Google has now started to do ‘Real-Time Searches’.  What does that mean?  Google says real-time search is:

“… new features that bring your search results to life with a dynamic stream of real-time content from across the web. Now, immediately after conducting a search, you can see live updates from people on popular sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as headlines from news and blog posts published just seconds before. When they are relevant, we’ll rank these latest results to show the freshest information right on the search results page.”

What does that mean to you?  Well, for starters, your hotel will now appear in Google if people post a tweet on Twitter about you or mention you in their Facebook status update.  This can be either really good for you, or really bad for you.  Here is how I first noticed Google’s real-time search.  I was going to go out to a local restaurant and needed the address so I did what I always do… pulled out the iPhone and googled it.  I found the address on the first Google entry.  I happened to scroll down to the bottom of the page and saw someone’s Twitter tweet that said ‘got food poisoning at XYZ Restaurant’. 

Obviously not good for business.  I know that I found another restaurant to eat at.  I am sure that many others did as well.  So, what should you do?  First, have a good plan in place to monitor your hotel’s internet reputation.  Then act on anything both positive and negative that you may see.  It is very easy to contact someone who posts about your hotel on Twitter or Facebook or in their Blog.  Be sure to send them a thank you if they say something positive about you and make sure that you offer to fix any problems they may have had if they say anything negative about you.  Make sure that you have a plan in place today!

Other travel companies that made the list were Jetblue Airlines (19) and Enterprise Rent-A-Car (16).

To view the full list on BusinessWeek’s website, click here.

Here are some tips for providing five diamond service that does not cost much:

1. Teach all of your associates the phrase ‘my pleasure’:  When a guest says ‘thank you’, associates at top properties always respond with ‘it is my pleasure’.  Other properties respond with ‘you’re welcome’ or ‘no problem’.
2. Every associate must be guest focused instead of task focused:  At a three diamond hotel, a housekeeper held up the elevator that I was in to wait for her friend so they could go to lunch together.  The next day at a five diamond, an engineer who happened to be walking near an elevator saw me walking down the hallway and automatically pressed the elevator button.  The engineer was aware of my need as a guest.  The housekeeper was only aware of her own need for a lunch break.
3. The guest’s name must be used by every associate that serves him/her:  At a five diamond hotel, every person from the Bellman, to the Guest Service Agent, to the Restaurant Server knows the guest’s name and uses it.  The valet attendant asks the guest for the name and then introduces the guest by name to the bellman who then introduces the guest by name to the guest service agent.  The PBX operators see the name displayed on the telephone.  The restaurant servers and bartenders see the name on the room charge or credit card receipt.
4. Have your associates also use their own name:  At top hotels, the associates always introduce themselves by saying ‘my name is John and I will be serving you this evening’.  This works especially well for bellmen, servers, bartenders, and in room dining associates.
5. Learn how to fully anticipate guest needs:  Anticipating a guest’s needs requires experience.  Log and track all of your guests’ requests in all areas of the hotel.  Begin to provide the most common requests automatically to the guests so they do not need to ask anymore.  For example, if cotton swabs are frequently asked for in your hotel, consider placing them automatically in each room.  Also consider having other not as frequently requested items on hand just in case.
6. Be aware of the guest:  Train your associates to make eye contact and greet each guest as they pass.  At five diamond hotels, each associate that you pass will greet you and notice you.  This helps when you are trying to stop an associate for help and also makes guests feel important.  At most other hotels, the associates seem to try their best to avoid you.
7. Walk with the guest:  When a guest asks for directions, make sure that your associates are trained to take the guests as far as possible.  At five diamond hotels, associates, unless they are tending to an outlet, will fully escort guests to their desired locations to make sure they do not get lost.  At other hotels, associates usually just give directions and point.

With these points of service in place at your hotel, it will be tough to distinguish between the service of your hotel and the service of a hotel with a five diamond award.  The good thing about these simple service tips is that they only take some training to and dedication from your associates.  Very little extra costs would be involved.  In addition, you will build the perceived value of your hotel through the improved service.We, as mystery shoppers, would also enjoy our stays much more!

Customer Service call banks have really improved. Call your phone company or your bank’s customer service line. They will probably use your name many, many times during the conversation. They will also try to up-sell you on additional services, but that is a different article!

The other day, my arteries were feeling a little less clogged than usual so I stopped by Jack In The Box for lunch. After I ordered, the cashier asked me my first name. She then wrote it on the ticket. A few minutes later when my order was ready, they called out my name instead of ‘order number 196, ultimate cheeseburger and fries’. Then the associate handed me the tray and then thanked me by name.

Now, if Jack In The Box can use the name of their guests, there really is no excuse!

Three of our team members went to the Hard Rock Cafe for a quick lunch.  Because the Hard Rock is a tourist destination, they really had a lot to sell.  The host sat us at a table, handed us menus and said that our server would be over in just a minute.  A minute later, the server arrived and greeted us.  She asked for our drink order.  Instead of just asking ‘what would you like to drink’, she also recommended three beverage selections including their specialty iced tea.  When one of us ordered a soda, she casually tried to up-sell him on the souvenir cup.  It probably would have added another $4 or $5 to the tab.

After taking the beverage orders, the server offered us an appetizer.  Instead of just asking ‘what can I get for you’, she recommended an appetizer sampler platter for us to share.  The appetizer platter was $19.

When she came back to take the entree order, she came up with creative ways to up-sell.  She offered different side order choices (at a premium price of course) and extra toppings on the sandwiches (add another buck for bacon, etc.).

While we were waiting for our food, she brought over a miniature catalog of Hard Rock stuff from the gift shop.  She said that if we wanted to purchase a t-shirt or something, she could get it and add it to our bill. 

After the meal, she attempted to sell us on some deserts.  The desert menu was cleverly placed inside of the check presenter so you would be forced to look at it. 

The server was great at selling and had a lot of opportunity.  She was very casual about everything that she offered.  It would have been very easy to say ‘yes’ to many of her choices.  She probably does very well with her tips and her average check is probably well over $20, even though most entrees are only around $10.

Their decision to stay at your hotel starts with a quick review of your website.  Does it have a pool?  Check.  Steakhouse?  Got it.  Gym?  Ok.  They take your hotel into consideration.  But is it better than the hotel down the street that has the similar rates?

A quick Google search will tell them what they need to know.  They read the reviews on tripadvisor.com.  Maybe they check out yelp.com or read your Yahoo Travel ratings.  Oh, Mary from Iowa says your staff is rude and your food is lousy.  Three people say that your hotel lost their reservations and two people say that they were overcharged during their stay.

You just lost a reservation.

This is why you must have someone on your property that is managing your internet reputation!  The great thing about sites like tripadvisor.com or yelp.com is that they allow you to contact the person who posted the complaint.  They also allow the complainer to amend their review if their opinion is changed.  You should be emailing everyone who posts a review of your hotel and thanking them for posting the review as well as resolving any complaints.

Customer Service 101 has told us all that someone who has a bad experience will tell 15 people while someone who has a good experience will tell 1 or 2.  This really gets magnified on the web.  I found one angry guest who posted his gripes with a hotel on more than 5 websites.  Who knows how many thousands of potential guests saw this review.  His complaint?  The hotel charged him a no show even though he stayed for 5 nights and would not issue a refund.  If the hotel was managing their internet reputation, they would have seen the review, contacted the guest and resolved the problem before any more damage could have been done.

Web 2.0 is changing the way that people use the internet and your hotel should be keeping up with changes.  We are not saying that your hotel should have its own MySpace page but there are many new areas that you must manage.  Start with these suggestions:

Set up a RSS feed to notify you of any blogs or sites that use the name of your hotel.  Here is a good article on how to set one up: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/719/Online-Reputation-Management/

Review your ratings on the big websites like expedia.com and travel.yahoo.com.  You may not be able to do anything about your past reviews but you can at least improve your future reviews.  You will probably find many complaints that are easily fixed for future guests (ex. Not telling the guest in advance of your parking charge).

Embrace sites that encourage user participation.  Tripadvisor.com and hotels.com allows users to write a review as well as upload their personal pictures and videos of their trip!  One hotel we looked at had almost 300 reviews and 70 photos and videos on tripadvisor.com and another 200 reviews on hotels.com.

Build an owner page on tripadvisor.com.  You can build a page, post your own photos and videos.  You can also be automatically notified of every review posted about your hotel and even respond to the review!  If your hotel is on tripadvisor.com, you really need to have an owner page.  You can probably do it in about 10 minutes.  You will get more room reservations if you do it right!

Consider updating your hotel’s website with new Web 2.0 features.  We have seen a few hotel sites that allow their guests to upload their pictures of their trip.  People love to brag.  Let them brag about the great time they had at your hotel.  It will get you more reservations!  This would be especially fun if you are a hotel near a theme park or other vacation destination!  Trip advisor even has a widget that you can add to your website that displays reviews from your guests.

You may have to adjust your strategy depending on the type of hotel you have.  For example, boutique hotels and vacation destinations should focus more on the web 2.0 features.  Business hotels and hotels that are part of a large chain may want to focus their efforts on pleasing guests who post unsatisfactory reviews and performing damage control.

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’.

Never refer to a guest by their room number.  When they approach the desk to check out or make a request, ask them their name and never ask them their room number.  You are a hotel and not a bank; do not treat your customers as numbers. 

Train your associates to use the ‘chain of name’.  When a guest arrives at the hotel, the valet attendant asks the guest their name and writes it on the valet ticket.  The valet attendant then introduces the guest to the bellman by using their name.  The bellman then introduces the guest to the front desk by using their name again.  The guest only told one associate their name and now three associates have already addressed the guest by name and they have not even checked in yet!

Have the PBX Operators use the guest’s name during every phone conversation.  This one is easy because the name is displayed on the phone.

Have the restaurant servers and bartenders use the guest’s name every time the guest signs a check to their room or pays by credit card.  Take it a step further and ask them for their name when they approach the hostess stand so the server can use the name during the meal.  Take the same approach in the bar.  Ask the guest their name when they open a tab.

Make sure that every associate who visits a guest room uses the guest name.  If they are delivering a room service order or fulfilling a guest request, they should know the guest’s name and use it.  If you are still using 2 way radios to handle guest requests, make sure that the housemen are wearing earpieces.

Again, using the guest’s name is one of the most important tools that you have to create a personalized, memorable stay and build guest loyalty.  A guest should be addressed by name 10 to 20 times during a visit.