In the time of internet shopping and easy price comparison, building loyalty is more important than ever.  If guests do not feel loyal towards your hotel, they will always pick a cheaper option.  Building loyalty is about creating an emotion connection between your guest and your hotel.  Using the guest’s name during every interaction is the most important step towards building that connection.

During our one night Service Experience Audit, there are over 15 different areas where we score the use of the guest’s name.  Every associate from the bellman to the breakfast server is expected to use the guest’s name.  Here are some tips to help you and your team use the guest’s name more often:

Does the guest have a name that you cannot pronounce and you are afraid to butcher?  Don’t worry.  Anyone who grew up with a name with 12 letters and no vowels has heard every possible attempt.  They will not be offended by yours.

Is the name on the room a male’s name but a female answers when you call?  Don’t assume that it is the wife.  Do a better job during the reservations and check in process to get the names of all of the guests in the room.  If you are still unsure, say ‘I’ll send 2 towels up to the Smith room right away’ instead of ‘I’ll send 2 towels to room 302’.

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When we evaluate new hotels for our overnight stay reports, more than 1 out of every 3 simple guest requests is completely ignored.  The analyst’s requests are simple things such as a toothbrush, more towels, or to have an engineer or bellman come up to the room.  The analyst will make the request and never hear from a hotel associate ever again.  Here are some simple do’s and don’ts to make sure your requests are handled perfectly:

Do require the guest service agent to log the request on a proper Guest Request Log

Don’t allow them to scribble the request on scrap paper, the back of their hand, or anything else but the log!

Do make sure the log has space for the GSA to log the following:  time of request, room number, guest name, item requested, teammate who handled the request, time request completed, and the time of the callback. 

Do make every GSA log down every request on the guest request log.  If a guest requests a toothbrush or requests a room change, it must be on the log.

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