MilliOnAir Magazine July 2018 | Page 152

MilliOnAir

Here are my thoughts on what we can all learn from the luxury hotels on how they manage their business, their brand, their guest experience and their people:

1. ‘Happy employee, happy customer’ ethos – they put focus on making sure their employees are engaged, happy and valued with the result that they service their customers from a mind-set of positivity, care and passion. Happy employees are openly valued and well-respected by their line managers and empowered to do the ‘right thing’. They are allowed to be their authentic selves and reinforce the corporate brand in their own individual way.

2. They create a culture, from the top down and bottom up that really does support their values. Everybody is committed to serving the guest, providing a world-class experience and living the values. Everybody is part of the overall vision.

3. They avidly measure guest satisfaction and monitor Yelp and TripAdvisor every single day, and then address the areas that need improving, consistently.

4. They ensure that each employee is proud of the brand and advocates it internally and externally. Being proud also incorporates respect for and being inspired by management and how their leaders demonstrate the desired behaviours of the team.

5. They conduct regular pulse surveys (not just annually) on employee engagement and keep on top of this with positive and transparent action.

6. They put focus on being the best they can be in their category/area – if that’s to be Number 1 in Park Lane, as with the Grosvenor House Hotel, then they do everything possible to meet that objective.

7. They continually focus on their values and behaviours, never get complacent and are always looking at new ways to refresh and reinvigorate the culture to maintain momentum and improve.

So it seems the top players in guest experience focus consistently on how they can improve, and they come at it from the employee first. Richard Branson has always said “Take care of your employees and they will take care of the clients”. Makes sense really but such a low percentage of companies really follow this ethos.

Contact us to discuss how we can add a little of the ‘luxury touch’ to your brand and culture – [email protected]

By Lesley Everett – Brand Personality specialist, conference speaker and executive brand coach

[email protected]

www.walkingtall.org