The single biggest indicator of guest retention is customer engagement. The average cost of getting a new guest vs. retaining a current one is 6 to 7 times higher. If you increase your customer satisfaction by 6% you will increase sales by 5%.

The people with the freshest eyes and most perspective on your service are your customers. Talk to them.  Consider a question like this: “If there was one thing we could do better next time, what would it be?”

23% of customers will not return to a hotel after only one stay because of loyalty/offerings of a competitor. Discover who your local customers are and recognize them. Find ways to acknowledge all repeat customers. Verbal recognition costs nothing! The customers who return to you are rewarding you. Reward them back!

78% of customers research online before making a buying decision. This applies to everything from buying a camera to purchasing a hotel stay. What does this mean to you? —  Every customer that walks out the door has a powerful voice in the success or failure of your hotel. —  In the 21st century every guest is a secret shopper and their voice is not getting quieter.  It is getting louder. —  The future of quality ratings will not be...

hotels.com® recently conducted a hotel amenities survey, asking travelers to dish on their favorite in-room and hotel perks. Question after question, guests reported that free Wi-Fi is a must when choosing a hotel room and that this amenity overwhelmingly factored into the decision on which hotel to book. Thirty-eight percent of travelers reported that free Wi-Fi played a part in their decision as a “must” to stay at a specific...

According to industry experts Jack Corgel – Professor of Real Estate at Cornell, and Mark Woodworth – President of PKF Human Resources, things are looking up in 2012. Here are 5 reasons to be optimistic this year. 1.      Travelers have the money a.    Moody’s analytics puts real personal income growth rate at 3.6% for 2011 and 6.1% for 2012… a healthy number b.    Corporate profits continue to...