Toni Jacaruso:

Hi. I’m Toni Jacaruso. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at a management company retreat, and we had some great conversation. One of the things that came very clear is that we in the hotel business have taken for granted the automatic opportunity to engage with our guests at the front desk. Well, it’s about to change drastically and it may be for some of you it already has. So here’s the thing, people can check in online. No problem. ECheck-in, right. Well now they have keyless entry. They can go to the room and use their mobile device as a key.

Toni Jacaruso:

So, that’s limiting the amount of time we have face-to-face with our customers. If you are lucky enough not to have keyless entry, now is the time to capitalize on that. So there’s a few things you can do. Number one, companies love to advertise. So, on the credit card, look for the company name. Oftentimes it’s there, and it’s as easy as that and you can ask more questions at that point. Next, logos – they’re everywhere! Look on luggage, luggage tags, look on shirts, anything that you can see. You’ll start to see more logos if you start to look for them.

Toni Jacaruso:

Next, walk-ins. Let’s say people don’t have a reservation, they’re coming in and especially if they pay BAR. if they’re paying your Best Available Rate, that’s your target customer. Find out what they’re doing there and when they’re coming back, and ask them to bring some friends. The next thing, what if they walk in and want a site tour? Take time to teach every single one of your front desk associates, how to give a proper site tour. Be sure you have lead sheets available at the front desk, and of course in the shuttle, don’t forget the shuttle.

Toni Jacaruso:

And last, if you’re lucky enough to have somebody check out, actually come to the front desk to get a receipt or any of that, please ask them if you can make them a return reservation. So, just some basic simple things, some things that sometimes we forget. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and I hope you’re having a great day. Best of luck to you. Call me if we can help. Thanks.