It’s not (just) about sanitation
As the dust settles a bit more, and hotels and resorts reopen…
The things that hoteliers are obsessed with right now — sanitation, maintaining social distancing in elevators and in common areas, how (or whether) to have room service, how to implement touchless, whether and how to have hotel dining, etc. etc. — are trying, vexing, important.
But it’s not those elements that’ll help you recover and even gain heart, mind, and wallet-share during in our New Era.
Because it is going to be a brutal era of cut throat competition, and the time is now to get hospitality’s game on.
Give guests what they crave
When I think about what I miss the most about hospitality, it’s the care that you receive – the, well, hospitality. While I’m actually reasonably satisfied with my own cooking or the odd take out, there are things that I crave about going back to restaurants and travel.
When it comes to restaurants, I crave a great waitperson. I crave a beautifully plated dish. I crave being told a story about a funky ingredient I’d never heard of or of a new producer (yes I live in Northern California where all these things used to crop up, back in the day). I crave discovering new flavor combinations I’d never thought of before. I crave that delicious anticipation and that eyeroll that comes from the first bite of an “oh hell, why not” dessert consumed after great food and wine. And yes, I crave that eversosligthly buzzed feeling as you step out into the cool evening air and await your Lyft.
Similarly, with hotels and travel, I crave someone looking after me for a change. I crave the settling into a familiar — but not overly familiar — space with that feeling of being an insider. And, I also crave the rush of discovering a new feature or nook or service in a new hotel: that “ooh isn’t that clever/cool/amazing” feeling. or that unexpected show of kindness and thoughtfulness that says, “I see you, I honor you”. And what I crave most is that feeling that something shifted during that stay, that you’re coming back slightly transformed, and you’re cooler, sexier, more confident, more you than you were when you stepped into the lobby for the first time.
This is why hospitality exists. We can’t let this pandemic take that away. A good 75% of all this craving has nothing to do with design or food, but people. People make the difference.
What they crave is:
People. Or more specifically, your team.
They’re the ones who’ll provide that connection when everything else is contactless and socially distanced. It’s their thoughtfulness, their proactiveness, their genuine caring that will make all the difference in the world and get people feeling confident about going out in the world and their place in it.
As you re-hire, hire for a new type and level of service. Break old bad habits in training and staffing. Really look at things through the eyes of the customer. Empathy (and efficiency). And flexibility. And a very clear sense of your purpose and value and brand.
Think like a proper host or innkeeper, or follow the lead of chains like CitizenM and hire for people who can be (and are willing to be) all-in-one ambassadors — everything from concierge to reception to those lovely people who bring the coffee or cocktail when you’re in need of a pick me up.
While you’re at it, break down the barriers between “front of house” and “back of house”. Equalize the environments between “team” and “guest”. No more glimpses into dingy, badly-lit fluorescent offices tucked away into inconvenient corners. This sends bad messages to team members and guests alike.
Sweat the details. Create a customer journey and design that’s about care, the right surprises, and honoring the guest. Creating systems that support care, rather than getting in the way. Hire the right people and incentivize them right, and then make sure your processes and systems are working for your people — and not the other way around.
Embrace the technology — smartly. The smart and clever use of technology. (Hint: technology does NOT replace in-person service. It is a service delivery vehicle, but there still needs to be a human wrapper. Technology should free up staff to concentrate on guests, not degrade the experience.) I sometimes worry that the evolving model where guests and hotel team members can easily catch up with each other via text means yet another service environment where staff have their heads down (literally)in on their phones, and ignore the rest of the world.
Move beyond your own category. That’s not the road to delight. Look beyond the category — because your guest isn’t living in a world of hotels: they’re living in a world of brands which they consciously or unconsciously benchmark you against every day.
Instead measure yourself against the brands that people love the most, the ones where service is exemplary. And it doesn’t have to be the usual suspects — the big luxury brands. According to research by Newsweek and Statista, the Top 10 brands in 2019 (based on review of NPS scores) some of the best brands (cross category) were:
1. Disney Cruise Line: Service Score — 9.59 out of 10
2. See’s Candies: Service Score — 9.38 out of 10
3. Justice: Service Score — 9.24 out of 10
4. Lands’ End: Service Score — 9.18 out of 10
5. Chick-fil-a: Service Score — 9.11 out of 10
6. Publix: Service Score — 9.07 out of 10
7. Vitacost: Service Score — 9.04 out of 10
8. Avon: Service Score — 9.02 out of 10
9. Morton’s The Steakhouse: Service Score — 9.02 out of 10
10. Cracker Barrel: Service Score — 9.01 out of 10
Betcha you didn’t expect Chick-fi-a, did ya…I didn’t.
The best ranking hotel brand, Ritz Carlton, came in at 8.98, south of Cracker Barrel. Yes, yes, we’re talking different price points, market segments, and expectations…but that difference still gives me pause.
The keys? It’s pretty basic — and devilishly hard to achieve, every day: communication, competence, range of services, customer focus, accessibility.
Covid lays this all bare. There are no more crutches.
These things were all important pre-Covid, but many of the crutches that experience purveyors relied upon — flashy design, big seen and be “scenes”, merely efficient service–are not relevant.
Stripped of that, it’s about the service, the design of the guest experience, and more than anything else, the people.
Regina Connell heads Collaboratory@Bull Stockwell Allen–a brand strategy, experience, and communications studio for hospitality and lifestyle businesses. Contact her at rconnell@bsaarchitects.com
