by Doug Kennedy
April 29, 2013

Although it has been many years, I still recall well my first days working in a hotel as part of the grand opening team at the Lexington (Kentucky) Marriott at Griffin Gate.  Although I had grown up in Lexington and thought I knew it well, the excellent mentors I had for managers back then made sure that all of us front office employees were very well prepared for commonly asked questions about transportation, directions, shopping, attractions, and area restaurants. 

Having grown up in a middle class family I had been out to dinner many times in Lexington, but had it not been for the training I received, I would have sent my guests to my own personal favorite restaurants.  I loved Shakee's Pizza, where you could hear an old-time saloon piano player and have all-you-can-eat pizza and fried chicken.  I also loved Chi Chi's Mexican restaurant, which was one probably the closest I had experienced to fine dining, and for me TGI Fridays was where you went for a really special occasion.   Thankfully my managers knew that being a luxury resort our guests' usually desired more unique culinary experiences and trained me to on the local area fine dining options which I had never experienced, but that out of town guests were more likely to be looking for.  As a result I was able to direct our guests to restaurants they wanted, ranging from fine dining at the Carriage House to local favorites such as the Columbia Steak House or Hall's on the River.

I can still picture the wall-size map of Lexington that was posted in our Bell Closet and that served as a reminder that it was everyone on the team's job to be experts at giving directions along with our recommendations.  We also knew the hours of operations at all the local attractions, despite that most of us had never toured the Kentucky Horse Park, the Rupp Arena, or the Henry Clay Home unless if you count our school field trip experiences from years ago.  We all kept up-to-date on local area events by reading the "front office bible" with the bright red cover - a.k.a. the Daily Log Book - and most importantly, initializing it to document that we had read it.  So we were always prepared to give our guests the local insider's tips they so desperately needed back then.

Now as a frequent traveler I find myself on the other side of the front desk, bell stand, or concierge desk, asking the same types of questions my own guests asked me back then.  However, if my recent experiences are any indication, too many of today's hotel front office staff are not benefiting from the same type of training I received, and as a result, they find themselves unprepared to answer guests' most basic questions.   Here are some recent examples:

• While staying at an upscale hotel with a major brand flag out front, I had friends in the area coming by to take me out to dinner.  Since it was the tail end of a snowstorm that evening, we approached the front desk for advance on the closest local restaurant.  The front desk employees basically said they had no idea as they do not live in the area and then handed us a list of restaurant names and phone numbers.  Even when pressed, they could not tell us anything about the restaurants on the list. 

• While staying at a boutique hotel in a major US city I asked the concierge for the best transportation options to visit the local stadium for a major sporting event.  He immediately said that to take a bus would involve many transfers and that the best way would be a car service, at $110 each way.  Not wanting to spend all that, I decided to do my own Google search, although I really did not have time to do so, quickly finding there was a non-stop express bus for special events such as this at just $10 round trip.

• After landing in a mid-size mid-west US city, I was surprised to find that the local phone carrier did not recognize my GPS and thus the automated directions I have come to blindly count on did not work.  When I called the hotel, I was on hold for more than 10 minutes while they found someone who could assist me.

Personally, I think the problem starts with many of today's entry level managers who do not make this type of training a priority.  Perhaps it's because they personally do not understand its relevancy in today's world of Google, Yelp, and Yahoo online resources.  I have had honest conversations with some managers who even admit to wondering why a guest would ever in their right mind want to ask a question vs. going online themselves. 

The problem is only made worse by many of today's hotel brands, which seem to have tried to outsource the job of providing what we always called "local insider's tips" to technology systems such as a virtual concierge and interactive touch screen maps. 

Although this technology is very helpful and I do believe has made it easier for today's guests to become self-informed, there are times when one really wants and needs some local insider's information such as:


Smart hotel managers know that increasingly, it is personalized, authentic and helpful guest service that makes the difference, especially in this era when so many amenities, décor, and hotel features are the same across all major brands.  Smart hoteliers know that despite all the technology, it is the people that make the difference.  As long as a hotel facility is meeting physical inspection standards, which I find most are these days if they are part of a major brand, then the guest experience of the physical product is going to be virtually the same.  That's why I always say guest satisfaction is 10% about the guest room itself, and 90% about everything else.  Rather than using new technology to replace and reduce staffing alone, smart hotel managers are encouraging their colleagues to use the time they save through automation to help those guests who truly need our assistance. 

Here are some training tips to make sure that your hotel sales and front desk associates are prepared to assist guests with local insider's information:

• Help them understand that although we charge guests for the room, what guests "buy" is an overall experience of your hotel and also your destination.
• Make sure "know your product" training is part of the onboarding of all new staff, even before they are trained on the computer and technology systems.
• Conduct trivia contests regarding local area attractions and points of interest.
• Challenge staff unexpectedly to answer basic questions correctly in exchange for a small cash reward or fun prize.  Make it fun with themes such "$5 For five correct answers" or "Five answers for a free lunch."
• Regularly distribute a local area update such as a weekly email newsletter.
• Have local area businesses and attractions send representatives to speak at staff meetings.
• Simply quiz your employees regularly in the work place to challenge their preparedness in a fun way.

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Doug Kennedy is President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. a leading provider of customized training programs and telephone mystery shopping services for the lodging and hospitality industry.  Doug continues to be a fixture on the industry’s conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and associations, as he been for over two decades.  Visit KTN at: www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com   Read his travel blog at ontheroad.kennedytrainingnetwork or email him directly:  [email protected]

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