Author Archives: TrueGuest

About TrueGuest

Headquartered in Los Angeles, TrueGuest was created by former hotel executives to serve the hospitality industry by measuring and improving guest service and internal controls. Our Service Experience Audits are used by top brands such as Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Marriott, Renaissance, Hilton, Hyatt, W Hotels, Intercontinental, Sheraton, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Wyndham, and many more.

USA Today Predicts the Hotel Bar Trends for 2013

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usatodayHere is another great article from Hotel Check-In at USA Today about Hotel Bar Trends for 2013.  Barbara Delollis walks us through all of the crazy hotel bar upgrades.  From drinks created by world-famous chefs to Lady Gaga-themed cocktails, our hotel bars are changing.

A few highlights from the article:

Don’t be surprised if you see a drink menu that features ingredients or garnishes such as herbal tea, freshly crushed pineapple juice or unusual seasoned ice. Expect to pay $12 to $18 for a premium cocktail, or perhaps more in big-market cities like New York.

You might even see items made in the kitchen in and around your glass. At Telluride’s Hotel Madeline, guests coming off the slopes and craving something filling can order a decadent Bloody Mary cocktail garnished with two cheeseburger sliders, stuffed olives, pickled okra, pickled green beans, pickled asparagus, celery, pearl onions, lemons, limes, pepperoncini, celery salt, black pepper and two strips of bacon.

Give that a minute to soak in.  I am starting to miss a regular vodka tonic already!  Here are a few of the other bar trends for 2013:

Continue reading →

Ask TrueGuest: How to I Improve Our Handling of Housekeeping and Engineering Requests?

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Dear TrueGuest,

Our comment card scores have shown that we are really lacking in follow-through on guest requests.  Do you have any tips to help us get back on top?

You have come to the right place for this question.  We actually have not really address guest requests in quite a long time, not since this post.  The handling of guest requests can be a simple procedure, but things can go horribly wrong if the proper procedures are not in place.  Here are our keys:

Tips for taking a guest request:

  1. Have a log system in place.  It doesn’t matter if you have an old-fashioned paper log or are using a complicated computer tracking system.  Both can be very effective.  About 30 percent of guest requests are not handled due to a lack of follow-up.  GSAs take a request over the phone.  Next thing you know 3 guests arrive to check-in before he writes the request down and the request is forgotten.  Get a good log!
  2. Find out exactly what the guest expects during the request.  The guest may be reporting that the shower in their room is not working properly.  Maybe they need the shower fixed right now so they can get ready for a meeting.  Maybe they already showered and would like it fixed after they check out so they are not disturbed.  Be sure to ask the right questions to find out exactly what is expected.
  3. Quote a time for handling the request.  A simple guest request should be no longer than 10 minutes.  If a guest is calling because their TV is not working or they are out of towels, they probably need assistance right away.  Make the guest feel at ease by saying ‘I will have someone up to your room to help within the next 10 minutes.’
  4. Repeat the request back to the guest before ending the call.  This one is often overlooked.  If the guest is requesting towels, let them know that you are sending 2 bath towels and 2 hand towels.  They can then correct you if you misunderstood their request.

Tips for handling the guest request:   Continue reading →

LA Times: FTC Warns About ‘Drip Pricing’. Are Resort Fees Coming to an End?

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Hotel resort fees may soon be coming to an end.  The LA Times is reporting that the Federal Trade Commission has warned 22 hotel operators that adding fees (such as resort fees) might violate the law.

los_angeles_times_logo

From the LA Times:

In May, the FTC hosted a conference on what it calls “drip pricing,” which it described as “a technique in which firms advertise only part of a product’s price and reveal other charges later as the customer goes through the buying process. The additional charges can be mandatory charges, such as hotel resort fees or fees for optional upgrades and add-ons.”

Sound familiar? Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition; Charlie Leocha, executive director of the Consumer Travel Alliance; and Ed Perkins, a longtime consumer advocate, think it does. In an August letter to the FTC, the three wrote: “Mandatory artificial fees … can make a hotel’s posted rate appear to be below the true price by as much as $30 a night — more than enough to drive consumer choices in the travel marketplace.” They noted that the practice makes it difficult to determine how much your final bill will be, which hurts leisure and business travelers who must be attentive to the bottom line.

While non-mandatory fees such as parking charges appear to be acceptable, mandatory fees such as resort fees ‘might’ violate the law.  From the article:

Continue reading →

Spike TV’s ‘Bar Rescue’ is Back for a Third Season!

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Bar Rescue

One of our favorites, Bar Rescue returns again for a third season starting on Sunday, February 10th, 2013 on Spike TV.

During the first two seasons, veteran bar expert has helped dozens of struggling bars update their concept, fix their food and drink menus, and put internal controls in place…  all with true reality TV drama.

Here is a little preview of what to expect this season:

Continue reading →

UK Bed Bugs Hotel Monitoring System Coming to the US

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In our favorite hotel-related story this week (mainly because we want to post a picture of a bed bug sniffing beagle), Bed-Bugs.co.uk has partnered with Dana K9 to provide their service in New York and New Jersey.  Bed-bugs.co.uk created a Bed Bugs’ Hotel Environmental Monitoring System and will now be bringing it to the US.  From their press release:

Pioneering British company Bed-Bugs.co.uk is delighted to announce the signing of an exclusive licensing agreement with New York based bed bug specialists Dana K9 Inc.  

The agreement allows Dana K9 to use, install and distribute Bed Bugs’ Hotel Environmental Monitoring System within New York State and New Jersey.

Widely used throughout the United Kingdom, the Hotel monitoring system is a complete control strategy for the detection and control of bed bug infestations in hotels, hostels and care homes.

The system combines patented passive monitoring detection technology with highly developed, eco-friendly, processes for dealing with bed bug infestations.  

Wherever possible, non-chemical means are used to eradicate bed bug infestations, with a corresponding reduction in potential environmental damage.

A little bit about their partner, Dana K9, from the press release:

With over 25 years experience in the pest control business, Dana K9 specialise in advanced methods of pest detection and control, introducing new technologies to their customers and using their team of highly trained and certified detection dogs for bed bug and termite infestations.

It will be nice to have another tool to keep your hotel out of the dreaded bed bug database.

Source:  Press Release

Source:  Bed-Bugs.co.uk

Source:  Dana K9

Google’s New Hotel Finder Features Are Now Live, Be Sure to Update Your Hotel Information

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Google has been slowly improving its travel tools and now just launched new features for Google Flights and Hotel Finder.  The Hotel Finder is very impressive.  For instance, with a few clicks, I can find 828 hotels in Los Angeles.  I can then sort the results by price, star rating, user rating, or price compared to usual.  I was able to find a great room at the W Hotel in Hollywood for tonight for only $118.  Google says that the price is 56 percent lower than the usual price.

Google Hotels

Google also added an incredible new feature that allows you to check out the neighborhood around the hotel you select.  It is very handy for first-time visitors who are looking for a walkable location, like Hollywood.  You can even draw your own custom map area to find a hotel that meets all of your needs.  You can now even search an area by brand if you are a Hilton Honors or Marriott Rewards collector.

Because of the new search features, be sure to take a few minutes and review the information for your hotel and make sure everything is correct.  Also, make sure all of your features are listed.  Potential guests will now search for things like ‘downtown Los Angeles, 3 stars or more, and free wi-fi’.  If you do not have free wi-fi listed as a feature of your hotel, you will miss out on potential reservations.  Be sure to also take a minute to review your star ratings and your internet reputation.

Source:  Google Flights

Source:  Hotel Finder

AAA Adds 9 New 5 Diamond Hotels for 2013

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For 2013, nine more hotels achieved the prestigious honor of AAA’s top-level, Five Diamond.  A total of 125 hotels and 53 restaurants in North America are now AAA Five Diamond certified.  That is only .3 percent of the total 59,000 rated AAA hotels and restaurants!  From the AAA press release:

aaa-five-diamond-awardThe path to a Five Diamond Rating is rigorous. Properties identified by AAA as potential candidates for the Five Diamond Rating undergo multiple unannounced evaluations by a AAA inspector and final decision by a panel of experts. In addition to the evaluation of physical attributes, potential Five Diamond establishments are subject to thorough onsite assessments of all guest services from the initial reservation through checkout for hotels and from seating to  presentation for restaurants. Each area is evaluated based on level of competence, refinement and hospitality.

Here is a list of the new AAA Approved Five Diamond Hotels and Restaurants:

Continue reading →

Ask TrueGuest: How Does Using Table Numbers Improve Internal Controls and How Do I Assign Table Numbers?

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Dear TrueGuest,

I read a couple of articles on your site about using table numbers to reduce employee theft.  How does that work?  Also, how do I assign table numbers in my restaurant?

Great question!  Using table numbers is not only a key tool for guest service but a great tool for reducing internal theft.  However, judging by the receipts we see in hotel restaurants, very few hotels take advantage of using table numbers in restaurants or seat numbers in bars.  Why does using table numbers help reduce internal theft:

  1. Using table numbers makes it easy for a manager or supervisor to monitor an employee’s open checks.  As a manager, I used to stop in the restaurant often and pop open the floor plan on the point of sale system.  Anytime I would see an open check at a table without anyone sitting at, I knew there was a problem that needed to be investigated.  My policy was always that checks must be closed as soon as payment was made.
  2. Using table numbers and seat numbers makes it hard for servers and bartenders to reuse checks and steal the cash.  We’ve written quite a bit in the past about problems with servers and bartenders reusing checks.  See this article on check splitting and this section in our internal control guide for bars on reusing checks.  If your restaurant and bar have a good table and seat number systems, it is more obvious when servers and bartenders reuse checks.  For instance, if a guest at table 22 pays cash for their buffet, the server cannot easily reuse that same check with table 34.
  3. Using table numbers and seat numbers also adds another layer of perceived controls.  It seems simple, but the more controls you have in place, the less employees will test them.  Experienced servers and bartenders know that restaurants who do not have simple controls like table numbers in place probably aren’t doing a very good watching out for internal theft.

Continue reading →

Bad Staff Attitudes Account for More Complaints Than Quality of Product, from Big Hospitality UK

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ICS logo article

Trade website, BigHospitality, recently posted a very interesting report comparing restaurant complaints about service with complaints about food quality.  The article is based on a report titled ‘Handle With Care’, produced by the Institute of Customer Service.  The reports argues that the way customers are treated by the restaurant employees is often more important than the food.

In fact, the top 3 complaints are ‘staff attitude’, ‘staff competence’, and ‘organizations not keeping promised’.

Check out the full article or the Handle With Care Report below.

Source:  BigHospitalityUK

Full Report for Purchase:  Institute of Customer Service

AAA Announces Changes to the Approval Requirements for Hotels

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aaa-five-diamond-award

In the second half of 2012, AAA started implementing changes in how they score hotels that are candidates for 5 diamond status.  This was the first time they have made a change to their program since the year 2007.

The new AAA Hotel Rating Guidelines can be found here.  Click on the link halfway through the article to download the PDF.  If you skip to page 30 on the PDF file, you will see the new AAA Hospitality Standards for Five Diamond Hotels. 

Here are a few highlights that we have seen:

  1. It appears to be much harder to pass.  The old program had 391 possible points, the new program has only 345 possible points.  However, it appears the minimum needed to pass is still 268 points.  You used to need only 68.5 percent to pass, now you will need to score 77.7 percent.
  2. Many of the points that were removed were the easiest points.  You no longer get points for having 24-hour reservations, accurate pre-programmed phones, or the ability to post miscellaneous charges to the guest room.  I would estimate that most hotels will lose about 15 to 20 points from their previous score because these standards were removed.
  3. The new scoring is a bit more subjective than the old scoring system.  Instead of ‘attendant addresses guest by name during closing’, the new standard is ‘attendant uses guest’s name as appropriate for the manner of the guest.’  Other standards include ‘attendant provides an appropriate introduction’ and ‘attendant extends an appropriate closing’.
  4. The last question in each section ‘Hospitality, Refinement, and/or Competency’ now can be scored anywhere from 3 points to minus 3 points.  If any employee provides poor service or gives incorrect information, you can now lose 6 points pretty easily.
  5. A few of the very hard-to achieve standards have been eliminated.  For instance, room service no longer has the standard ‘there is additional evidence of personalized services’.

If you need help preparing for your audit, contact us.  The TrueGuest Service Experience Audit is the measurement and feedback tool you need to help you succeed.

Source:  AAA Approval Requirements & Diamond Rating Guidelines for Lodgings