I SAY, I SAY BY PETER GRAY
SMILE – IT COULD SAVE YOUR BUSINESS
I think that most people in the tourism industry will admit now, if they haven’t before, that 2009 is going to be a tough year. This doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a bad year just one at which we’re all going to have to work smarter and harder.
As personal incomes and business profits fail to maintain the levels we’ve seen in recent years there will be sacrifices and tourism in all its guises is likely to bear the brunt of this. Trips that aren’t really necessary won’t be embarked upon; travel that is necessary may be of shorter duration than before. And when it comes to service standards customers will be far more selective. Already we’ve seen conferences deferred, scaled down or relocated to lower cost accommodation and some overseas events are coming closer to home.
It’s already evident that two of the big issues this year are service standards and access to the Internet.
So what do I mean when I talk about service standards? Hotels and other venues should be re-evaluating the services they offer to their guests because those guests are going to be far more selective when money it tight and when ‘value for money’ is pre-eminent. Most mainstream hotel groups are already taking a good hard look at what they offer their clients and, more importantly, how the offer is made.
A smile from a check-in clerk, an acknowledgement that you’re there and waiting and perhaps even an apology for the fact that you’re having to wait makes all the difference when you’ve arrived, hot and bothered and at the end of a long day in which you may have travelled many thousands of miles. The current trend amongst Asian five-star hotels of staff referring to their guests by name is also to be applauded – it takes the level of personal service to new heights.
An unanswered telephone when a guest needs to contact a hotel department only adds to frustration and could even lose the hotel repeat business. The staff-to-guest ratio in Asia is much higher than in Australia or New Zealand but nevertheless maintaining standards across the board is important.
And what does this cost? Nothing, except perhaps some additional training or careful selection of those who interface with the public.
In a welcome development many of the major hotel groups are making ‘club lounges’ accessible to all who wish to pay a premium rather than restricting access to those inhabiting club floors. Good policy…providing the lounge can hold everyone who pays the premium.
The Internet has become a business necessity and is the area where hotels and venues can really score. Given the choice between an hotel which charges for broadband access and one that doesn’t I know which I would choose. A $300 a night room often becomes a $330 a night room when you add broadband charges – so a hotel that offers me a $300 room and includes those charges has got my attention! Airports and convention centres in Asia and in the USA are also offering free broadband access, though sadly not yet in Australia or New Zealand. The Internet is now so much a part of everyday business life it’s hard to fathom why free wireless broadband isn’t accessible just about everywhere. McDonald’s has realised the value of providing free broadband Internet and they’re now offering it in their stores throughout Australia.
I was aghast to hear Sol Trujillo admit recently that Telstra could offer broadband at three times the speed it does currently but won’t do so until another telco competes with it! What ever happened to providing the best service for your customers?
Hotels will often spend hundreds of thousand of dollars on fitness and leisure centres which are used by only a minority of their guests and yet they seem oblivious to the benefits of proving wireless broadband access.
When the chips are down and budgets are limited – for business tourism, conferences or incentive rewards – the buyer is king and will demand more and more for their dollar. If tourism operators want to capitalise on this trend they have to make sure their own operation is running at peak performance and that often means making sure that staff are well trained to provide good service…with a smile.
Peter Gray is the Managing Partner of Motivating People www.motivatingpeople.net
For Speaking availability, Quotes and information email peter.gray@motivatingpeople.netcopyright Peter J Gray Motivating People 2008
