Counterfactual thinking is an overlooked cognitive notion that can adversely or favorably sway a hotel guest's satisfaction and retention level. Research has shown that counterfactual thinking can magnify customer satisfaction or customer dissatisfaction levels. Counterfactual thinking is a conduit to a range of human emotions like feeling of regret, anger, and relief. These emotions in the context of hotels can be linked to a guest's post purchase service evaluation. Examples of counterfactual thinking, alongside with guest satisfaction, and retention levels is also laid out. The write up helps to bridge these conceptual gaps, and other related issues to establish pivotal connections among these otherwise unrelated concepts. READ MORE

Juggling the needs of guests, the personalities of associates and the demands of owners makes the daily life of a general manager anything but routine. As a multi-tasking GM, where do you start? Award-winning GM Dawn Wells, a seasoned professional in Charleston, South Carolina, shares her the insights and experiences working with associates that have resulted in top guest satisfaction scores at her hotel. She notes that showing the staff that you care is an important first step. Giving encouragement and recognition to her team coupled with building and maintaining relationships combined to make a difference with her associates, guests and ultimately the hotel's bottom line. READ MORE

Customer loyalty programs have become a 6 billion dollar a year industry, and yet for many firms they remain an expensive customer benefit that is unconnected to the firms overall marketing strategy. In this brief report a number of mechanisms are proposed that may help firms to retain customers and increase overall satisfaction. READ MORE

As a hotel executive, maybe you attended Cornell or another prestigious hospitality school. You have really honed your skills over the years, paid your dues and worked your way up from housekeeping to the front desk and through the ranks to general manager or some other highly esteemed position. Now that you finally have a more stable schedule and some sense of normalcy, along comes the OTA (online travel agency) to regulate your reservations and force you to pay an unheard of 12% - 25% in order to get reservations you would normally have received through your relationships with various associations and travel agents you cultivated over the years. The OTA fleecing has begun! READ MORE

You know they're out there: people talking about your hotel on social media. But if you're not listening they could be shooting arrows at your back and you won't know it till you feel the pain. Monitoring the conversation in social media doesn't have to be hard or expensive. It not only gives you a chance to deflect the arrows, it can help you learn what customers are looking for and find better ways to market your strengths. Here's how to get started. READ MORE

The decision whether or not to conduct background checks on prospective employees presents liability issues for establishments. Failure to conduct background checks for employees who have frequent contact with the public poses potential liability for negligent hiring. However, use of background checks to screen applicants for employment may also pose a risk for potential charges of discrimination and unlawful employment practices. Additionally, establishments must comply with federal and state laws when conducting background checks. This article will discuss these issues and provide best practices for establishments in determining when to use background checks and policies for conducting them. READ MORE

So what truly matters to the hospitality guest? Their perception/interpretation and quality that we, the hospitality business, have to offer to them. Interestingly, they are more intrigued by the intangible service, or personal service, that they receive from the staff members above everything else. They want employees that care. This is why we need to always have a consistent culture of service be the overall main focus of our success, as this is the most important service component, even more so that the latest trendy tangible products, which you may invest in and offer. READ MORE

Things will go wrong. It's inevitable in life and in business. And the sooner one gets to that conclusion the sooner he can get on with what comes next: preparing for the inevitable. In the hotel business that means following up with guests when the experience is substandard for any number of reasons, from guest service to property maintenance to the type of sheets on the bed. But there is a difference between just preparing for the inevitable and being well-prepared. Following up effectively with upset guests doesn't happen accidentally. It is planned, trained tracked and executed every day. It is a way of life for best-in-class operations. READ MORE

A primary objective of hotel operators is to keep their properties full of 'heads in beds' to capacity. While this goal is understandable, there is a risk hotels may market themselves indiscriminately and draw guests that are not a good match to their particular value proposition. While this meets a short term goal of wasting as little inventory as possible, there is a longer term risk that these guests may provide negative feedback about their stays, even though the hotel was being true to its own identity and branding. Indeed, the guest experience cannot be fairly evaluated apart from the expectations and preferences a person brings to the hotel from the time he or she books a room. Using a comparative restaurant example, a top steakhouse could never deliver a satisfying experience to a committed vegetarian, even if it provided the best cut of meat and the most attentive service. You have to like steak to positively evaluate the experience. READ MORE

In the hustle and bustle of being accountable for so many facets of the hotel business, a hotel general manager needs to do one thing to truly secure his or her future in our industry, that being “insuring your team members truly care about your guests stay.” Sounds simple enough, right? This is not rocket science and I mean no disrespect to anyone struggling with operations or sales issues that can often seem surmountable. We all have these problems at one time or another. There are resolutions to every issue we have. The resolution to any problem is really just a matter of applying a specific strategy that will minimize the issue or frankly, make it go away completely. How many times have you walked into a situation with a guest that was surprised and upset that a tiny issue was never dealt with by a front desk agent, housekeeper, waiter, maintenance person, or even a manager that worked for you? I have too, the important thing is that we learn from this and move forward. One must insure everyone on our team grasps the importance of caring and the application of certain techniques can solidify a culture. Getting everyone on your team to care about your guests really is the key. READ MORE

According to the Oxford Dictionary an apostle is a “vigorous and pioneering advocate or supporter of a particular policy, idea, or cause”. For hotels, creating apostles should be a priority. They are the most loyal customers and they are so satisfied that they want to convert others to share their experiences. But how do hotels create apostles? This article looks at how some hotels around the world are delivering not only superior products and services, but through customization and personalization are creating guests who would not dream of staying anywhere else. READ MORE

For those of us who have been a part of the business world long enough to remember life before the Internet, the new, connected world can sometimes be overwhelming. With a bit of practice and commitment, social media tools can become valuable assets in making business connections and developing sales prospects. READ MORE

When hoteliers talk about social media, they often only consider the big three—Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. YouTube is rarely considered when hotel marketers forge their social media strategies, despite the numbers conveying its value. I hope with this article to show why YouTube is a powerful social network that's ready to deliver new guests to your hotel. READ MORE

The Catering operation is thus a different kind of food and beverage operation. It takes the normally prevailing low price high volume characteristic of the typical food and beverage operation and turns it on its head. It thus becomes a high volume high price operation with enormous boosts to revenues and profitability owing to the numbers it manages to pull. The high contribution margin it enjoys thus makes it the venerable breadwinner for the food and beverage operation. Owners can laugh all the way to the bank for having the foresight in building a top notch offering of function rooms in the catering operation within their hotel premises. READ MORE

Maintaining excellent guest relations is a vital way to boost customer loyalty and brand recognition. But often this practice is watered down to niceties and small talk with guests, and nothing to really spark a genuine connection. To propel these relationships to the point where consumers will actually form an emotional bond with a hotel, the concept of guest mentorship can act as a precision tool. In essence, it involves taking on the role of teacher in order to satisfy guests' inner desires for meaningful life experiences. READ MORE