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Khula - changing lives

7/9/2015

Together with a friend Phindi, I have embarked on a project to provide a home for 6 young girls by 2016, as they will get 'kicked out' of the institutions and children's home they have been living in to date. At 18, the government stops funding their housing, school etc and these youth have to fend for themselves. I can't change the world, or the city, but I can make a difference to six young girls.

Read more here....

We need not only funds, but contacts that can open doors, and for you to share your skills so that we can run a Lifetools programe to enable them to succeed. Why don't you join me?

20 Expert Customer Service Tips To Try Right Now

6/8/2015

"Customer service - so easy to get it wrong and yet so simple to get right. I particularly like point no.3. - Saying goodbye to a guest is as important as saying hello!" - Wilna

20 Expert Customer Service Tips To Try Right Now
For Forbes, by Micah Solomon

Here’s a bonanza of tips for improving the customer service and customer experience in your organization today and over the weeks to come.

1. First impressions matter. Walk up to, and into, your establishment with the eye of a customer. A customer perception is his reality, and a first impression is important because it tends to linger in a customer’s memory. Ditto if that fist interaction is on the phone, via chat, or via mobile.

2. Impressions before the first impression matter. Of course, there is no “before the first impression.” But the first impression is very likely happening before you realize it: how you’re portrayed online, how your grounds look well before the front door. Disney even obsesses over the route to their parks for this reason.

3. Last impressions matter. It’s so easy when you've “completed” an interaction with or project for a customer, to rush on to the next one with the next customer. Doing so can erase all the goodwill you created. The “goodbye” is an important stage, one of the most important, because (like a first impression) it tends to linger in a customer’s memory.

4. Are you easy to use? You won’t know until you try. Try your own website without your auto-log in. Is it easy? Or a pain? Come in the front door and see if the door swings open easily, or whacks you on the shoulder. And so forth.

5. Do you offer self-service options for your customers? Many customers want them today: unless you’re open 24/7 or at least all conceivable business hours in all time zones in which you have customers, you need such options. And even if you are open ‘round the clock, many times customers today just want to handle it, or at least be able to check up on it, themselves.

6. Do your self-service options include escape hatches? For when the self-service isn’t working or the customer isn’t in the mood–there should be an easy way out, to reach a human. Make it obvious, like hitting “O” on the phone.

7. Do your customers have to ask you to answer questions for which the answer should be obvious? Customers don't like to be burdened to contact you for items that could easily be provided for them on a self service basis. Do your FAQ’s actually include the questions that customers want the answers to? Or were they written six years ago by your web developer? Do they get an auto-confirmation when they order or do they need to call to ensure their order wasn’t lost in the ether? And so on.

8. Timeliness: Are you considerate of your customer’s time? This is a big, big, big one. A perfect product or service delivered late is a defect.

9. Commit to continuous customer service education. Education is an investment in organizational development.

10. Get rid of the fine print. To a customer, fine print is where a company hides something that will protect them from a dissatisfied customer. Better to fix it than hide it.

11. Define a simple service recovery process. Things will go wrong. Either objectively (whatever that means) or in the eyes of your customer. Either way, you need a plan. Consider my ARFFD approach, for example.

12. Consider the feedback you receive from your customers “free customer service consulting”–this is info of great value, not an interruption of your day. What could be better than to get information directly from your customers? And yet, responding to it, reviewing it, acting on it can feel like an interruption of our work if we don’t carefully check our attitude. Also: Don’t batch your surveys and then review them at the end of the month—scan them right away to see who needs to hear from you now.

13. Reward and Recognize. Acknowledge the contributions of individuals and teams with formal and informal recognition.

14. … But don’t think that’s why they’re working for you: Incentives for your customer-facing employees can’t replace the general value of hiring people who like people, and treating those people every single day like the professionals who they are.

15. Benchmark outside your industry. If you sell furniture, don’t just benchmark other players in the furniture industry to figure out how fast, easy to use, nice your company should be. Your customers’ expectations for manners, timeliness, quality… come as much from Starbucks, Apple, and other great consumer brands as they do from the others in your particular field.

16. Commit to continuous improvement. Ask yourself at the end of the day, “What is the thing you are going to do tomorrow to make your team better.”

17. Language matters. It is extremely easy to say the right thing, but to say it wrong. Actively work on the language that is used in customer interactions

18. Standards matter. For example, a doorman at a great hotel is rarely blindsided by a guest trying to enter while the doorman’s back is turned. How can that be? Standards. In this case, the standard is usually that ‘‘doormen work in teams.’’ They simply face each other and subtly tip each other off if someone is coming from behind. They quite literally have each other’s back, leading to a consistently comfortable, welcoming, hospitable experience.

19. Empowerment matters. You can’t write a standard for every eventuality. Your employees need empowerment–autonomy–to deviate from it if the case, the customer, requires a different approach.

20. Fight actively–every single day, every single shift–against getting in a rut. The principle of hedonic adaptation means that your hundredth day on the job, naturally will not be as intense–as exciting, stressful, and so forth– as the first day. This is good to some extent, but it means that you have to actively strive to remember that this same day is the first interaction your customer has had with your company, and you need to keep your attitude fresh to match theirs.

[Credit where credit's due: In addition to the tips that lurk in my own mind, I want to thank Bill Quiseng for helping me brainstorm this list; you should follow Bill at @billquiseng for more.--Micah]

Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer service keynote speaker and the bestselling author most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service

Strangest things left behind in hotel rooms...

3/4/2015

This really made me smile... do you have any to add? - Wilna

Article by Lee Currie
Teddy bears often get left behind in hotel rooms, but more often than not the items left behind are not so sweet and innocent.Durban - Warning: Look behind you when you leave. People in the hotel industry are often privy to their guests’ little “foibles”, which can range from hilarious to downright scary.

So weird and wonderful are some of the stories that every year the Protea Hotel Group asks its general managers to submit a list of the most memorable. It makes fascinating and often mind-boggling reading.

“We know people are intrigued by some of the stories that come out of hotel rooms and we thought: why not share some of the best every year? While we do protect our guests’ privacy, some of the stories are so good you have to share them. You just can’t make them up,” says group marketing manager Nicholas Barenblatt.

From Protea’s 2013 list of weird and wonderful items left by guests in hotel rooms:

Tp of the list, says Barenblatt, was not something left behind, but someone.

“A stag party that spent the weekend at a hotel in KZN left the groom in the hotel room. He was passed out, stark naked, tied to a chair and painted Smurf blue from head to toe.”

Then there were the vampire fangs.

“The fangs weren't the cheap ones you find in fancy dress or novelty stores; these were dentist-fitted. The owner did come to collect them, but we didn't ask any questions,” says Barenblatt.

“A strange item was a beautiful Victorian dress left in a hotel room cupboard. When we contacted the guest, he swore there was no dress in the room when he stayed there.”

Other items included the back half of a pantomime horse, a hookah, a Batman suit and an assortment of false teeth.

Further afield, hotel groups in several countries were also happy to share their “weird” lists.

Forgotten items in bedrooms include:

An inflatable lamb left behind at Travelodge (no, not New Zealand) Edinburgh, Scotland.

Prosthetic limbs: an inexplicably high number of prosthetic limbs are left in hotel rooms. Even more baffling was a “leg” left at a New York Marriott that was never claimed.

Breast implants were left at a hotel in Newcastle, the UK.

A tribal wooden doll with a pop-up appendage was found in a room at the Quay Hotel in Wales – surely a challenge for the staff’s imagination.

A live shark was found swimming in the bathtub of a hotel room in the Algarve, Portugal. A guest had apparently gone fishing and left the poor shark behind in the bath. Fortunately, the shark was returned to the sea in time to head for the deep.

Other forgotten live creatures include dogs, birds, rabbits, kittens, a turtle (the turtle was rescued in time and became the hotel’s mascot) a pet python and a pet tarantula.

One can only admire the staff member who was given the task of removing the last two “pets”.

Items commonly left behind:

Books: More than 20 000 books were left behind at the UK group Travel Lodge, over a third of which were Fifty Shades of Grey. (LOL)

Forgotten teddy bears warrant a special mention. Travelodge UK reported that an amazing 76 500 teddy bears were reunited with their distraught owners in just one year – one can only imagine a long, homeward journey with a child pining for Teddy.

While there’s no shame in reclaiming lacy underwear, single male guests may not be in a hurry to have it returned. Risqué items include blow up dolls, various adult “toys”, handcuffs, nurse’s uniforms, intimate “potions” and such like. One hotelier who chose to remain anonymous said that judging by some of the items left in hotel rooms, partners and spouses of travellers have good reason to be worried.

Wayne Coetzer, general manager at the Oyster Box Hotel said:

“One family left their senile mother and father with us while they went on holiday, when they eventually picked them up they had packed the entire room contents in their bag, including a toilet brush!”

The next time you stay in a guest house or hotel it might be a good idea to make sure you haven’t left anything behind or you may end up on the weird list.

Sunday Tribune

on a lighter note - how to react to bad service!

11/13/2014

This story really made me smile and take note of how I respond to bad service - what about you? - Wilna

Couple leaves $100 tip for bad service to thank overwhelmed waiter

When Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steven, sat down to a sushi dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for their sixth anniversary, they were looking to have a special night out. But things didn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped.

First, they waited 20 minutes for water. Then, they waited 40 minutes for an appetizer. And then they waited an hour for their entrees. So, what did they do?

They left their server a $100 tip, and a note that read, "We've both been in your shoes. Paying it forward."

Schultz posted a photo of the receipt to her Facebook page on Sept. 27, and it went viral—racking up over 1.3 million likes (and counting) and mentions in blogs such as Eater.

She says she and her husband, who met while working as servers in a restaurant eight years ago, just wanted to do something to show they understood what it was like to be in their waiter's position.

"No matter how much you apologize to tables, there are going to be people rolling their eyes," she told TODAY.com, of life as a server on a night when nothing goes right. "Throughout the dinner we were like, 'We've been in his position.'"

Rather than posting an angry review online or blasting the restaurant on Facebook, Schultz and her husband decided to take a negative situation and make it positive, recognizing that "he probably isn't going to get tips."

So Schultz wrote the note and the two left before their server could see the tip he probably was not expecting to receive.

"This definitely was not the largest tip there ever was," Schultz said. "We thought it could make his night a little bit easier."

Schultz said she posted the image on Facebook for family and friends, and never expected it to go viral. She and her husband wanted to keep the name of the venue anonymous, but TODAY.com was able to confirm the authenticity of the receipt with the restaurant itself.

"This is more about being kind and being generous," Schultz said. "We just wanted him to know that we've been in his shoes."

"I'm just sharing this as a friendly reminder to think of the entire situation, before you judge," her Facebook caption concludes. "And always always always remember where you came from."

--By Jordan Melendrez, TODAY.com/money.
See more Money News from The TODAY Show at our Facebook andTwitter.

The good and the Bad of luxury service

9/10/2014

Dear Hotel,
You call yourself a luxury hotel.
Well, you're slipping.
Please check out our definition of a luxury hotel.
See: I want to love you, but you must earn the love.
And there are lots of hotel trends I'm really not loving.
I've described them below, and how you can do better.
Thanks for listening.
Sincerely,
Luxury Traveler

As you can see, I am on a service mission this month! Here are some Good and Bad examples of service... and some traps we so easily fall into, yet can avoid! I know it is a long blog - but you MUST read these - Wilna

Bad Hotel Trends We Hate
By Karen Tina Harrison
Luxury Travel Expert

Bad: Charging for every amenity in your room, save the sheets
Better: Hiding it in a “resort fee”
Best: Including the wifi, water, snacks, and shoeshine in your room rate

Bad: Faux "pet-friendly" restrictions and fees that penalize your pet and you
Better: If you’re a hotel that doesn’t want pets, don’t give mixed signals; just bar them entirely
Best: Welcoming pets (cats too) with no restrictions or fees; that's a pet-friendly hotel policy (as at The Point in the Adirondacks

Bad: Paying on top of your room rate to use the hotel gym; or being told “the gym is under renovation” (and "here's a voucher" to a gym 15 minutes away)
Better: The gym is free, but closes at 9 or 10 p.m.
 Best: The gym has free entry (and is 24 hours, with a fruit bowl, cold water, and iced towels)

Service Gaffes (this section contributed by Eric Weiss of ServiceArts Inc.)

Bad: Waiting an hour for your luggage to arrive in your room
Better: Your luggage arrives in your room within a few minutes that you do
 Best: Your luggage gets to your room before you do and is placed out of the way

Bad: Your wakeup call never comes (I give it no more than a 50/50 chance, even in a top hotel)
Better: You get a mechanical wakeup call
Best: You get called on the dot by a real live human being

Bad: All staff uses the same exact greeting 
Better: A neutral and appropriate greeting (time of day, weather, etc.) 
Best: An individualized and appropriate greeting that seems spontaneous and authentic (as in, when you're carrying a briefcase: “Good morning ma’am, have a great meeting!”)

Bad: "What would you guys (referring to men and women or just men) like to drink?"
Better: "What can I get you to drink before you start your meal?"
Best: "May I tell you about some of our house-made cocktails?"

Bad: "Just one for dinner?"
Better: “One?” 
Best: "Nice to see you, let me find you a great table"

Bad: Knocking on the door when the Do Not Disturb sign is up
Better: Calling your room during Do Not Disturb
Best: Least intrusively, slipping a note under your door

Bad: Staff's clothing is either indistinguishable from guests', or cheap institutional uniforms (please, no vests for women, ever)
Better: Clean, pressed, well-fitting uniforms that identify staff as staff
 Best: Definite uniforms, but designed to harmonize with the surroundings

Bad: No card in-room that instructs staff to greenly reuse your sheets and towels, so you have to make this request by phone
Also bad: A card is offered, but housekeeping disregards it and changes the sheets (sadly, the usual)
Best: A card that is respected by housekeeping

Bad: Charging outrageous fees for room wifi
Better: Charging a minimal fee for fast wifi or comping a basic connection
 Best: Fast and free room wifi

Bad: Room service indifferently served and hardly better than fast food
Better: A tasty room service meal taken off the metal trolley and served as a waiter would
Best: Room service as good as the hotel restaurant, served with distinctive flair

Bad: A poorly informed concierge of the "least effort" school, or one who seems to be judging you, or one whose default recommendation is tourist traps
Better: A concierge who appears to be up on things but whose restaurant recommendations are the Top Ten on every website
Best: A concierge who finds out your tastes and does extra research to give you the best experience

Bad: No chocolates at turndown!
Better: Chocolates, but commercial kisses or wafer mints
Even better: High-end commercial chocolates like Lindt Lindor truffles
Best: Locally or house-made fresh chocolate bonbons (as at MGallery Hôtel de la Cité in Carcassonne, France)

Bad: No gift amenity in your pricey room
Better: A gift, but it’s another baseball cap or logo-ridden tote
Best: A nice bottle of local wine, or something you want to take home, like a straw hat or elegant beach bag (as at Mexico's NIZUC)

Room Features

Bad: No dresser and no drawers or even shelves anywhere for your clothes; you can only hang them on hangers in the closet or pile them on the desk
Better: An all-in-one closet with at least shelves and maybe a drawer or two under the safe
Best: Plenty of shelves and drawers, or an actual dresser (like at The Grand Del Mar)

Bad: No slippers or bathrobe in the room 
Better: A robe but no slippers
Best: Two pairs of slippers and two robes
Best of all: Two pairs of slippers and two pairs of robes: one for beach, one for bath (as at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Thailand)

Bad: Flimsy, generic white terry slippers
Better: Handsome cloth slippers
Best: Fashionable slippers to take home, like the black elastic-strapped sandals at Regent Bali

Bad: Jungles of electrical cords; as architect Mies van der Rohe said, "G-d is in the details" (he designed the iconic tower that now houses The Langham, Chicago)
Better: Electrical cords neatly shortened by twisties
Best: Nearly invisible cords

Bad: Motel-style non-removable hangers
Better: Nice wooden hangers, but typically not enough of them
Best: Ample wooden hangers made from the same wood as the closet (as at Regent Bali and Regent Phuket Cape Panwa)

Bad: Packets of chemical-laden non-dairy creamer beside your coffee maker
Better: Single servings of Half-and-Half
Best: Real milk for coffee in your fridge (as at Four Seasons Rancho Encantadoin Santa Fe)

Bad: Wood or stone floors with no rugs (and a girlfriends’ getaway in stilettoes above your room)
Better: Hardwood floors with a lot of area rugs
Best: Dare I say it? Quiet-enhancing wall-to-wall carpeting, beautiful, of course
Best of all: You requested and got a room on the top floor, or below an empty room

Bad: Noisy fridges in room (second thing I do, after removing the bedspread, is unplug it)
Better: Noisy fridge, but basically out of earshot in the vestibule
Best: A quiet fridge positioned where you can’t hear it at all

Bad: Minibars that are sensitive to touch: you move it, you buy it
Better: A small munchie threat delivered with turndown (as at Four Seasons Baltimore)
Best: Free minibar, as in all-inclusives

Bad: No bottled water in room
Better: A couple of bottles, replenished on the house
Best: Earth-friendly glass bottles of purified water (as at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe)

Bad: No ice waiting in room, so you have to call and wait for it
Better: An ice machine not a long walk away, so at least you can get it yourself
Best: Ice is always in your room

Bad: Windows that cannot be opened (common in city hotels)
Better: Windows that can open, but you needed to call for help
Best: Easy-opening windows (as at Loews Philadelphia)

Bad: Noplace to hang your hand laundry (washing your own UW is a lifesaver forcarryon packers)
Better: Lots of hooks and racks for drying your scanties
Best: The hotel does your laundry gratis (a frequent feature of club floors)

Bad: No full-length mirror in the room
Better: A mirror on your closet door
Best: A heavy wall mirror (like at Four Seasons Nevis) or freestanding dressing mirror

Bad: A clock-radio (welcome to the Eighties!)
Better: A clock on a modern device like the Bose Wave
Best: A room with a view of a clock tower like Big Ben (Corinthia Hotel London) or Kowloon Station Tower (Peninsula Hong Kong)

Luxury Travelers' Obsession: Bathroom

Bad: A generic porcelain throne
Better: A generic john in a partitioned area
Better still: A john and a bidet
Best: A Japanese-made TOTO toilet (as at Palace Hotel Tokyo)

Bad: It's a tub! It's a shower! It's a tub!
Better: A separate tub, but not generously sized
Best: A deep soaking tub made for two, with water jets (as as Corinthia Hotel London)

Bad: And that tub-shower has a depressing sliding glass door
Better: The shower is separate, with a stone bench inside
Best: The glamorously lit, marble-lavished 'throom feels like a spa suite (as atHazelton Hotel in Toronto)

Bad: No wall-mounted makeup mirror for Madame
Better: A makeup mirror without a light
Best: A mirror lit in non-Halloween fashion

Bad: Outsourced made-in-China toiletries
Better: Global luxury brands like Bulgari and Bliss
Best: Locally made bathroom toiletries (like Byredo at Nobis Hotel Stockholm, soaps made in the Yucatan at Viceroy Riviera Maya), or custom-made (like Rosemary and White Tea potions by Natura Bissé at Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace and Lady Primrose's Piñon-Eucalyptus at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe)

Bad: Those toiletries are either too masculine or flowery
Better: Unscented toiletries
Best: Genderless herbal aromatherapy scents or green fragrances like L’Occitane Verveine

Bad: Micro sizes of toiletries (Ace Hotels’ soap is the size of a matchbook)
Better: Wall-dispensed, Earth-friendly refillable bottles like at Viceroy New York)
Best: Take-home sizes close to the TSA limit of 3.4 ounces for carryon packing (as at Le Negresco in Nice)

Bad: Arty, raised, bowl-shaped sinks that splash everywhere
Better: Deep porcelain sinks
Best: A pair of capacious sinks side-by-side

Ready for Your Tech Challenge?

Bad: Electric control panels that are ultra-high-tech and so hard to figure out, not even the staff know how
Bad variation: You program your room and service controls on the remote screen – hey, you're on vacation, not a competitive corporate team-building challenge
Better: When you check in, your valet or butler shows you how to use the overcomplicated electric panels
Best: The room's tech aspects are familiar enough for you not to need a tutorial

Bad: It's nice to offer a tablet in your room. But no one wants a knockoff brand that requires instructions
Better: An iPad you can borrow from the front desk
Better: An iPad in your room (as at Regent Phuket Cape Panwa)

Bad: An old-style coffeemaker with packets of inferior java that create, basically, hot brown water
Better: A basic coffeemaker with good choices like Starbucks Breakfast and Blonde
Best: A pod coffeemaker that's easy to use (no programming, please!), with a choice of strong brews

Bad: Nothing to plug your iPod or iPhone into, so to hear music, you have to play it on your laptop
Better: A player device with only an aux jack, so your iPod plays but doesn't charge
Best: an iHome device or similar style of iPod/iPhone dock and charger (as atFour Seasons Resort Nevis)

Bad: No in-room safe
Better: An off-brand safe with obscure instructions, or any safe too small for your laptop
Best: An Elsafe-brand safe sized for a laptop, with a charger outlet and a jewelry tray inside (as at The Pierre New York)

Bad: A room phone that requires a master's in engineering to use, and whose voicemails are impossible to retrieve
Better: A phone that doesn't give you a headache
Best: Free local calls and free international calls to the US and Canada (as atLe Blanc in Cancun)

It’s All About the Bed!

Bad: A dated, fusty, maybe even synthetic bedspread that’s not only potentially viral but ugly
Better: A handsome bedspread with natural fibers
Best: No bedspread but a fine cotton duvet with a newly laundered, spanking-white cover (as at InterContinental Montreal or Mukul Beach, Golf and Spa in Nicaragua)

Bad: Puffy, foam-filled pillows
Better: A pillow selection on your bed or in your closet, or a “pillow menu” you can choose from
Best: A pillow concierge offering a range of therapeutic pillows (as at The Benjamin in NYC)

Bad: Heavy down quilt in a tropical hotel, forcing you to blast the AC
Better: An appropriately chosen down quilt
Best: A choice in your closet (in case you like to blast the AC)

Bad: Wrinkled linens or any other remnants of past guests
 Better: Pressed and clean sheets, made with military precision
Best: A well-made bed with sheets from Frette, Pratesi, Delorme, Dr. Porthault, or Frette (as at Hotel St, Francis in Santa Fe and Windsor Court in New Orleans) and embroidered by Lesage (hopes Eric Weiss)

Thank you for paying attention, hotels!

how consumers are driving change in the hotel industry

8/31/2014

“You can buy status symbols, but buying an experience is much harder"

Today’s Modern Guests Want Life Experiences Not Luxuries - Hotels Must Adapt, Urges HVS London Study

‘A New Breed of Traveller – how consumers are driving change in the hotel industry’

Hotels are in danger of failing to adapt to a new breed of guest whose needs and demands are entirely different to those of previous generations.

This is the conclusion of a new study in the changing nature of hotel guests undertaken by global hotel consultancy HVS London.

The report, ‘A New Breed of Traveller’, says the impact of rising affluence, globalization and technology has led to modern hotel guests valuing experiences and the feeling of ‘being connected’ over traditional hotel luxuries.

“It seems that many hotels have barely changed over the last decades still consisting of the same in-room amenities, the same heavy curtains, the same check-in process, and the same small desk. This is no longer a place where the modern-day traveller feels at home,” states report co-author HVS associate Veronica Waldthausen

“This new segment of traveller is no longer looking for white-linen service, bellboys to carry their luggage up to their room or a concierge. When the current generation of young travellers enter a hotel, they want to feel completely at home, connected and to be in a setting where they can be part of an experience,” she adds.

The study, which includes interviews from leading hotel executives, outlines the fact that the new generation of travellers see luxury more in the storytelling of having an experience, rather than in the abundance of luxury items. They are much more satisfied with a hotel lobby they can sit in and drink coffee surrounded by other people, than having a coffee machine in their room.

“You can buy status symbols, but buying an experience is much harder. Whereas leading hotels used to be equipped with gadgets and technology, the new breed of traveller wants the confidence of places that understand them, and to be surrounded by a community of like-minded people, wherever they go,” adds Waldthausen.

The changing nature of hotel guests is also prompting change in the traditional layout of hotels. Lobbies, for example, are becoming larger, more open social hubs and gathering spaces, with a mix of comfortable couches, communal workstations and meeting spaces.

Formal divisions between the lobby, restaurant and bars are also disappearing with guests able to sit where they like or help themselves to what they want.

Rooms are changing too, with many lifestyle hotels having smaller rooms as guests spend more time in social places. Desks are becoming less necessary in the room, as people prefer to sit on chairs or on beds to work when using their laptop or tablet.

Meeting rooms are becoming less formal and more ‘homely’ with brighter colour schemes and comfortable chairs. Hotels are becoming creative with their breakout spaces to allow guests to feel that they are in their own home some with breakout space with a communal kitchen.

Hotel service is becoming more intuitive and casual, albeit with the same level of respect. Some hotels are abandoning uniforms and the days of scripting responses to guests are over.

“Guests are looking for a home-away-from-home. The new era is about participating in an experience, rather than flaunting wealth. Travellers today don’t want to feel like they are in a corporate setting, but thrive in environments where they can interact with people, be it face-to-face or virtual. They want everyone to participate and don’t mind interacting with new people,” says co-author Arlett Oehmichen, HVS London director.

“The new-breed of ‘lifestyle’ hotels have adapted, differentiating themselves in both style and service and are offering a new kind of product that is comfortable and simple, a place where guests can become part of an experience by interacting with the people that live there as well as staff. There will always be a market for wall-to-wall luxury, but it is lifestyle hotels that are prompting change throughout the industry,” Oehmichen concludes.

To download a copy of ‘A New Breed of Traveller – how consumers are driving change in the hotel industry’ by Veronica Waldthausen and Arlett Oehmichen click here.

Contact:
Linda Pettit, Tilburstow Media Partners
Linda@tilburstowmedia.co.uk
Tel: +44 13 4283 2866
Mobile: +44 79 7378 9853

Top 10 Hospitality Industry Trends in 2014

6/9/2014

... I am fascinated about how to communicate to Millennials -and here are some trends to look out for. - Wilna

Top 10 Hospitality Industry Trends in 2014
By Robert Rauch, CHA

Millennials will become the core customer within the hospitality and travel industries over the next five to ten years. The majority of airlines, hotels and travel companies will benefit from this sector as they enter into their peak earning, spending and travel years. Within this group of GenY travelers, there are many different markets considering the fact that exploration, interaction and experience are the major focus of Millennials. Willing to pay more for a greater experience, "foodies" are a prevalent subset of this market; looking for an overall gourmet experience for a reasonable price will cause the industry to revamp their lobby bars, restaurants and food service. Internet bloggers, culture buffs, LGBT and Multi-generational travelers all looking for a unique, novel experience will command change within the market.
Speed and precision will be a requirement when it comes to accommodating Millennials in upcoming years according to Hotels.com's latest Hotel Price Index report. Fast booking, fast check-in, fast WiFi and fast responses to customer service needs will need to be implemented within hotels. Considering Millennials have no problems speaking up, if what they are seeking is not quick enough, they will turn to Twitter, Facebook, Yelp or TripAdvisor to voice their complaints.
WOW customer service will become even more influential this year. Service today consists of four levels: basic, expected, desired and WOW. Basic service can be found at the post office whereas expected service can be found at most fast food restaurants and many businesses. Desired service is often found at good hotels and restaurants but WOW Service is the only way to ensure repeat business. By creating an impressive, unique guest experience that exceeds all expectations, you are able to capture the customer.
Leadership is modeling the way and showing your management team how critical it is to "walk the talk." Each and every employee, including myself, all have something we can work on. Forming a connection with guests can improve dramatically with genuine, individual interaction. It is my goal as a leader to instill the value of building relationships by sharing the knowledge I have and learning from them as well. For instance, I run with our guests staying at the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites San Diego/Del Mar and offer personal training sessions for others.
Expectation of more international visitors. Average rates and occupancy levels in the U.S. are likely to increase over the next few years, influenced by a very new market. "Leisure demand from abroad, fueled in part by the new Discover America campaign, will stimulate a new demand" according to Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. China is preparing to send about 100 million leisure tourists into the international market every year. If the U.S. gets its typical share, that will mean an additional 10 million visitors from China alone. Considering the average Chinese traveler spends a week in the U.S., demand is created for an additional 70 million room nights in a market where prices are steadily rising. The globalization of travel will prove to be a massive force.
Social media and mobile will be inseparable. Social media and mobile already live in symbiosis and we will only continue to see them merge over the course of this year. Mobile activity has allowed social media to live in real time by allowing users to create updates, tag friends and check in on their mobile devices. Smartphones represent 50 percent of new mobile devices being purchased and the growth of connected devices will only continue to rise. Ericsson estimates that there will be over 50 billion connected devices in circulation by 2020, including laptops, tablets and smartphones. In North America, 2014 will mark the first year that online access is greater from mobile devices than a desktop or laptop. Keeping an eye out for authentic ways to make use of emerging social/mobile applications will be of great value to those in hotel marketing.
Content marketing will replace traditional advertising. Traditional advertising is rapidly losing value as hotel marketing professionals begin to take advantage of effective content marketing. Marketing's new mantra, "Brands must now act as publishers," has come about due to social media and its potential to engage in meaningful conversations with loyal fans and clients alike. You will be able to drastically reduce investments in traditional paid media by implementing media tools such as blogs, social media, newsletters, webinars, eBooks, photo or video sharing and shared media. If brands begin to "opt out" of being a producer, SEO efforts will be affected. Google is now weighing current content, social proof and author scores in their results ranking. Simply put, you need to create and share content while engaging people if you want to be recognized moving forward.
Renewed focus on property websites. Finding ways of encouraging direct bookings will be one of the most important parts of a marketing director's job in 2014. Considering travelers are increasingly taking their transactions online, the hotel's own website needs to become the most important avenue for bookings to gain the highest ROI. After American hotels spent an estimated $2.7 billion on OTA commissions, the rates rose and restrictions tightened. Hotels are looking at any and all ways to increase direct bookings in 2014. This means that hotel websites will need to create incentives through booking with them directly rather than via the OTAs. Fresh content, consistent updates of promotions and rich media will draw in the guests.
Review site tactics. According to The Wall Street Journal, Yelp reports 50 million users across its web and mobile platforms. TripAdvisor has become the world's most popular travel website with 34 million unique users each month. Google Places is the Yellow Pages of the digital age meaning that business listings also show up on iPhone searches as well as on Google Maps. In 2014 there is a need to:
- Monitor Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google Places reviews and alert management of any low reviews twice a week
- Comment on glowing reviews to thank them
- Comment on low reviews and how the property intends to handle future situations
- Feature Yelp deals
Reputation Management. There is much anticipation that reputation management will begin to dictate the hotel industry in upcoming years. Considering there are millions of reviews written each day across a plethora of different platforms, the world wide web has the power of influencing one's decision making process; being able to manage your businesses reputation will determine success or failure. TrustYou had made it their mission to influence travel decisions in a positive way, developing a technology and software making it simple to monitor, manage and market a businesses reputation. Another company, Flip.to, has been making strides to tap into the market of potential travelers' family and friends considering 70% of customers take recommendations from their family or friends when choosing a product, brand or business.

ROBERT A. RAUCH, CHA
Robert Rauch serves as President of R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. He is a nationally recognized hotelier serving clients in all facets of the industry. Rauch has over 35 years of hospitality-related management experience. Widely recognized as the "hotel guru," Mr. Rauch maintains a blog where he expounds upon insights and trends in the hospitality industry at www.hotelguru.com.

Logo design tool!

4/14/2014

I use a great program to design logos and website buttons called AAA Logo. It is affordable, versatile and easy to use. They also have some good logo templates to get your creative juices flowing!

If you buy from them now, you get 50% off if you use this code 'AFP1859'
http://www.aaa-logo.com/lgmaker.php

Top ten boutique hotel future trends for 2014

1/20/2014

I really enjoyed reading Piers predictions of trends int he Boutique market. Most fascinating was the change in room service! - Wilna

Top ten boutique hotel future trends for 2014
Boutique Hotel News' Piers Brown gives his forecast of what the boutique hotel sector can expect to see during the coming year.

Hotel shopfronting
Hotel frontages will become more competitive places for advertising brands. It's not about an increased number parading affiliation plaques, or a multitude of front door or window stickers displaying the latest hotel recommendation or award for a variety of accolades - they're all too numerous, less noticeable and becoming distracting in nature. The majority are non-revenue generating for the hotelier welcoming the pre-booked guest. Even worse, many promote the very OTAs that take heavy booking commissions - why? That's a discussion for another time but we think there will be an increased focus on incremental direct revenue generation from appropriate third-party advertisers who value the space and a captive hotel guest demographic more. Expect to see more engaging hotel front window 'theatre' and digital brand advertising with heightened social media interaction popping up, particularly in high-value advertiser urban locations. Let's not forget, Selfridges, Oxford Street, London's prime retail store windows are amongst the most expensive in the world for brands to secure - tempted?

OTAs get closer to the hotel guest
These online travel agent technology companies are becoming a huge threat to direct hotel bookings, achieving expanding market share with heavy investment and increased customer (guest) loyalty based on price attractiveness. Price will remain a dominating factor. Expect to see OTAs collaborating more and purchasing 'high-touch' service travel agents or similar, as they look to get closer to guests in other ways, based on making the complete travel experience easier - keep an eye out for a splurge of complementing free mobile apps developed by OTAs too.

Hostels create the 'pos(h)tel' experience
The luxury hostel category grows boutique and individual, taking form and design inspiration from the likes of 'boutique chic' Citizen M and Marriott's Moxy hotel brands. Upscale hostels are now a booming business with many urban locations offering flexible lodging pricepoints, safe and friendly accommodation and great value food and beverage options.They're gunning for Generation Y business all day long as increasingly sophisticated young travellers on a budget migrate for the homier comforts of a posh hostel. It won't be long before established hotel groups scoop up the major players in the sector in an effort to understand and retain this future hotel guest.

Mobile no more
The 'year of mobile' has come and gone as smartphone manufacturers show signs that mobile is no longer an emerging technology or media platform with flat revenues and declining average selling price for devices. Despite mobile accounting for 20 per cent of all travel sales, hoteliers battle to convert mobile users who are currently three times less likely to book a hotel room than those using a PC. Hotel marketers who proclaim themselves innovative and disruptive will already be looking elsewhere in the technological sphere for the next big thing.

Tangible technology
Cutting-edge hoteliers focus on 'wearable tech', with Google already pushing, albeit slightly odd looking,Google Glass to the market. Applications are numerous and hotel marketing innovators envisage what's possible and wonder how and when these technologies will be adopted by business and the average consumer. We're likely to see front of house staff wearing Google glasses for guest facial recognition as early as the first quarter of 2014. Suffice to say hotel websites will place more focus on remote engagement to reflect "what's happening in the hotel right now" with real time applications.

Hotel reviews come clean
Cleanliness is always a top priority for guests, and boutique hoteliers have an obligation to provide their guests with a safe and secure environment. Housekeeping practices vary across brands and properties with little or no standardization industry wide. The current validation method for hotel room cleanliness is a visual assessment, which has been shown to be ineffective in measuring levels of sanitation. Expect more regular and thorough contamination checks by hotel owners with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measuring devices for instance, that determines microbial contamination on surfaces, and ultraviolet light pens for detecting stains invisible to the naked eye. Don't be surprised to see fanatical hotel reviewers carrying this handy tool!

Luxury leaves the middle-class developed world behind
For the luxury traveller who can still afford the high-end, things are going great.
However, technology and the free flow of information continue to remove middle-class jobs, and those that remain do not pay what they once did. The cost of being middle class has increased out of proportion to the cost of merely living. This has ramifications from a boutique hotel guest booking, spend and hotel management wage perspective. Any middle class is essentially an urban phenomenon. In days past, when a town and its hotel industry fell into decline, its middle class disappeared. But as a new town rose in tandem with hotel development, a new middle class would spring up as if by magic. And that's what is happening now. A new middle class is appearing in Russia, India, China and the Middle East, and it's perhaps no surprise future projected hotel new builds in these areas tower over everywhere else.

The rise and fall of room service creates a new dining experience
Hilton Midtown New York's recent removal of room service sent shockwaves through the hotel industry. If management provide a service which is only marginally valued by the guest at best, then there is a strong motivation to end such a practice, and offer a simple, yet more streamlined approach to guest services. The elimination of room service also eliminates exorbitant service charges and guest complaints about cold food that's supposed to be hot, exorbitantly priced items and late deliveries. Ask yourself, whether removing room service and a food and beverage offering takes the experience out of your boutique hotel stay, or does it just make things a bit more streamlined, cut accommodation expenses and ensure a more "experiential" trip. For example, the recently opened Nadler boutique hotel in Soho, London encourages lodgers to dine in the local area because the offering is so good, liberating guests from the limitations of room service and restaurant fare. A grab and go breakfast offering like from the Aloft select-service brand with rooms designed with an empty fridge (no mini bar) for guests to use is the closest 'halfway house' option we've seen, catering to the ever more individually empowered guest who value their freedom and "no strings" approach. Denihan Hospitality's Affinia Hotels, a small luxury-boutique chain, has taken this approach one step further linking with the online grocer FreshDirect to provide specially packed meals for guests including healthy options. Through this partnership, Affinia Hotels can have guests' rooms fully stocked upon arrival, so that they feel like they're at home during their visit - hotel grocery delivery is not just for select-service, extended-stay or family resorts anymore.

Foodification
There is nothing more personal than food. Consumers today have an amazing personal connection with what they put into their bodies. Dining has become a comprehensive and interactive experience with diners becoming more knowledgeable about their food choice, peppering the waiting staff and chef with questions about sustainability, responsible husbandry, and local chef-prepared ingredients top dining trends. As a result, boutique hotels will focus on the trend of fresh, local and in season, displaying the percentage of locally sourced food or similar on the menu. Current buzzwords include 'farm to fork' and the SLOW philosophy ( seasonal, local, organic and wild), 'snackification' and 'small-plate movement' - the trend of communal and informal eating. The lure of small portions that encourage diners to purchase additional dishes, therefore increasing revenue. Variations include a healthy eating / low calorie total meal approach. While product is everything, don't underestimate organisational innovation with hotels increasingly taking their food offering to the street. The "Taste by Four Seasons"food trucks for example.

More luxury retailers move into hospitality
With Millennials defining themselves more by what they do than what they own, luxury brands continue to dare to remain relevant with consumers whose appetite for luxury and definition of luxury is constantly changing. Luxury retailers are already expanding beyond fashion and accessories as they aim to keep their customers interested with a 360 degree experience, based on what they are buying, what they are eating, where they are staying and who they are listening to. Boutique hotel guests are looking for information not only from their family and friends, but also from brand experts - balancing professional and shareable opinions with personal advice.

Click here to read from Piers.

Top 10 Hospitality Industry Trends in 2014

1/10/2014

I love reading about new trends and this article by Robert Rauch was particularly insightful. Millennials rule and service levels increase! - Wilna

Top 10 Hospitality Industry Trends in 2014
By Robert Rauch, CHA

Millennials will become the core customer within the hospitality and travel industries over the next five to ten years. The majority of airlines, hotels and travel companies will benefit from this sector as they enter into their peak earning, spending and travel years. Within this group of GenY travelers, there are many different markets considering the fact that exploration, interaction and experience are the major focus of Millennials. Willing to pay more for a greater experience, "foodies" are a prevalent subset of this market; looking for an overall gourmet experience for a reasonable price will cause the industry to revamp their lobby bars, restaurants and food service. Internet bloggers, culture buffs, LGBT and Multi-generational travelers all looking for a unique, novel experience will command change within the market.
Speed and precision will be a requirement when it comes to accommodating Millennials in upcoming years according to Hotels.com's latest Hotel Price Index report. Fast booking, fast check-in, fast WiFi and fast responses to customer service needs will need to be implemented within hotels. Considering Millennials have no problems speaking up, if what they are seeking is not quick enough, they will turn to Twitter, Facebook, Yelp or TripAdvisor to voice their complaints.
WOW customer service will become even more influential this year. Service today consists of four levels: basic, expected, desired and WOW. Basic service can be found at the post office whereas expected service can be found at most fast food restaurants and many businesses. Desired service is often found at good hotels and restaurants but WOW Service is the only way to ensure repeat business. By creating an impressive, unique guest experience that exceeds all expectations, you are able to capture the customer.
Leadership is modeling the way and showing your management team how critical it is to "walk the talk." Each and every employee, including myself, all have something we can work on. Forming a connection with guests can improve dramatically with genuine, individual interaction. It is my goal as a leader to instill the value of building relationships by sharing the knowledge I have and learning from them as well. For instance, I run with our guests staying at the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites San Diego/Del Mar and offer personal training sessions for others.
Expectation of more international visitors. Average rates and occupancy levels in the U.S. are likely to increase over the next few years, influenced by a very new market. "Leisure demand from abroad, fueled in part by the new Discover America campaign, will stimulate a new demand" according to Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. China is preparing to send about 100 million leisure tourists into the international market every year. If the U.S. gets its typical share, that will mean an additional 10 million visitors from China alone. Considering the average Chinese traveler spends a week in the U.S., demand is created for an additional 70 million room nights in a market where prices are steadily rising. The globalization of travel will prove to be a massive force.
Social media and mobile will be inseparable. Social media and mobile already live in symbiosis and we will only continue to see them merge over the course of this year. Mobile activity has allowed social media to live in real time by allowing users to create updates, tag friends and check in on their mobile devices. Smartphones represent 50 percent of new mobile devices being purchased and the growth of connected devices will only continue to rise. Ericsson estimates that there will be over 50 billion connected devices in circulation by 2020, including laptops, tablets and smartphones. In North America, 2014 will mark the first year that online access is greater from mobile devices than a desktop or laptop. Keeping an eye out for authentic ways to make use of emerging social/mobile applications will be of great value to those in hotel marketing.
Content marketing will replace traditional advertising. Traditional advertising is rapidly losing value as hotel marketing professionals begin to take advantage of effective content marketing. Marketing's new mantra, "Brands must now act as publishers," has come about due to social media and its potential to engage in meaningful conversations with loyal fans and clients alike. You will be able to drastically reduce investments in traditional paid media by implementing media tools such as blogs, social media, newsletters, webinars, eBooks, photo or video sharing and shared media. If brands begin to "opt out" of being a producer, SEO efforts will be affected. Google is now weighing current content, social proof and author scores in their results ranking. Simply put, you need to create and share content while engaging people if you want to be recognized moving forward.
Renewed focus on property websites. Finding ways of encouraging direct bookings will be one of the most important parts of a marketing director's job in 2014. Considering travelers are increasingly taking their transactions online, the hotel's own website needs to become the most important avenue for bookings to gain the highest ROI. After American hotels spent an estimated $2.7 billion on OTA commissions, the rates rose and restrictions tightened. Hotels are looking at any and all ways to increase direct bookings in 2014. This means that hotel websites will need to create incentives through booking with them directly rather than via the OTAs. Fresh content, consistent updates of promotions and rich media will draw in the guests.
Review site tactics. According to The Wall Street Journal, Yelp reports 50 million users across its web and mobile platforms. TripAdvisor has become the world's most popular travel website with 34 million unique users each month. Google Places is the Yellow Pages of the digital age meaning that business listings also show up on iPhone searches as well as on Google Maps. In 2014 there is a need to:
- Monitor Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google Places reviews and alert management of any low reviews twice a week
- Comment on glowing reviews to thank them
- Comment on low reviews and how the property intends to handle future situations
- Feature Yelp deals
Reputation Management. There is much anticipation that reputation management will begin to dictate the hotel industry in upcoming years. Considering there are millions of reviews written each day across a plethora of different platforms, the world wide web has the power of influencing one's decision making process; being able to manage your businesses reputation will determine success or failure. TrustYou had made it their mission to influence travel decisions in a positive way, developing a technology and software making it simple to monitor, manage and market a businesses reputation. Another company, Flip.to, has been making strides to tap into the market of potential travelers' family and friends considering 70% of customers take recommendations from their family or friends when choosing a product, brand or business.

ROBERT A. RAUCH, CHA
Robert Rauch serves as President of R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. He is a nationally recognized hotelier serving clients in all facets of the industry. Rauch has over 35 years of hospitality-related management experience. Widely recognized as the "hotel guru," Mr. Rauch maintains a blog where he expounds upon insights and trends in the hospitality industry at www.hotelguru.com.