Bath Mats Readily Available
Offer Hot Chocolate During Inclement Weather
Let Guests Keep Umbrellas
Organize Unclaimed Items Suitable for Borrowing
Be Informed About Guest Assistance Information
Have a List of Languages Spoken by Staff
Have a System for Handling Verbal Communication Barriers
Recognize Employees for Exceptional Service Failure
Recovery Efforts
Consistent, high-quality service in a hotel can only be achieved if department managers can accurately forecast business volumes in their respective areas. More specifically, predicting the timing and levels of guest visits and use of departmental offerings involves understanding the guest in terms of his/her needs, wants, and preferences [22]. Even the most experienced hoteliers cannot accurately predict the departments' business volumes in every situation.
Who would have known that the ABC Association of XYZ Professionals staying at the hotel would all gather in the lobby bar for drinks and snacks. For most representatives, the choice between working on the prognosis and a root canal treatment would lead to a visit to the dentist.” This chapter provides a number of techniques that can be used to aid in forecasting, as well as some measures that can be taken as contingency strategies when actual business volumes exceed predicted levels.
Department managers should be trained to act like football coaches, reading situations as they unfold and making adjustments on the fly with their teams to provide seamless service. In summary, the intended goals of offering the techniques in this chapter are to:. i) reduce the number of occurrences of inaccurate forecasts.
Install a Doorbell Behind the Front Desk
