资源描述
,Hospitality Trends &,Strategies for Boosting,Guest Satisfaction in 2019,03041017193036,Change: The Only ConstantGlobal Travel Industry OutlookProliferation of Guest FeedbackKeeping on Top of Guest FeedbackIntegrating Data, Tools & ProcessesDelivering Real-time Guest ServiceMastering the Art of Real-time Service Recovery,INDEX,CHANGE: THE ONLY CONSTANTSo, youve been responding to reviews, sendingpost-stay surveys and using guest feedback to guideimprovementsnow what? With change being theonly constant in the travel industry, theres never timefor resting on your laurels.In this guide we discuss the latest trends andstrategies impacting the lodging industry and theguest experience. Well look at market conditions,changes to traveler behavior and expectations, andnew tools and strategies for keeping on top of guestfeedback, integrating systems, data and processes,and delivering real-time guest service.Whether you work for an independent hotel, a largehotel company, serviced apartments, a hostelcompany, destination management organizationor any other type of accommodations business,this guide will help give you the knowledge andconfidence you need to take guest satisfaction tothe next level in 2019.,Change: The Only Constant,3,Global Travel Industry Outlook,4,GLOBAL TRAVEL INDUSTRY OUTLOOK2018: A STRONG YEAR FOR TOURISM,First the good news. On a global scale, 2018 was avery strong year for tourism, with international touristarrivals up by 6% over the previous year. The growthis well above the previous forecast of 3.7%, accordingto estimates from the United Nations World TourismOrganization. Total international arrivals wereexpected to reach 1.4 billion in 2018, with growthparticularly strong in Europe, Africa, the MiddleEast, and Asia Pacific but weaker in the Americas.,525 mnContinued growth is expected in 2019 but at aslower pace of 3 to 4%. The UNWTO predictsthat this upward trajectory in international tourismarrivals will continue through to 2030.,Increase in Arrivals of international tourists (million) by year.Trend 1995-2010Tourism Towards 2030 projetion1.4 bnActual 1995-20181.8 bn,Global Travel Industry Outlook,5,Tourism tends to vary by destination according tolocal market conditions, and growth in some regionsmay be tempered by economic and political factors. InEurope, “Brexit” has been delayed and there is still noclear path to Britains exit from the European Union.In Asia Pacific, Chinas economic growth has slowedrecently, exacerbated by trade tensions with the US.Meanwhile, inbound travel to the US has sloweddown, although a strong US dollar may lead toincreased outbound travel.Furthermore, after years of consecutive economicgrowth in many regions of the world, theres fear thata major slowdown or even a global recession is onthe horizon.,Global Travel Industry Outlook,6,TRAVEL INDUSTRY TRENDSIn 2019 several major trends that started in previousyears continue to have a significant impact on thelodging industry, including:Continued growth of big hotel brands. “Megabrands”like Marriott, IHG and Accor continue to grow andconsolidate, acquiring smaller brands and launchingnew brands. The largest hotel company of all, Marriott,operates 6,900 hotels across 30 brands and recentlyannounced plans to add 1,700 more hotels over thenext three years.With deep pockets for marketing and expansion, largehotel companies often operate multiple propertiesand brands in the same destination and spend heavilyon advertising, making it challenging for independenthotels and smaller brands to compete.ZHEJIANG TAIZHOU MARRIOTT HOTEL, CHINA,7,Competition from OTAs. OTA expansion in thehotel segment has slowed down in recent years, andOTAs have faced unprecedented challenges to theirbusiness model. In the UK, OTAs recently vowed tochange their ways following an investigation bythe Competition Authority for aggressive sellingtactics, misleading discount claims, hidden chargesand manipulation of search results. In Australia,facing increased pressure from the travel industry,Expedia signaled that it would be ease rate-parityprovisions in contracts.Meanwhile, new research from Kalibri Labs indicatesthat loyalty campaigns operated by hotel brands tocounter OTA growth are paying off in direct bookingsand higher net ADRs.Growth of alternative accommodations. The travelindustry has seen explosive growth in the alternativeaccommodations sector in recent years, with Airbnbleading the charge. At the same time BookingGlobal Travel Industry Outlook,and Expedia have expanded their private rentalofferings and integrated listings of private rentals andhotels in search results.Airbnbs recent acquisition of HotelTonight signalsthat Airbnb intends to expand its offerings to all typesof hotels, not just private rentals, B&Bs and smallproperties. While this may result in a new competitorfor OTAs and a new distribution channel for hotels, itwill also give Airbnb access to a much larger pool oftravelers to convert to alternative accommodations.GDPR. The European Unions General DataProtection Regulation came into effect in May of2018, introducing strict new rules on how companiescan collect, store and utilize personal data. While thelaws are intended to protect EU citizens from privacybreaches, governments around the world havebegun to roll out similar regulations.,Global Travel Industry Outlook,8,For hotel companies, these regulations come at achallenging time when hotels are looking for newways to personalize the guest experience and buildloyalty.Consolidation in the hotel tech sector. Mergersand acquisitions are reshaping the hotel tech sector,which stands to benefit hoteliers in the form of bettersystems integrations and fewer vendor relationshipsto manage.Examples include acquisitions by Chinas Shiji Groupof ReviewPro, Snapshot, StayNTouch, Concept,ICEPortal and others, Amadeuss purchase ofTravelClick, Zucchettis acquisition of VerticalBooking and Simple Booking, and the merger ofTravel Tripper and Pegasus.,CARVING GREATER MARKET SHARE,With the steady growth in travel in recent years,hoteliers have had it pretty good for a long stretchof time. A recession or economic slowdown wouldhave a major impact on demand, with less spendingon travel, meetings and events. To achieve budgettargets, hotels will have to focus on carving a biggerpiece of market share from competitors.,As a hotelier, the state of the economy and otherbig-picture trends are beyond your control, butyou continue to retain full control over the guestexperience and this is where your focus must be.Regardless of what may be happening outside yourdoors, your ability to carve your fair shareorbetterof market demand will be contingent onhow well you leverage tools and best practices toenhance the guest experience.,20%,20%,20%,CURRENT ECONOMY15%25%,Your HotelCompetitor 1Competitor 2Competitor 3Competitor 4,35%,20%,20%,15%,RECESSION10%,10,An example of the growth in data can be found in therecent surge in online review volume. A sample set ofhotels around the world found that that reviewvolume increased by 29.6% in 2017 over 2016 and byan additional 20.4% in 2018, according to aReviewPro analysis.,PROLIFERATION OF GUEST FEEDBACKToday, hotels and other lodging operators have noshortage of guest feedback. The challenge is to keepon top of the feedback and ensure that guest issuesare resolved on a timely and consistent basis.ONLINE REVIEW VOLUMEWhile the number of staff members employed byhotels hasnt varied much in recent years, theamount of tools and data staff manage on a dailybasis has increased substantially. This is due to theshift of travel planning, booking and sharing activitiesto digital channels.,Source: ReviewPro global analysis of 22,312 hotels,TRIPADVISORS NEW TRAVEL FEED,The same analysis found that TripAdvisors marketshare of hotel reviews has been shrinking, accountingfor only 12% in 2018. While TripAdvisor remains apowerhouse when it comes attracting travelers andinfluencing booking decisions, the focus and,positioning of the site has changed over the years.In late 2018, TripAdvisor launched “the all-newTripAdvisor,” a travel feed on its home page thatlooks similar to Facebook and Instagram. Enteryour destination, and you can scroll through travelcontent related to that destination.,Its a unique and fun way to plan a trip, displaying avariety of content ranging from dining options toactivities and attractions. But the stream favorscontent from travel media, brands and influencersrather than the traveler reviews that made TripAdvisorso popular.,The user-generated content is still there but is a bitmore buried in the site, accessible from tabs at thetop of the page and links within the travel feed.When you visit hotel pages, youll find the same,content as before, with hotels in a destination rankedby the “Best Value” default sorting option introducedin 2017. To see hotels ranked by reviews, users canchange the sorting option to “Traveler Ranked.”So, while the home page has been completelyrevamped, the rest of the site is mostly the same.The changes are part of TripAdvisors repositioningover the years from a hotel review site to a site forplanning, booking and sharing content about theentire trip.,CHANGES TO GOOGLE HOTEL SEARCH,Google has come under intense scrutiny in theEuropean Union over the past couple of years,where regulators have levied several billions of eurosin fines over three separate judgments, accusing thesearch giant of engaging in illegal practices andanti-competitive behavior in order to “cement itsdominant market position.” Googles hotel and flightsearch products have not been a focus of theinvestigations.,Recently, Google rolled out an array of new toolsand features related to hotel search. A redesignedsearch box now appears at the top of organic,results in hotel searches. The box displays a range ofsorting options, a short list of hotels and a price map.Perhaps the most significant change is that userscan now book a hotel room without leaving Google.,When you click to view hotel listings, you find anewly designed search dashboard featuring hotellistings, pricing and filter options. Click on a hotelname, and youre taken to the hotels listing, whichdisplays enhanced tabs, features and information.Under the Reviews tab youll find breakdowns ofreviews by star rating and attributes, reviews fromother review sites, ratings by traveler type, and newsearch and sorting tools.,Google has been a major force behind the recentgrowth online reviews, representing an incredible37% of total review volume in 2018, more than anyof the 166 review sources surveyed, according to theReviewPro analysis.,For more information about changes to hotel search,check out our Google guide.,MORE FEEDBACK CHANNELS, HIGHEREXPECTATIONS,Of course, reviews are just one of many guest,feedback channels hoteliers must manage. In recentyears these channels have grown to include guestsurveys, social media, SMS, messaging applicationslike Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and webchat. In the not-too-distant future, we can expect toadd chatbots and voice assistants to this list.,Meanwhile, consumer expectations have increasedtoo. Previously, consumers were content to receivea response to business inquiries within days or evenweeks; today, they expect a response within hoursor even minutes. A survey from HubSpot found that82% of consumers expect an immediate answerdefined as 10 minutes or lessto marketing andsales questions, and 90% expect an immediateresponse to customer service questions.,1 S E I R E S,How May We Help You?,When it comes to digital communications,traveler behavior and expectations arechanging. Are hotels keeping up?During a recent webinar, we asked attendeeshow their guests communicate with staffwhen they need something after check-in.,21%,28%,36%,96%,3%Guests call or come down to the front deskGuests can send us a message by SMS or messaging appWe send a post-stay surveyWe send an in-stay surveyWe offer a chatbot or digital voice assistant services16,How do your guests communicate with staff,when they need something after check-in?,KEEPING ON TOP OF GUEST FEEDBACK,Given the proliferation of guest feedback channelsand the higher expectations of response times, howcan hoteliers keep up? It all starts with setting upsystems and processes to ensure that guest feedbackis managed quickly and efficiently.This involves four keys steps.,1. Assign Duties. Decide who should receive thefeedback and, for hotel groups, whether it goes toa central source or directly to the property.,2. Prioritize. Determine if the feedback is from adirect or indirect channel, if the guest is arriving,in-house or checked out, and if the feedbackpositive, negative or neutral.,3. Follow Up. Decide who is responsible for takingaction internally and the procedures they shouldfollow.,4. Respond. Determine if a response to the guest is,appropriate and how quickly it should be sent.,AUTOMATIONMany hotels use software tools to automate tasks,including:, Alerts & notifications to advise staff when actionis required. Goals, procedures & guidelines built into taskmanagement tools to ensure consistency. Auto-replies to inform guests that an inquiry isreceived and assure them that a staff memberwill respond as soon as possible. Templates and saved answers to ensure thatresponses are quick, accurate and on brand. Completion tracking and escalation parametersto ensure that tasks are completed in a timelymanner.,Auto CaseManagementEmpowering you to immediately identify andfix operational and service shortcomings isthe driving force behind this easy-to-use,yet powerful solution. Automatically assignand track cases based on specific feedbackfrom online reviews and in-stay or post-staysurveys to ensure that internal servicestandards are being met.Request a Demo ,One of the biggest challenges faced by hotelierstoday is integration. With recent advances in,technology, hotels have access to virtually unlimitedamounts of data to track guest behavior andpreferences and cater to their needs.,The problem is that this data is often fragmentedamong software systems that dont communicatewith one another. Depending on the property, thismay include the PMS, CRS, CRM and POS as wellas software tools for functions like revenue,management, reputation management and guestsurveysjust to name a few. When hotels attempt tointegrate data among these systems, its often donemanually and can be time-consuming and proneto error, resulting in duplicate, incomplete andinaccurate information. The need to comply withprivacy regulations adds another layer of complexity.,
展开阅读全文