face-to-face interactions are now automated , further alienating customers .
Is such a lowering of standards inevitable ? Decidedly not — if you stubbornly stick to your guns . The mantra that ’ s needed is this : If you would ’ ve done something for your first guest , you ’ ll find a way to keep doing it for your 10,000th , without rushing , without cutting corners and without doing anything that would make a customer feel less than fully valued by your property .
DON ’ T STOP BELIEVING The secret is to never stop believing in the importance of the individual guest and the importance of every individual interaction , no matter how many customers your hotel serves . Don ’ t fall into the trap of thinking there ’ s an infinite supply of new customers out there for the taking if only your marketing and sales departments would do their jobs , seeking out and converting more leads .
Tell yourself instead that not only are guests a limited commodity , there ’ s no such thing as “ guests ” in the plural . Rather , there ’ s just one guest : the one who ’ s being served right now . Advocating and sustaining this attitude of treating each guest like the only one in the world is one of the most important leadership responsibilities in any organization , and it ’ s one of the key weapons in the battle to avoid losing guests through perceived ( and , perhaps , actual ) indifference .
Building excellence , one guest at a time , is the best way to grow a business , sustain a business and reach for the stars . It ’ s also the most cost-effective way to grow . For comparison : How much did you spend on marketing last year ? Advertising ? Sales ? I bet your investments there were sizeable . Developing a true customer focus is far and away the most effective , affordable way to keep and generate revenue , particularly in this era , where guest choices are influenced more than anything by “ word of thumb .” previous life . So , each morning , her dog pads down the hall to the front desk , gets the newspaper just like he did when they lived at home , and carries it back to the guest room where his “ hooman ” awaits .
Hotel guests are by definition dislocated . They ’ re not eating at home , not sleeping at home — they ’ re away . Though this displacement is no doubt voluntary at a resort location or a trip to a restaurant , at an extended-stay property the dislocation can be the result of life ’ s ups and downs — a divorce , between homes , job flux or a job assignment . These are situations where circumstances can be weighing heavily on the guest ’ s perception of the goods and services a hotel is providing . And it ’ s a situation where true service — hospitality — can shine .
But it can ’ t shine when delivered in an assembly-line fashion . It needs to be focused on one guest at a time . What Hyatt House was doing for its guest was specific to her , and , therefore , meaningful .
This is the crux of the matter — the opportunity and the challenge . Treating a guest as your only guest , focusing on what your guest needs beyond a secure lock on the door , a comfortable bed , a decent meal or meal recommendation and so forth , is where you ’ ll find the opportunity to distinguish yourself in hospitality and build a competitive edge . Micah Solomon is a hands-on customer service consultant and trainer . He can be reached at micah @ micahsolomon . com .
SERVICE IN ACTION There ’ s no set star level at which exceptional guest service begins . Here ’ s an example . A dog bounds up to the reception area at a Hyatt House hotel in suburban Virginia . The front desk agent leans over and tosses a rolled newspaper into the dog ’ s waiting mouth . With this stage of his mission accomplished , the dog walks away with his tail wagging , and the agent goes back to work processing paperwork for the next guest .
Has Hyatt House resorted to employing bell staff of the fourlegged variety ? Actually , this dog is a guest of sorts . His owner had just sold her home after 40 years of living there and , like many guests at Hyatt House , was in a bit of limbo before moving into her first apartment space as an empty nester . In recognition of this , the Hyatt associate at the front desk was doing what he could to help this guest maintain some semblance of her routine from her
Micah Solomon , customer service consultant , trainer at Micah Solomon & Associates
Jul / Aug 2023 hotelsmag . com 61