Business Tips Tricks and Enhancement
The first and the last impressions are always the most memorable. When you arrive at a hotel, and the doorman is warm, outgoing, and friendly, you will have a favorable first impression. If, upon your departure, he puts you in your car and says, “Thank you, can’t wait to have you back” – and if everything else during your visit went well – you will have an excellent impression of the hotel. Even if something went wrong during your stay, you’re left with a satisfied feeling when the first and last impressions are positive.
It is hard to measure customer satisfaction, but we do try to ensure two crucial elements: first, that a customer feels connected to the hotel or restaurant; second, that they have been recognized as an individual. We operate mostly small hotels, so our staff has the opportunity to get to know our customers and interact with them on a truly personal level. Employees can help the customer discover new destinations or make recommendations about where to go and what to see. This interaction creates an emotional relationship with the customer that will make them remember us and, we hope, choose us the next time around. Customers tell us that they see our employees as empowered with the ability to tend to their needs. That empowerment of employees is difficult to describe, but the idea is that even the bellman has the ability to solve problems and make decisions.
We have a guest loyalty program that recognizes repeat customers, those who influence our exceptionally high rate of return: Recent research indicates 35 percent of our guests are return guests. We think that rate is on the high side. A critical question we ask is, “Will you return?” When the answer is yes, it is a very powerful answer from a business standpoint; it means you don’t have to find a new customer after every transaction. Your costs go down as loyalty goes up: Loyal customers create even more business by recommending Kimpton Hotels to their friends. Our most loyal customers are in the “Inner Circle,” a list of about 2,000 customers who stay with us frequently. They have my direct line–they hear from me, I hear from them—and get certain rewards throughout the year. We interact on an ongoing basis.
I personally visit our facilities as often as I can. Walking around a property is important to me, because I’m able to observe the happenings directly. For example, we have five hotels in Washington, D.C., so I spend time in every one of those hotels, talking with employees and customers and getting a feel for that hotel’s experience. Then, I will give my input to the staff so we can either tweak and adjust policies, or confirm that we are doing the right thing: ensuring customers are satisfied.
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