Mastroberte, Tammy (June 2008). Payment Decadence: pay-at-table tech takes hold. Hospitality Technology Magazine. http://www.htmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=3E19674330734FF1BBDA3D67B50C82F1&tier=4&id=A86CC98DCC3742C6B61C66F5C55BCF1C
In today’s restaurant business, the pace is extremely quick and this has led to several new technologies. With customers on the go constantly, the restaurant business has now come up with several new wireless technologies to speed up the check. Several POS systems have been made to assist the both the guests and the restaurant. These systems have not only sped up the process but they have increase the overall turnover rate thus increasing profits. In addition, they have made it extremely easy for restaurants to upsell their products by featuring their specials through advertisements and promotions. Companies such as Epson, Verifone and Softtouch are the leaders of the new POS technologies. Epson has created several printers that are wireless and provide very long battery life. Verifone has created a wireless handheld blue tooth payment system with added protection so that the customer does not have to fear any credit card fraud. In this day and time, several people do have to fear credit card fraud so these wireless technologies are ideal in that the customer is now able to pay right at the table without ever losing sight of their card. SoftTouch and Tabletop media have made it possible for the customer to pay at any time during their meal. In addition, this new type of media has made it possible for restaurants to easily and quickly survey the customers which has lead to higher customer satisfaction.
These new technologies are ideal for both increasing satisfaction for the customer and internally as well. With experience as a server, I have found that when the tip is already calculate, I receive much higher tips. In addition, with these new technologies, my customer will always have the bill and be able to pay immediately. I know that several times when I am really busy it is difficult to take the time and print out 2 checks, have it in the book and deliver in a timely fashion all the while trying to serve my other customers. From a managerial perspective, these will be great because you can find out immediately how your guests were served and if they are unsatisfied you can immediately assess the situation. In addition, these new technologies have provided a new chance for the restaurants to market new products as well as promote different specials. It is definitely true that when something is put into the customer’s view initially they are more apt to purchase the product so this will really increase the restaurant’s profits. I think it is really beneficial that these companies have already taken a step toward preventing credit card theft. This has become an extremely popular crime unfortunately and it is extremely hard to notice immediately, so I really think that customers will feel much more comfortable.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Blog #1 Hotel CRM
Inge, Jon (June 11, 2008). Hotel CRM, let's get personal. Hospitality Upgrade. http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_featured_articles/featured_articles.asp
Property Management system is as we all the know “heart” of the hotel. As technology advances, PMS systems have become not only the heart of the hotel but also the key to customer relationship management. It is used in several ways by hotels to build customer loyalty throughout the guest experience, from the reservation process all the way through check out. Modern customer relationship management tools have been assisting hotels in several different ways. Most importantly, the internet has completely changed the way that hotels have interacted with current and prospective customers. The website of a hotel is now the first point at which the customer makes contact with the hotel. This aids in making reservations as well as informing guests of the property. It is essential that the property is properly advertise because it can me a disaster if the hotel fails to meet up to expectations. In addition, now PMS has made it possible to program automatic emails for confirmation as well as follow up emails to thank the guest, this is a very useful tool for CRM. PMS is now able to build more detailed customer profiles so that hotels are able to properly access all of the guest’s wants and needs prior to arrival, this can be as simple as their preference to reading material all the way to the smallest details of what type of room and location the guest normally wants. When hotels are able to meet these expectations without asking the hotel, this is a huge step. As with all new technologies, it is essential to not overuse or overbear the customer with extra information. It is very easy to overstep your boundaries and in this way the customer can feel violated.
Having just finished training at the Hotel DuPont, working in reservations and revenue management, I can certainly see how these new CRM technologies will be very useful to hotels. First, it makes it very easy to set up a reservation for previous guests of the hotel, and now we are able to build more complex guest profiles so that one is able to upsell the product much more. In addition, we are able to easily build customer loyalty with the simple click of a button. I know that at the hotel, we have standard emails typed out and as we enter in the guest’s information, the email is automatically personalized. Also, when we see in our records that they frequently attend the theatre or the green room, emails are sent out when there is a special event or play. In addition, we have programmed our website so that it is found with certain keywords and made sure that it was set up accordingly so that guests are able to enter in their data and upsell as much as possible. Working at the front desk in addition, I have seen how PMS has indeed aided in CRM. Now in PMS, we are able with the click of a button to see comments and messages so that we know exactly what the customer is expecting and we can have things ready before our guest arrives. At the hotel, the staff continually strives to go above and beyond to leave our customers with a memorable experience so as they will not only return to us at a future date but also spread positive word of mouth, which in the end, is the most effective advertisement.
Property Management system is as we all the know “heart” of the hotel. As technology advances, PMS systems have become not only the heart of the hotel but also the key to customer relationship management. It is used in several ways by hotels to build customer loyalty throughout the guest experience, from the reservation process all the way through check out. Modern customer relationship management tools have been assisting hotels in several different ways. Most importantly, the internet has completely changed the way that hotels have interacted with current and prospective customers. The website of a hotel is now the first point at which the customer makes contact with the hotel. This aids in making reservations as well as informing guests of the property. It is essential that the property is properly advertise because it can me a disaster if the hotel fails to meet up to expectations. In addition, now PMS has made it possible to program automatic emails for confirmation as well as follow up emails to thank the guest, this is a very useful tool for CRM. PMS is now able to build more detailed customer profiles so that hotels are able to properly access all of the guest’s wants and needs prior to arrival, this can be as simple as their preference to reading material all the way to the smallest details of what type of room and location the guest normally wants. When hotels are able to meet these expectations without asking the hotel, this is a huge step. As with all new technologies, it is essential to not overuse or overbear the customer with extra information. It is very easy to overstep your boundaries and in this way the customer can feel violated.
Having just finished training at the Hotel DuPont, working in reservations and revenue management, I can certainly see how these new CRM technologies will be very useful to hotels. First, it makes it very easy to set up a reservation for previous guests of the hotel, and now we are able to build more complex guest profiles so that one is able to upsell the product much more. In addition, we are able to easily build customer loyalty with the simple click of a button. I know that at the hotel, we have standard emails typed out and as we enter in the guest’s information, the email is automatically personalized. Also, when we see in our records that they frequently attend the theatre or the green room, emails are sent out when there is a special event or play. In addition, we have programmed our website so that it is found with certain keywords and made sure that it was set up accordingly so that guests are able to enter in their data and upsell as much as possible. Working at the front desk in addition, I have seen how PMS has indeed aided in CRM. Now in PMS, we are able with the click of a button to see comments and messages so that we know exactly what the customer is expecting and we can have things ready before our guest arrives. At the hotel, the staff continually strives to go above and beyond to leave our customers with a memorable experience so as they will not only return to us at a future date but also spread positive word of mouth, which in the end, is the most effective advertisement.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)