Monthly Archives

May 2014

Exploring the future of room service

May 21, 2014

Exploring the future of room service

We won’t deny it; we love room service. However, we may be alone. The demand for room service has taken a shocking plummet in recent years. Hoteliers have realized they need to change the game if they want to save room service – and here’s how they plan to do it:

Whole, Healthy Foods

If a guest wanted to eat highly processed, low-quality food she would have stopped at the fast food joint on her way in. Because the health-minded modern traveler craves something more nutritious, providing whole food items on a room service menu holds much more appeal. Some hotels have even begun to hire nutritionists to work in tandem with chefs to design healthy, spa-inspired foods.

Portability

Guests don’t often have the time to waste sitting patiently in their room waiting to have a meal. Portability is key these days. Many hotels are introducing the twenty-minute menu – food items that can be prepared and delivered quickly. But it’s not just about the prep-and-serve time; it’s also about the portability of the food itself. Items that can be easily toted are gaining popularity – think wraps and burritos. Some hotels are even taking it a step further with grab-and-go picnic baskets so guests can make their room service an adventure beyond the walls of the hotel.

Being Considerate

Show your guests you care, not just about them, but also about the food, the environment – about anything and everything. Take a cue from Seattle’s Hotel Max, where high-quality food is packaged in earth-friendly containers, tied up with butchers twine and stamped with a personalized label that reveals the name of the chef who prepared your meal. You want to make your guests feel special? That will certainly work.

Now that you have insider tips on what’s trending, you can help make room service an indulgence guests can’t wait to experience!

Advancing hospitality in the digital age

May 8, 2014

Advancing hospitality in the digital age

Living in the digital age means travelers have more resources (and distractions) than ever before. How can you draw their attention when they’re making plans? It’s simple. Just learn how to leverage the technology they’re already using. Get started by going social.

  1. Show Off Your Rooms
    Posting photos of your rooms and grounds is one of the most popular, and most important, ways to leverage social media. It allows potential guests to see what you have to offer before making the commitment to book at your venue. If they can see a photo and picture a perfect stay, then your chances of securing a booking have just skyrocketed. Think it’s too much work? Think about this: If you don’t show off some recent photos, your potential guests might assume you have something to hide. So get snapping.
  2. Add Another Booking Option
    Take a cue from Loews Hotel Group, which implemented its Tweet & Book late last year. This innovation allows guests to book their room by direct messaging the hotel on Twitter. A live representative then contacts the messager to secure their reservation. Genius! Sounds like the perfect task for desk clerks when they run out of things to do.
  3. Discover Your Guests’ Opinions
    It’s just a fact of the industry; not every review you see is going to be positive. You can’t please everyone. The good news: An active social presence means you can find out about those negative reviews before your future guests do. In a bit of a controversial stand, hotel guru and host of Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible, Anthony Melchiorri, cautions against responding to negative comments on social. Instead, digest the information gathered from social media and address the issue more personally. In laymen’s terms, don’t just type up a little blurb saying you’re going to fix the problem. Act on the complaint and your venue will be better off for it.

The wonderful thing about the age we live in is that with all of the tools modern technology offers to hoteliers, simply having a bit of knowledge can open up windows of opportunity that never existed before. So take what you’ve learned here, open up a computer and start making the most of it.

Do you have any suggestions on ways that social media can benefit the hotel industry? Tell us in the comment box below!