Tag Archives: Guest Relations

by | May 4, 2011 · 6:58 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Payment Risks: Hotel Management Must Confirm Credit Card Payments At Check-In

“…A man is accused of staying at a Midtown hotel for a week and not paying his bill….and has been charged with theft of service…”

“…The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined…”

 According to court documents, Aragon stayed at the La Maison in Midtown bed and breakfast from March 14 through March 21 and did not pay for his hotel room. The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined. When the owner questioned Aragon, he told her that he was having a house built and that the builder would be taking care of the bill. The owner alleges Aragon left the hotel without paying the $1,675 bill.

Investigators say Aragon told them the builder was supposed to pay the bill and that there was some misunderstanding about the bill. Aragon said he had placed a money order in the mail and that the owner should have received it in the mail. The owner told investigators that she never received payment.

For more:  http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8111479

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft, Training

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by | April 18, 2011 · 6:21 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Risks: Hotels From Hawaii to New York Have Employed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) To Reduce Towel Theft

“…Linen Technology Tracking, a Miami-based company (has)  patented a washable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip for hotels to sew into towels, robes and bed sheets…”

The chip can trigger an alarm if a guest tries to take a tagged item from the premises. The New York Times reports that three hotels in Honolulu, Manhattan and Miami have introduced the system but wish to remain unnamed.

William Serbin, the executive Vice President of Linen Technology Tracking tells the New York Times that high cotton prices led to costlier towels which served as motivation for developing an anti-theft system. He adds that the technology has a double purpose — in addition to catching thieves, it helps hotels monitor linen demand and adjust their supply accordingly.

It’s a successful system. The Honolulu hotel has saved nearly $15,000 since implementing the tags last summer and their monthly towel theft is now less than a quarter of what it was before. Can travelers hope for rapid rate reductions as a result? Probably not, but NewsFeed can dream.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/18/want-to-steal-a-hotel-towel-check-for-a-new-tracking-chip-first/#ixzz1JvjQgc7I

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by | March 28, 2011 · 12:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Compliance Issues: Hotels Must Be Compliant With "Americans With Disabilities Act" (ADA) Regulations Including "Mobility Issues" For "Devices Other Than Wheelchairs"

Federal law requires hotels to give people with mobility issues access to their properties, including allowing them to use devices other than wheelchairs as long as they do not raise legitimate safety concerns. The type, size and speed of the device, along with the amount of pedestrian traffic all factor into the decision.

One major change deals with the information available to people making room reservations. The idea is that people with disabilities should be able to book hotel rooms with the same efficiency, immediacy and convenience as those who do not need accessible guest rooms. The provision applies whether people are making reservations by phone, in person, on a website or though a third-party provider such as a travel agent or OTA.

Hotels must identify and describe the hotel’s accessible features in enough detail so potential guests can determine if the hotel can meet their needs, McCullough said.

Hotels also have an obligation to hold accessible guest rooms for people with disabilities unless all other guestrooms of that type have been rented. For example, McCullough said, if a hotel has 25 double-bed rooms and two are designated accessible, the reservation service must rent all 23 of non-accessible before it rents the two to people without disabilities. The rule does not apply to unique rooms such as a penthouse or bridal suite.

The difficulty is making sure that the reservation system accommodates this requirement, since the rule applies to reservations made through all channels.

“That will be a technical hurdle for your companies to leap over within the 11 months,” McCullough said. “I hope you are working on this particular issue.”

Another change requires that hotels honor a specific guest room request from customers with disabilities, even if it’s a policy of a hotel to not hold specific rooms.

For more:  http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=20172

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Legislation, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | December 4, 2010 · 7:14 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Satisfaction: Hotel Management Must Instill “Standards Of Excellence” In Guest Service (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-aJ7bxrUg8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL]

Videos from AHLEI which highlights the seven elements that show employees how to achieve a new standard of exceptional guest service:

AUTHENTICITY, INTUITION, EMPATHY, CHAMPION, DELIGHT, DELIVERY AND INITIATIVE

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eieu7b5W1hE&list=ULkGHmSs0DNBQ&playnext=1]

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by | December 1, 2010 · 7:43 am

Hotel Industry Guest Relations: Hotel Owners Must Invest In Employee Training To Create A “Positive And Egaged” Environment To Retain Guest Satisfation

Make reputation management a priority. Whether your property is a five-star resort or a one-star motel, your guests are evaluating you on how well you communicate and deliver on your brand promise. Subscribe to a social media monitoring tool and start tracking your Market Share of Guest Satisfaction; in the age of social networking, it’s as important as your revPAR index. Formulate a strategy for optimizing your online reputation, set goals, and meet regularly with your social media team to review progress.

Speak up. We would never ignore a guest ranting in our lobby, so why do so few negative reviews receive a response? (7%, according to TripAdvisor). It’s our chance to show the world we care, to thank the guest for feedback, to apologize and explain, and to clear up any misconceptions. On TripAdvisor reviewers can’t reply to hotel responses, so effectively we get the last word. Use it.

Engage. Hotels used to hire mystery shoppers to tell us what we were doing wrong; now our guests do it and pay us for the privilege. User reviews keep us in touch with guests and allow us to reach a mass market we could never hope to reach through our own marketing efforts. Be grateful. Wherever possible, engage writers of negative reviews and try to make amends. With expert handling, our harshest critics can become our most powerful advocates.

Take the high road. If the review is petty or vindictive, there’s no need to stoop to that level; travelers are smart enough to read between the lines. If allegations are false and defamatory, dispute the review with the host site, post a diplomatic response to set the record straight, and let it go. If your property’s reputation is so fragile that one or two bad reviews will devastate your business, you’ve got more issues than bad reviews. Read on.

Create a cycle of positivity. Use guest feedback to justify investments in training, labor, capital upgrades and communications. Improvements will generate positive reviews, which will attract more travelers and in turn will generate incremental revenue, thereby funding more improvements, and so on. The alternative? Ignore feedback and create a cycle of negativity, with the opposite results.

Prevent escalation. If you listen closely, bad reviews are often less about the issue itself than how staff responded when it was brought to their attention. Train employees to prevent on-property issues from escalating to online complaints by listening, empathizing, offering solutions and following up to ensure guests are satisfied. Some issues take time and money to fix; in the meantime, ensure staff are minimizing fallout by expertly managing complaints.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article50511.html

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