One of the more interesting concepts that we pride ourselves on is the lack of chauffeur knowledge. If you’re not familiar, it comes from a story in 1918. Max Planck went on a tour across Germany after receiving the Nobel Prize for Physics. Over time, his chauffeur grew to know his speech by heart, and in the interest of variety, he suggested the professor and he switch places one night. After the lecture, a professor stood up and asked a question; the driver replied, “Never would I have thought that someone from such an advanced city as Munich would ask such a simple question! My chauffeur will answer it.” There are two types of knowledge. The first is real knowledge—teams like those at Monscierge who have spent thousands of hours understanding and studying industries and topics. The second type is chauffeur knowledge – knowledge from people who can put on a show. It’s only surface knowledge without tried and true experience and only in it for the moment. Hospitality is a challenging space. It requires empathy and data. The number of studies, surveys, and tests that we’ve done is dizzying and speaks to what makes Monscierge stand out from others. …
How do you judge your property’s performance? Do you look at your ratings? TripAdvisor score? During a poll, only around 42% of rental owners actively reviewed their ongoing ratings. Owners who actively reviewed their scores on average maintained higher occupancy and increased revenue. But what goes into reviewing scores? Potential guests look to ratings and reviews as a gauge for their stay. Even if you’re getting good ratings, do your guests rave? Do they highlight communication and information? Lack of accurate or up-to-the-minute information is one of the leading complaints amongst travelers. Messaging to the guest can head off unclear directions or worry about getting into a property. No one sells your product better than other people. Highlight your differences, showcase amenities like A/C, high-speed Internet, and technologies like Hospitality TV. We’ve found that when properties highlight tools like Apple TV for Hospitality for streaming and entertainment, guests react positively. By highlighting what you have ahead of time, it helps solidify the experience. Property owners have spent their hard-earned time and money building or rehabbing properties, so it’s a shame to stop when so close. So stop gambling your ratings and start taking charge by offering critical features and functionality …
Our Customer Experience team surveys our customers about their experience. As one way of building trust, our goal is to help provide solutions for our customers’ business needs. During a survey, we solved a customer’s rental business needs by “giving guests an easy experience to stream movies, tell guests about my house, and providing local things to do.” Likewise, a boutique property loved that we could “provide streaming services alongside housekeeping requests from a single system. And it’s very simple to use!” We work with hotels and vacation rentals like those on Airbnb and VRBO every day. Technology for the sake of technology isn’t practical. We take solving business challenges seriously. Our technology solves problems that rental owners and hotel managers face daily. Technology can be cool. But it should also be seamless and address your underlying business challenges.
The latest travel trend to emerge is vaccine vacations. As destinations look for new and exciting hooks to attract visitors, the prospect of vaccine tourism is a compelling proposition. As some travel requires proof of vaccination, these destinations are opening themselves to getting vaccinated with a view. Those who sign up would typically need to remain for several weeks to receive the necessary doses. States like Nevada and Oklahoma are getting into the mix by opening to those seeking vaccinations. The Southern Nevada Health District released statistics showing people from Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam have visited to receive their vaccine. By partnering with local health organizations and tourism boards, these destinations view re-opening as a service to help the public health crisis and jump-start local travel and tourism. These destinations are differentiating themselves from other areas with a drastically unique experience. Given the captive audience, vaccines require a minimum of 17 days; the stays are not a quick weekend getaway. But the visit opens themselves to a more significant local experience. Being able to enjoy an extended stay provides an opportunity to get away from the typical destinations to dine at great hidden gems or visit sites off …
California is re-opening on June 15. Everyday activities can resume, and businesses can re-open with “common-sense risk reduction measures.” With the recent announcement, how will travel be impacted? Is travel already being booked, or will there be a slow burn? Prospective travelers wildly vary in their opinions not only in the United States but also worldwide. While some travelers throw caution to the wind, many have announced a wait-and-see approach, opting instead for nearby socially distanced staycations. The next few months will be critical. Businesses will be able to re-open and decide how to handle the re-emerging world fully. Bookings will surely increase over the next few months to fulfill the pent-up demand for proper holidays. California was one the hardest hit and enacted strict measures to try and quell infections. Their signal of fully re-opening is a sign that many states will likely follow similar strategies. Several months ago, the UK announced a roadmap to re-opening that would see travel allowed starting May 17. Fully re-opening businesses must now figure out their new normal. How are you communicating? What’s your differentiator? Will video remain a centerpiece of technology? Will a contactless guest experience be the way forward? During the …