Personalizing the Hotel Experience Brings More Guests
Many hotel chains have adapted to modern technology to improve the service they provide their guests. These days, hoteliers are making innovations to take guest experiences to greater heights, and this is something that people can expect from large luxury hotels.
The technology that makes this possible is the electronic and communication networking, which interconnects every system used inside the hotel, such as the room amenities, housekeeping, dining and many more.
For example, if a guest of a particular hotel prefers the room temperature at 24 degrees Celsius and with the lights dimmer than usual, he or she will get the same exact room conditions the next time he checks in to the hotel. This is what a personalized hotel experience is all about. There are many ways hotel chains are using this concept to provide their guests with a personalized hotel experience. The trend now is for hotel chains to give this kind of service to their guests to entice them to keep coming back.
On a similar note, a hotel can use this kind of system for its restaurants and bars, by developing pricing tools and last-minute perishable inventory demand forecasting. By applying the algorithms of the said system to the hotel, it can update their mobile app, and add personalized information about each guest dining in their in-house restaurants. So, instead of just asking the guest what he would like to order, the restaurant staff can go ahead and suggest the menu items which the guest ordered in his previous visit to the establishment. This will not only make ordering a breeze, but will also impress the guest and make him feel valued.
One particular luxury hotel chain, the Conrads Hotels and Resorts, has created a new way of customizing their guests’ experience. This hotel chain offers guests an in-room selection of extravagant bath amenities. Their guests have the option of choosing three specific product lines which include Tara Smith Vegan Hair Care, Shanghai Tang and Aromatherapy Associates. Guests who are looking for serenity can choose Aromatherapy Associates. People who are after an organic way of living, the Tara Smith Vegan Hair Care will be the best where all the substances used are made of organic, vegan materials. For guests who want an exciting and unique experience, the best would be the Shanghai Tang, where Oriental substances are uses such as Mandarin Tea shampoo and many more.
These are not necessarily products of modern technology but they nevertheless enhance the guests experience through personalized service and accommodation features.
How Are Hotel Chains Competing With Renters
A report that came out a few years back seems to foretell what is happening now in the hotel industry. The report’s headline summarizes why rent increases should not affect hotel tenants. At that time, the Rent Guidelines Board passed increases of 4.5% on one-year leases and 8.5% on two-year leases.
Although the report is based on hotel tenants, it also reflected on the status of other types of renters, as far as the increase in their rental prices are concerned. Included in these are apartments, apartment buildings, house rentals and similar dwelling places.
At present, statistics shows the hotel chains are competing very well with renters. A recent headline said US Hotel Occupancy is up by 2.5%, as of September 29th of this year. This news report said that according to the STR (Smith Travel Research) the U.S. hotel industry has experienced great results in the three key performance areas during the week of 23 – 29 September 2012.
The STR data showed a year-over-year comparison in which hotel occupancy rose from 2.5% to 64.2%, with the daily average rate up by 5.4% to US $106.60. Of the top 25 markets, New Orleans, Louisiana increased its occupancy from 27.7% to 71.6%. This was the largest reported increase. The next largest increase was reported by Chicago, Illinois rising from a 19.1% occupancy rate to 78.7% increase. Chicago experienced the largest ADR (American Depository Receipt) increasing 16.4% to US $143.80. The next largest ADR is New York, New York, which got an increase of 16.1 % to US $312.83.
In a related news, the US hotel industry reported a solid performance increase for 2012, specifically during the summer months. During the country’s summer season, the occupancy in US hotels rose from 2.4% to 69.3%. The average daily rate increased 4.4% to US $107.37, with its available room revenue increasing by 7.0% to US $74.44. The summer season is comprised by the months of June, July and August.
A top executive of a big luxury hotel stated that they were continuously surprised by this big turnout of hotel guests and the consistent increase in the demand for hotel rooms. He said that even if this demand tapers off in the succeeding months, nevertheless, the hotel industry is poised to continue its favorable pricing position. This will eventually result in higher profitability for the hotel industry. These two examples show that the hotel industry can overcome competition from renters even with the less than stable economy that we have.
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Marriott International, Inc. and learn professional hotel management.
Accommodating a Range of Languages and Guests
In the United States, travel and tourism is one of the biggest industries and the hotel industry is closely intertwined with it. Each competitor has its own set of quality and accommodation styles available in different prices, designed to suit the wide range of personal needs, styles and status of their guests.
The weak global economy plus the competition from the apartment rental market has adversely affected the Hotel industry in the last five years. When the global financial crisis hit in 2008 to 2009, consumer and business confidence went down, and with it, scores of different industry sectors.
Thankfully, the hotel industry responded positively and in the past two years, many industry players have posted an increase in their revenues. A lot of hotels and resorts overcame the crisis by reducing their room rates and offered attractive room perks and additional services as part of their package.
Recent news came out about hoteliers and their techniques in attracting foreign guests to their hotels. Banking on the weak dollar and the slowdown in US travel, many hotel managers are devising strategies to attract international guests. As an example, when a lady hotel manager played host to a French meeting planner, she just didn’t settle to learning a few French phrases. Instead, she assigned four of her leadership staff to conduct the entire sales pitch in French hoping to land the contract.
This hotel manager just proved how important it is to hire multicultural and multilingual staff so that foreign guests will feel they are being specially cared for. A regional vice president of InterContinental Hotels and Resorts even said that: for foreign guests, if you can speak their language, it puts you ahead of the rest. In their luxury hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district, languages spoken by their staff include Arabic, Swiss-German, Cantonese, Polish, Hebrew, Russian, Vietnamese, Turkish, Mandarin and Malay.
Another hotelier said that having a staff with varied international experiences will significantly enhance the cultural sensitivity and awareness in the team. Before he was assigned in his present position as Manager, he has worked in many foreign countries to be more culturally aware about the people from around the world. By his own admission, he says the Americans value communication; Germans appreciate efficiency and precision, while for Europeans, the single most important amenity is air conditioning – according to 13,000 European guests.
Adapting the hotel atmosphere to the cultural background of its guests will really spell the difference between excellence and mediocrity in the hotel industry.
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Marriott International, Inc. – tips from the hotel industry Godfather.