It's not rocket science
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In that article I gave a FAIL✗ grade in all of my seven essential elements of guest satisfaction: brand promise, communication, customer service, services, cleanliness, the physical - rooms, facilities, amenities, gardens etc - and value for money. In my concluding remarks I said, "The industry needs to take a long, cold, hard and objective look at itself, and accept that it must do more, much more, if it is to aspire to attain true guest satisfaction."
In this article I would like to revisit my seven essential elements of guest satisfaction but this time with a focus on what hotels must do to achieve a PASS✓ grade. After all, guest satisfaction isn't all that hard to achieve if you know how. It's not rocket science!
1. Brand promise.
It usually takes the form of a single sentence that communicates what the hotel will uniquely deliver to its guests. It's the distinguishing factor that sets it apart from other hotels. Everything that goes into establishing a hotel's brand - its essence if you like - forms part of the brand identity and this includes the brand promise. So if a hotel's brand promise to its guests is, "the highest level of service," then to achieve a PASS✓ in this element of guest satisfaction, every guest must receive the highest level of service, without exception. If a hotel can't guarantee that this will be the case for every guest, then it shouldn't be the brand promise. When it comes to guest satisfaction, it is far better to under promise and over deliver than to over promise and under deliver.
All of a hotel's employees from the general manager to the housekeepers, from the front desk to the executive lounge, need to be crystal clear on what their brand stands for and consistently present the brand and keep the brand promise. Building expectations and then not fulfilling them is unforgiveable. Every guest deserves to experience the hotel's brand promise in action. It should be the foundation on which every aspect of the guest's hotel experience is built.
2. Communication.
It can take many forms. For example: Verbal or in writing, paper or digital. It can be face-to-face, over the telephone or via the Internet. Its purpose is to interact in order to question, inform or confirm. Between guest and hotel it should be easy, efficient, polite and professional, and never frustrating, confusing or difficult.
When you telephone a hotel your call should be answered within three rings. A great hotel will answer in two. If your call is answered by an automated system with menu options there should be no more than three. You should be talking to a real person within one minute of commencing the call.
All reservation confirmation e-mails should be received within 24 hours.
If you are a guest staying in-house and call reception or guest services or the restaurant etc, your call should be answered by a real person and within three rings.
A hotel that communicates in this way will achieve a PASS✓ in my communication element of guest satisfaction.
3. Customer service.
In the physical world of business, everywhere there's a customer there should also be someone ready, willing and able to serve that customer. In hotels we call the customer a guest and the server an associate and it is the associates that must be ready, willing and able to serve.
a. Ready. When I say ready, I am referring to not only their physical readiness but also their mental preparedness to serve. It is important that they are in the right place at the right time. If you've ever walked up to a hotel reception desk and found it unattended, you don't have to be told to know that no one was ready to serve.
With mental preparedness I'm referring to what they know or have learned through training or experience, that can be drawn upon to provide the best service they are capable of. Are they ready by being the first to speak a greeting that is warm, welcoming and friendly? Are they ready by showing an understanding of manners and the use of polite and courteous language? Are they ready to smile and be personable? Are they ready to be efficient and professional? Are they ready to say goodbye with a positive and uplifting parting statement?
b. Willing. In order to give great customer service there must be the willingness to do so. It all comes down to attitude. Robert Gately, president and CEO of Campbell Corporation, once said, "People expect good service but few are willing to give it".
When I interact with hotel staff I am always on the look out for their willingness to serve. Sadly, I don't always find it. What I often find is a reluctance to serve or staff confusing completing a task, with providing good service. They are not one and the same. The guest expects the task to be completed. Ultimately, it's how the task is completed and the experience the guest has, that really matters. An attitude of being willing to serve is a great start!
c. Able. Does the hotel's policies, systems and procedures equip associates with the 'where with all' to excel at service? Do associates have some discretionary authority to ensure they have the ability to successfully deal with situations, as they arise, to a guest's satisfaction?
It is essential that a hotel's associates feel that their hotel's corporate policies focus on the needs of their customers and not just on their bottom-line profits.
If a hotel provides customer service in the manner described above they will deservedly achieve a PASS✓ in my customer service element of guest satisfaction.
4. Services.
This element of guest satisfaction is probably the easiest of them all to PASS. It really is a no brainer. If a hotel says it offers a particular service then it has to have that service.
It's a simple concept but not one that is always understood by hotels. For example, if a hotel's web site states for all to see, that the hotel has 24-hour room service, then it is reasonable for a guest to expect that the hotel has 24-hour room service, every day of the
week. If in reality the hotel has 24-hour room service Monday to Saturday but room service is only available between the hours of 6 am and 10 pm on Sunday, the guest has been misled.
I'm a firm believer in the sayings, "If you've got it flaunt it," and, "Honesty is the best policy". So if a hotel does provide a particular service I believe it shouldn't keep it a secret. It should proudly herald it but be honest and accurate so as not to mislead.
5. Cleanliness.
For me, one of the greatest joys in life, apart from the obvious family and friends, health and happiness, is walking into a clean, tidy and well presented, hotel room. Now you might think this is somewhat of an over statement but when you stay in as many hotel rooms as I do, you learn to appreciate the effort.
Housekeeping staff are the heroes behind every clean hotel room, lobby or corridor. When a hotel provides its housekeepers with the right tools and equipment, cleaning products and sufficient time to do their job properly, the guest is always the beneficiary.
One of the most valuable compliments that anyone can give a hotel is that it was clean. Why do I say this you ask? Because it is cleanliness that determines whether a guest will ever return. How many times have you heard someone say that a hotel's location wasn't great or the view from the room wasn't very good but at least it was clean? Hotel guests will forgive some negatives during their stay but a dirty hotel or room isn't one of them.
Give guests a clean hotel and clean room if you want to PASS this element of guest satisfaction, and if you ever want to see them again.
6. The physical.
In this element of guest satisfaction I am referring to the physical structures, facilities, furniture, fittings and amenities of a hotel.
They should be visually appealing, undamaged and well maintained. They can be modern or classical, practical or elaborate in design. I for one don't hold the belief that all hotels should conform to a commoditised mould of what too many hotels have become in the modern era, the same. It is possible to refresh, rejuvenate or renovate a hotel and its facilities and still create something with a unique quality and point of difference.
From a guest's point of view what's important is that everything works as it should (including the A/C and TV), is easy to use (read: doesn't require an engineering degree to operate) and that it meets expectations. This includes facilities being available and open during the hours that have been communicated to guests verbally or by letter, e-mail or signage.
In addition, if a facility, for example, the hotel restaurant or pool is closed due to renovations, guests should be informed of the situation and any alternate arrangements, well in advance of their arrival date and if possible, at the time of their booking.
For a hotel to achieve a PASS in this element of guest satisfaction it should only surprise guests in a nice way.
7. Value for money.
In order to PASS this element of guest satisfaction hotels need to accomplish only one thing. They must align what they charge for their product with what a guest first perceives and then ultimately judges, it to be worth (it's value). This one thing does however have to hold true over three distinct time periods: before stay, during stay and after stay.
Before stay includes a guest's research, all contact with the hotel (if there is any) and at time of booking (direct or indirect).
During stay, it includes every experience had by the guest and every charge levied or gouged by the hotel: restaurant, bar, room service, Internet, business centre, spa and parking, just to name a few.
After stay, involves the guest's final consideration of all that has gone before in order to answer one burning question: Was it worth the money? Only a yes answer gets a PASS and a return visit.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, guest satisfaction isn't rocket science. Hotels can and do have satisfied guests everyday of the week. The problem is that they also create (unnecessarily) a lot of dissatisfied guests everyday too. I have outlined above what they need to do to grow the former and minimise the latter. The ball has always been in their court. They just have to pick it up and run with it.
The Appraiser - Undercover secret agent for Hotel Evaluations' Praise hotel ratings is obsessed with improving the standard of hotel accommodation. A veteran of over 1000 hotel stays and 15,000 tweets, his or her identity has been concealed to protect the innocent. No hotelier has been hurt or injured in the writing of this article.
