Hotel Booking Systems

Is Your Pub, Inn or Guesthouse Energy Efficient?

2009-12-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

ABOVE: This cartoon from xkcd.com completely captures the tech support I received from a well-known computer company today.. This webcomic made me chuckle!

Impacting Future Profit

Every hotel, motel, guesthouse, or inn owner I speak to expresses a desire to help the environment and become more eco-friendly. In some cases, this desire stretches to a willingness to invest heavily in the quest. This article, Blue Sky Thinking, by Daniel Pearce in The Publican is a great example of the extent some publicans are willing to go to in order to make an impact on both the environment and their future profit.

The article begins by stating, “Rising energy costs… You should have already taken steps to tackle them…through ensuring you are on the best energy tariff for you, by taking all the simple energy-saving measures across your business, and by ensuring that your staff are following them too.”

Taking Steps?

However, many of the publicans I talk to during meetings and on social networking sites just aren’t taking steps to cut costs and increase efficiency.

What steps has your company taken to reduce the need for paperwork and filing?

One of the simplest and most cost-effective methods of reducing paperwork is to invest in a booking system to:

Create new bookings
View and edit existing bookings
Records customer details
Manage room bookings and venue bookings
Control payment details

Plus, using a booking system makes it simpler to produce reports including, customer loyalty reports, customer payment reports, guest arrival reports, hotel accounting reports, room financial reports

So, remember… You don’t need to go to the extent of the pub owner in The Publican article I mentioned above. Simple steps can make a huge difference to your establishment and the environment.

Thanks for reading,

Emma

Please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk for more information or to comment. I'll get back to you as a matter of priority. Thanks!

Do You Own a Hotel Booking System?

2009-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Do You Own a Hotel Booking System?

If you own or manage a UK-based hotel booking system, I’d like to hear from you!

In October, I ran a special offer on behalf of HotelSystems.co.uk and the response they received was overwhelming. Pub and inn managers (as well as hotel and motel managers) downloaded their free trials and the feedback I received was incredibly positive.

Comments about the hotel booking system included:

“Very easy to learn and use” – Anne, The White Horse, Essex

“This is the first system that has made me want to evolve from my paper diary” – Mr. Evans, The Swan, Hertfordshire

“I thought that using a computerised booking system would be difficult as I’ve never been good with computers. However, I was wrong. This system took no time to learn and was really easy to use. In fact, I think it was faster than my paper-based system” – Trevor, The Nags Head, Staffordshire

So, a big success for everyone concerned!

However, I’m keen to hear from alternative systems that feel they can compete with Hotel Booking Systems. I’m aware that different software suits different establishments, and I’d like to promote these systems to the appropriate clientele. Therefore, please do not hesitate to contact me with details of your system and the discount you’d like to offer my readers.

The best way to contact me is on my personal email address: eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for reading,

Emma

Do You Run a Pub or Inn with Accommodation?

2009-10-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Are you the owner or manager of a pub or inn with accommodation?

Do you manage bookings with a notepad and pen?

Do you feel as though a computerized booking system is out of your price range?

SPECIAL OFFER FROM MY FAVOURITE UK BOOKING SYSTEM...

Well... I have been in contact with Hotelsystems.co.uk. This British booking company offers an in-house Windows based application to help you automate your day-to-day room bookings, leaving you time to actually run your business.

Their booking software is one of my UK favourites and includes functionality for room booking, maintaining a maintenance schedule and customer invoicing requirements.

This month only...

Hotel Booking Systems have agreed to offer publicans who read my blog a FREE 30-day trial followed by a 5% discount when they purchase the full version. Here's how:

Click on THIS LINK for your FREE 30-day Trial:

Then... To purchase the full booking system:

1) Click HERE

2) Complete the form at the bottom of the page remembering to enter the Site Code and the MID code from the computer that you wish to be licensed.

3) Enter the promo code HSYSTEMSFIVE (as it is shown) to ensure your 5% discount is applied

4) Finally, click the continue button to see the purchase summary and complete payment.

In return for this generous offer, Hotel Booking Systems want to know what you think!

They are continually looking for ways in which to improve their product and/or service; so, if you have any feedback or questions please email them on sales@hotelsystems.co.uk or call +44 (0)7811 872519.

Alternatively, let me know what you think of their system, and I'll pass on any criticism, advice, or ideas for improvement... Or, of course, any praise!

Thanks again for reading,

Emma

Please do not hesitate to contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk with any comments.

Save The Great British Pub

2009-10-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Above: Six pubs are going out of business every day on average, with hundreds more under threat of closure.

Save The Great British Pub

In my article on August 10th, I discussed the challenges currently being faced by British Publicans in the wake of the smoking ban. In the piece, I talked about the many options available to pub owners and supported a 'The Publican’ reader, Steve W’s, opinion that, “publicans must now TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and move their businesses forward to adapt to the new law, instead of just whining about it.”

One of the alternatives I offered was the option of developing the accommodation side of the business, something which doesn’t always come naturally to publicans due to the differences in customer demographics.

The Only Option?

After writing the article I used networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to discuss this option with pub owners in more detail and wasn’t surprised to discover many publicans see this as their only option. More than fifty per cent of the landlords and landladies I spoke to had either newly renovated rooms within their establishment to accommodation standard or had newly marketed the rooms they already had available.

My next question was, “how do you manage your bookings?”

And… Quel surprise… The standard answer was, “a diary and pen”.

What can I say? Wow!

I’m sure that a diary and pen is sufficient for writing a customer’s name and phone number in the correct date, however, surely it will never be anything more than sufficient. If an establishment is marketing to a reasonable standard and providing a sufficient service and is therefore making a reasonable profit, then that’s great. But why would any pub, motel, or guest house want to do a reasonable job when they can do an excellent job in less time and for very little investment?

This was my argument to pub landlords on the many, many networking sites I used, and, in general, publicans and guest house owners agreed.

This is why I was excited, but not surprised, when I returned from my tour of South East Asia and spoke to a number of my suppliers and clients within the hotel booking system industry. Over the last few months the customer demographics have changed enormously and the number of publicans purchasing booking systems to manage both their rooms and their customer base has more than doubled.

… This is great news for British pubs!

It means that publicans know that they must go above and beyond to build their customer base and satisfy their patrons. It means that they are focused on building their businesses by becoming customer focused, and it means one more thing…

It means that if you are a publican, landlord, landlady, or guest house owner, without a booking system to manage your accommodation, you are being left behind. It means that you need to follow the advice of Steve W writing on The Publican Forums… You must TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and move your businesses forward to adapt to the new law… Accommodation may be the only way to move your business forward… And accommodation requires a new level of customer relationship management… You need a booking system.

Thanks once again for reading,

Emma

For more information on hotel booking systems for pubs and guest houses, don't hesitate to leave a comment here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Back in Action

2009-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Left: Pagodas and temples in present-day Bagan, Burma

Back in Action

I’m back. Apologies to everyone for the extended absence, but after two years of continuous hard work, I was in desperate need of a long holiday (with a few moments of research thrown in for good measure) to completely unwind.

I was lucky enough to be able to fit in a month of Hong Kong, Thailand, and Myanmar, before heading back to the UK for a winter of research, consultancy, and product development… So now it’s full steam ahead!

I have already been in touch with two of my favorite hotel booking systems and have exciting news from both. I’m currently consulting for Hotel Booking Systems who have (yet again) surprised me with an amazing upgrade to their current system… More news to follow shortly!

I have also been surprised by the change of customer demographics for both of these companies and look forward to reporting more about this.

Who’d have guessed that so much could change in just a month!

I will of course be writing more regularly again and am looking forward to keeping you up to date with the ever-evolving world of hotel booking software.

Thanks for reading,

Emma

Please feel free to leave your comments below or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

And So the Debate Rages On...

2009-08-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

Above: Yet another hilarious cartoon drawn on the back of a business card by Hugh MacLeod!

And So the Debate Rages On...

The debate amongst British publicans and landlords rages on… The same argument that has been a hot topic of conversation since July 2007… Should smoking be banned in pubs?

Nowhere is this debate more alive and more relevant than on the blogs and forums presented by The Publican, a popular online magazine for pub and inn owners who are ‘Proud of Pubs’.

The main argument is that the smoking ban is having an extremely detrimental effect on pubs in the UK and that banning the use of a legal substance goes against our human right (and democratic right) to choose.

However, the other side of the coin is that the ban is in place and publicans must accept this, take responsibility for their businesses, and find ways to use the ban to their advantage.

My Views

To make it clear at this point, I am neither strongly for nor against the ban. I am a non-smoking, pub-loving individual who regularly frequented such establishments prior to the ban on smoking and will continue to do so post ban. I DO like waking up the next morning without my hair stinking of stale smoke… But I DO NOT like what the ban stands for. I am a firm-believer in freedom of both personal speech and action and if a ban on smoking is imposed now, what will be next.

But is the Ban the ONLY Cause of Pub Bankruptcies

However, many publicans are blaming the ban for the failure of their establishment but fail to recognize that every pub is in the same position, and every landlord or landlady has the same opportunity to adapt and evolve their business to overcome the hardships created by the ban.

As Steve W from The Publican forums says, “The law has changed, plain and simple, so we have to adapt and work in new ways within the law.”

I must admit to liking and supporting Steve W’s opinions. In one of his postings he argues that, “Smoking indoors has been banned so publicans must now TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and move their businesses forward to adapt to the new law, instead of just whining about it. I've never claimed my location isn't an advantage, that would be stupid, BUT I pay handsomely for such a location (obviously) so, relatively speaking, I have little advantage over any other pub ( a pub only 2 minutes walk from me, but off the high street, pays £30K less rent) and the point I've made in the past is that your location guarantees nothing; the previous lessee was almost bankrupt - in exactly the same pub in exactly the same location - you have to work the pub to take full advantage of its location, wherever it is.”

Here here, Steve W!

Creating an attractive seating area outside is, of course, one way to take responsibility. However, many publicans are creating ‘outside smoking areas’ which are unattractive and uninviting. Why not create an outside area which is attractive to all patrons and ensure that each table includes an ashtray? Why does it have to be an ‘outside smoking area’? This caters to all pub goers and creates both a smoker and non-smoker friendly environment.

Alternatives...

Another alternative has been to increase the amount of attention placed on food within pubs and inns, however, Pete Robinson makes a good point on The Publican forums when he says,

“Let's imagine all wet-led pubs decided to 'move their businesses forward', i.e. concentrate on food. I'm sure that many closed pubs have already gone that route only to discover it's no guaranteed ticket to survival. They would be moving into a shrinking market when competition is at an all-time high - a recipe for disaster. Since pubcos targeted the food sector it's reached such saturation point they can't even find decent catering staff. Read this short report in The Recruiter

So what’s left?

One option for many pub and inn owners is to concentrate on the accommodation side of business. However, many publicans are inexperienced within this highly customer service oriented sector and are unable to provide guests with the level of stay they require. Especially considering the demographics of a typical inn accommodation customer (female, 30 to 45, university educated, looking for a romantic break) vary considerably from the typical demographics of a regular pub goer!

Also, many of the pub and inn owners that I have met over the past year or so have had little experience with managing bookings. Any publican serious about evolving this side of business must throw away his or her notebook and pencil booking system and invest in a customer relationship management system (CRM) and also an effective booking system.

Despite initial reactions of, “we can’t afford an investment like that”, a booking system doesn’t have to be expensive. Take, for example, the booking system offered by Hotel Booking Systems, a UK-based company that focuses on the needs of small hotels, pubs, inns, motels, and guest houses. They offer a FREE 30-day trial by clicking HERE and an extremely affordable, and simple to use, system once you’ve decided to take the plunge.

So, if you’re a pub or inn owner with the means to offer accommodation, then surely this is the way to TAKE RESPONSIBILTY and evolve your business in order to survive this difficult time.

And, if you need any advice with regards to CRM systems, booking systems, or training for your inn, pub, or guest house, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for reading and best of luck,

Emma

Please feel free to leave your comments below or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How Do You Communicate With Customers?

2009-07-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Above: Another great cartoon drawn on the back of a business card by Hugh MacLeod.

How Do You Communicate With Customers?

I love this Josh Bernoff quote from “Why Marketers Have Trouble with Full-Duplex Social Technology” (June 30th 2009):

“The people in charge of talking are in the marketing department. The people in charge of listening are in the research or service or sales department. They hardly ever talk to each other, let alone have full-duplex conversations with customers.”

No truer word has ever been said. And it’s the companies and marketers who have realised this and are making changes in order to bridge this gap that are booming, often thanks to social media.

Have you ever received a marketing email from a company telling you how important you are and how much they value your opinions; only to discover that the email is ‘do not reply’?… Unless of course you want to place a huge order with us right away, in which case, click here.

Companies like Threadless have bridged the gap between supplier, customer, and marketer by allowing the customer to converse with the supplier in order to get the exact t-shirt design they want. You often see comments asking for a different colour t-shirt or for the designer to move the image an inch to the left and half an inch up. Potential customers then get to vote on the design and whether they would actually purchase it… This message then goes straight to the marketers who have the most popular designs printed.

That is full-duplex social technology at its best.

So how do you communicate with your customers? Are you asking for their opinions but not really listening? Is it a one way communication? Are the messages of your customers getting to the right people within your organisation? In fact, are the right people within your organisation having the right conversations with the right people?

Whether you’re a hotel manager, a motel owner, or a hotel booking system supplier, you need to be having full-duplex conversations using social media. That means using Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Flickr, etc, and actually engaging in meaningful conversations with the people that matter… Your customers!

For a great explanation of social media, take a look at THIS presentation called “What the F*ck is Social Media: One Year Later” by Marta Kagan from Brand Infiltration

Thanks once again for reading,

Emma

For more information on hotel booking systems or corporate training for the hospitality industry, don't hesitate to leave a comment here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How Often Are You Told What You Want?

2009-07-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

The cartoon above is an absolute favourite of mine from the cartoonist/creative genius, Hugh MacLeod. Take a look at his artwork and musings on the website: Gaping Void

How Often Are You TOLD What You Want?

As a customer, how often are you told, rather than asked, what you want or need? It’s not something that you ask yourself very often; however, if you think about it, we are told what we want every day.

Microsoft tries to insist that we need auto correct. Record shop chains tell us that we want to buy the top 40 hits; hits which are decided upon by twelve to fifteen year olds. Would you let a twelve year old decide what you watch on television or what clothes to wear? And every day, in hotels around the world, guests are being told that they want breakfast included or that they want a complimentary drink in the hotel bar.

Do these companies ever stop to question whether they are giving their customers what they truly want?

I read an article on ehotelier.com today about this subject. Yeoh Siew Hoon’s article discusses the idea that hotels shouldn’t offer a free breakfast and assume that this adds value to the guest’s stay; in fact, the free breakfast may actually cause more frustration than satisfaction. A better idea would be to offer guests a choice; do they want a free breakfast in the morning or would they prefer free internet access.

I’ve experiences many similar situations in hotels around the world. The constantly irritating example is when inedible food is placed in front of you; a smiling waitress delivers a freezing cold burger surrounded by a centimeter of oil and burnt fries. You politely explain that you will not accept it, and the response you receive is, “I will exchange it for you.” A complaining customer hates to be TOLD what will happen in response to their complaint; they want to be in control.

Customer service staff need to be trained to ask the right questions and then offer the customer choices. “I’m sorry, sir. Do you have time to wait for a replacement?” Followed by, “Thank you, sir; and would you like us to remake the same dish or would you prefer to change your order?”

They shouldn’t be saying, “I’ll bring you a free drink with your meal, I’m sorry for the wait.” They should be asking whether the guest would like a free drink or a free dessert. When a customer is given options they are far more likely to leave satisfied with the result.

I agree with Steve Jobs, who said, “You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.” However, you can, and SHOULD, give your customers choices.

The concept is the same if you are providing a booking system to hotels, motels, or guest houses...

Don’t tell the customer what they want… Ask them!

Obviously, full customization has to come with a price tag, but offering simple choices in date layout, taxation standards, and room names or numbers is a simple and effective way to give the client what they actually want rather than what you think they .need

Ask yourself this: when did you last ask a client what they needed? If you can’t remember, do it today.

Thanks for reading,

Emma

If you have any questions or comments regarding corporate training for hotels or hotel booking systems for small to medium sized hotels, motels, and guest houses, please leave your comments here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

To Tweet, Blog, or LinkIn... That is the Question!

2009-06-29T02:24:00.000-07:00

As a hotel, motel, or guest house owner, it’s becoming more and more difficult to know where to advertise, which social and business networks to join, which message systems to use, which social bookmarking sites to take advantage of, which blogs to follow and which blog platforms to post from.

Business Social Networks

LinkedIn is obviously the number one business social network, but what other business social networking sites should you be using? Facebook and Xing both have a huge number of professionals and industry experts at your fingertips, but how do you turn these numbers into tangible business contacts? Plus, developing leads and creating business opportunities is time consuming on both of these sites.

Twitter on the other hand creates a lot of high quality conversation, produces leads, and encourages information exchange without being time consuming. How long does it take to answer the question “what are you doing?” twice per day, thus informing potential guests of your news, unique selling points, and current promotions?

... And Advertising?

And where should hoteliers advertise nowadays and which online booking websites are the most popular with prospective guests? The choices are growing out of control!

Today, I was reading the 2009 National Travel Monitor by Ypartnership and Yankelovich.

In their report they state that “sixty-six percent of leisure travelers now use the Internet to plan some aspect of their travel (versus 35 percent in 2000), while 56 percent now report making reservations online… Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first when considering vacation destination alternatives. The websites of specific countries or destination boards are visited next, followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity.”

The most popular websites for travel planning (according to the 2009 National Travel Monitor) are as follows:

Visit first when selecting a destination:
Search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN) 34 percent
Website of national tourist office/CVB 23 percent
Online travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity 22 percent
Website of hotel chain 8 percent
Web site of individual hotel or resort 7 percent
Blog 1 percent

However, search patterns for selecting accommodation are understandably different. Consumers first visit the websites of online travel agencies; brand-specific sites are not the most popular when selecting lodging. Meta search engines that compare room rates are visited first by just over 1-out-of-20 travelers when selecting accommodation:

Visit first when selecting hotel/resort:
Website of online travel agency
(Expedia, Travelocity) 31 percent
Search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN) 26 percent
Website of specific hotel chain 21 percent
Website of individual hotel/resort 10 percent
Meta search engine that compares rates 5 percent

So, what do I advise my clients?

I recommend that they adopt a selection of the aforementioned networking, advertising, and booking tools in order to optimize their visibility to consumers.

There is no need to waste valuable hours posting from every blog platform, networking in every available social networking site and updating your activities in each and every message system… Your message will get lost and you’ll stop to take a breath and wonder where your life has gone; it’s just too time consuming. So, stick to the tools and the methods that produce proven results:

1) Twitter twice daily to inform your prospective guests of news, great reviews, current promotions, and things that YOU find interesting.

2) Join relevant groups on LinkedIn to ask advice from industry experts.

3) Ensure that your hotel, motel, or guest house website is optimized to guarantee that you are listed within the top three results for your key words on search engines such as Google.

4) Connect with your local tourist information and the national tourist office to make certain that your hotel information is listed on all related websites and in all associated publications. Offer promotions, gifts, and prizes for tourists directed by these sources.

5) Keep your website up-to-date and conduct regular market research to discover what guests think and feel about your accommodation based upon what they see and read.

And finally...

Never underestimate the power of a strong and wide-spread network. Whether the network is physical or purely an online presence, it is and will continue to be invaluable for research, advertising, and producing precious leads.

For further information on the National Travel Monitor, please visit the publications section of YPartnership

Thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How Do You Build Trust?

2009-06-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

How do you convince prospective guests that you are a trustworthy hotelier and that they can believe what they read about your hotel and service? How do you know that you can trust your suppliers? How do you know that you can trust the hotel booking system provider that you’ve found on the website?

No doubt your customers look at dozens of hotels before they choose yours and you search tens, if not hundreds, of suppliers before you choose your booking system or cutlery supplier.

But why do your guests choose you, and why do you choose your suppliers?

It all comes down to trust.

When I originally researched booking software companies I was bombarded with thousands of badly designed websites, plastered with Google advertising, offering ridiculously low prices, ‘the best’ software available, and free twenty four-hour technical support. Naturally, these elements did little to entice me, in fact, quite the opposite; they sent me running to the hills.

So, what was I looking for?

When I stumbled upon Hotel Booking Systems I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh, clean, and simple website that was easy to navigate; a great start. Refreshingly, the website contained no Google ads and no ‘50% off if you buy today’ incentives; the prices quoted were the actual prices. Instantly, the company earned my trust.

As it turns out, I picked the right hotel systems company; both professional and reliable.

You make the same decisions

As a hotelier, you are faced with the same decisions, and without even knowing, you are making assumptions based upon very similar criteria. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to buy a hotel system from a software developer unable to create a simple and functional website.
These companies don’t appear to be trustworthy, and from experience I can tell you that appearances are not deceptive in this industry; they are not trustworthy companies and they are not run by trustworthy individuals.

... So do your guests!

You need to learn from the lessons you are taught when searching for suppliers because your guests’ minds work in an identical manner. Does your hotel or guesthouse portray your establishment as a trustworthy one and, in turn, are you perceived to be a trustworthy individual.

You don’t tolerate suppliers who ‘lie a little bit’ or ‘or try too hard, so neither will your prospective guests.

Many thanks for reading

Emma

What Does Your Company Logo Say?

2009-06-09T02:52:00.000-07:00

I am going to go off on a complete tangent today, purely because I’ve had a day of interesting debates about marketing with business and hospitality peers.

To give you some background…

I am currently developing my own training and marketing focused company here in China. The market research is complete, the business plan is written, and now the brand, logo, and website are being debated and designed. I spent last week talking to a designer who asked lots of questions about the company values and culture. And, it seems that he really listened to the answers, because he presented me with a logo which I believe is all-encompassing and totally captures the image I want for the company.

Guinea Pigs

So, the next step was to find some guinea pigs to gauge their reactions to the logo. I explained the company objectives and services to them, and tried to provide them with some insight into the values we hold. I then showed them the logo and on every occasion was asked, “Should I find some meaning in there?” “Am I missing something?” and “It doesn't conjure any understanding of what your company is about.”

Their reaction has led me to ask myself how much of a story a logo should tell about the products and services of the company it represents.

A Logo Should Embody the Culture

In my opinion, a logo should embody the culture of a company, not the product or service. The first logo that comes to mind is Apple. Apple sells music players, laptops, and mobile phones but is represented by an apple with a bite taken out. The logo is very fresh and clean, which is an honest representation of the company and its culture, but in no way represents actual Apple products and services. The same is true of Coca Cola, McDonalds, BP, and Nike, to name but a few. Nike doesn’t use the image of a trainer and McDonalds doesn’t have a burger in the logo!

The argument offered by my guinea pigs in return has been, “but how will your prospective customers know what you do?”

I had trouble answering this at first, but have come to the conclusion that I don’t need people to know what the company does from the logo alone. How often will they see the logo on its own? The logo will be on business cards, on the website, on posters and flyers, all alongside a greater marketing message displaying the services the company offers.

Represents Values

Take for example the Sheraton logo; a golden S inside a laurel wreath. The Sheraton doesn’t need the logo to show a hotel in order for its guests to know that it is a hotel chain; they need the logo to represent their values. A laurel wreath is known to represent victory, nature, and the continuation of life from year to year.

Despite many debates and opposing opinions, I am still of the firm belief that a great logo portrays aspirational ideas, rather than literal ones!

What Do You Think?

I would be interested to hear which direction you went in for the logo of your hotel or hotel booking system . Does your logo actually show a hotel? Or have you opted for a logo which portrays your company’s visions? If you have any views or comments please email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk or leave your comments below.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

Hospitality Innovation News

2009-05-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

As my passion of travel and hospitality grew ten years a go, so did my interest in hotel marketing. My research into hotel marketing then developed until I became fascinated by hotel systems and began working with system developers and delivering training within hotels in Asia.

Slowly, my interest in hotel systems has expanded to encompass all things of a technical nature within the hospitality industry; particularly the nerdy innovations that could be considered superfluous by some but I consider to be ‘funky enticements’.

Latest Innovative Announcement

The latest techy announcement comes from Starwood , who have entered into a partnership with Zinio , a company that digitally published printed magazines. Starwood will now offer a Digital Newsstand to guests in Four Points, Element, and Aloft hotel properties, for free!

My understanding is that the Digital Newsstand will be accessible in guest rooms and at kiosks in the lobby.

The Starwood press release states:

“The digital newsstand, … will offer participating titles including: Caribbean Travel & Life, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Field & Stream, Golf Fitness Magazine, Kiteboarding, Macworld, mental_floss, Outside, Outside's GO, PC World, Saveur, Ski Magazine, Skiing, Spa Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Wakeboarding and Working Mother.
Also, Starwood will be the first hotel company to offer VIVmag, the first interactive digital women's luxury-lifestyle magazine, conceived and designed exclusively to be read digitally.

To access the digital newsstand during your stay, you click through from the internet portal page (on your laptop in your room or on a lobby kiosk) "to the private-label newsstand where free single issues will be featured," pick the magazine you want to read, register for Zinio, and read mags to your heart's content.”

The digitized magazine titles will include animated graphics, easy to read text, account registration, and simple navigation.

You can expect to see the digital newsstands in Element hotels by the end of May and hopefully we will see them at Aloft and Four Points by Sheraton properties later this year. Whether this includes Asian hotels is not clear, but I do hope to see them in at least large cities by the end of the year.

Yet another example of innovation from the Starwood group of hotels!

If you know of any innovative hotel booking software or hotel technology, I would love to hear your comments and reviews. Please get in touch via the ‘comments’ link below or by emailing me at eharradine@hotmail.co.uk.

Thanks for reading (and for your feedback)

Emma

How to Drive Guests to Review Your Hotel Online

2009-05-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

In a previous article I mentioned the importance of encouraging your guests to review your hotel online on Travel Search Engines, such as Trip Advisor or Kayak.

Since writing the article, I have received four or five emails plus a comment on this site asking for more information on exactly HOW to encourage guests to write reviews.

The general trend appears to be that if guests are extremely unhappy then they are more likely to post a negative review on a travel search engine. Guests who have been unhappy with their stay and have not received a suitable outcome after a complaint are the most like to use a bad review to express their emotions, often in a non-factual way. As unfortunate as these occurrences are, and as harmful as they can potentially be for your business, they don’t have to be so.

The Positives of a Negative Review

Not only is a bad review an opportunity to look inwards at the quality of your service and product, and therefore grow and improve, it is also an excellent chance to respond in a professional manner. It is your chance to show empathy and understanding, explain your point of view, and publicly right any wrong doings. Who could ask for better free PR?

Excellent Example

I remember a great example on Trip Advisor in January 2008. A guest wrote a terrible review of the Sofitel Galaxy Hotel in Nanjing, describing the poor service, terrible food, and low quality of the room fixtures. Within four days the GM responded to the criticisms in a delightfully professional manner, apologizing where necessary, whilst politely pointing out that he had video evidence completely contradicting the guest’s unsubstantiated claims. Excellent! His reply filled me with joy and reminded me of how much I love this industry!

However, I digress…

Special Offers and Gifts

My hotel and guest house clients have been successful in getting customers to write reviews by giving a special offer to all those who do. A simple 15% discount or a free bottle of wine on their next stay if they write a review after this stay is enough to encourage your guests.

Reminder Cards

I have suggested to a number of hoteliers that they create inexpensive business cards to hand to their guests at check-out that ask them to review their property at whatever travel search engine they favour. This can, of course, incorporate the idea above by including a coupon on the back of the card. Due to their size guests can easily place them in their wallet and be reminded to write the review at a later date.

Asking your guests for help is, in my experience, usually well received and they are more than willing.

Create a Forum

You should also consider developing a forum for guest to discuss the hotel and surrounding area online; recommending nearby restaurants or sights worth visiting, for example. Again, from experience, I have noticed that people are much more likely to forward websites to friends when they are featured on it.

If you have any further suggestions you’d like to share with me or fellow hoteliers and guest house owners, please add your comments below or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Hotel Management Resources

2009-05-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the lack of posts of late; I have had some serious issues accessing Blogspot. However, after uninstalling and reinstalling programs, changing my antivirus software and firewalls, and playing with my internet options, I finally discovered that the reason is completely unrelated to me or my laptop… It’s China! China has decided to block access to Blogger and to Blogspot at great inconvenience to the blogging community. I have, however, found my way around this block and hope that business can now go back to normal.

However, I don't apear to be able to add images or links with ease, so please bear with me until I find a way around this too. I'll add these as soon as possible.

The extra free time I’ve had has been great for research purposes and for gaining greater insight into groups and resources aimed at hoteliers and the hospitality industry.

Insightful LinkedIn Group

The first interesting resource I’d like to focus on is a LinkedIn group called the Hotel Online Distribution & Hotel Revenue Management Professionals Group.

I found this group to be particularly insightful due to the high level of usage and content turnaround. For example:

The discussions are always both current and perceptive; the discussions highlighted at this moment include forecasting issues and Egencia by Expedia. There have been 18 new discussions in the last 7 days.

The news is always highly relevant to the industry (How to use the downturn to your advantage. Twitter ROI.) and there have been 42 news articles in the last 7 days.

The number of well-targeted group members is high and growing fast; 53 members in the last 7 days and 2,533 in total.

I cannot recommend this LinkedIn group enough for those interested in booking systems, channel management, online distribution, and general hotel management issues.

Useful Hospitality Website

The second useful resource was introduced to me by the company’s CEO, Errol Lawrence, via the LinkedIn group I mentioned above.

It’s Hospitality is a free networking, marketing, job and search site for the hospitality industry which offers a newsfeed and electronic catalogue to help promote people, products, and services.

It’s the aim of It’s Hospitality to create one single community for all participants in the hospitality industry including hotels, travel, restaurant conventions, and supporting industries and suppliers. And, with more than 2,600 members from over 25 different countries it is definitely well on its way to achieving this goal.

Summary

So, if you are a small to medium sized hotel, motel, or guest house, or a provider of hotel booking systems, then these are two resources that you should become familiar with now. Both websites are provide you with invaluable information, news, and networking opportunities that I wish I had discovered sooner.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Who Are You Marketing To?

2009-05-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Above: Are you marketing to Generation Y?

Who Are You Marketing To?

Market analysis during an economic crisis provides an astonishing opportunity to observe changes in consumer behaviors and attitudes.

A well-respected travel industry research authority projects that the total U.S. travel market will decline 11% in 2009, returning the industry to pre-2006 levels. This decline reflects a dramatic shift in consumer demand levels and provides valuable insight into the changing behavior of the modern traveler.

Whether you’re the owner of a small to medium sized hotel, motel, or guesthouse, or whether you’re the GM of a luxury establishment within a multi-national hotel chain, you would be wise to observe these changes and customize your product and marketing to target this emerging market.

Generation Y

Twenty-five to thirty-four year olds are spending the most per household on travel and tourism. Plus, eighteen to thirty-four year olds are considerably more likely than older age groups to indicate that they plan to travel more this year. The forty-five to sixty-five age group is spending the least per household on travel and is also the most likely to reduce travel spend this year.

Online Travel Agencies

Due to an ever-growing and increasingly loyal customer base, online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Orbitz will outperform other channels in year over year despite their recent bout of fee cuts and revenue-eroding promotions.

Online Travel is Not Yet Saturated

Consumers that spend the most on travel still use a mix of online and offline methods, therefore, there is still an opportunity to grow your customer base using your own online methods.

Travel Search Engines

Over a quarter (28%) of travelers now use travel search engines, such as TripAdvisor, when shopping for travel destinations and places to stay. This concept is not new; however, it looks as though websites such as Kayak have become mainstream elements in the travel planning process and are here to stay.

In order to increase customer base, hotels must focus on impressing current guests and encouraging them to write about their stay on travel search engines.

The information and statistic for this article were taken from PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report. This highly-informative report uncovers the detailed behaviors and attitudes of the U.S. traveler and helps companies understand how consumers are adjusting travel behaviors and reacting to market trends. The report is available for purchase at www.phocuswright.com.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Hotel & Travel Innovations

2009-05-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Above: My personal favourite innovation within the hotel industry. W Hotels have introduced the Whatever/Whenever service to their already extensive list of luxury services.

Hotel & Travel Innovations

Today I have been looking back over the last three years, and reading travel articles I’d written for both business and pleasure; I cannot believe how much the travel industry has changed. Obviously, dramatic changes occurred after the events of September 11th; however, it’s changes unrelated to this event that have made the biggest impact. Technological changes have made the most noticeable difference; the web; hotel booking systems, and low cost operators have rendered the travel agent virtually obsolete.

Hotel booking systems have changed dramatically. Many of the small to medium-sized hotels I originally consulted for were using nothing more than a pen and note paper to record bookings; many didn’t see the necessity for a computerized system. And even then, the systems that were available didn’t even have graphical booking calendars let alone the ability to create reports. Now, systems include financial reports, maintenance schedules, and invoice options.

Booking Systems

And what does the future hold? Booking systems aimed purely at small to medium-sized hotels, motels, guest houses, and inns are evolving into web based booking systems to allow potential customers to enquire on room availability.

And within other areas of the hotel and travel industry:

Despite the struggling economy, airlines appear to be looking to the future; upgrading business class to the point that it looks like a luxury hotel and airport lounges so that they resemble fine dining restaurants. So what’s next? Will we have private bath and shower areas and individual lockable rooms in first class? Economy class changes will be interesting to monitor as well; self check-in seems to finally have caught on and pay TV appears to be growing in popularity. How about more comfortable seating and the ability to get from your window seat to the aisle without disturbing fellow passengers?

Shanghai and London have led the way in terms of innovative airport transportation. The Maglev (a magnetically levitated train) is a definite ‘must-do’ when in Shanghai and the Heathrow Express (the most expensive train journey in the world per mile) is a definite ‘don’t-do’ when in London. But of course, companies selling over priced on-airport parking shudder at the though of inexpensive and innovative airport transportation, so I wonder where their futures lie? Is there room for innovation within airport parking? I hope so!

What about hotel innovations? The concept of budget hotels has extended the term ‘budget’ to include new ‘miniature hotels’. Miniature hotels take the idea of ‘no frills’ and run with it; no frills means no TV, no windows (unless you’re either lucky or willing to pay extra) no phone (excellent, no calls from prostitutes at three in the morning!) and no toiletries, but of course, they’re extremely cheap; catering to guesst who couldn’t normally afford the luxury of travel.

At the other end of the scale, high-end hotels have added new luxuries to their already extensive list; bath butlers, personal butlers, elevator wi-fi, to name but a few. My personal favourite luxury innovation is Whatever/Whenever by Starwood’s W Hotels. Their advertising reads:

“Birthday Party at 35,000 feet? Wedding Dress Pickup by Helicopter? Bath of Hot Chocolate? At W Hotels, your wish truly is our command with our Whatever/Whenever service. We’ll make your special moment magical, and transform your dreams into reality. Whatever you want. Whenever you want it (as long as it’s legal!)”

At this precise moment, I’m trying desperately to think of the most original and difficult to achieve Whatever/Whenever possible. Any ideas?

If you have an idea for a crazy Whatever/Whenever or have heard of a crazy hotel/travel related innovation, I’d love to hear from you. What’s your favourite travel innovation from the last three years?

Thanks for reading,

Emma

Please leave your comments here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

24 Hour Customer Support

2009-05-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Above: The testimonials offered by Hotel Booking Systems are a good example of positive ‘customer support’ feedback.

Customer support: number three on the list

“Customer support – 24 hours” came third on the list of requirements when sixty small-to-medium sized hotel, motel, and guest house owners and GMs were questioned about their hotel booking system requirements. However, when asked about their reasons for swapping their booking software supplier, “Lack of continuing support” was number one on the list. This did not come as a surprise to me.

An effective hotel system must be usable in any country, with any currency, and any tax system. It is for this reason that free fields are required (as opposed to drop downs) and programs must be fully customisable. Most (but certainly not all) companies have realised this and therefore offer full customisation; however, with complicated systems and full customisation, there needs to be an option for twenty-four hour support; something that, yet again, most companies (seem) to realise.

However, I have come to question the support offered by these hotel booking system providers. I have lost count of the number of unanswered calls, week long waits for email replies, and voice mail messages I have left… All to no avail. And once I receive such terrible support once, I no longer have faith in the supplier and no longer recommend their product to my clients. It’s as simple as that! If a customer is promised support as part of their software package, then that promise needs to be fulfilled.

Respondents agree

It seems that my questionnaire respondents agree:

“I have come to trust software providers that request additional payment for support. Any company that has told me they can answer my emails or calls 24 hours for free has let me down one hundred per cent of the time.” – Simon, Hope Hotel, USA

“I’m getting too old to understand the ins and outs of a complicated booking system. I want to be told how to use it and get on with using it from day one. Once something goes wrong, it’s not like I can figure it out for myself; I need help. And if there is no one to help me for over a week, what am I supposed to do meanwhile?” – Anon, UK

“I’d like to send some of these people on a customer support course to teach them how to deal with real people. I sometime wonder whether they know their own software because they certainly don’t know how to explain it to me. I need quick, supportive, answers to my questions.” – Anon, UK

“I don’t mind waiting two days for a reply as long as I know it’s going to be two days! Don’t promise me the earth and give me a ping pong ball, I’ve learnt enough in this industry and won’t be taken for a mug anymore!” – Peter, Swan Inn, Yorkshire, UK

Testimonials

As a consultant within the industry, I have found testimonials mentioning excellent customer service and support are of utmost importance when promoting your software. I expect to see two or three testimonials from establishments of a similar size to the hotel, motel, guest house, or inn, I am consulting for. Excellent testimonials (that can be checked) can make or break my decision to use a system provider and I am sure that this is true of establishments searching for their own booking software.

I wish to also convey the importance of this to the hoteliers reading my blog: ALWAYS ask for testimonials and ALWAYS ask whether you can check their validity. If a supplier cannot provide positive feedback from previous clients and/or seems reluctant for you to contact the person, DO NOT trust the supplier. I learnt my lesson the hard way, there is no reason for you to do the same.

I hope that hoteliers and hotel booking software suppliers have found this, and previous, posts useful. If so, please add your comments to support my ideas, completely disagree with my thoughts, to advertise your own hotel/software, or to ask any questions you have.

Thanks for reading,

Emma

Please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk for further information or advice.

Light at the End of the Hospitality Tunnel

2009-04-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Left: The Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel & Towers: My local hotel, office, gym, bar, restaurant... Well, everything really! The Sheraton brand of hotels is an industry leader when it comes to innovation and resourceful marketing.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Whether you are in the hospitality industry and trying to ensure your hotel or motel keeps its head above water, or in the software development industry and desperately searching for hotels and motels to purchase your booking system, there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel! It may only be a small and flickering light, but at least it’s no longer a never ending pitch black tunnel of doom.

Now is the time to withdraw your ostrich-like head from the hole you have created in the sand and take stock of your current situation and take charge of your future opportunities. It appears that the upside of our current economic downturn is not too far off and you want to be (read ‘need to be’) the first hospitality business to switch from ‘survival mode’ to ‘all stations are go’.

A changed market

As you step into the sunlight, you will see that your market has changed considerably; and with it, your competition. Your prospective customers have a new attitude to spending, and the companies they work for are still holding on tightly to the spending reins; their values have altered; they now expect the best value, complete price transparency and uncompromised honesty.

No longer will they pay slightly above the odds purely for the convenience or to save time. No longer will they put up with receiving slightly less than they’d expected purely because it’s time-consuming to complain.

Also, many of your less market-savvy competitors have disappeared never to return; so, now is the time to embrace your new market and the new ideals of your customers and expand your market by adapting to these changes.

Rewarding loyalty

Start by rewarding your loyal customers; those that stayed in your hotel or bought your booking system during difficult times. Any marketing initiatives or reward schemes that were put on hold because of the recession; now is the time to put them into action. Ask for feedback, listen intently, and respond promptly; make them feel special and make them feel appreciated.

Let customers know you've done more than survive

You also need to increase advertising, once again. Let previous customers and prospective customers know what your plans are for the future, and how you have changed. Do you have an upgrade to your software package? Have you renovated your rooms? Now is the time to spread the word. Tell the world that not only have you survived these difficult times, but you’ve improved and grown! Tell the world before your competitors do; don’t blend in; be one step ahead. Shout about your achievements.

Train, train, train

Finally, if you didn’t continue to do so during the downturn (which I hope you did!) invest again in employee Training and Development. Your employees will be unsure about the market and even more unsure about their future; they need to be reassured and motivated. Without the reassurance that you are investing in their future, they are likely to head for the hills, or worse, your competitor. You need highly motivated staff to deliver your message to the market and promote your excellence; with lack of motivation and training, this just will not happen.

Be one step ahead

After so many months of cutting costs, putting initiatives on hold, freezing marketing budgets, and improving resourcefulness, it feels irresponsible and risky to start expanding and adapting to an improving market; but do it. You must stay two steps ahead of your competition in order to survive, and they are only one step behind you in firing on full cylinders… So, put your foot down and see where this exciting new road might take you.

In my next post, I will be providing you with more detailed findings from my booking system research. Watch this space for more information.

Best of luck!

Emma

If you are a small to medium sized hotel, motel or guest house, or a hotel booking system developer, in need of independent advice from an industry expert, please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk. Even if I’m unable to offer you the exact advice you need, I can put you in contact with a company that can.

Hotel Booking System Results - Now In!

2009-04-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

On Monday April 13th, I posted an article titled, “A New Dawn?” which mentioned my customer research involving fifty owners and GMs of small to medium sized hotels, motels and guest houses. Since I posted the article, a further ten people have come forward offering their thoughts and expertise, which has boosted the validity of my data immensely.

Thank you very much to those of you who took part; your participation was invaluable.

I am pleased to announce that the data has now been collected and analyzed and the results will be published here over the following days and weeks.

I will start today by offering you the top ten requirements of hotel, motel and guest house owners when looking for a hotel booking system:

1) Accessibility
2) Ease of use – Intuitive flow through
3) Customer support – 24 hours
4) Software customization and upgrades – Regular upgrades and ad-hoc customization upon demand
5) Required functionality
6) Value for money
7) Positive company reputation
8) Real time updates on internet availability searches
9) Recommendations from previous buyers – Reliable and trustworthy sources
10) Company longevity – One or two years just isn’t enough

As I predicted, ‘software customization and upgrades’ is close to the top of the list. However, I have rarely met a hotel owner that hasn’t wanted to customize their software in some way, shape, or form, so I am surprised that this was not in the top three.

I am positive that number eight, ‘real time updates on internet availability searches’ would not have appeared in the top ten a year a go, which proves that the need for software developers to be constantly evolving their hotel booking systems is vital.

I have A LOT more data and information to bombard you with over the coming months, and hope that it is useful for both developers and hotel owners searching for the perfect system.

Thanks again for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Off Peak Discounts

2009-04-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Offering an ‘off-season’ discount is a concept that I’m sure you, as a hotel owner or GM, are all too familiar with. In fact, as you’re clawing your way out of a difficult off-season right now, I’m sure you’re keen never to return to such depths. You know your product is first class and your service top rate, so why should you have to lure guests with huge discounts and extra perks?

Well, I believe that off-seasons are a thing of the past. Off-seasons are the times when prospective customers least like to travel and therefore are much less likely to stay in your hotel, motel, or guest house. To entice these customers, hoteliers have turned to internet booking agents to offer unbeatable discounts as a last-ditch attempt to improve occupancy levels, but this has done little good for RevPAR.

So, what if you use your marketing skills to ensure that potential guests want to travel and yearn for a stay in your hotel. Sounds difficult? It doesn’t have to be…

It’s all about targeting; targeting exactly what within your hotel or surrounding area will attract your prospective guests; and targeting the correct words to use on your website and advertising to optimize your visibility within search engines.

Let’s start with the former marketing skill: targeting what amenities you can take advantage of in order to attract guests…

I’m searching on the internet for a guest house during the summer; a beautiful little cottage appears. I look at the amenities and discover that it is close to the beach, has a swimming pool, and is within easy walking distance of the local town, which has outside terraces and beachside bars. Perfect!

I’m searching on the internet for a guest house later that year. It’s snowing outside. I discover the same little guest house and check out the amenities. I’m told once again that there’s a beach, a pool, and outside catering. No thank you very much! It’s far too cold; I’d rather stay at home.

Actually, the guesthouse was close to a mountain with great winter sports and hiking available. There are lodges nearby with spas, which serve good hearty winter roasts, and the guesthouse has a great indoor sauna area… But I wasn’t told any of this. The guesthouse owners have marketed themselves as a great summer getaway and in the process have marketed themselves an off-season.

Your marketing must be constantly evolving in order to attract guests through each ‘high-season’ available to you. This might mean finding seasonal activities for every season and highlighting the benefits of avoiding the crowds, but no matter how you do it, you’ve got to give them a reason to want to travel off-peak.

Next, we’ll tackle the second marketing skill: optimizing your visibility in search engines to attract the right guests for the right seasons; another ever-evolving task.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC) are vital tools if you’re going to attract guests all year round. And, there is no excuse for hit and miss website marketing anymore. With analysis tools, such as Google Analytics, it is easy to see which key words generate the most traffic to your site and pinpoint consumer trends during certain times of the year.

Once you have analyzed the data and know what consumers are looking for, it becomes easier for you to emphasize your unique selling points (USP) during each season and give your guests exactly what they want, not just what you think they want.

To summarize, it is possible to manipulate seasonality in order to gain conversions, and if you use your website marketing strategically, you can make the concept of an ‘off-season’ completely obsolete. Just don’t expect to build a website and be able to leave it untouched for a year… As the market evolves, you need to as well.

Thanks again for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Photosynth for Hospitality Industry

2009-04-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

Ensuring that your hotel, motel, or guest house is enticing to prospective guests is vital. I know of a number of occasions when a hotel has been well situated and has received rave reviews, but guests have been reluctant to book due to the terrible photographs on the hotel website. The photographs make the bedrooms look small and dingy, the carpet grimy, and the bathroom moldy. Would I like to stay there? No thank you!

However, it is also important to be realistic. How many times have you looked forward to the bright blue, luxurious, fifty meter pool only to discover a ten meter bathtub upon arrival?

When consulting a small to medium sized establishment on marketing and customer service, one of the first items on the agenda is the website, and most importantly the way in which the hotel or guest house is portrayed by the website.

If the photographs do not tell the real story, I source a photographer to provide the hotel with the shots they need to advertise their product and services, and to entice guests with ease. However, this can be expensive; the shots can still be unsuccessful, and the true story is rarely ever told. Whether we like it or not, photography has its limitations.

Until now…

I have been playing with a gem of an idea called Photosynth by Microsoft Live Labs. It allows you to share places and things using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the detail of the real world. With a collection of photos, Photosynth creates an amazing new experience for your prospective guests.

Photosynth provides the ability to reconstruct a scene or object from flat photographs, and then uses technology to bring that experience to virtually anyone over the Internet.

The Photosynth website says,

“Using techniques from the field of computer vision, Photosynth examines images for similarities to each other and uses that information to estimate the shape of the subject and the vantage point each photo was taken from. With this information, we recreate the space and use it as a canvas to display and navigate through the photos.”

At the moment the technology still feels somewhat infantile, and I’d love to hear if there is more advanced software out there, but I really do believe that this could be the answer to a hotel marketers prayers.

Take a look for yourself here!

Best regards

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

A New Dawn?

2009-04-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

I’d like to start by acknowledging the increasing stream of emails I have received over the past two months requesting advice on ‘what clients want’ from their hotel booking systems. Thank you very much for your thoughts and comments; your emails have not gone unnoticed! As I type, a further wash of emails are flooding my inbox; emails from the exact clients you have spoken of; hotel, motel, and guest house owners.

I have contacted fifty previous customers, friends, peers, and acquaintances to gather the exact information software developers are looking for, and 75% have been returned already; within three days… I’m both amazed and grateful.

I am filled with a sense of optimism at the thought that system developers actually want to know what their buyers want and need. I have seen too many badly developed systems over the last three years and although I have seen a steady improvement (not usually from the industry leaders) I am ecstatic that this might be about to change.

If you are a hotel, motel, or guest house owner and would like to participate in this survey, please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk for further information. Thank you.

In my opinion, the option of customizing the system and upgrading regularly is of optimum importance. I’ll be interested to see whether the information I collect from these surveys will correlate with my beliefs.

I would also like to acknowledge the other end of the spectrum. A steady backlog of emails from hotel and motel owners / managers is building up. Emails requesting further information about what they should be looking for and where to find the best systems on the market. If I am yet to reply, please accept my apologies; I will be replying to everyone this week and plan to offer the same advice within this blog at a later date.

Thanks again for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Why Do We Read Blogs?

2009-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today’s post is going to differ slightly from previous posts. I have spent a great deal of time over the last few days, reading other business and hospitality blogs, making comments, and generally getting involved in the blogging stratosphere. It has been both fun and informative.

However, when making a judgment about a blog and deciding whether or not to bookmark the site, I discovered that my thoughts were heavily related to whether or not I liked the writing style AND whether I liked the person doing the writing.

As I have become more involved in conversation with business blog peers, I have formed definite opinions on whose ideas I trust, who can provide me with useful information, and which writers I think are genuinely decent people. It’s a blog that ticks all three boxes that gets bookmarked, commented on, and reviewed.

Take, for example, The Happy Hotelier…

The Happy Hotelier, also known as Guido J. van den Elshout, operates something between a luxurious B&B and the suite floor of a luxurious hotel called Haagsche Suites (i.e. Suites of The Hague). Guido writes a blog that entertains, informs and guides, whilst driving traffic to his hotel site. He updates his blog regularly, is the CEO of another company, runs the aforementioned hotel, and still had time to reply (within a day) to my comment on his site:

“Hi Emma,
Thank you for coming by.
I know your site.
Wanna know how? because of your comment to the Vibeagent blog shout out to my version of the T-List
As a matter of fact you are researching an area that I’m interested in as well.
As every hotelier knows, finding the right software is always of importance to enhance your business. Go on and enlighten us please.
Greetings!”

I cannot recommend The Happy Hotelier enough, and it is for this reason that I have bookmarked his site and would like to urge others to do the same.

It is also for this reason that I’ve decided to share a little more of myself with you HERE.

I hope by finding out a little more about me you’ll be motivated to read my blog and leave your comments.

Once again, thanks for reading!

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Can Your Lobby Replace the Common Shopping Mall?

2009-04-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

Today, I read a fascinating article in The Week, titled The Vanishing Shopping Mall. I won’t ruin it for you by quoting large sections; instead you should give it a read yourself.

The article discusses the idea that malls, which were once blamed for killing high streets and downtown shopping districts, are quickly becoming an endangered species. Even before the economic crisis set in, shoppers were spending less time in malls and more of their free time in places where there are options other than shopping. Now, during this downturn, shoppers are not spending money on discretionary items… And, unfortunately, it’s only discretionary items that are sold in shopping malls.

Instead, shoppers are choosing to spend their time in places where there are alternatives to shopping. Shoppers are visiting places that The Week describes as “lifestyle centers”. They say that the amenities “draw the consumer in for reasons other than to just purchase items.”

So, is the failing of the shopping mall an opportunity for hoteliers? Is it possible to develop your hotel to entice the newly evolved general public? Is this your chance to drive traffic from outside the hotel into your lobby?

Starwood, once again, are ahead of the game in this respect. Their W boutique hotels have built their brand entirely around this concept. Starwood say,

“W Hotels are unique and individual expressions of modern living, reflected in the brand’s sensibility to a holistic lifestyle experience with cutting-edge design, contemporary restaurant concepts, glamorous nightlife experiences, and signature spas.”

Hotels that are able to lure the general public to their lobby for food, a few drinks, a coffee, a lunch meeting, or a party, whilst being able to purchase tickets or have their hair cut, are the hotels which will survive this recession.

Personally, I have a meeting every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, which never takes place in my office. Every week I meet my business associate in a Starwood hotel. Why? The answer is simple; the convenience! The convenience of being able to order any train tickets or flights I need from their travel centre before heading for a spot of lunch. After lunch I can grab a coffee from their lobby bar to drink during the meeting. I can use their free wi-fi after the meeting to complete my emails and write this blog before heading back down to collect my tickets. By then it’s six o’clock and I can head to the bar for a couple of after work drinks during happy hour. It really is a “lifestyle centre”.

In parts of Asia and the Middle East, hotel lobbies with a number of bars and restaurants are not uncommon. So, is it not conceivable that lobbies will (or at least can) become the recreation spot of choice throughout the West also?

Large hotels need to create an outdoor element to their hotel if possible. Is there a barbeque area or a place for patrons to walk? Could you introduce a band to bring life to your lobby bar in the evening? Is it possible to create a technologically advanced open area for patrons to plug in their laptops and charge their iPods whilst enjoying a martini?

This concept was bought home to me by the GM of the Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley a week a go. I have never actually stayed in the hotel, but after bumping into her for the fourth time that week, she asked, “do you live here?” In truth, the answer is almost yes; it’s a place to work and relax even though I am not staying in the hotel.

Think about your hotel, motel, or guest house. It may be small, but is there an opportunity for you to open it up to non-guests? Do you have a restaurant that you could advertise to the surrounding community? Could you open up your gym facilities to the outside world? How about massages or a coffee shop? Find a way to become the new centre of your community.

There is a world of opportunity out there. It’s up to you to seize it!

Thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How to Succeed in a Difficult Economy

2009-04-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hotel occupancy is suffering...

In my last entry, I discussed the current trends in RevPAR and HPI. Occupancy is suffering, and this deterioration looks determined to continue for some time. In fact, I read on Travel Daily News last month that,

“PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates 2009 average U.S. hotel occupancy will fall to 56.5% - a decline of 5.2% from 2008 and the lowest in more than 20 years. More importantly PwC projects RevPAR to decline 11.2% this year. It is hard to imagine any hotel getting through this year unscathed.”

Therefore, now is the time to ensure that your hotel stays one step ahead of the competition. The economic situation will hurt your competitors as well, and they may not ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. You need to guarantee that you do; but how will you accomplish this?

It’s all to do with your internal and external marketing…

Many hotels have begun to slash room rates in an attempt to fill rooms. However, you must remember that this tactic can be easily copied by the competition. If you and your five competing hotels all slash prices, or even offer additional nights for free, the impact on RevPAR will be significant. Plus, once you have dropped your room rates, it will be difficult to restore them once the economy improves.

So, don’t slash your prices for dramatic effect; increase price flexibility and be prepared to add value to your guest’s stay. Consider working with outside businesses, such as car rental or day trip companies, to create packages that will ‘wow’ your guests.

In the same way that many companies have cut training, a large number of hotels are now slashing advertising. Ensure that you have a large online presence by improving your hotel’s website and conducting search engine optimization; you need to be listed on the first page for any keyword searches related to your hotel and your area.

Make sure that every page of your website and every word of your hotel blog communicates value. Your prospective guests need to know that they are getting maximum value from every pound they spend. Remember that comfortable surroundings during difficult times make your hotel worth every penny your guests spend.

Customer Relationship Management...

Managing your relationship with your customers is extremely important right now; you need to establish loyalty. Hotels with the most loyal customers are also the most profitable.

Your competitors will most likely focus on attracting new customers. You need to have a more balanced approach toward customer acquisition and retention and actively manage your customer relationships to build loyalty.

However, managing customer relationships has become sophisticated and requires a remarkable amount of coordination. It is all about the movement of prospective guests through the customer lifecycle from awareness to loyalty. This can start with your hotel website, blog, and any other form of advertising you use, all the way through to the up-selling used by employees and the hotel booking system that you use to store guest information.

Remember that loyalty comes as a result of:

1) Using advanced CRM and Hotel Booking Software which has become extremely affordable, even if you are running a small hotel, motel, or guest house.

2) Ensuring your advertising and added value are highly personalized and individually targeted. Remember that your message must be relevant to your stressed and financially-burdened guests.

3) Creating a strong emotional bond with your guests. There may be years between visits but loyal guests do return and give you referrals. Everything from the first view of your website, through the moment they make a booking, to the moment they check out must feel personal. Guests want to feel wanted.

If you take this advice on board, you stand a greater chance of staying ahead of your competitor. Now is the time to implement the new CRM and booking system that you’ve been considering. If you properly implement these systems you will significantly enhance your chance of success during difficult times.

Don’t forget that loyalty is the key to success!

Good luck to you all,

Emma

London Hotel Prices Fall

2009-03-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

It has been interesting to monitor Hotel Price Indexes (HPI) over the last few months. Having spoken to a number of GM’s worldwide; during this economic downturn they have been reluctant to lower prices and have instead added value to their stay packages in order to keep their RevPAR high and limit the panic caused to hotel owners, lending institutions, and management companies.

In fact, it was only two months a go that I gave three cheers to the hotel industry for seeing the bigger picture and continuing training throughout this recession. It seemed that hotel GMs had donned their armor plating, had their heads down, and were prepared to battle on into the unknown.

I’m currently based in China, and the financial crisis is yet to hit in such a dramatic way as in the east. Hotel occupancy within 5* hotels based in manufacturing and engineering cities has dropped due to redundancies in the west and the removal of foreign experts on international assignment; however there is no immediate need for pessimism.

Yet, I was not surprised to read on Travel Daily News International that hoteliers across the UK - and especially in London - are continuing to drop hotel room rates. Hotel.com’s HPI shows that London hotel prices were down by 12% to £111 per room on average in the last three months of last year.

The article by Theodore Koumelis continued to say that “Hotels.com saw a 49% increase in the number of searches by Eurozone travellers for London hotels in December 2008 compared to a year earlier, as travellers sought to take advantage of the struggling pound.”

A quick search of hospitality related websites, and the travel section of British newspapers, reveals that the British press has at last turned PRO-BRITAIN in terms of it being a holiday destination. For years it has been difficult to find any positive press, yet now every British city is the new ‘Place to Be Seen This Summer’. But is this tactic working? Web searches from abroad have increased because of the weakness of the pound, but that isn’t going to aid the Brits themselves in any way.

Travel Daily News International says, “UK hotel prices were down by an average of 12% at the end of 2008, with hotels in the north-west seeing some of the biggest price drops. Prices in Blackpool fell by 22% to an average of £79 per room per night, and in Manchester by 19% to £73.”

So you tell me, is the title of Theodore Koumelis’s article, “Boost for Tourism as London Hotel Prices Fall”, an accurate one? Will the UK HPI continue to fall during this economic turmoil, or will the price increase indeed be a boost for tourism?

Click here to read the full article.

Bye for now

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat www.hotelsystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

The Importance of Decision Making

2009-03-26T03:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I wish to cover a subject often spoken about within the hospitality industry, which is also a topic I broached not long ago when discussing empowerment and customer service related issues: Decision making!

The decision making abilities of hotel employees can make or break a guest’s stay. However, hotel owners and GMs too often reward the managers who achieve immediate results (often through luck) and not those who have made some admirable (lateral thinking) judgments which, often through no fault of their own, have not produced the instantaneous results required.

The owners, CEOs and GMs have got where they are thanks to their excellent decision making skills, however, if they were to look back at all the good decisions they made which went badly, they should be thankful to have a job at all. In today’s climate they be cleaning the toilets rather than managing hundreds of employees.

Professor Zeger Degraeve, who is the ‘Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Professor of Innovation, Professor of Decision Sciences’ at London Business School, believes that “the result is irrelevant… as a measure of decision quality.” Professor Degraeve goes on to say that a decision is made in a split second and then implemented (often by others) at a later date, the result is then observed in the future. Events happen that a manager could not possibly foresee and not every variable is controllable by the hotel or the decision maker. “Therefore, the quality of the result is not an indicator of decision quality and the result is irrelevant as a measure of decision (and execution) quality.”

It is important for hotel industry leaders to observe the decision being made at the time and judge the employee based purely on their decision making ability. The judgment may be made based on efficiency, profit, or even guest satisfaction, but it needs to be made based on the question, “what are we trying to achieve?” In the hospitality industry, the answer to his question will nearly always be guest satisfaction and therefore, if the customer was happy with little extra cost to the hotel then the decision was a good one, even if the result in the long run is less than originally hoped for.

For more information on Professor Zeger Degraeve and his thoughts on decision making, please go to HoteleMarketer, where there is an in-depth interview with the aforementioned thought leader.

To link this back, briefly, to hotel booking systems:

Hotels, motels, and guest houses choose hotel systems based upon their needs at the time of purchase. They cannot possibly foresee future events that will render the booking software unusable to them. It doesn’t mean that a bad decision was made; it purely means the results are poor. The overriding factor of hotelsystems.co.uk is the ability to customize the software for individual requirements... Meaning no bad decisions short or long term.

Hospitality Industry Networking

2009-03-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

As a hospitality industry professional it is of utmost importance to keep up-to-date with latest industry trends and practices. This isn’t difficult if your hotel or hospitality-related business is based in a large city of a developed country; however, if you are based in a small village on the outskirts of somewhere like Ouagadougou or Timbuktu, then staying ahead of your competition isn’t always easy.

It is for this reason that online social networking sites are vital for communicating with hospitality peers and experts.

Sites like Facebook have become popular with Food & Beverage Managers and Marketers for keeping in touch with clientele. I receive messages and wall posts almost daily from the Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel & Towers and also the Sheraton Tianjin Hotel. The Starwood Group has been quick to adopt modern methods to attract guests and clients to their bars and restaurants. And it works!

However, what about exchanging ideas and practices with hospitality peers?

Sites like LinkedIN are great for networking with a wide range of professionals. However, my personal favourite for networking within the hospitality industry is WIWIH (Who is who in hospitality) which allows you to discuss anything from the day to day running of a hotel to occupancy and RevPar with industry experts.

I have been using the forums to continue my search for the ultimate hotel booking software.

The extremely active forums will provide inspirational ideas for promoting your hotel and getting ahead of your competition.

Until next time,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat www.hotelsystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Hotel Booking Software - Review 2

2009-03-03T02:05:00.000-08:00

Today has been an enjoyable and informative (if not so productive) business day. As I mentioned in my previous post, Tristan from hotelsystems.co.uk is in the process of updating the booking software to embrace the varying requests of the hotel industry. So, after an hour of begging and pleading (I have no shame!) Tristan agreed to give me a sneak preview of his work in progress.

I’m always nervous when any of my preferred software is updated and supposedly improved. Will the level of functionality remain high? Will it be as user-friendly? Will it remain efficient to use? I was thrilled to discover that the answers to these questions were yes, yes, and yes again.

The booking system offered by hotelsystems.co.uk is one of an increasing plethora of applications that promise to be the perfect addition to your hotel, make your motel more productive, and eradicate the possibility of double booking. However, the difference between this booking system and the others on the market is the slimline efficiency and level of detail provided.

I noticed a number of definite improvements, including:
1. Credit card number encryption in the database.

2. The highlighting of bank holiday dates in the booking calendar.

3. An extended payment section to allow the special addition of payments – Which permits for the addition of details to a report, allowing users to reconcile the deposit payments for bookings against their takings.

Plus, these developments have been made without hindering the intuitiveness of the program; bookings flowed in a highly logical manner and I was never left wondering which button to click or function to use.

I cannot recommend this software enough.

I am, however, extremely keen to discover alternative hotel booking systems for small to medium sized hotels, motels, and guest houses. So, if you know of hotel booking software that is more efficient or detailed than the system offered by http://www.hotelsystems.co.uk/ please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks for reading!

Emma

Hotel Booking System Review

2009-02-24T02:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks a go I posted a shout out to Ed Sansbury who is in the process of developing a cutting edge hotel booking system. I have had the privilege of viewing his software during its infancy (I believe it to be less that fifty per cent complete) and am impressed with the options section, which has clearly marked tabs allowing users to customize the system for their own requirements.

At this early stage, my feedback to Ed included improvements in integration to enhance the logical system flow. These improvements included naming conventions, a call to action, booking reference customization, an enhanced pricing system, and free fields for tax.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the finished version of this hotel booking software and am confident that Ed is capable of developing this system to a highly competitive level.

Despite the fact that the system is less than fifty per cent complete, I would rate the software with a 4 out of 10, with a potential for 8 or more in the future.

Good luck with the continued development, Ed!

On a related topic, I spoke with Tristan from http://www.hotelsystems.co.uk/ today and was very excited by news of his latest booking software upgrades, due for release shortly. I'll be taking a look over the next couple of days and will post information about his updates here. So, watch this space!

Hotel Industry Insolvencies

2009-02-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

I’d like to start on a personal note by highlighting the very sad death, last week, of one of my heroes; John Martyn, the British singer, song writer, music legend, and guitarist extraordinaire. His jazz, folk, funk, and blues fusion was always original and utterly captivating. He’ll be sadly missed by his many devoted fans, and certainly by me. Rest In Peace, John, Rest In Peace.

And to continue the depressing tone of today’s blog, I feel the need to talk about recent insolvencies within the hotel industry. As the ‘credit crunch’, ‘economic tsunami’, ‘global recession’, or whatever you choose to call it, has over taken our personal lives, businesses, conversations, nightmares, television screens and newspapers, I have been reluctant to add to the ever-increasing depression surrounding our lives.

The number of small-to-medium sized hotels, motels, and guesthouses to go bankrupt in the UK over the last ten years has been reasonably high in comparison to other industries and businesses. However, large hotels and hotel chains have always remained stable with insolvencies peaking at forty-four in 2007. Whilst travel agent insolvencies had risen by 95% over two years in 2007, the percentage of bankruptcies within hotel chains had risen just a few percent per year until 2007.

However, I was not surprised to read in The Times Online today that Insolvencies in the hotel sector doubled over the winter and that “36 hotel businesses failed in the final three months of 2008, the highest quarterly figure since the early 1990s”. The Times revealed that, “the increase took the total number of insolvencies over 2008 to 87, almost double the total of a year earlier”.

For more information on the facts and figures please visit the Times Online article by Dominic Walsh at:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article5634691.ece

At this early stage it is impossible to foresee how long this downturn will last and how large an effect it will have on the hospitality industry, but judging by the delayed effect the crisis has had on the hotel industry, I wonder whether the effects will be seen long after the economy improves.

We just have to hope that the hotels with service and a product to be proud of come out the other end fighting fit and with fewer competitors; hopefully those hotels that should never have been in the industry in the first place.

Goodbye for now,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat www.hotelsystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

New Hotel Booking System

2009-01-29T05:11:00.000-08:00

This is a quick shout out to Ed Sansbury from the United Kingdom who is currently developing a hotel booking system with a bit of a difference. My initial thoughts are positive, despite the fact that the hotel system is still under development, and I’m wondering whether this might grow to become the booking system to beat that offered by http://www.hotelsystems.co.uk/.

Tristan (from hotelsystems.co.uk) – I’m looking forward to seeing the latest version of my favourite hotel software to date. If the updates are as good as they sound, then the latest system is going to set even higher standards within the hospitality industry.

And on a fun note –

I read the following article by Oliver Smith at Telegraph.co.uk. He talks about a British couple who were given a complimentary five-star hotel room – with a voyeuristic catch.

A British couple on holiday in New York have received a complimentary five-star hotel room, in return for allowing pedestrians and passing motorists to watch their every move.

Duncan Malcolm and Katherine Lewis from London agreed to spend their break in the Big Apple as non-paying guests at the Roger Smith Hotel, in the heart of Manhattan.

However, the couple’s lodging – a replica bedroom built on the ground floor of a nearby building – has floor-to-ceiling windows, permitting an unhindered view to voyeuristic passers-by.

Although the room has curtains, its occupants must keep them open between 4.30pm and 7.30pm. The bedroom and bathroom are not on display – allowing guests a degree of privacy.
The couple have said that they plan to stay for five days in the room with a view.

The Roger Smith is one of a growing number of hotels that use bizarre themes and quirky rooms to attract visitors.

One room at Berlin’s Propeller Island City Lodge features a large one-way mirror that allows guests in the neighbouring room to look inside.

The Poseidon Resort in the Bahamas offers "undersea suites" – a series of luxury apartments situated 12 meters underwater.

America’s Dog Bark Park Inn gives guest the chance to stay inside "the world’s largest Beagle" – a room inside a giant, hollow dog, complete with ensuite bathroom.

For more information go to –

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4384743/British-couple-go-on-display-in-New-York-hotel-room.html

I can’t help but question whether it is the poor customer service within the hospitality industry that has caused this need for alternative sources of positive publicity and optimistic word of mouth. Hotel chains would rather spend their money on pricey marketing initiatives than on the training needed to create the perfect experience for customers like you and I.

Hospitality Industry Training

2009-01-22T23:40:00.000-08:00

As a corporate trainer and regular seminar presenter, I keep my ear close to the ground, especially when it comes to training within the hospitality industry.

I have recently seen a dramatic increase in the training opportunities provided to hotel employees, especially in the areas of customer relationship management and customer service (and within China, English language skills) so, therefore, I was interested to read the following article taken from the ‘Hotel News in Brief’ section of ehotelier.com:

“More than 350 hoteliers and industry experts gathered at this year's WORLDHOTELS Annual Conference at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel in Monaco, on 17th and 18th January. Under the banner "IMPACT 2009", the global group for independent hotels launched a number of initiatives designed to combat the economic downturn and to grow revenue and market share across a number of markets, business segments and channels. A key component of this strategy was the introduction of the "Unlimited Training" programme. Under this programme, WORLDHOTELS' properties can send an unlimited number of staff on an unlimited number of up to 120 training courses offered by the WORLDHOTELS.academy in 2009 for a one-off nominal fee. The courses are being conducted in seven languages including English, Spanish, German and Chinese and are being held in 14 international destinations. The courses range from yield, revenue and front office management to sales, international marketing and distribution, and traditional hotel operations. For more information please visit: http://www.worldhotels.com/.”

http://ehotelier.com/browse/news_more.php?id=15409_0_11_0_C

The concept of increasing the levels of training during times of economic downturn is extremely sensible, yet this idea seems only to be embraced by the hospitality industry. In the manufacturing, research, and engineering industries, when the economy is slowing and business is bad, the first expense to be cut is training. However, when the economic situation improves and business increases, these companies will be left with unmotivated, poorly trained employees with little time on their hands for improving their skills.

Three cheers to the hospitality industry, the one industry still able to see the bigger picture.

La gon (from Thailand)

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat www.hotelsystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

Customer Service Flaws

2009-01-15T01:54:00.000-08:00

Today I attended a number of meetings within a popular Nanjing five star Hotel. I started my day by meeting with some clients and I purchased coffee and tea for all attendees. Next, I met with the Training Manager to discuss the hotel’s training strategy for 2009. Finally, I met with the General Manager to discuss training seminars and also to conduct some research into the chain’s hotel booking system. After these meeting I purchased a takeaway coffee and proceeded to the taxi queue.

During my meeting with the GM I had mentioned this blog and the subject of empowerment. The debate was both lively and interesting and left me with a list of blog topics as long as my arm; I couldn’t wait to get back to my office and start writing… Until I reached the taxi queue and the subject matters flew from memory in favour of yet another customer service problem due to poor employee empowerment.

My Chinese language skills are not great and from time to time I have problems communicating with taxi drivers, especially those from outside of the province. Therefore, I explained where I wished to go to concierge and requested that he communicated with the taxi driver on my behalf.

I was confronted with a blank look and asked whether I was a hotel guest. I explained that I wasn’t in fact a guest but had met with the GM and had purchased goods from inside the hotel. I assumed that this would solve the problem, but no. Concierge explained to me that they had been instructed to only provide assistance and taxi services for hotel guests and were adamant that they had no intention of bending this rule for me.

It wasn’t the rule of denying assistance to non-guests that bothered me but the conversation that followed. In fact, ensuring that guests receive priority attention at all times is something that sits well with me, but it’s the lack of flexibility due to deficient empowerment that sends chills down my spine.

I do at least have an excellent topic (with perfect example) for my next management seminar within this hotel; I just hope that this service ‘innovation’ doesn’t create too many issues for prospective customers in the following months.

For another great blog related to customer service and management visit Paul Bacon’s blog: Notes From The Trenches -

http://sinohr.blogspot.com/

I’d love to hear your comments on customer service within the hospitality industry and also recommendations for alternatives to my favourite hotel booking software – http://www.hotelsystems.co.uk/. Thanks!

Empowering Employees

2009-01-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

In yesterday’s article I touched on the idea that disempowering employees leads to poor customer service and lack of product / price / service flexibility. I have experienced this phenomenon twice today.

My first experience occurred during my daily visit to Costa Coffee in my home city of Nanjing. I ordered my usual Café Latte and requested a glass of cold water. The look on the cashiers face was priceless. “Cold water?” she asked. “Yes”, I replied, “cold water!” “Do you mean a bottle of water?” “No”, I replied, pointing, “I’d like a glass of cold water from your water machine over there”. The cashier huddled in the corner with her manager for a number of minutes before the manager wandered over to confirm that I was in fact requesting a FREE glass of water to accompany my overpriced coffee. The manager, looking very pleased with himself, ordered the cashier to pour me a glass of water and went back to pretending to look busy. During this process, I was extremely tempted to walk out and never return. The cashier wasn’t even allowed to provide a free glass of water without first checking with her manager!

The second occurrence was later this afternoon when conversing with a client and his employees. I gave a thirty minute presentation to the middle management of a medium-sized Nanjing hotel and after the presentation I asked the staff a number of questions to clarify the message I had delivered. Before any employee answered a question, they would first look at their manager for permission to answer and would never do so until they had received the obligatory nod. In a business where I have been hired to consult on CRM issues the General Manager could not understand how this lack of empowerment was hindering the hotel’s relationship with customers.

I found an interesting article by Mike McDaniel on Ezine discussing this exact problem:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Empower-Employees-to-Keep-Customers-Happy&id=1614535

I’d be interested to hear stories from readers related to hotel staff providing poor service due to lack of empowerment. Especially stories related to hotel booking systems and CRM systems.

A Hotel in Macau (which will remain nameless!)

2009-01-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

I spent a very enjoyable week in Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia, a couple of weeks a go and booked my hotel a week in advance via www.asiarooms.com, having read the reviews on the service, the room quality, and the location.

On arrival we checked in with my member’s card and received an upgrade, as I would have expected. The hotel lived up to our expectations and Macau exceeded our expectations. Until our final night in the hotel…

Due to unexpected circumstances I was required to stay in Macau for an extra night, so off I trotted to reception to extend my stay. The price per night for my stay had been 750 HK dollars (this was for both week nights and week days) for a deluxe suite (due to my upgrade). However, when I attempted to downgrade to a standard single room I was quoted 1250 HK dollars and was told this was the cheapest room available.

A long discussion into the logic of this pricing system ensued, and the outcome was that we received the price of 750 due to the room being of deluxe criteria and my membership status. If I wanted to downgrade I had to pay more. To this day I still do not understand the reasoning. However, after a lengthy discussion with the manager, I deduced that if I were to sit in the lobby with my laptop and book online (as any Tom, Dick, or Harry) I would receive a price of 750 HK dollars, but if I were to try to book a room (as a returning customer, having spent a great deal of money in the hotel) face to face I would have to pay 1250 HK dollars.

Another example of customer service gone wrong, and the problems surrounding conventional hotel booking systems, which allow absolutely no flexibility and hinder the empowerment of employees.

Supplier Relationship Management

2009-01-02T02:26:00.001-08:00

As the acting Supplier Relationship Manager for my clients, I must take responsibility for managing problem resolutions. I create the relationships, train the individuals involved, and ensure that smaller issues are not masking larger problems before handing over the reigns to the hotel employees.

This process involves a great deal of discussion, scheduling, documenting problems and solutions, status update meetings (usually con calls at present) and resolution follow-ups.

New hotel and motel owners are often too tempted to bypass these fundamental yet vital steps to ensure effective communication between staff and their suppliers.

I have spent a long week making phone call after phone call to suppliers… Or should I say, I have spent a long week talking to answering machines belonging to suppliers. What has the world of customer service come to? I don’t expect an answer around the clock but during office hours… Surely that’s not too much to ask?

Which is where I harp back to my previous phone call to www.hotelsystems.co.uk

My conversation with Tristan was unlike discussions with other hotel booking software suppliers. Despite my lack of respect for time differences, the telephone was answered immediately (unlike the answering machines I speak to when contacting other hospitality suppliers) with a cheerful and accommodating tone.

I was listened to, and the improvement initiatives I offered were gratefully taken on board, whilst Tristan worked away at fully customizing the hotel booking software for my client. This is a company that understands the concept of improving efficiency and profitability without the need to jump from crisis to crisis in order for these improvements to be made.

A rather rare find in my opinion.

Day 3 - Hotel Booking Systems - Research Phase

2008-12-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

I am now on day 3 of my research phase and have decided to focus on the customer service aspect of my quest.

I have introduced the concepts of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), WOMBAT selling, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Balanced Scorecard to medium-sized hotels and motels as methods to improve their organization. These are theories that have received a lot of attention over the last few years, but not often enough in the hospitality industry.

Many smaller hotels and motels have not felt that the adoption of these methods would improve their processes or customer service; in fact, many clients have fought against many of the changes I have implemented.

However, once these smaller organizations gained an insight into the role Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play in achieving increased profitability through common goals and shared efficiency, they were keen to adopt the aforementioned concepts.

The theory I am currently fighting for small to medium-sized hotels and motels to adopt is that of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). The idea is simple; to reduce costs and improve employee satisfaction you must monitor and evaluate your suppliers.

This is especially important, if not vital, in the area of Hotel Booking Systems:

Hotel Booking Systems are the one area where you can lose new customers easily, deter valued guests from returning, waste a great deal of money on an inefficient program, and create frustration and dissatisfaction within your workforce.

It is vital to trial one or two systems, allow your employees to trial the same software, speak to the suppliers, develop a Supplier Relationship Management system, and build a strong relationship with your supplier.

This is another reason why I have found www.hotelsystems.co.uk to be the ideal solution for small to medium-sized hotels and motels. I am based in China and the supplier is based in the UK. Today, I called ‘Hotel Booking Systems’ and spoke to an extremely helpful advisor. Despite the time difference and the unsociable hour of the call, Tristan was willing to answer my many, many, many questions….

Which is the topic of my next post…

Hotel Booking Systems Quest - Day 1

2008-12-01T00:03:00.001-08:00

Having spent a great deal of time working on a consultancy basis for hotel and motel owners, I have often figured that a blog would be a great place to share my thoughts, moments of genius, failures, and grievances with the world… There have, after all, been a large number of them.

For more than a year I have tried to find some time in my busy schedule to get this blog started and now (from my current office in Nanjing, China) I have done so. I feel a new day is dawning.

Most of my work surrounds the formative days of small to medium sized hotels, motels and guesthouses; the days when clients are searching for suppliers, guests, and very importantly, hotel booking systems.

I have discovered a number of great suppliers and booking systems, and these I will share with you in this blog.

I do, of course, have my current favourites. However, as a new day is dawning, a new quest will begin… To discover whether there are any better alternatives to my current preferences.

Let the quest begin…