WHAT IT IS?
Nowadays hospitality industry is a high competitive field, where most hotels sell similar services and experiences. Hotels are not only competing with other hotels in the same destination. In fact, due to globalization and the digitalization, they are also competing with other destinations creating an even more adverse business scenario. In this competitive scenario is challenging for companies operating in the sector to set themselves apart from their main competitors.
For this reason, many hotels in the world are trying to find new marketing strategies to distinguish from their rivals.
A nice marketing strategy but also cute touchpoint with the guest is represented by the “WoW Stories” symbol of The Ritz-Carlton experience worldwide.
Wow Stories range from small personal moments to complex and involved displays of caring. As long as the intention is genuine and the action instills pride, employees are empowered by the company to create these memorable moments. And that’s exactly what they are: memorable. For example:
A couple traveled to Seoul, Korea to adopt the newest member of their family… After the couple completed the adoption, they brought their new son with them to the hotel. The Guest Relations Agent heard the mother speaking to her son one morning and realized that they were having trouble communicating because the mother knew very little Korean. The Guest Relations Agent helped the mother by translating several common English baby words into Korean. This enabled the mother to quickly and easily communicate with her son when he was hungry or tired… They expressed their thanks, saying that they would leave the hotel with many happy memories of their new family.
The ultimate goal is to provide amazing customer service.
This nice and genuine gesture of customer care that Ritz Carlton encourages its employees to do is a perfect example of Personalized Service. Through these small touchpoints the company is able to create meaningful experiences for its guests, ensuring on one side guest loyalty and a learning opportunity for the whole team worlwide.
Yes, worldwide! because Wow story are not only lived and enjoyed by the guest and the employees in that moment, but also shared through the intranet and read by all the associates around the world during their daily line up, allowing all employees to learn the company’s best practices around the world.
WHY IT´S COOL?
- Personalized service
- Meaningful experience
- Customer Care
- Creates life long relationship with the guest
WHY IT HAS FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL?
This touchpoint has future growth potential since it is a way to create lifelong guests who will definitely choose the hotel chain for their stays all around the world whenever possible.
Riccardo Giacomo Ferrari
Science of the Time
shabbir D
Sigrid Johanna Engel
Francesc Miquel Fabregat Galan
I really love your idea! I also work for Marriott, specifically at the W Barcelona. We have a similar concept to the Ritz-Carlton, but we call it “Wow Moments.” I mentioned these little surprises for our guests in my post as well. I shared an example in my post about what we did for Bizarrap last year.
In my supervisory role, I always emphasize to my team the importance of brainstorming ways to delight our guests. The key is to actively listen to them and then surprise them with the perfect choice.
While I truly enjoy providing this personalized customer service, I must admit that it can be challenging to plan something special for guests during busy times, like the summer season. As I like to say, hotels don’t just sell rooms anymore; they sell experiences! This is a fantastic way to create lasting memories and impact our guests’ emotions.
Julia Horcajada Canorea