What's In a Name? - Developing That Guest Connection

The competitive nature of the modern day hotel industry requires the front line staff to place even more emphasis on creating memorable first experiences for their guests. Nothing leaves a more lasting impression on a guest’s psyche than creating an experience that is personal to them. After all, they are spending their hard earned money at your property and subsequently expect value for their stay.

Firstly it is an important note to remember that while the first experience is the key, it is just as important to maintain the same personalized service throughout the guest stay. All that excellent work to create a top notch first experience can get thrown out the window with a lack of caring or attention to detail later on in the stay. In fact the guest is more likely to remember a slip in the service standards if his first experience was great.

For this entry I want to focus more on the concept of “personalized” guest service. The importance of identifying a guest by name is huge when looking to create an impact. Most guests will sub consciously recognize that they are just one of many guests checking in. Therefore when they are identified by name, it makes them feel like more than just a number.

So what if it is a first interaction. Again there is nothing wrong with introducing yourself by name and also identifying the department you work in and then politely asking for the guest’s name. Most guests appreciate you taking the effort to get to know them and it simply adds to the experience.

How else can you personalize a guest experience?  Here I find that creating opportunities to communicate with guests is critical. The more opportunities we have with our guests, the more we learn about who they are, why they are staying with us and more importantly what major factors will encourage them to return in the future. The more we learn, the easier it is to apply this information to take an ordinary guest experience and tailor it to them. It is important that a strong culture of communication between departments is created as every front line staff member could have a communication opportunity with a guest. Whether it is the front desk, the doorman or even the housekeepers, there is a chance for everyone to contribute.

I must make a side note here that as important as it is to create a personalized guest experience, we live in a world where sincerity or a lack thereof can be recognized quite easily. It is important that we are creating these personalized guest experiences because we truly do care for our guests. Nobody likes to be patronized so make it count because you truly want to. After all, it is why we work in this industry…is it not?

I’d like to close out this entry by relaying a story that really made me smile and proved to me what sort of impact the power of a name can have on an interaction. I had checked a guest in probably late September or early October and we had a nice little discussion about babies. Zahra had just been born and this particular guest had a little boy who was just a little older and we started chatting about this magical time in a person’s life. Well in early January this same guest came up to the desk again and would you believe it; not only did she remember my name but she remembered that I had a brand new baby girl as well as that her name was Zahra. The power of a name can work both ways folks.

Till next time