What with working mothers, soccer practice and socializing, getting the family around the dinner table is not as frequent an occurrence as it used to be, says a 2013 Harris Interactive poll. Not just for dinner Starved for quality family time together, Americans have discovered another way to rehash...
The cruise line industry has been attacked by all forms of media, painting a picture of dread and mutiny on the high seas. Forecasters predict troubled waters due to the ever prevalent chatter of safety problems, mechanical breakdowns, disease outbreaks, and other major issues du jour. So What’s the...
Hospitality 101 comes with a multitude of acronyms and customer service rules that can be applied in any business where service is a key element of the experience. One of the first rules taught by hospitality companies big and small is the 10 and 5 Staff Rule, also known...
Apparently, wealthy consumers, particularly Americans, are essentially an untapped market for cruise lines, according to a global wealth study reported on by Travel Weekly. With the global penetration of upper-income consumers by cruiselines estimated at just 1.2%, a focus on this segment of the market seems like a no-brainer....
It’s no surprise that seamless service and top-notch amenities are what Coyle Hospitality-referred professional cruise mystery shoppers have determined make certain ships more appealing than others. With competition among cruise lines fierce, they continue to up the ante on the guest experience. For instance, we recently reported how Royal...
After meeting my wife for a much needed jolt of Starbucks, we agreed to go our separate ways that afternoon so she could keep up with her Pilates routine at the gym while I sneaked in a few emails to the office. We were to reconvene at Central Park...
After any service failure, a business has the opportunity to fix the problem. If the business responds quickly, efficiently, and in a straightforward way, it may even end up with higher customer satisfaction and brand loyalty than before the problem occurred. Over the past month, we’ve seen a series of unfortunate...
Coyle began designing and implementing cruise mystery shopping programs for Royal Caribbean, and other cruise lines, several years ago. Since that time, professional cruise quality consultants from our network have been aboard the inaugural launches of Royal Caribbean’s new ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. It is...
By now, everyone has heard about the troubles aboard the Carnival Splendor, which had an onboard fire and was disabled for three days at sea during a voyage this month. But Carnival Corporation followed this nightmarish scenario with one of the best examples of service recovery. Most cruise consulting...
One of the greatest things about travel is the anticipation. And while nothing beats lounging on the beach in Antigua, imagining it and talking about it in the weeks and months before is uniquely cathartic. On that note, I just booked my flight to attend the inaugural sail of...
