Get to know your international guests

November 18, 2013

Get to know your international guests

Thinking globally means thinking locally. Ponder this notion and it starts to make sense — especially when it comes to the hospitality industry. A recent study helps support the case.

First, consider one primary aspect of our work here at American Hotel. As the premier source in global hospitality, we help high-profile brands ensure that their properties around the world reflect their distinct standards of quality, comfort and style. In essence, we help them take their local “look and feel” global. Though these brands also integrate a truly local flavor from country to country, their established brand standards promise returning guests that familiar comforts await them — no matter the location.

While this consistency is the key to building brand loyalty, thinking globally also means you recognize that hotel guests from different countries have different expectations and different levels of satisfaction.

Sure, for most people around the world, location and price are their priorities when choosing where to stay. But the study, which focused on the structural differences in guest satisfaction in eight different nations, strongly suggests that hotels would be wise to learn more about the people from each market they serve.

Examine distinct interests and expectations

For example, according to the study, guests from Italy put reputation ahead of price when selecting accommodations. Those from Spain tend to be driven by previous experience. Package deals are important to hotel guests in Japan, but not for those from other nations.

Is it a surprise that the study indicates guests from the United States are less patient than others? It’s true. Take check-in times as an example. In the study, satisfaction levels for U.S. guests dropped noticeably after a wait time of just five minutes, while guests from Japan allowed an average of 30 minutes before expressing considerable reduced satisfaction.

Though not quite a breakthrough, this study is a powerful reminder that taking a deeper dive into the cultural characteristics of your target markets can help you appeal to their unique interests and deliver on their distinct expectations.

Keep in mind, however, that online reviews are quickly becoming the trump card in any market. In fact, new research shows that reviews edge out price as a deciding factor, and hotels with predominantly negative reviews get dropped from consideration. Knowing more about your guests is certainly one measure to help prevent negative reviews.

We’d like to hear what you think about accommodating international guests? Please share your thoughts or experiences in the comment box below.

Catching up with social media

November 5, 2013

Catching up with social media

Only a decade ago social media wasn’t much more than an abstract idea. Today, it’s considered imprudent to run a business without a social media presence.

Think about it. In 2003 there was no Facebook or Twitter. There was no easy way to create your own website.

Now, more than one billion people around the world use Facebook and another 500 million are registered on Twitter. With sites like Priceline, TripAdvisor and others catering specifically to travel and hospitality, social media has become an everyday aspect of communication for lodging businesses of all types.

Develop a plan

There’s no standard How To guide for an effective social media plan. Like most new concepts, experimentation is the key to discovering what works best for your unique business.

A smart place to start is by listening to guests and anticipating their needs. Social media helps you be in contact with guests and inquire about special needs before they arrive. Use attentive opportunities and guest suggestions to build a customer-centered social strategy.

For any hotel, a Facebook page or Twitter account must be actively managed — adding content and responding to those who access such accounts. Social media strategies should be persistently tweaked and adjusted to be effective.

Drive the conversation

Your social media dialogue can be fueled by the events and activities of your business and the nearby opportunities you offer guests. With vehicles like Twitter, Facebook or a hotel blog, you can bring enthusiasm and inspiration to messages that keep guests informed.

Remember, social media gives anyone the ability to express views and opinions on review websites and their own private social media pages. Be aware of how guests view your business.

When you use social media consistently, guests feel more connected and comfortable with your business. It becomes personal, and shows you care. That type of relationship building spurs guests to promote their experience with your business.

Satisfied guests are returning guests and, through effective social media, they help you spread the word.

Want to share a social media tip with us? Just use the comment box below to tell us what has worked for you.

Give your guests 100% with Enverde

October 4, 2013

Give your guests 100% with Enverde

Today, most hospitality businesses are looking to strengthen their sustainability practices. With the introduction of Enverde™, a line of bath and facial tissue that’s 100% eco-friendly and 100% sourced in North America, your business can take another sustainable step forward.

Eco-smart practices and products can help hotels save money and attract new business. Consider that IBM doesn’t book a meeting or conference without first assessing a hotel’s green initiatives.1 With that, more travelers now recognize the symbols of independent certification bodies such as Green Seal and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Enverde reflects our commitment to developing and distributing products that meet the industry’s highest environmental standards. With three quality offerings — Essentials, Naturals, and Ultra — Enverde is part of our private Registry® brand portfolio of products and the latest addition to our Living Green collection of environmentally sensitive products.

Essentials and Naturals are manufactured with 100% recycled paper. Enverde Naturals bath and facial tissue (flat box) have received Green Seal certification. Enverde Ultra is manufactured with 100% virgin fiber and has received FSC certification. Packaging for this eco-friendly line also uses 100% recycled materials.

Smart products like Enverde can help you preserve natural resources, reduce operational costs and gain competitive advantages in the marketplace. To learn more about Enverde and place an order, visit americanhotel.com/enverde.

Help Your Guests Warm Up To Fall

September 10, 2013

Help your guests warm up to fall

The heat of summer has made way for the crisp air of fall. What does that mean for your guests? Giving your guests a little extra is a consistent theme in our blog posts, so let’s explore the possibilities.

One way to encourage repeat business in your hospitality venue is to provide guests with fun activities throughout the year. When it comes to fall, we have some exciting recommendations.

  • Hiking trails and nature walks
  • Swimming
  • Beach outings
  • Garden tours
  • Par course fitness trail jog/walk
  • Board games and chess
  • Bocce ball
  • Croquet
  • In-room electronic games
  • Arts & Crafts activities for kids and/or adults
  • Junior golf camp
  • Private golf lessons
  • Bird watching tours
  • Horseback riding
  • Canoe/kayak tours
  • Pedal boat rentals
  • Tennis (indoor/outdoor)
  • Tennis instruction
  • Fitness programs (indoor/outdoor)
  • Tween spa activities
  • Carriage rides
  • Whitewater rafting
  • Hot-air ballooning
  • Fishing
  • Jeep, Hummer & ATV Tours
  • Mountain biking and road cycling
  • Rock climbing
  • Paragliding
  • Cooking classes
  • Historic Tours
  • Art shows

Not every suggestion above will be a fit for your geographical location, but these ideas might help you add your own creative activity to the list. Is there a fun fall activity we should have included on our list? Please share it with us in a comment below.

Items Every Hotel Room Should Be Equipped With

August 13, 2013

The elements that produce maximum happiness in your guests – a happiness that guarantees return service and excellent online reviews – is a science in and of itself.

As you have probably already gathered, we are devoted to exploring these “scientific” questions so you can employ them in your hospitality services.

One of these happiness-producing elements is providing guests with a well-stocked room.

In this post, we will explore some of the most common and requested items in a hotel room. By equipping your guests with the items they want and need, you ensure that they are not consumed by worry. Instead, they can relax comfortably and without anxieties.

So, let’s give guests what they are asking for! Here are some of the most common requested hotel room items:

This concludes our list of items every hotel room should have. Providing each and every one of these items can be costly for some hospitality business, and this is list is by no means a baseline to strive for. Instead, this list serves as an ideal to reach after to ensure guests are comfortable and well taken care of so they can enjoy their stay.

Is there something you would add to this list? Please share it with us in a comment.

Supporting Jobs and Local Communities: The Story of 1888 Mills

July 1, 2013

1888 mills

Do you ever wonder where the various products that go into a hotel room are made at?  Although we have become accustomed to purchasing products that are made overseas, we frequently hear stories in the news of poor product construction or unsafe and even potentially dangerous working conditions.

More businesses are turning their attention back to US made goods, and for good reason.  The benefits of purchasing products that are made in the US are considerable:

  • Great quality products that are made in safe and ethical working conditions.
  • Substantially shorter delivery times to aid in sudden outage situations.
  • Supports local communites and the US economy as a whole

One company which has thrived on producing US-made products is 1888 Mills.  Tracing deep roots back to the heritage of textile manufacturing in the United States, 1888 Mills’ Griffin, Georgia towel facilities were started by a group of textile veterans with a goal of making US production a part of global strategy.

While their competitors decided to go “off shore”, 1888 Mills chose to make US manufacturing an integral part of its global plan and they now operate one of the last remaining towel manufacturing plants in the US.

1888 Mills is proud to have over 200 manufacturing jobs at its facilies in Griffin, many of whom have worked in their Griffin, GA plant for decades.  These jobs support families, build schools, provide leadership for the local community, and provide purchasing power needed to fuel the US economy.

In additon to providing quality towels to major retailors, 1888 Mills also manufactures many of the towels used in the hospitality industry.  Their Crown Touch® and Magnificence® towel collections are popular choices among many different hotels.

Please contact us to learn more about the 1888 Mills story!

Bathroom Upgrades Your Guests Will Love

June 6, 2013

It’s the little things that count, right?

If so, then we have some great advice: giving guests a little bit extra makes them feel extra special – and they’ll remember these little extras, too. But it’s not only about making them feel good – it’s about giving them what they want and what they prefer.

For example, USA Today released an article last December stating that, “Hotel chains are upgrading their toiletry lines, believing that a shampoo brand can make a difference to travelers who already stock their homes with high-end products.”

It’s not all about providing name brands for guests, however, and you don’t have to go big in order to create a bathroom environment that impresses guests. After all, it is the little things that count, right?

Before we discuss some larger-scale upgrade options that would impress anyone, consider simple additions like the following:

scale

 

wastebasket

 

amenity

Of course, what we’ve shown here are just a few examples of small bathroom upgrades. A quick visit to our website will reveal hundreds of more bath, shower, and bathroom accessories. Simple items like the ones featured above and on our website can have a huge impact.

If you’re thinking about larger-scale upgrades, we have ideas for that as well.

Let guests watch television in their bathrooms. Consider installing a small television when remodeling bathrooms. Low-voltage, water-resistant televisions come complete with water-resistant remotes and are designed for installation near a bathtub. To keep the television in working order, you’ll need to keep humidity levels in check with proper ventilation.

Keep guests warm with a cozy fireplace. Put a fireplace in the bathroom or living area so guests can enjoy the sight and warmth of a roaring fire as they relax in the tub or wind down from a rough day.

Dazzle guests with the beauty of an impressive sink and faucet. Make a design statement by upgrading to a chic vessel sink. This popular style of sink appears to sit on the top of the vanity counter like a bowl on a table. A vessel sink paired with a goose neck faucet can double as a focal point for any bathroom.

Don’t let guests get cold feet. Treat visitors to warmth underfoot with a radiant-heat system installed below the bathroom floor. Such a system is especially welcome beneath typically cold materials such as ceramic tile and stone. Add a layer of style and comfort with a gorgeous, soft area rug for guests to plant their feet on when they step out of the tub or shower.

Live Green to Wake Up to A Better Tomorrow

May 30, 2013

go green hotel energy efficiency

We have already written about steps that the hospitality industry is taking to provide greener facilities: Green Lighting for the Hospitality Industry and more recently, Green at Heart: One Brand’s Commitment to the Environment. In this post, we will get more into the details and find out why this is such an appealing, important, and critical move to make.

Before embarking on a quest to renovate your hospitality facility into an environmentally responsible one, or develop an environmental management system, it is necessary to understand some of the motivators in embracing the environment.

Providing a green hospitality facility not only saves you money, it helps preserve the environment and attract more visitors. Additionally, the EPA lists the following benefits of going green: hospitality facilities can reduce costs, achieve environmental results, gain recognition, win new business, and be more attractive to employees.

Although the majority of hotels built today take advantage of conventional design and operation methods common to North America, many of those hospitality facilities are beginning to take advantage of environmental trends in the industry as well.

Unfortunately, many environmental endeavors often do not extend beyond this gesture and only a small number of hospitality facilities have been specifically designed to be environmentally efficient.

Currently, any visit to most hotel rooms will turn up a notice asking the guest to reduce laundry pollutants by identifying the towels used each day, or reduce overall use of certain products that do not necessarily need to be changed daily (if you need these helpful items, just visit our site). But for many hotels, this is usually the extent of their efforts.

It should be acknowledged that hotel guests are usually happy to assist hotels in their green efforts. In fact, guests find this to be incredibly appealing in influencing where they choose to stay. This recent study cites three categories that matter most to consumers: water, energy, and waste reduction.

By taking measures to cut down on all three, you’re not only saving money and helping the environment, you’re attracting more customers. What steps can you take? Consider the following ideas:

  • Use Energy Star appliances
  • Use filtered water
  • Provide recycling bins for employees and guests
  • Provide toilets that are dual-flush
  • Consider showers that are low-flow
  • Provide shampoo and conditioner in bulk dispensers
  • Clean your pool with saline salt solution instead of eye-burning chlorine
  • Install green lighting throughout the facility
  • Encourage guests to turn out the lights when they leave their room
  • Turn off air conditioning units when not in use, and be sure to turn them on so the room is comfortable before guests arrive
  • Encourage guests to reuse towels

You don’t have to go all in when just starting out, but small steps will have a big impact. What are you doing to go green?

Why “Ready to Use” Really Means “Ready to Save”

May 24, 2013

ready to use linens

Would you like to save more?

Whether it’s time, cost, or resources, the one thing we all want to do is to save more.  Any opportunity where we can save without compromising is seized upon, and businesses across the globe are responding to their customers by offering them more ways to save.

The hospitality market is no different, and as travelers become more attentive in finding ways to save, so to have hotels.

A large expense for any hotel is linens.  The combined cost of just sheets and towels, for example, can become a large portion of a guest room’s budget, and it certainly pays to look for savings in these categories whenever possible.

“Ready to Use” has become a leading cost-saving initiative for many hotels.  Simply put, these are sheets and towels which can go directly from the box they arrive in to the bed or bath without having to go through an initial laundering.  So how does a hotel save by using these types of linens?  Ask yourself these questions:

  • How much time do housekeepers spend washing every sheet and towel that they unpack over the course of a year?
  • How much water, detergent, and electricity is used in laundering a fresh set of sheets or towels each time, and over the course of a year?

The average cost to wash a pound of laundry can range from $0.30 to $0.35 cents (which does not include the cost of labor or other costs such as keeping the lights on in the laundering facility, etc.).

Just by avoiding the initial laundering of a dozen “Ready to Use,” 17-lb. towels, you can save nearly $6.00!  Now multiply that across all of the sheets and towels that you unpack and launder in a year and the savings quicky grow.

“Ready to Use” sheets and towels can save you a great deal of money, and they’re eco-friendly, too, saving resources that would otherwise be consumed in an initial laundering.

Be sure to check out our wide selection of Ready to Use Towels or Ready to Use Sheets, and get ready to save more!

Get connected: why every hotel should be using social media

May 13, 2013

social media marketing hotels

Last March, we reminded you that, “…with the heightened popularity of social media and hotel review websites, people are talking, leaving reviews, and influencing potential guests. People talk, so give them something to talk about: your incredible service.”

Clearly then, social media has its impact. But how else can you harness the power of social media and why should you? That is what we will be exploring in this post.

Hospitality venues need to understand consumers’ attitudes toward social media, and find ways to access and use the bank of information available on social media sites. Too often, many people – whether those in the hospitality industry or not – may not understand the full value of having an active, engaging social media presence, while those who do know prosper.

However, simply having an online social presence is never enough. The goal is to actively engage with fans and followers in fun ways. Develop real, genuine, and long-lasting relationships with them.

For example, Facebook holds an immense amount of potential for hotels because guests can not just share ideas and ask questions on the page, they must “check-in” to the hotel – not literally, however. Whoever checks-in to your hotel on Facebook will be voluntarily telling their friends and family where they have decided to book their reservations – with you.

But as mentioned, guests have the opportunity to spend time on your page and the more they are being engaged, the more time they are spending on your page seeing your name.

Use this opportunity to remain transparent so that complaints and concerns are addressed promptly and efficiently. Most people are aware that all places can have problems or make mistakes, but they want to know how well you find solutions. Social media proves it to potential guests.

Also, remember that people regularly look into the surrounding area when choosing a hotel. From nearby restaurants to upcoming events, guests look for places to go and things to do.

Use your page to showcase events, travel adventures, opportunities, and just about anything else going on in the area. Work with area companies, restaurants, etc., to offer guests discounts.

Additionally, social media can help you reward loyal customers, fans, and followers. For example, some hospitality services offer special rates for those that ‘like’ them on Facebook. You can also create engagement on social networks by giving out special rewards, such as discounts or prizes, to your most active users. Encourage past guests to write reviews about your venue on sites such as Yelp and Foursquare. Keep track of who your most engaged social media connections are and reward them. When others see how your business values loyalty and engagement, there is a good chance new people will choose to interact with your hotel more.

This post only explores the tip of the social media iceberg. Opportunities for those in the hospitality industry are vast and much of it is still unexplored territory. How will you use social media to boost your business?