Times are tough in the hospitality industry, but even with hotel amenities and staff cuts, most are getting higher customer service marks.
The newly released survey by J.D. Power and Associates showed most hotels in the U.S. did better in satisfying guest needs from June 2008 to May 2009. We’d like to propose three major reasons for this improvement.
1) Fewer jobs means harder working employees
First, hospitality jobs are becoming scarce as of late. While we find hard to measure, employees that seek to stay employed are likely feeling more thankful now more than in past years. They will no doubt work harder to keep employed, and in the hospitality industry, this means going the extra mile to help out guests they might have said “sorry” to in the past. Employees that kept their jobs were also very likely those that were already better at customer service. Coupled with establishments pushing brand loyalty programs, hotels are no doubt working harder to keep their current guests.
2) Employee to guest ratio increase
Second, there are fewer guests frequenting hotels. By the end of the first full week in May, Smith Travel Research reported occupancy rates fell 14 year over year. Pricewaterhouse Coopers had only forecast a drop of 3.5 , which would have already put the industry at lower rates than in 1971!
We have to roughly compare these numbers with the hospitality employment data over the same period. From June 2008 to June 2009, the ADP report shows the Accommodation Industry’s employment dropped 8.3 , from 1,955,300 to 1,793,900. Also, most of the hotels in the survey are larger or midsize organizations, which, as is the current lay off trend in America, kept a larger percentage of employees than small businesses.
So with a strong desire to work harder to please one’s guest coupled with the strong likelihood of a decrease in customers per employee, it should come as no surprise that guests are all smiles.
3) Deals are all around us
What’s the third reason? Lower prices of course, by 9.4 . If any hotel guest is not feeling like royalty in their own newly discounted castle, something is not right!
And the deals are not just in the price. Hugo Martin of the Los Angeles Times discovers
“Hotel Erwin on Venice Beach is offering an unusual promotion for its countercultural clientele: an Ink and Stay package that includes $100 toward a tattoo and a bottle of tequila to numb the pain.
Down the coast at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, guests who get the Hard Rock and a Hog deal can roll through the All American City on a Harley Davidson motorcycle that comes complimentary with a two night stay.”
With the cash heavy consumer holding so much power, do your best to ask for a deal on short notice. With an average of 60 occupancy rates, hotels will almost always have rooms going unused. Pit one hotel against another with some over the phone haggling, and you are sure to enjoy your stay that much more.
Have a better than expected hotel customer service experience? Let me know on my blog.
Author Resource:
Bryan Ulatowski is VP Sales for Uberoom, LLC, the new special package service for any hotel, bed & breakfast, and more. To keep up with the latest in converting customers into loyal guests, to affiliate, or to order an Uberoom room theme for your next hotel, visit http://www.uberoom.com/blogs/
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