Everything technology-related for Monscierge.
Collecting information on guests in an effort to enhance their experience is nothing new for hotels. However, with the technologies available today, more information is available, and a broader story of each guest is able to be told. How much information is too much? And what should you do with it? Recently, electric car manufacturer Tesla was able to stand its ground fairly well against a disparaging review written by John Broder of the New York Times. Some of the claims he made in his review were refuted by actual data collected by the car as he drove it. Tesla had the advantage in this situation, and a pretty good defense. From a hospitality standpoint, hotels are collecting more and more data on their guests, even before arrival. I recently read about a hotel who puts together a short “story” on each guest before they arrive – and uses it to provide a more personalized experience. For instance, a guest may walk into their room to discover their favorite flowers on the bedside table (a nice personal touch), or a framed photo of their family on the dresser (more on the creepy side.) The Ritz-Carlton has long kept track of …
While doing some digging on the role of a butler in the guest experience, I was pleased to have the opportunity to reach out to Robert Watson from The Guild of Professional English Butlers in London. He provided me with insights into his profession, and what hotels can expect when they use this service. What does a hotel butler do? Butlers are trained to assist in all departments of a hotel. They take care of guest requests, bookings, reservations, problems, complaints, supervise and co-ordinate every service that guest receives in suite and to ensure guest satisfaction by paying attention to the smallest detail from arrival to departure. What role does a butler play in the guest experience? Hotel butlers act as a link between the guest and all the functions of a hotel. This highly personalized service often includes remembering guests’ preferences for dining, flowers, and other personal tastes. Imagine arriving in your room after a long trip and having a butler there to ease you through check-in, and even unpack your bags. Butlers can also help choose clothing for a specific occasion, arrange transportation, or any number of things that ease common stresses associated with travel. What can hotels …
Creating a Picture Perfect Customer Experience with Social Media First we have to start with asking ourselves ‘What Is a Picture Perfect Customer Experience?’ Picture Perfect Experience is often referred to as the ideal experience. In a Social Media setting this results in the customer becoming champion advocates, creating strong referrals, retention and profitable growth. How to create a Picture Perfect Customer Experience with Social Media You want to create a Picture Perfect Customer Experience with Social Media to influence your customers in a positive way. The results will lead to customers sharing your brand message to their Social Networks. The first step is to start collaboration with your employees and customers. Social Media today provides several opportunities to create focus groups. Google+ Communities, LinkedIn Groups and Facebook Groups are some examples where you can create a focus group for collaboration. Keep these focus groups private, so access is by invites or approvals only. Build in these groups one of the strengths that is common both for Hospitality and Social Media: Storytelling. Create your Community or Group to develop a new culture of sharing information. For example Google+ Communities allows you to share content, video, images and slides. Here you …
Everyone is “going local” these days. I’ve discussed before the tourism benefits of local recommendations and experiences for guests, but I want to look deeper into the benefits of delving into the culture immediately surrounding you. I live in the country, which often means that I need to travel a few miles for shopping or dining. But after meeting a group of local “kids” who were more invested in the area, I spent a few weeks browsing everything within two miles of me. I found local honey, produced half a mile away. I found a breakfast joint so wonderful that they are standing room only every minute they are open. And strangely, when I needed to buy puppy food, I discovered a fascinating world inside a feed store, complete with a gentleman who regaled my children with tales of the German Shepherds he raises. Making these discoveries so close to home was fun for my family and made us feel even closer to our tight-knit community. What do you have in or immediately around your hotel that brings the hyper-local experience to your guests? Food: From beehives on the rooftop to property-grown herbs, more and more hotels are jumping on …
I am pleased to share this space this week with Sam Stephens, Executive Director of The Global Soap Project. My team has had the privilege of getting to know the team at The Global Soap Project over the last few months, and we are impressed with the work they do. Did you know that, each year, more than 2.4 million children die from hygiene and sanitation related illnesses, such as diarrhea and pneumonia? These children are living in extreme poverty, and many are orphans or refugees. Fortunately, there is hope. Simply handwashing with soap can cut the risk of death almost in half. In fact, studies have shown that soap is among the most effective tools for fighting these diseases. The focus of the Global Soap Project is to prevent these deaths by getting soap and hygiene education to those who lack access to it. Soap is available for sale in most areas of the world. Even many rural communities in Africa have soap that is available for purchase. However, the soap in these areas is often very expensive – sometimes approaching $1 per bar. That might not sound like much, but if you’re living on less than $1 per …