Improving Service through Guest Feedback Leveraging SALT insights to drive action at your property By Launika Arya, Senior Manager Guest Experience.

Improving Service through Guest FeedbackLeveraging SALT insights to drive action at your property

By Launika Arya, Senior Manager Guest Experience

• Who is the Guest Experience Team?• How does embracing guest feedback improve scores?• How to leverage SALT to drive service excellence• Q&A

Agenda

Guest Experience Team – Voice of our guestObjective: To develop insights by analyzing all guest experience data sources and drive action through a consultative model with all HWW brands, including HHonors, and senior leadership

The Guest Experience team will serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor, including:

1. Brand Health• Ongoing brand performance pulse checks to identify strengths and opportunities • Operational prioritization for scalable impact to guest satisfaction and commercial performance

2. Initiative Success• Help define strategic initiatives to improve guest satisfaction and competitive positioning• Evaluate initiative success through analysis of guest sentiment and impact

3. Fuel Innovation• Identify unmet guest needs and trends in the hospitality industry • Utilize internal tools and external partnerships to identify and elevate macrotrends

How does embracing guest feedback improve scores?

<25 Days 25-50 Days 50-100 Days 100-150 Days20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Average # Days with SALT Activity

Ove

rall

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vice

(%

9/10

)

High SALT usage properties perform better

consistently, demonstrated by tight distribution of scores

Embracing guest feedback through daily engagement with SALT is directly linked to higher performance

SALT allows you to see yourself as your guests do

What is the impact of stellar service?

Insight: Multiple attempts to resolve a problem leads to frustration with staff

Action: Empower front line team members to resolve issues

Delivering flawless service is a key driver to a property’s Overall Experience

0

10

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Overall Service 9-10% Overall Service 1-6%

Ove

rall

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erie

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9-10

%

Impact of a poor service is nearly a 40 point negative impact on a property’s Overall Experience

Insight: Front desk knowledge on hotel amenities and nearby details is a satisfier for guests

Action: Arm front desk to “read” arrivals to provide customized hotel and neighborhood details

Insight: Second to the front desk, breakfast staff is the most talked about service team

Action: Encourage breakfast staff to engage and service guests, especially regulars which are often Elite HHonors

Insight #1: First point of contact resolution increases guests satisfaction with staff when problems occur

All 1 Time 2 Times 3+ Times0

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20

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Exceed Met

How many times did you need to speak with someone before the problem was resolved?

Pro

ble

m R

eso

lutio

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Exc

ee

d +

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More than 2X increase in

resolution rates

Exceeding a guest’s expectation in problem resolution is critical to recovering their overall experience

Problem Free Stay

Exceeded Met Fell Below0

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20

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rall

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9-10

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

5.3 20.7 74.0

Exceeded Met Fell Below

However, less than 6% of guests claim the resolution exceeded their expectations

Exceeding a guest’s expectation can recover lost guest satisfaction from a problem occurring

Top drivers of exceeding a guests expectations

1. First point of contact resolution

2. Efficiency of response

3. Personal Attention

4. Knowledge

Check In clerk fixed the reservation error. Usually I feel like a manager has to get involved!

She quickly made my problem into her problem and resolved it

Brought up a hot pot of coffee along with a new maker since mine was broken. WOW!

All my questions were immediately answered and we were put in the correct room next to my kids

Drivers of Positive Problem Resolution Guest Commentary

• Are your employees empowered to make problem resolution decisions?

• Do you talk about the difference in exceeding a guests expectations versus just meeting them?

• How often are you celebrating problem recovery wins?

Questions to consider:

1. Efficient Check-In Process• Easy and problem free• Acknowledgement of HHonors and M&E VIPs• Room requests provided• Room available and prepared• Staff knowledge regarding hotel offerings

2. Appearance of Hotel Grounds/Lobby• Safety and security• Clean and maintained• Adequate lighting indoors and outdoors

Insight #2: Front desk staff delivery is critical to FMOT

1. Cleanliness of Room & Bathroom• Smelled fresh and clean• No signs of a former guest• Condition of furnishings

2. Room Amenities• In-Room technology• Bath amenities• Kitchen appliances (if applicable)

3. Hotel Amenities• F&B offerings• Wellness (Spa, Fitness, Activities)• Meeting and Event space

First Moment of Truth (FMOT)Creates the first impression and sets the tone of the stay

Second Moment of Truth (SMOT)Showcases brand offerings and creates a lasting impact

Collectively, Front Desk problem types lead in incidence

HHonors benefits

Safety/security

Parking

Hotel amenities

Billing/Rates

Hotel/room maintenance

Reservation accuracy

Room location/type

Hotel/Room smell

Food and Beverage

Room amenities

Internet

Check-In/Check-Out

Staff Interactions

Cleanliness/Housekeeping

Working order of Bathroom

HVAC

Noise

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%

Low Opportunity to Resolve High

Lo

w

Im

pa

ct T

o R

etu

rn I

nte

nt

H

igh

Front desk problems have the highest impact on return intent, but also the most potential to resolve

Staff InteractionsBilling/Rates

Room Location/TypeReservation Accuracy

Check In/Check Out

• Is your front desk able to “read” a guest’s unique needs at arrival?

• Are unique delivery of acknowledgement methods discussed?

• Some problems can’t be avoided. Is your front desk trained to best resolve?

Questions to consider:

Insight #3: Second to the front desk, breakfast staff is the most talked about service team

Breakfast is a key component of a guest’s on property experience– Nearly 55% of guests will have breakfast at least once during their stay

Guest expect breakfast staff members to keep breakfast items hot, stocked and surrounding areas clean

– #1 guest complaint of breakfast staff was slow respond to refilling breakfast items or tidying up food mess left by other guests

A great breakfast experience drives increased value perceptions– Guests score the value of price paid for their hotel stay higher 34% of the time when they’ve had a

stellar (9-10%) breakfast experience

• Is your breakfast staff engaging with the guests?

• Are they equipped to rapidly identify and fix outages?

• How can we celebrate our breakfast staff members?

Questions to consider:

Your turn…

How do you use SALT to improve/identify root drivers of service?

THANK YOU!

Questions? E-mail [email protected]