Revolutionizing Guest Satisfaction Feedback

by Mark Heymann, ISHC - UniFocus Chairman & CEO

Was that revolution or evolution? Well, I’m not sure, so I’ll let you decide.

When I got into the guest satisfaction business, about 10 years ago, I thought we had a process that really made a difference. Companies and specifically, individual hotels, were getting maybe 30 responses a month and while everyone knew this was not statistically significant, when a brand rolled up 30 per hotel times 600 hotels, suddenly it looked like you might really have something. At least the brands thought so.

Then we started getting 300, 400, 600 per hotel per month. Now we were getting someplace. Even if you divided the data by market segment, you still had some meaty stuff to begin to really understand what your guests were thinking and whether or not they would come back and have their friends join them. But then, this was still all paper based.

Aha! The advent of the Internet. Plus, more sophisticated Property Management Systems, and more sophisticated guests. Now a new cost effective medium was presenting itself for the gathering of guest perceptions. But What we found, which was a little like early time clock systems that simply recorded the same punch in and outs that was on paper sign in sheets, we simply took our paper surveys and put those same “documents” on the internet, not fully taking advantage of this powerful communication device. We maintained monthly reporting because, I guess, that’s what people were comfortable with, when daily was readily available. We asked the same questions instead of customizing them based on the PMS data of what the guest did during his or her stay. We kept our sample size below 50, although now many have risen to the mid 70s. And, we continued to only respond to the irate customer, taking for granted the guest who expressed an opinion but didn’t demonstrate a clear problem or reason for not returning.

What we didn’t do is step back and redesign our approach based on the collection method that was now available. Was it because we were just comfortable with what we had and just didn’t want to change? If that were the case, it would be a bit like still using VisiCalc (for those of you who remember the first spreadsheet program) with our new powerful laptops, instead of Excel.

We need to rethink our approach, and significantly increase the value of the information that we are gathering. Here are a few suggestions that you should request of your guest feedback partner.

• More timely information, preferably daily with alerts to problem issues
• Expect statistically significant sampling (about 300 or so per month or for smaller properties, at least per quarter) The cost to increase is insignificant
• Customizable questions in a dynamic environment
• A feedback system so you can respond, even automatically, to the guest who is completing your surveys.
• Relate perception to other drivers such as rate, length of stay and spend.

There are others, but this is a good start. Oh, and most importantly, expect and trust the management team to utilize the information. With all the money the industry spends on getting a guest to stay at a property, the property team must use the feedback to communicate with the guest, tell the staff the results and adjust the business when necessary to improve the experience to further ensure that you KEEP the guest. And keeping the guest is what it is all about.

Using guest feedback on a regular basis should be no different than walking the property every day or getting your billings out. It is, or should be, an integral part of how you run your business every day, not just like a P&L process that is reviewed monthly. So is it evolution or revolution? Like to hear your thoughts.

Mark Heymann, ISHC, is Chairman & CEO of UniFocus.

Reprinted from FocusEd, Fall 2004 edition.