I’ve been digging into other hotel blogs for awhile, and there are some that definitely stand out from the crowd. While my personal top five are fairly popular, you should check them out if you haven’t already. Hotel Chatter – Using humor that occasionally crosses into the snarky side, these guys tackle industry news from openings, marketing strategies, and the occasional haunted hotel. LMA Communications – Founder Larry Mogelonsky also happens to be the author of Are You an Ostrich or a Llama, and shares his combined hospitality and writing expertise on the company blog. The Advisor- Writer Tom Costello has over 20 years experience in the industry. His book, Prepare for Liftoff – How to Launch a Career in Sales, is available by following the link. His blog shares tips on sales with an eye for hospitality. Daniel Craig and Josiah MacKenzie- This one is a twofer, but you can follow this dynamic duo of hospitality at their individual blogs, or check in at ReviewPro. Hotel Check-In – USA Today’s Barb Delollis keeps up-to-date on hotel trends, technology, and what’s going on in the industry. Who are your favorite hospitality bloggers?
We’ve been discussing the different uses for Google+ Hangouts here at the Monscierge office, and it got me thinking about how much fun they could be for hotel use. As a B2C business, and arguably one of the most “social” industries, how can hospitality make use of this fun new aspect of social networking? These are a few ideas I came up with, and I’d love to hear yours in the comments. Face-to-face time with your concierge – allow future travelers to get the inside scoop on your location before they visit. Q&A with manager – discuss amenities and hotel events. Chef – answer questions about local cuisine and food trends, or offer cooking tips. Wedding coordinator – this one is easy, every new bride has questions. You can open this up for general information or send invites only to brides using your hotel for more specific information. Local experts – do you have a local historian, nature expert, or tour guide? They can be excellent sources of information on things to see in your area. Weekend events – schedule a host for mid-week to talk up local weekend events. “Day in the Life” – have a host visit the …
loy·al·ty The quality of being loyal to someone or something. A strong feeling of support or allegiance I ran across this July article from The New York Times while doing some research on loyalty programs. The article states that travelers are expected to move more than $10 billion to competing loyalty programs. That’s a lot of billions, so what is going on? The report listed 7 major reasons that guests are feeling not-so-loyal to their loyalty programs. Incompetent staff and services. Mistakes in crediting loyalty points. Advertised promotions not being honored. Problems redeeming points. Points expiring too quickly, resulting in lowered status. Undesirable property condition. Extra fees. (It is no longer news that guest satisfaction takes a serious drop the moment they are hit with unexpected fees.) Getting back to the definition of loyalty, what does your hotel do to foster “a strong feeling of allegiance”? Try a full experience of your own property, from initial booking all the way through redeeming points later on. Where does your hotel shine and where does it fall short?
We’ve all had that dream. You know the one. You’re out in public, maybe at work or the mall, and you suddenly realize that you have forgotten some integral piece of your wardrobe. For some reason our sleeping brain doesn’t tell us “Hey! You must be dreaming – you always remember pants!” We are doomed to embarrassment until we finally wake and realize none of it ever happened. But what if it DID happen? Adult sleepwalking (more technically called somnambulism) is on the rise, and many of the contributing factors such as stress, alcohol consumption, and late-night meals, are quite common to travelers. While a relatively safe sleepwalking situation can lead to a hilarious story later on (for instance, my 9 year old son ran from his room a few nights ago in a frantic search for where his brother had left the “fire boosters”), it is also a cause for serious concern (this same child was caught escaping the house at 2am, also while sleeping.) Adult sleepwalkers have been found wandering their hotels in the nude, asking for newspapers and even trying to go to work. For the sleepwalker, the potential for embarrassment is frightening enough, but the possibility …
What do the letter “K”, rude wedding guests, and loud dinner companions all have in common? We’ve been talking so much about the different ways consumers use smartphones this quarter, I’ve run into many pet peeves on the same subject. In a time when folks post photos of every meal, mention every workout, and live tweet a daily play-by-play, what crosses the line into bad smartphone behavior? A quick poll of my friends listed some fairly common peeves, but the overwhelming majority included cell usage while driving – talking and texting both included. Other issues listed were the use of “K” as a text response, phone usage in the midst of face-to-face interactions, and cell phones going off during religious services and/or weddings. Travelers seem to have their own set of pet peeves in this area. Airplanes, already a hotbed for annoyance due to the close proximity to fellow passengers, hit the top of the list with frustrations such as people who don’t heed the warning to turn devices off and those whose chosen entertainment is loud enough for seatmates to hear. Dining is next. I once knew a person who was absolutely unable to speak into a cell phone …