Ask most travelers, and you are likely to hear about the lowering of hospitality and service excellence since the devastating impact of COVID. In fact, most consumers would say that customer service in all industries has taken a severe tumble. But counter to the trend, in the past year or so, Remington Hotels has been dramatically elevating its brand performance and loyalty across its diverse portfolio of 120 hotels by investing in its people and the guest experience they deliver. You’ll definitely want to hear what Raul Moronta, Chief Commercial Officer of Remington Hotels, has to say about this initiative and its impact.
As someone who has led multiple hotels to successfully achieve Guest Review Scores that dominated their city, country, and, yes…the world, I was fascinated to learn more about what Remington Hotels is doing to drive revenue and loyalty at both branded and independent properties.
Please take a few minutes to learn more from Raul’s insights during our conversation on Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast!
Here are my favorite highlights:
1. Invest in What Matters Most
Not to rest on just creating a published mission and a list of values for Remington employees to be inspired by, Remington Hotels invested in creating a Brand Performance team 100% devoted to serving and supporting on-property hotel leaders. The team helps discover challenges and opportunities and provides support to help the team continually apply those values and solve for guest happiness and employee development.
⭐Adele’s Tip: If your hotels are not averaging 90% or higher in Guest Review Scores, you have a huge opportunity for revenue growth. I’m available to help. Feel free to contact me for a free strategy call to leverage guest review data and create an action plan for success.
2. The Guest Experience Starts with the General Manager
The General Manager cannot touch every guest’s experience personally, but they do set the tone and expectations for their managers and team members to live in the company’s values. A lot of companies sell accommodations, and their teams perform transactions, but Remington is focused on delivering genuine hospitality. Moronta shares, “There’s a very big difference between accommodation and hospitality. And I think that that is what is going to be the differentiator in the future.”
⭐Adele’s Tip: Each pre-shift huddle is an opportunity to tell stories that highlight hospitality excellence and remind teams that their job is more than a series of tasks. Everyone’s job is to make guests happy.
3. Guest Satisfaction is a Powerful Differentiator That Anyone Can Access.
Excellence in Guest Satisfaction doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive. If you are tuned into the guest’s needs, a bottle of Gatorade can make a guest feel more appreciated than the finest Champagne. It’s the intention, empowerment, and thoughtfulness that counts. Raul explains, “Guest Satisfaction is not a physical thing; it is action… with intent.”
⭐Adele’s Tip: Inspire your team to “sparkle some sunshine” on every guest, listen for clues to their needs and find small yet meaningful ways to make sure that guest feels CARE: Cared for, Appreciated, and Respected at Every encounter. Every kind gesture strengthens the bonds of loyalty, creates value, and makes the experience more fun for both the guest and the associate.
4. Leadership Means Moving Forward
All leadership is change leadership. Moronta talks about all the changes that have recently been implemented and the constant evaluation of policies and procedures that often initiate with feedback.
⭐Adele’s Tip: Invite your team members to seek out guest feedback and share it with leadership. Find ways to solve problems on the spot, sure! But also make sure associates feel totally comfortable reporting what they see. As a team, you can find ways to ensure the next guest won’t have the same issue. Most guests won’t say anything when a friction point shows up, so the voice of one guest often represents the voice of many. Every single insight deserves to be fully considered.
5. The Quote of the Day:
“I honestly believe people do not mind going through hell. As long as they know they’re going through it. My point is that people will stick with you understanding that you are on a mission and there will be easier times. Our goal as a leader is to be able to say in the darkest of times...“‘Here’s the light.”
⭐Adele’s Tip: No doubt there is nothing more soul-crushing than going through tough times and feeling nothing is being done to avoid the same issues that burden your teams day after day. You keep your team motivated when they see a plan for change being implemented. You lighten their load when you work with intention to collaborate to find the root causes of friction points and take action to diminish the frequency of these issues. Give your teams the training, tools, inspiration, and freedom from fear that it takes to work at optimal performance. When they see things moving forward with their help, they feel great to be a valued part of a winning team.
What Actions Will You Take to Outshine the Competition?
A great guest experience worthy of a five-star review is no accident. Where focus goes, energy flows. Moving up to the next level takes an investment in leadership that focuses on encouraging “action with intent” to continually support teams, diminish friction and make guests happy.
Please take the time to comment, subscribe and share this newsletter and podcast with hospitality professionals who are passionate about creating a culture of continuous improvement. And don’t forget to check out our previous articles for tips you can start to apply immediately to your own business to elevate loyalty and set your hotel apart from the competition.
Want a free strategy session for your hotel?
Feel free to connect with me and send a request to getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com. If you are a GM, this month, we are offering hotel General Managers a free reputation assessment on calendly: https://calendly.com/adele-gutman/free-reputation-assessment
Say Yes to Success! Don't miss this opportunity. I love to help hospitality professionals elevate their productivity and profitability.
Until next time, keep reaching for the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐stars!
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