• More than 50% of respondents plan to increase the amount of time and resources dedicated to social media within the next 12 months
• 44% of respondents have a dedicated social media person on staff
• 86% of respondents use social media for Sales & Marketing activities
• While 89% of respondents use Facebook, only 17% use deal sharing websites such as Groupon
• 63% of respondents use social media to improve customer loyalty, while only 49% use it to try and increase sales

Click here to download your free copy of the 2012 report, “Social Media in the Hospitality Industry.”

Coyle Hospitality Group

Founded in 1996, Coyle Hospitality Group is a market leader providing mystery shopping services, industry benchmarking data, and market research to the hospitality industry, including hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruises, spas, timeshares, sports stadiums, and venues.  Coyle utilizes a professional network of over 6,000 evaluators, serving markets both large and small, worldwide. Coyle’s hospitality experts provide unparalleled service and tailor-made programs to accommodate the nuances of each client’s brand. With Coyle’s objective and actionable reports, proprietary market research, and industry benchmarks, Coyle conveys the complete story behind each customer experience using colorful insight and meaningful analysis, recognizing that every detail counts.

About First Merchant Services

First Merchant Services, a strategic sales partner of Harbortouch, offers free touch-screen point of sale (POS) systems and free electronic cash registers (ECR) with fully integrated credit card processing to retail and hospitality merchants. Establishing a merchant account is easy with First Merchant Services.

For more information regarding Coyle research or programs, please contact us at 212-629-2083 ext. 106 or request information online.

Try finding a hotel mystery shopper willing to dish on one of their stays. Ask them to reveal the dirt on the unkempt suite, the coquette of a concierge, or the wilted flower that sullied the room service tray. You can’t.

According to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) there are some 30,000 of them in the U.S., hired by luxury hotel brands to check-in anonymously and judge mercilessly. But like a CIA agent or the rare hair stylist who’ll keep your secrets, gossip is not in the mystery shopper’s after-hours repertoire. Even if they don’t name names, everything they unearth is strictly confidential.

Perhaps it’s to be expected in an industry where everyone, from the booking agent to the bellhop, is famously discreet. If loose lips sink ships, a too-revealing mystery shopper could certainly submerge an hotelier or two. Thankfully, New York-based Coyle Hospitality Group (whose clients include Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group), produced a nine-year veteran willing to answer a few questions.

The catch: we would speak by phone, with Coyle’s representative playing watchdog, and the mystery shopper would remain nameless and description-less — more incognito than Brangelina on holiday.

Even by phone, the woman radiated confidence. She’d completed over 500 mystery shops in luxury hotels on four continents, and her voice came through the wires sternly, as if she’d been in upper management a day too long. She works as an independent contractor (paid by the job). What she looks for at each hotel varies from client to client — some brands maintain a checklist of ten things to look for upon arrival, others more than 80.

“I pack a measuring tape, because a few hotels want me to get down to the nitty-gritty,” she says. “Is the radius of light emitted from the lamp exact? Is the paint on the walls in a particular palette?”

Occasionally, she’ll check in as the most obnoxious breed of hotel guest: the road-weary whiner.

“I’ll call the front desk and say the room smells like smoke even when it doesn’t, just to see how they’ll respond,” she says. Fake-outs are staged and executed thoroughly; she’ll go as far as to empty the batteries from the remote and grumble about the fritzy T.V., or unhook the chain from the toilet to time how long it takes the staff to fix it. It’s an exacting art. After she checks out, her report is written up, fact-checked by Coyle, and delivered back to the client in a matter of weeks.

“My goal, honestly, is to get hotels to provide the highest possible level of service,” she says. “When I return to these properties personally — and I do, if they’re great — I get such satisfaction seeing that.”

In the era of Yelp and TripAdvisor, when travelers can report anything at all to the Googling masses, trustworthy accounts are more important than ever to hoteliers. Coyle isn’t alone in providing unbiased evaluations to luxury brands that clamor for it.

Zachary Conen, senior vice president of sales and marketing at LRA Worldwide, a mystery shopping firm based in Pennsylvania, says they maintain a stable of 120 full time consultants who travel 42 weeks out of the year. They too are tight-lipped, but happy to tell you their standards, which alter depending on the client. Is there a seasonally appropriate fruit at the front desk? Did you get a call from the concierge within thirty minutes of check-in? Are the amenities Gilchrist & Soames and perfectly arranged?

Competition for the positions is fierce: you’re required to have three years of management experience in the hospitality industry, excellent written and interpersonal skills, and a credit line of up to $7,500 — presumably for booking your travel, which is reimbursed in its entirety.

Once you’re hired, there are other hurdles (namely, weeks of training at LRA University, learning the intricacies of each luxury brand.) The coursework is hush hush, of course, but it may be among the cushiest of educational experiences on the planet. One can picture these people lazing about in hotel robes, fawning over thread count quantities and proper lobby manner with equal zeal.

The concept of sending in a ringer to report back is nothing new. Mystery shopping began in the 1930s with three men touring the country, staking out Woolworth’s and Kresge’s (now Kmart) department stores. It gained traction during the civil rights era, when the government hired black and white “customers” to investigate the compliance, and the prolific lack thereof, to desegregation laws in restaurants and corner stores alike. Today it’s a $1.5 billion-a-year production, a large chunk of which is travel-based.

“In the late 1980s, Hilton was among the first luxury hotel brands to utilize the service,” says Mike Bare, co-owner and president of Bare International and one of the original founders of the MSPA. Three decades later, it’s common practice among hotel brands around the world. (Proof: LRA recently opened a satellite office in busy Singapore.) And soon enough, its taciturn nature may be over.

“You’ll see the secretive side of mystery shopping change; it’s becoming a vestige of the past,” says Jeff Gurtman, a former executive at both Coyle and LRA and now vice president of brand strategy for Dana Communications, a hospitality marketing agency.

The wealth of online reviews has reignited the idea that the customer’s feedback is not only important, but critical to success. Starwood recently announced that it’s allowing guest commentary, both good and bad, on its own websites; and more and more guests are leaving feedback directly on Facebook.

“Hoteliers read online reviews thoroughly,” Gurtman says. “If they notice a trend there that speaks to a problem, they have mystery shoppers to go in and test it with surgical precision.”

Essentially, they’re hiring people to complain so you never have to. And in the thoughtfulness-driven economy of high-end hotels, that might be the most considerate act of all.

After three action packed-days at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show, Coyle presents you with our list of the top 10 key takeaways from the show.

10. The NRA wants to help you!

Complete with educational seminars in all areas of the industry, online resources, general support, and more, the NRA is committed to helping its members succeed.  The organization is constantly conducting research and studies dealing with current and relevant struggles that exist in the industry.  Not to mention, we hear a few people end up attending the annual convention they put on.

9. Step up your non-alcoholic beverage program.

New coffee and tea products were a trend at the show this year, with new offerings in all categories including hot tea, iced tea, green tea, black tea, and white tea.  Another example that is relatively new to the market is Coca Cola’s “Freestyle” machine, a new soda pop machine being installed in all types of restaurants.  Coke’s “Freestyle” gives guests a chance to interactively experience and select from 100 different flavor options, and it adds a new dimension of guest satisfaction thanks to its collaborative nature.  Make sure you are offering products other than regular sodas, coffees, and teas to ensure that you stay on the same page as other restaurants.

8. Know your brand and stick to it.

If you don’t brand yourself, someone else will, and your business could head in a negative direction.  It is important to let your guests tell your brand stories, but make sure they are positive ones.  Once you establish your restaurant(s), stick with your concept, and only make moves in relation to your brand.  This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to innovate wherever possible; rather, you should keep your overall brand goal in mind and align any product or service with that goal.  If your products and services are too distanced from your brand, guests will be confused, and this type of misunderstanding leads to inconsistent service and lower guest loyalty at your restaurant(s).

7. Make food safety a priority.

After a lecture on building consumer trust, Coyle learned that building trust with your guests starts with building trust with your suppliers, educating your employees, and encouraging  employees to care.  Once you have employees that care about the well-being of your guests, you can educate them on issues such as food safety and teach them how to prevent negative guest experiences such as food-borne illnesses.  Let’s just face it: food poisoning is nobody’s friend.

6. Innovate by using the classics.

In an interesting seminar outlining menu innovations, one way to enhance creativity that people often rule out is to start with something simple, such as a favorite comfort food.  Then, take that item at its core, and use it as your culinary blank slate to dress it up however you wish.  Bring in new and different flavors from regions all around the world to create your own spin on the item.  This is a fun and easy way to impress guests with your originality.

5. Become more involved with your supply chain.

As you know, many factors can be linked back to your supply chain: food-borne illness outbreaks, overstocked ingredients, and more.  One way to better manage your restaurant is by really tracing your products back to your supplier.  Make and maintain good relationships with your suppliers so that you can always get your deliveries, even in tight squeezes.  You need your suppliers to know that you care for them.  In turn, they will care about you and your business.

4. Loyalty programs help you now more than ever.

Coyle heard loyalty programs mentioned in almost every lecture we attended at this year’s show.  Many discussed linking them with social media–which is a great idea–but it became apparent that, in general, loyalty programs have several benefits.  First, your guests will see added value in becoming a “loyal” member of your restaurant.  Second, you can learn from your guests by tracking their spending, dining frequency, ordering habits, and other behaviors.  To take it a step further, once you have won a guest who is now “loyal”, you can draw from their thoughts and opinions for new promotions, ideas, and concepts.  Guests appreciate feeling wanted by their favorite establishments. So, be sure to consider developing a loyalty program, and let your guest’s be heard.

3. Social media is a must at this point.

The number of users on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram grows everyday, as do the types of social media tools and platforms available.  Social media is beginning to dominate consumer time, thought, and opinion.  The best way to manage how you are viewed by your guests or your potential guests based on your social media is to be proactive and find ways to invite, engage, and reward guests.  While giving away free items and discounts doesn’t hurt, don’t be afraid to give your restaurant a personality.  Your social media activity should reflect your restaurant’s brand and convince guests to go into your establishment–whether as new visitors or as repeat guests.  If you haven’t tapped into the social media realm yet, it is better to be late than never.

2. Know your Competition.

One piece of advice Coyle heard this past weekend was to visit your three biggest competitors’ restaurants, stand around, and see what they’re doing to attract their guests.  That resonated with us, because if any industry knows it best, the restaurant industry knows how fickle the general public can be.  One day, Restaurant X is the hottest thing since parmesan truffle fries.  But the next day, Restaurant X barely has 15 covers at lunch.  There is no reason you can’t observe your competition and gain insight into what is working for them.  It is also helpful to ask your most frequent guests where else they dine and who they think your main competition is.  Involve your guests and learn from them to better understand who your competition is and what you can be doing differently to be more appealing.

1. Know your guest.

Drawing on the point above, people are fickle.  Knowing your guests helps you create guest loyalty, spread positive word of mouth, and receive favorable reviews–and this is just the beginning.  All of these points trickle down to increased awareness and buzz about your business.  And once you know your guests, appreciate them.  The people coming into your restaurant are spending their hard-earned money to sit down, relax, and enjoy a good meal–and hopefully a beverage or two as well.  When they walk through the door, they are trusting that you will deliver what they came for.  Therefore, you need to know what they expect, anticipate their needs, and exceed their expectations.  Do this, and guests will leave raving about their experience and wanting to return with friends and family at another time.

For more information about how Coyle can help you achieve your brand goals, please contact us online or call us (646) 825-5554.

Coyle took day three at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show (“NRA Show”) by storm. Coyle started the day off by attending a seminar dealing with an emphasis on building consumer trust in regards to food safety and then toured the floor to check out exhibitors of all types. After two days of traveling all over McCormick place, we knew the layout of the conference like the back of our hands but were still amazed at all the various booths we had yet to see!

Tea was one of the hottest trends at the NRA show this year!  As operators are looking for more ways to add value for their guests and increase revenue streams, tea seems to be making strides with varieties including iced tea, sweet tea, hot tea, green tea, black tea, white tea, and more!  After a bit of research, Coyle was surprised to discover that there were just over 40 booths that were either tea-focused or featured tea as a part of their offerings.  It may be worth it to develop the coffee and tea beverage program in your restaurant to stay on top of this trend.

As previously mentioned in our coverage of Day 1 at the NRA Show, another hot topic is Cleanliness and Safety in the food service industry. In the seminar Building Consumer Trust and Protecting Brand Reputation, with Ruth Petran from Ecolab, Craig Hedberg (PhD) professor at the University of Minnesota, and Jerry Chesser with Cal State Polytechnic University, speakers addressed the issues of food safety awareness and its importance to your guests. This topic is not only current and relevant but also something every food service or restaurant operator should be an expert on. Everyone knows how essential gaining customer trust is, but maintaining that trust requires a focus on food safety and preparation. Operators need to be proactive when dealing with their products and do everything in their ability to keep their guests safe so they can gain and maintain trust.  Anyone who has ever had food poisoning will agree: this is not a subject to be overlooked.

There are three elements of trust related to food safety.

Did you know that, each year, 1 billion people suffer from food borne illnesses, more than 2 million turn fatal, and over 52% of these outbreaks happens at a restaurant or deli? These numbers are staggering and shocking to say the least. A powerful beginning to the relationship between restaurants and their guests involves how an operator handles and responds to an outbreak.  Honesty is a powerful tool, and guests want complete transparency.  Operators needs to empathize and care for their guests, and, most importantly, encourage and hold their staff accountable for doing the same. Did you know that 75% of restaurant outbreaks are due to improper holding, contaminated equipment, and poor personal hygiene of staff members?  This statistic highlights the importance of getting your employees to sincerely care for the well being of guests.

Food safety is definitely not something to take lightly, and helping to increase awareness–such as streamlining the grading system–can be the first step to forming a more uniform food safety system nationwide.

Lastly, you should focus on building trust with your suppliers. Supplier care and supplier relationships are extremely important in maintaining the loyalty of your guests.  You need to trust your suppliers, because food-borne illnesses are often linked back to your restaurant’s supply chain.  Addressing these issues from the start can prevent such occurrences at your restaurant.

That is a wrap from Coyle on our NRA Show recap! I leave you with an invitation to check back later this week, where we will publish a list of the top ten 2012 NRA show take-aways.  We will highlight what was most popular, informative, and valuable for you as an operator.  Until then, have a great week!

It was another jam-packed day of the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show (“NRA Show”) as Coyle continues to take in the massive size of the venue, crowds, and vendors. The second day did not disappoint  and was just as astounding as the first. Coyle filled the day learning about various topics that all restaurant operators will find valuable -  no matter the type or scale of the restaurant – and we bring you all the highlights right here so don’t worry about missing out.

One of the most exciting and highly anticipated sessions of the day, was the keynote speech from former President Bill Clinton. Despite a late start and a little weather trouble, President Clinton made it to the show in fashionable time and took the stage by storm addressing the eager and lively audience filled with attendees and exhibitors alike. President Clinton addressed the packed room and urged cooperation and collaboration between all members of the food service industry – from restaurateurs, to food service suppliers, to chefs, and restaurant operators – as a way to address the challenges facing the nation. The former President Clinton also raised awareness of the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program, as a key example of such a collaboration that helps promote healthy kids menu options across the nation. President Clinton notes his optimism about the nation’s future and praised the restaurant industry’s strives to make a difference in fighting childhood obesity.

Healthy menu options has been a trend in the restaurant industry for a few years now, as President Clinton noted, obesity is on the rise and everyone has become more aware of the need for healthy food choices. But what are the other trends in the restaurant industry today? With social media constantly buzzing, sometimes it can be hard to keep up with what it is your guests want. With today’s sessions, Coyle has identified steps you can take to help you further understand your guest, identify trends, and successfully use your guest to help you tell your brand’s stories.

In the session with Dana Arnold and Dave Florin, of Hiebing, and David Stidham of Culver Franchising System, Inc. we look into Closing the Gap by Connecting Social Media with Traditional Marketing Touchpoints. The first step – is to know and understand your guest. Everyone is using social media, your guests are writing reviews on yelp, posting on food blogs, and commenting on open table. Understand why your guest are writing and they they are writing about. What makes a great story for them to tell and how can you repeat this over and over again? The ingredients to this success is laid out in four steps:

How do restaurateurs best utilize social media to further add value to the business? In the series with James Lux of Boloco, BJ Emerson of Tasti-D-lite, and Rohit Verma from Cornell, we address the issue of social touchpoints and how you cannot afford to not engage in social media. Social media grew exponentially in 2011, with Facebook growing to over 800 million users worldwide. However, in a globally connected world, companies should still act local. Restaurants need to use social media both internally and externally – to listen and understand your guests and to talk to and engage your guests. How do organizations become a social media butterfly?

Use social media to engage with your guests around topics they care about and deliver the message of what differentiates your restaurant from your competitors. You try to “surprise” and “delight” your guests when they are dining in your restaurant, so why not implement this online? Surprise your guests with special promotions and brand advocacy campaigns, and make sure each campaign is specifically tailored to-their needs. Be a creator and curator of stories and experiences, invite guests to listen to them, and capture these stories and reward and recognize your guests for recirculating them. Let the guest tell your story.

Coyle will be back tomorrow with a final recap of the last day of the show. Also look forward to the Top 10 Take-Aways and Trends from the show!

Coyle got off to a great start at this year’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show (“NRA Show”). Day 1 was filled with energy and excitement as Coyle joined 58,000 other restaurant professionals to learn, explore, and experience everything the show had to offer. With over 1,800 exhibitor’s this year, there was never a dull moment.

The diversity amongst the attendees and exhibitors was astounding, as the crowd included a wide variety of restaurant operators, distributors, vendors, chefs, and others who are passionate about hospitality. Even former President Bill Clinton made an appearance, although his keynote speech was delayed due to weather. Only one thing can bind together so many different types of people–their mutual love of food!

Educational sessions were also in abundance this year–with topics such as social media, sustainability, and menu trends–and there really was something for everyone.  Coyle kicked off this year’s educational series by attending seminars addressing three separate issues that are crucial to the daily life of anyone in the restaurant business:

• How to increase your restaurant’s bottom line through better talent management
• Addressing consumer needs and guest decision making
• How to decrease costs without compromising service or value

The first seminar of the day was The ABC’s of Improving Profits Through Employee Engagement, with Donna Herbel (Director, Field Training) and Toni Quist (Chief People Officer) of Perkins and Marie Calendars, Inc. What a great way to jump-start Coyle’s learning experience by tackling the two key issues that keep many restaurant operators up at night: how do we engage our employees, and how do I increase my profits? Employee engagement and this subsequent improvement to the bottom line can be achieved by following 12 measurable steps. Herbel and Quist estimate that by following these steps, restaurateurs can help engage employees and see an estimated $25,000-$30,000 increase in their bottom line. Engaged employees are “fully involved in and enthusiastic about their work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests.”

By following these 12 steps, restaurant operators will not only see happier employees, they will start to see greater employee-guest engagement. Also important to remember, the cost of hiring new employees is higher than the cost of retaining them. So, if you keep your employees empowered and happy, they will help drive you to larger profits and higher guest satisfaction.

In the second session of the day, Understanding the Key Dining Needs Driving Consumer Decision-Making, with Chris Startt (Director of Foodservice Marketing) and Chris Elsbury (Director of Foodservice & On-Premise Insights) of Coca Cola, we dove into the motives behind dining out and determined what impacts people’s decision-making. The restaurant industry is growing more difficult and complex, so it is more important than ever to know what your guest wants. Startt and Elsbury explained the concept of DINE (Diner Insights, Needs, and Experiences) and addressed the key trends and attributes that guests consider when weighing their dining options.

Cleanliness and Safety have continued to emerge as important factors in the minds of guests. They want to know they are being served safe, clean, and fresh food. In addition, with the increase in options available and the high level of competition, value is also more important now than ever before.

The second thing to consider is why guests dine out. What is the occasion, and how do you address guest needs? When serving your guests, take their mindsets into consideration. Date Night guests want a relaxing atmosphere and positive messaging, and they do not want to be rushed. On the other hand, Fast and Affordable diners want quick, easy meals and are all about functionality. By knowing your guests and the purpose of their visits, you can turn insights into action and come up with a solution to better cater to those needs, ultimately improving retention and increasing demand.

The last session of the day was Lowering Costs Without Compromising Quality or Service, with Janet Erickson of Del Taco LLC, Dean Gordan of Jack in the Box, David Parsley of Brinker International, Sam Stanovitch of the National Restaurant Association, and Mark Eganhouse.  How do we decrease costs without compromising quality? With continuously increasing prices, supply chain professionals will be challenged in 2012. The solution? The NRA has formed a group to help manage costs without compromising solutions, encourage networking, and help suppliers build relationships. Building supplier relationships is key because you want them to care about you and your business. Another method towards improving supply chain management costs it to conduct regular audits. Remember to keep track of where you are spending money and focus your energies on where you are spending the most. Diligently tracking your spending, negotiating terms, and potentially decreasing frequency of deliveries will help increase efficiency and ultimately decrease costs.

So that’s a wrap for Day 1! Coyle will be back tomorrow with a recap of the events and highlights that summarize Day 2.

April 30, 2012

(New York, NY) Coyle Hospitality Group is pleased to announce that it will be a sponsor of the Chicago chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society’s Annual Scholarship Reception during the 2012 National Restaurant Association Show. The NRA Show brings together 58,000 industry experts from more than 100 countries and connects them with 1,800 exhibitors. The NRA Show fosters operator/supplier relationships while showcasing world-class innovations, talents, and strategies from people and organizations across the restaurant industry. And with restaurant industry sales finally looking up, Coyle will be live at the event to bring you all the exciting new insights and trends from the restaurant industry veterans.

The Scholarship Reception, organized by the Chicago chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society, will be held at the Allerton Hotel in Chicago. Dean Michael D. Johnson, the Dean of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Coyle is sponsoring the event alongside other passionate hospitality professionals such as Highland Baking Company, Goose Island, and Broadview Imports.

The Cornell Hotel Society is the alumni association of Cornell’s Hotel School. The objective of the Society is to promote the interests of Cornell University, the Hotel School, alumni, administrators, faculty, and students. The Scholarship Reception works in the best interest of Hotel School students, and, as the Coyle team is made up of hospitality experts that are proud Cornell Hotel School alumni, Coyle feels a special connection to the event. The event will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Monday, May 7, 2012 and will feature an open bar as well as hors d’oeuvres. Coyle is proud to be a sponsor for this event and hopes to see you there!

For more information regarding Coyle programs, please contact us at 212-629-2083 ext. 106 or request information online.

1. Always Be Prepared. Before your mystery shopping evaluation, setting aside a little time to go over a few things can make all the difference. Every mystery shopping evaluation is different, so reviewing the instructions, the standards that you will fill out, and the details of the assignment will help you to feel confident and prepared to do the best job you can.
2. Do Your Research. Take just a few minutes to check out the website for the location you will be visiting. Understanding the concept and feel of the establishment will help you to know what they are looking for. The more you know about the location going in, the more complete your mystery shopping evaluation will be, and the fewer questions you will have to answer afterwards.
3. Have a Plan. There is of course a lot of information and attention to detail that goes into conducting a great mystery shopping evaluation. Before you embark on your visit, have a good plan in place for how you will process it all. Will you be visiting with a guest? If so, how can he/she help you out? Having the confidence in knowing how you will go about your evaluation beforehand will lead to a more comprehensive report, and will allow you to also enjoy the process all the more.
4. Keep it Fun. Finding an assignment that is right for you is key. Think about the style and types of places that you enjoy and feel comfortable at. If you can keep this in mind, the quality of your mystery shopping evaluation will shine through. Be patient and keep an open mind. New evaluations are posted often, so check the assignment board frequently and consistently to make sure you do not miss out on any opportunities. Selecting the right assignment will keep mystery shopping fun, for both you and your guest!
5. Gather Feedback. We all learn through experience and keeping an open mind. Let Coyle know how your experience was, and positively absorb anything that we can offer to help your next mystery shopping evaluation be even better than the last one was. The best mystery shoppers conduct evaluations every month and are always looking to improve their score and portfolio.

Keep these five things in mind, and you will take your mystery shopping evaluations from good to GREAT! Follow these tips and improve your chances to dine at four-star restaurants, stay at luxury hotels, and travel around the world in premier cruise lines.

And of course, always remember to have fun!

Over the last few years, there have been numerous articles written on the best methods to use social media in the hospitality industry.  However, the article, “Social media meets hotel revenue management: Opportunities, issues, and unanswered questions,” by Kelly McGuire of the SAS Institute is the clearest and most actionable article written to date.  The article provides a clearly defined framework on how to adopt a successful social media program in hotels and how to use it to improve revenue management opportunities.

In the article by McGuire, a framework for analyzing social media opportunities are broken down into two dimensions: information flow and time orientation.  Information flow from inbound content is identified as user reviews, ratings, photos, and comments from websites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp.  Outbound firm-generated content includes promotions, offers, and press releases through the use of corporate blogs, Facebook, or Twitter.  The second dimension, time orientation, is split into short and long-term strategies such as how to use reviews to enhance the value for consumers.

McGuire develops an excellent strategy with these frameworks and identifies ways to utilize social media and increase revenue management.  Comparably, these same disciplines can also be used to measure quality in your hotel and then improve the overall guest experience.  In a similar fashion, using the disciplines outlined by McGuire, the following is the framework for maintaining quality and high guest experience using social media in hotels:

Inbound
For better or worse, much of the inflow of inbound data from social media tells a detailed and vivid story. Even if the commentary is biased, smart hoteliers have to resist shooting the messenger and look to the learning that is there. Travelers are vulnerable and therefore emotional. Often, negative inbound content speaks of some disappointment, followed by a feeling of powerlessness.  The thing causing disappointment is usually quantifiable–a dirty room, a missed wake-up call, and a hotel’s guest service standards need to be continually measured in these areas.  The feeling of powerlessness is trickier to handle because of the emotion.  Staff need more than standard awareness; they need skill in reading the guest, resourcefulness in offering solutions, and follow-through to ensure that remedies are enacted.  Again, hotels need to have quantifiable standards for staff to follow as these situations that create negative inbound data unfold. Very few hotels train their staff in Service Recovery or teach the basics like listening, taking notes, and apologizing sincerely. Simply appeasing the guest can create smoldering fires that produce inbound blazes.

At the minimum, guests are sharing their perspective and revealing touch points that can be used going forward.  This is true for positive inbound content as well, and the positive stories should be examined carefully for insights into what creates “surprise and delight” moments. Too often, positive reviews are greeted only with relief and curiosity about how it changed a hotel’s ranking.

Outbound
The first outbound channel must be with the person or organization who created the inbound content.  Yes, it is good to blunt the force of the source (unplug the megaphone), but the more important audience is the thousands of observers.  Loyalty is truly galvanized when your customers know, either through their own experiences or hearing it from others, that you can execute service recovery. This is especially important to travelers who are outside their comfort zone.

The next channel of outbound content creation is amongst the staff.  Most businesses, not just hotels, underestimate and under-utilize the power of employee recognition and peer modeling. If a front desk staff member creates positive inbound content, it needs to be shared with equal if not more fervor than any negatives content. Other staff members will learn that it ‘can be done,’ and they will imagine their roles in the next chapters of these heroic stories.  At a minimum, they will honestly review the opportunities presented to them. The Accounts Receivable manager who ignores a guest’s request for an itemized room service bill needs to know the peril of that behavior and think of ways to create positive inbound content.

Finally, outbound content is managed through Facebook, Tweets, and other social media marketing strategies that help shape a hotel’s story and identify the promoters that produce more business and use their bullhorn benevolently.

All of the above require standards and benchmarks, otherwise it is a free-for-all, and hotel managers will never be able to quantify, analyze, and enact strategies based on reliable and consistent data.

If you are interested in the hotel guest standards development programs Coyle has created for its 300 hospitality clients, please visit our website, contact us online, or call us at 212-629-2083 ext. 106. Coyle’s programs are customized to the clients’ quality culture, and they are designed to promote the best practices Coyle sees in the marketplace every day.

From a business perspective, one of the most unique aspects of a hotel stay is that the product being sold is completely hinged upon the experience. That is, if the guest encounters a service failure in the hotel restaurant or a less than friendly guest services staff member at the front desk, he might forget that the rest of the stay flowed seamlessly. With a product so complex and so dependent upon staff member actions, the only way to obtain a high level of consumer satisfaction is by periodically measuring the aspects of the hotel product that affect the guest’s perception. Periodic hotel audits provide this analysis and offer a professional, outside perspective on the quality of an operation.

The Importance of Hotel Audits

In the 2010 Handbook of Applied Hospitality Strategy, Cornell University’s Cathy Enz describes hotel audits as a means of improvement, where third-party auditors review a property to ensure the hotel is focusing on the issues that guests truly care about. These auditors explore how a hotel’s improvement process has added value since a prior review, and they make relevant and meaningful suggestions based on their experience with other hospitality companies.

The hotel audit is the perfect tool for determining whether or not your service is not only meeting but exceeding expectations. This is important for several reasons. First, guests who experience strong emotions with regards to their hotel stay are willing to pay more than customers who feel ‘nothing special’ (Barsky and Nash 2002). Second, and this will be discussed in more detail below, guest satisfaction is directly correlated with guest loyalty and–consequently–your bottom line. For example, audits are helpful when identifying problem areas in terms of service recoveries, and guests’ negative affective responses to service failures significantly influence guests’ overall satisfaction with hotels. (Smith and Bolton 2002).

The Connection Between Hotel Audits, Guest Satisfaction, and Loyalty

Guest satisfaction is widely known to be the most critical piece of the loyalty pie, and hotel audits offer a way to analyze and uphold that satisfaction. But what exactly is guest satisfaction? Most industry professionals assume that it is made up of value and service quality, that service quality leads to brand trust and brand attitude, and that guest satisfaction leads to behavioral guest loyalty.  To test this belief, the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management conducted a 2010 study on the determinants of loyalty in hotels, and they made several discoveries:

1. The dominant direct determinant of loyalty is customer satisfaction
2. Value is not a statistically significant determinant of loyalty
3. Brand attitudes contribute to the explanation of loyalty
4. When indirect effects are considered, the fundamental determinant of loyalty is service quality

These findings shift our focus to the less-often discussed but incredibly important indirect piece associated with guest loyalty: service quality. In a study published in the 4th edition of Cornell’s 2011 Hospitality Quarterly journal, industry experts Esther Gracia, Arnold B. Bakker, and Rosa M. Grau studied service quality and the customers’ positive affective response–i.e., the perceptions and emotional responses guests have to service encounters. Their study confirmed several hypotheses:

1. Guest perceptions of service quality are positively related to guest loyalty towards hotels and restaurants.
2. Guest perceptions of service quality are positively related to the positive affective response that guests feel as a consequence of the service they receive at hotels and restaurants.
3. Guests’ positive affective response is positively related to guest loyalty toward hotels and restaurants.
4. Guests’ positive affective response mediates the relationship between guest perception of service quality and guest loyalty.

The essential finding of this study is that a positive opinion of a hotel or restaurant’s service induces positive affective responses which increase loyalty intentions. Further, the two main predictors of customer loyalty were identified as the level of service quality provided and the guest’s intentions to be loyal. Thus, customer cognitions are a primary factor in creating loyal hotel and restaurant guests (Gracia, Bakker, and Grau, 2011). This study also reiterates the importance of the role played by front-line, customer-oriented restaurant and hotel staff members. The staff members who interact with guests elicit the emotions of those guests, and those emotions influence guests’ evaluations of hotel and restaurant service quality. This includes tangible items such as the reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy of the service provided, and all of these pieces can be measured and fortified by periodic hotel audits.

Coyle’s mystery shopping and quality assurance audits highlight the elements that allow hotels to exceed expectations in regards to their services. If you would like to learn more about Coyle’s services, please visit our website, contact us online, or call us at 212-629-2083 ext. 106.