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Hotel Spas are STILL Recovering From the Pandemic. Here are the Best Ways to Speed it up

Competitive Intelligence

Guests are looking for wellness and connection in hotel spas.

Services that involve human connection took a serious hit during the pandemic, as social distancing became the way of the world. But in the wake of the pandemic, guests are seeking relaxation, wellness and human connection in hotel spas.

In fact, three out of four consumers say “wellness is more important than ever,” according to the 2023 Wellness Index from MindBody Business.

“Wellness now speaks to an overall improvement in quality of life and a lifestyle that makes room for things that really matter,” according to the report. “While loyal guests might know the impact your services have on mental well-being, relaxation, and self-confidence, you’ll bring more clients through your doors by reinforcing this in your messaging.”

With the ever-growing popularity of wellness mind, here are four hotel spa trends that are surging in the aftermath of the pandemic:

  1. Gravitating toward human touch. There are reminders everywhere: the pandemic has not gone away. But as we all learn to live with the new normal, a large share of consumers are seeking out human touch in the form of spa treatments. As Hotel Management puts it, “Is there still a strong desire by consumers to be swaddled in organic peat moss via a four-hands treatment and subsequently drenched under a Vichy shower? Well, yeah.” In fact, massage “continues to be the most popular integrative health service with 25 percent of consumers reporting they have received a massage in the past year,” according to MindBody Business.
  2. A broader variety of wellness services. Many wellness modalities have seen significant increases in popularity in the past year, according to MindBody Business. These include acupressure (up 166 percent), floatation therapy and red light therapy (both up 50 percent) and detox programs (up 17 percent). With hotel spas at the intersection of travel and wellness, they are in a unique position to offer wellness experiences that highlight the local culture and landscape, such as forest bathing and wellness rituals. “With so many wellness modalities on the rise, now’s a good time to invest in your business and update your service menu,” MindBody Business states.
  3. A heightened focus on cleanliness. Just as in other areas of service, hotel spas must grapple with the “new normal.” That means trying to move past the pandemic while honoring the lessons learned and the ways the pandemic has changed society. The upshot: hotel spas will continue to make increased efforts to give extra attention to cleanliness, sanitizing and offering more personal space, according to Hotel Management. “In a spa environment, guests generally do still want to have some level of distance and comfort as it relates to their personal space, which can be challenging,” Gavin Philipp, senior vice-president of Raines Co.’s Woven by Raines division, told Hotel Management. “Keeping our spa constantly sanitized and regularly deep cleaned is of the utmost importance as well.”
  4. Getting communal. It may be the lasting impact of years of feeling deprived of human contact during the pandemic, but communality is becoming more popular than ever, especially among Millennial customers, MindBody Business states. In fact four in 10 people agree that community is “a very important part of the wellness experience,” according to the MindBody Business report. Hotel spas may be able to incorporate this desire for community with communal bath houses or saltwater or mineral pools, MindBody Business suggests. “Even offering a ‘happy hour’ mani/pedi sesh or chair massages with bubbles or kombucha once a week could be a great way to allow your clients to socialize with one another while also participating in self-care,” the report suggests.

Hotel spas must integrate the experiences and changes of the pandemic while moving forward into the future as guests begin flocking back for relaxation, wellness and human connection.

Are Traditional Customer Surveys on Their Way Out?

Communication

Here’s why your company shouldn’t gauge the customer experience on guest experience surveys alone.

Traditional customer feedback surveys have long been one of the top ways that brands measure their company’s customer experience (CX). Now data-driven technologies are bumping customer surveys to the back of the line for customer experience measuring tools.

“After years of serving as the benchmark for defining and refining a company’s customer-experience performance, survey-based systems are heading toward their twilight,” according to an article from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

“The future of superior customer-experience performance is moving to data-driven, predictive systems, and competitive advantages are in store for companies that can better understand what their customers want and need.”

Traditional surveys fall short

More brand managers and owners now recognize that customer surveys — while still an important customer experience research tool — no longer meet their company’s customer experience needs, says McKinsey & Company.

McKinsey’s online survey of 260 U.S. customer experience leaders found that 93 percent of respondents said their company uses a survey-based metric such as a customer satisfaction or customer effort score to measure customer experience performance.

Yet only 15 percent said they were “fully satisfied” with how their company measures customer experience. And only six percent said they were confident that their measurement system enables “both strategic and tactical decision making.”

“Leaders pointed to low response rates, data lags, ambiguity about performance drivers, and the lack of a clear link to financial value as critical shortcomings,” says McKinsey & Company.

“Those with an eye toward the future are boosting their data and analytics capabilities and harnessing predictive insights to connect more closely with their customers, anticipate behaviors, and identify CX issues and opportunities in real time,” says the article.

“These companies can better understand their interactions with customers and even preempt problems in customer journeys.”

The future of guest experience measurement programs

Customer experience programs of the future will be “holistic, predictive, precise, and clearly tied to business outcomes,” says McKinsey & Company.

Companies that build the capabilities, talent, and organizational structure needed for that transition will enjoy substantial benefits, according to the McKinsey article. And companies that fail to keep in step with data-driven measures of customer experience will fall behind.

“Since survey-based systems became ubiquitous, the world of insight generation has transformed through impressive advances in the ability to generate, aggregate, and analyze data,” says McKinsey & Company. “Those that stick with the traditional systems will be forced to play catch-up in the years to come.”

According to McKinsey & Company, the array of data sets used to gauge customer experience includes:

  • Digital and analog internal customer interactions data
  • Transactions and profiles
  • Third-party data sets on customer attitudes, behaviors and purchase preferences
  • Social media activity
  • Internet of Things (IoT) data on customer health, point of view and location

“Other business disciplines, including marketing and revenue management, have already transformed through the aggregation and analysis of these vast data sets,” says McKinsey & Company.

“The contrast is stark: Why use a survey to ask customers about their experiences when data about customer interactions can be used to predict both satisfaction and the likelihood that a customer will remain loyal, bolt or even increase business?”

Organizations looking toward the future are increasing their data and analytics capabilities and harnessing “predictive insights” to know their customers, anticipate customer behaviors, spot real-time customer experience issues and opportunities and preempt customer issues, according to McKinsey & Company, which cites the following predictive insight measures:

  • Create a customer-level data lake of customer, financial and operational data and store them in a cloud-based platform.
  • Develop analytics using several types of machine-learning algorithms to track and understand what influences customer satisfaction and business performance.
  • Share insights, information and suggestions with employees with a broad range of employees, including frontline agents via an application-programming-interface (API) layer.

“The role of the CX leader is evolving, which means that executives will need to reposition themselves within their organizations,” says McKinsey & Company.

“When asked about the biggest challenge with the current system, one chief experience officer responded ‘People associate CX with marketing, not technology.’

“That is changing as more and more companies take up predictive analytics, and it’s up to CX leaders to help encourage the change in perception.”

“Personalization”: The New White Glove Service. Here are 4 Benefits of Giving Your Guests A Unique Experience

Concierge

White-glove, personalized customer service is the future of the customer experience.

The future of customer service has already arrived, according to McKinsey & Company. Consumers are accustomed to receiving performance notifications and software update prompts for laptops and mobile devices. The same goes for vehicle maintenance reminders.

So, it should be no surprise that today’s consumers also expect brands to offer a more personalized customer experience.

“The next horizon is for customer service to be completely customized to each individual. When a customer calls a contact center, the agent can pull up a profile detailing the customer’s every interaction with the company, from previous service calls to payment schedules to marketing segmentation,” says McKinsey & Company.

“Such personalized service can be compared to the ‘white-glove service’ long associated with high-value customers and transactions.”

What is white-glove customer service?

White-glove customer service surpasses customers’ expectations by personalizing their experience, prioritizing their needs and solving issues before they arise, according to HubSpot:

” The key to providing white-glove service is being exceptional in your care, attention, and attitude toward customers.”

In the past, white-glove service was reserved primarily for affluent customers with a high lifetime value, says HubSpot. Restaurants and retailers met the customer’s every need, often provided by staff members donning white gloves. White-glove service is also offered for moving and setting up expensive items in wealthy customers’ homes.

“Today, white-glove customer service isn’t about providing a premium experience to your most profitable or valuable buyers,” says HubSpot.

“It’s about providing a premium experience to everyone, so that they enjoy the best your company has to offer, remain loyal to your business and spread positive word-of-mouth about your services.”

Brands can’t provide white-glove service from the customer call center or another support department alone, say McKinsey & Company:

“To offer high-touch service to everyone, customer service can no longer be an isolated department. It must be tied into every business unit that interacts with the customer, including sales, marketing, product design, collections and the front line.”

White-glove service offers a high return in investment and can lead to cost savings for your brand by speeding up the process of resolving customer issues, says McKinsey & Company.:

“While such services require technology investments and shifts in organizational structure, these investments and shifts will soon become mandatory as companies compete to meet customer expectations. All functions will benefit from the enterprise-wide visibility required to build comprehensive profiles of individual customers.”

Benefits of providing white-glove service

Today’s customers expect highly personalized service, and brands can benefit from providing white-glove customer service in the following ways, says McKinsey and Company.

1. Gain a deeper level of customer trust and loyalty

Brands can create lifelong customers by providing a “seamless experience across all touchpoints” and offering services or products that meet individual customer’s needs,” says McKinsey & Company.

2. Reduced call center volume

Along with digital support channels, white-glove customer service provides an improved prediction of a customer’s needs and intentions, resulting in increased first-call resolution and reduced repeat calls, along with the average time it takes customer support to resolve issues.

3. Reduced costs

Unlike traditional customer service, which offers the same standard service and solutions for all customers, brands that provide personalized, white-glove service lower the cost of running your business.

“Companies that know customers individually can tailor solutions to meet individual customer needs, possibly at lower cost to the organization — for example, offering a simple apology rather than a gift card,” says McKinsey & Company.

4. Increased revenue

Providing white-glove customer service in the past meant hiring specialized, highly trained call center agents and expensive concessions. Today brands must invest instead in IT, data management, advanced analytics as well as changes to training and management, but those investments can increase revenue, says McKinsey & Company:

“A systematic analytics capability enables organizations to analyze the whole population of customers — after which adding a new person comes at almost negligible cost.

“Once a company has developed a methodology to identify needs, execution is far simpler, and the service is ultimately cheaper to deliver. This is increasingly true as digital capabilities become more ubiquitous and less expensive.

Want to Attract Younger Hotel Guests? Go Green

Competitive Intelligence

Sustainability is trendy among Gen Z and Millennials. Here’s how to make money while saving the planet.

Concerns about the climate are rising, and are especially prominent amongst Gen Z – a group with growing economic power.

One consumer report says that they’re making “sustainability-first purchasing decisions” and that they’re influencing other generations to do the same. So, it’s important to get ahead of the curve and meet the needs of a growing client base.

Operto, a technology company, conducted a study on sustainability among consumers. They found that 30 percent of respondents say that a hotel’s sustainability is “highly” important to them when choosing a place to stay. Over half say that “they check for eco-friendliness as a bonus” when looking for hotels.

If you want to keep up with consumers, it’s time to start looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint and operate in a more sustainable way. There are many ways that hotels can become more environmentally friendly, from reducing water and energy use to implementing recycling programs and offering eco-friendly amenities.

Reduce Energy Use

One of the biggest contributors to a hotel’s environmental footprint is energy use. Hotels can reduce energy consumption by implementing a range of measures, like using energy-efficient lighting.

Another effective way to reduce energy use is to invest in renewable energy sources, like solar panels. While these technologies can be expensive to install, they can ultimately help hotels save money on their energy bills while reducing their carbon emissions.

Conserve Water

Water conservation is another important consideration for environmentally friendly hotels. Hotels can reduce water consumption by installing low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets, as well as encouraging guests to reuse towels and linens.

Hotels can also take steps to conserve water resources. For example, hotels can implement rainwater harvesting systems to collect and reuse rainwater for irrigation or other non-potable uses.

Implement Recycling Programs

Recycling is another important way that hotels can reduce their environmental impact. Hotels can implement recycling programs to separate and recycle waste materials such as paper, cardboard, glass, and plastic. This way they can reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills.

Offer Eco-Friendly Amenities

Another way that hotels can be more environmentally friendly is by offering eco-friendly amenities to guests – things like reusable water bottles or refillable soap dispensers instead of single-use plastic bottles.

Hotels can also choose to offer organic and locally sourced food and beverages, which can reduce the carbon footprint associated with transportation and packaging.

Engage Guests

Hotels can also encourage guests to participate in their sustainability efforts by providing information about the hotel’s green initiatives and offering incentives for eco-friendly behaviors. They can offer guests discounts or loyalty points for opting out of daily housekeeping or using public transportation instead of rental cars.

By engaging guests in their sustainability efforts, hotels can raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage guests to adopt more sustainable behaviors in their daily lives.

Even if these efforts don’t convert anyone to the environmentally-friendly path, you’ll still make a lot of consumers happy. A hotel’s environmental efforts won’t drive people away, but they will bring new guests in.

6 Hotel Room Relaxation Devices and features for Travel-Stressed Guests

Emotions

Help your guests unwind after a long day of travel, conference events, meetings or sightseeing with these room features that lead to a good night’s sleep and return bookings.

Guests checking in after a long flight or returning to their room from a long day of meetings or conference events likely bring a lot of stress with them through their hotel room door. Tired feet and eyes, tight neck, leg and back muscles and maybe even the beginnings of a headache are no fun, especially when they’re away from home.

But adding relaxation devices and features to your hotel rooms and services for a spa-like experience can go a long way towards helping guests settle in and relax for an enjoyable stay, according to HotelTechReport’s list of 21 hotel amenities for a better guest experience.

“Guests want to relax when they’re in a hotel room,” according to HotelTechReport. “Why not offer a little something extra to help your guests clear their minds? Think of what you like most about a spa: calming music, good aromatics, maybe even a massage.”

Your hotel rooms don’t have to go all-out with spa-like features that help guests unwind and relax. Even one or two relaxation features are small touches that guests love and that help your hotel stand out from the competition.

Here are six relaxation devices and features to soothe the minds and bodies of travel-stressed guests:

1. Scent diffusers

With these relatively inexpensive devices, your guests can incorporate pleasing aromas from essential oils such as lavender, chamomile, bergamot, sandalwood or jasmine into their room environment to help them relax and get a good night’s sleep.

2. Eye pillows

Like diffusers, soothing eye pillows are reasonably priced and will be much appreciated by guests with tired or computer-strained eyes, according to HotelTechReport.

3. Noise machines

Noise machines are a big plus to guests who have trouble falling asleep in an unfamiliar bed, says HotelTechReport. Some guests may want simple “white noise,” a humming sound that includes all audible frequencies. But others may enjoy unwinding after a long day or fall asleep fast to nature sounds like rainfall, thunderstorms, ocean waves or cooing birds.

4. Foot or neck massagers

Whether hotel guests walked around town, a vast conference hall or on sightseeing excursions all day, they’ll welcome a foot massage for tired feet from a foot massage machine in the room. Your hotel can also score points by making heated neck and shoulder massaging devices available to guests who’ve been on a plane or hunched over their laptops for hours.

5. Massage services

If your hotel has a massage studio that guests can book, that’s great. But you don’t have to go this route, necessarily. For example, vetting several good mobile massage therapists to keep on call for guests who’d like a full-body or chair massage is a great relaxation and wellness amenity that guests will love.

6. Relaxation apps

Hotel guests love to use smartphone apps for hotel check-in, room keys and other ways to make their stay more seamless. So, they’re probably also likely to appreciate access to a relaxation app that’s included in the room rate.

For example, a couple of years ago, Choice Hotel International’s Sleep Inn partnered with the sleep and relaxation app Relax Melodies to offer hotel guests access to complimentary, ad-free access to the app, according to Hotel Management.

In addition to its regular app offerings, Relax Melodies even created streaming content exclusive to Sleep Inn, including Sleep-Inn-branded playlists, a meditation and a bedtime story.

Offering guests free access to relaxation and meditation apps through your hotel’s subscription is one more amenity that will help your hotel stand out from the competition.

Guest Technological Needs of Multiple Generations

Meeting the Guest Technological Needs of Multiple Generations

Guest Experience News

Understanding and accommodating what each generation expects leads to satisfied guests who are more likely to book again.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to serving hotel guests ranging in age from Generation Z, who are in their early twenties or late teens, all the way up to the preferences of the Silent Generation, most of whom are now in their seventies or eighties, according to Hospitality in 2025: Automated, Intelligent and More Personal, a report from Oracle Hospitality

For example, the report found that nearly 35% of Generation Z and millennial (age 26 to 41) are “very interested” in staying at a hotel that handles most customer service requests by chatbot automated messaging. But only 21% of Generation X (age 42 to 57) travelers and just 14% of Baby Boomers (58 to 76) surveyed felt the same.

Generational differences play a crucial role in guests’ needs and behavior, according to artificial intelligence platform Ameniti. “Wowing a Baby Boomer means something completely different from winning over a millennial,” says Ameniti.

But that doesn’t mean that your hotel can’t serve all guests, no matter their generation and preferences for technology and personalized service. Here’s the rundown on what members of each generation generally expect from their hotel stay, especially when it comes to technology.

Gen Z (born after 1996)

Members of Gen Z were practically born with mobile phones in their hands, using the most advanced technologies from an early age. Gen Z pays more attention to influencers from platforms such as YouTube and Instagram rather than hotel ads, says Ameniti.

They also expect technology like chatbots, phone apps and “smart” hotel rooms with voice-activated controls and smart features such as Alexa and other smart hubs.

“Hotels can prepare for Generation Z by implementing technology that makes the entire stay-cycle easier, reducing wait times, engaging influencers, and adopting policies that aim to create positive change in the world,” says Ameniti.

Millennials (born from 1981 to 1996)

Members of the millennial generation, now in their late twenties, thirties and early forties, aren’t keen on waiting in line or requesting services, since they’ve long been digitally savvy, says Ameniti. Hotels are more likely to engage millennials with ads and videos on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

“Mobile is everything for this demographic,” says Ameniti. For this generation, make sure that hotel services, booking options and hotel information are available and easily accessed via a mobile phone app or chatbot messaging.

Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980)

Gen Xers, ranging in age from 42 to 57 years old, are the “best internet researchers of any generation” and known for their brand loyalty, according to Ameniti.

Gen Xers are currently enjoying their peak earning years and make up a good portion of hotel bookings. In addition to wanting access to chatbots and mobile phone apps for guest and room services, Gen Xers are also more likely to have children. So many look for family-friendly options like kids’ meals at restaurants, child care services, adjoining rooms, cots and cribs.

Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964)

Members of the Baby Boomer generation who are retired or retiring frequently lean toward luxury travel, says Ameniti. They travel mainly for leisure, adventure and culture. Despite Baby Boomers’ often getting a bad rap for avoiding new technologies, they’re becoming more tech-savvy and many are active on at least one social media site, especially Facebook.

Baby Boomers’ guest satisfaction relies heavily on quality and good service. They appreciate comfortable beds and probably won’t return if the front desk staff is surly or the room is poorly cleaned. Baby Boomers are open to technological options like checking in on their mobile phone and requesting room service and other guest services on their phone or a tablet.

But this generation still likes a personal touch.

“Baby boomers value face-to-face interactions with hotel staff more than younger generations, so make sure your employees work to build relationships with this age group,” advises Ameniti.

Silent Generation (born from 1928 to 1945)

Members of the silent generation, now in their 70s, 80s and 90s, are more likely to respond to traditional advertising in magazines and newspapers or on radio or television, says Ameniti. Accommodations are important to them and need to be accessible for those with mobility challenges.

This generation likes newspapers delivered to the door or available at the front desk. They want low-sodium and low-cholesterol meal options in hotel restaurants. The silent generation  appreciates hotels that offer discounts on rooms and services. They often stay at hotels when visiting family and friends.

With older guests, it’s important to train hotel staff to be courteous patient and understand age-related conditions such as dementia, since cognitive issues can affect their behavior and ability to understand how to navigate smart devices in their rooms or mobile phone apps.

Offering Virtual Hotel Tours

4 Benefits of Offering Virtual Hotel Tours for a Better Guest Experience

Guest Experience News

Providing potential guests with an immersive experience can boost sales and meet guests’ increasing expectations.

Providing virtual and/or virtual reality (VR) tours of hotel rooms, conference space and common areas of your hotel on your hotel or resort website helps you stay ahead of competitors and make your hotel more appealing to potential guests, according to Revfine, a knowledge platform for the hospitality and travel industry.

But you don’t have to stop with the hotel website. You can post virtual tours of your hotel or resort on social media, YouTube and your hotel’s Google My Business account, too.

In fact, many hotel guests now expect to be able to take a virtual or VR tour of your rooms and property before booking.

According to the latest National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS), 30 percent of respondents said they took a virtual room tour when choosing a hotel room in the last 12 months. Around 34 percent said they’d like to take a virtual tour before booking a hotel room in the future.

What is a virtual or virtual reality tour?

Hotel virtual tours come in different forms, from straightforward 360-degree images to experiential VR tours where the user wears a virtual reality headset. Virtual tours can include music, narration or even a manager or staffer showing potential guests around the property.

VR tours take the guest experience to an immersive level that makes the person feel like they’re actually at the hotel. Virtual tours presented on the hotel website or social media, while less immersive than a VR tour, also allow potential guests to experience “visiting” your hotel before booking.

Here are three benefits of providing virtual hotel and resort tours.

1. Virtual tours offer more information to potential guests

Virtual tours allow potential guests to “try before they buy”, according to Cvent, a meetings, events and hospitality provider, headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. That way, guests can view specific property features they care about while exploring the hotel. Potential guests also won’t be  “bogged down by wordy descriptions or information they don’t need,” says Cvent.

Virtual tours can highlight:

  • Lobby spaces
  • Hotel rooms
  • Hotel amenities
  • Dining areas and restaurants
  • Pool, spa and fitness center areas
  • Meeting and event spaces
  • Hotel or resort grounds
  • Check-in options and process

2. Virtual tours boost revenue

After the Radisson Hotel chain introduced virtual hotel tours for many of its branches globally, the chain experienced a 135% increase in online revenue, amounting to $7,200 more per hotel per month than Radisson’s hotels that didn’t offer virtual tours, according to a case study by IPIX Immersive Still Imaging Group.

3. Virtual hotel tours meet guest expectations

VR has become especially important in the hospitality and travel industries due to the average  amount of information the average customer expects before they book a hotel room, according to Revfine:

“Rather than reading through descriptions, which may or may not be trustworthy, it offers customers the chance to experience things for themselves.”

In addition, more guests expect hotels and other businesses to make virtual tours available. Nearly two-thirds (67 percent) of people surveyed by Reimagine Main Street said they want more businesses to offer virtual tours. And those who view a virtual tour are twice as likely to book a reservation, according to the same source.

4. Virtual tours keep your hotel in step with or ahead of the competition

Hotels that offer the experience of a virtual tour help your hotel stand out from competitors who offer mainly photos and descriptions on their website.

Do Tattoos Matter in the Workplace Anymore?

Leadership

Research says no. Here’s why you should judge workers on their attitude and worth ethic more than their appearance.

Although it isn’t as common as it used to be, it isn’t unusual for employers to have a policy on tattoos. Some workplaces have a ban on visible tattoos, others won’t hire people with them.

These practices are unfortunately still in place despite being discriminatory and outdated. Tattoos used to have a negative connotation and were associated with criminal behavior. Attitudes are changing though, especially amongst Millennials and Gen Zers.

Rice University conducted two separate studies that showed whether or not an employee was tattooed made no difference in customer/client attitude.

In the first study, they gave customers a video selling a general product and gave the presenter a small temporary tattoo and other videos where the seller did not have a tattoo. In the second, they gave a white-collared worker a temporary tattoo sleeve and asked participants if they’d hire him as a lawyer or as a graphic designer.

From small tattoos to large sleeves, most participants felt neutral or positive about the workers.

Workers with tattoos were more impressive in creative contexts but workers were perceived as totally competent even in non-artistic jobs.

Tattoos have been associated with criminal activity in the past, but research shows that there isn’t much of an association. A 2019 study found that tattooed restaurant employees weren’t any more “deviant” than non-tattooed employees.

There could be a reason why attitudes around tattooed workers are softening: More people have them than ever. In 2003, only 16 percent of Americans had tattoos. That number jumped to 30 percent in 2019.

Now, about 40 percent of the workforce has a tattoo.

So not only do tattoos not have a negative influence on customer opinions but avoiding them also severely limits the hiring pool.

To get personal, I’m a heavily tattooed woman in a corporate office. As a woman with visible tattoos, I guess you could call me lucky. Women with tattoos are less likely to get hired than men with and without tattoos as well as women without tattoos. Although, according to the study, women without tattoos are more likely to get hired in the restaurant business than men with and without tattoos.

Still, I made it into the job and frankly, my boss loves me. I also work with other tattooed people who are amazing at their jobs. So, anecdotally, tattoos make no difference in the workplace. And the research out their largely supports that.

Discriminating against someone in the hiring process is illegal, it’s also illogical. If an individual is a good candidate experience-wise, don’t let them go just because of some ink.

3 Unique Concierge Services to Thrive in the Post-Pandemic World

Concierge

Who says concierge duties must stop with booking transportation, tours, and dinner or entertainment arrangements? Not these hotels and resorts.

Is your hotel looking to improve its concierge services? Hotels around the world that aim to meet the most unique needs of guests are going above and beyond with these concierge offerings.

Post-pandemic and in a technology-focused world, travelers are more interested in experiences than ever before. You can capitalize on this phenomenon by creating personalized excursions for your guests. Train the right concierge new tricks with traditional guest experience and you’ve got the recipe for success.

Here are three examples of unique concierge services you can use for inspiration at your hotel.

1. Penthouse perks

Guests staying in the two-story, 2,500 sq. ft. penthouse suite in New York City’s Dream Downtown Hotel have access to their own sneaker stylist to help guests get off on the right foot. Penthouse guests also have their own private barista and can arrange an on-call, personal security guard for an additional fee.

2. Instagram concierge

The Marriott W Punta de Mita resort in Nayarit, Mexico, has a special concierge for guests who love social media and want to share their seaside vacation with Instagram, TikTok, and other social media followers.

“We noticed an influx of travelers that were drawn to the property for its bright, bold, and colorful design,” said Wanda Anzaldo in an interview featured in Paradise about her job as a social media concierge at the resort.

“In this social media-driven age, social channels like Instagram and TikTok are driving factors in consumers deciding where they want to spend their next vacation,” said Anzaldo.

“Guests email a link to their Instagram profile to myself before or during their stay to receive an infographic map marked with the most Instagram-able spots on property.”

3. Genealogy butler

The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, offers the concierge service of a “Genealogy butler” available to assist guests rooting around their ancestry origins.

“The consultation service aims to empower guests to continue their Irish family history research within Irish records in the hope that this will ultimately lead them to the goose-bump trail that is walking in the footsteps of their ancestors,” according to the Shelbourne Hotel website.

“Being so close to many of Ireland’s national repositories gives guests a head start in their search. Our genealogy butler provides a range of unique services to Shelbourne guests who wish to explore their own family history research.

The Shelbourne offers three different genealogy packages for guests:

Tea or coffee consultation.

During the meeting, one of Ireland’s leading genealogists provides the guest a full, personalized assessment report based on the information submitted online by the guest. They’ll also receive a list of Irish sources and territorial divisions that enable the guest to begin their ancestral research in Ireland.

One-hour consultation

During this meeting, the genealogy butler offers guidance for finding records of ancestors.

“Our Genealogy Butler can help you make the best use of your time during your stay in Dublin, by guiding you to the sources where you are most likely to find the best results,” says the Shelbourne Hotel website.” For Guests who have a number of Irish Ancestral Families, a longer session may be recommended.”

Virtual one-hour consultation

A virtual consultation with the Shelbourne’s genealogy butler includes the same guidance and research sources and territories of an in-person consultation.

“The consultation service aims to empower guests to continue their Irish family history research within Irish records in the hope that this will ultimately lead them to the goose-bump trail that is ‘walking in the footsteps of their ancestors,” says the Shelbourne.

The Digital Guest Experience is Real and Can Be Profitable. Here’s How.

Guest Experience News

Meeting customers’ digital needs and expectations is key to an outstanding overall customer experience.

Your company is probably already focused on providing a good guest experience. But did you know that a major component of overall customer satisfaction is the digital customer experience (DCX)?

“As the move toward an all-digital world accelerates, the majority of customer experiences will be delivered through online channels, where it’s more difficult to gauge sentiment and interpret reactions,” according to computer software company Sitecore.

Whether on the frontline assisting customers or behind the scenes focused on technologies that enable the digital customer experience and troubleshooting for solutions, “creating a clear digital customer experience and intention “should be top-of-mind for every marketing team around the world,” says Sitecore.

What is digital customer experience?

Digital customer experience is the total of all digital medium interactions a customer has with your brand. “Any place [where] a customer interacts with your brand digitally is part of the DCX,” says marketing, advertising and organic search technologies company Terakeet.

The digital customer experience is part of the broader experience, including offline interactions such as in-person shopping or a phone call to a customer service rep.

“To provide people with an outstanding overall customer experience, it’s essential that both online and offline interactions be equally customer-centric, high-quality, and satisfying,” says Terakeet.

Below are channels that make up the digital customer experience, according to Terakeet:

  • Social media
  • Email
  • Chatbots
  • Live chat
  • Online forms
  • Mobile apps
  • Third-party review sites
  • Online communities

Providing a positive digital customer experience is essential to staying competitive.

“If your brand doesn’t provide an outstanding digital customer experience, many of your customers will take their business elsewhere,” says Terakeet. One of the primary reasons the digital customer experience is so important is consumers’ reliance on smartphones and other mobile devices to inform their buying decisions.

“Over the past few years, there has been the emergence of ‘mobile-only’ customers who prefer digital and mobile tools,” says customer experience technology provider TTEC.

“The line between the online and offline worlds continues to blur more every day with mobile banking and tools, virtual customer service, and robust shopping experiences. It’s nearly impossible to serve customers without employing digital channels.”

According to TTEC, the digital customer experience a company provides its customers is “highly dependent” on the customer’s perspective of the maturity — levels that a company moves through before achieving its DCX goals — of the following digital channels in six key areas:

1. Channel flexibility

Customers expect to be able to switch seamlessly among multiple channels without losing the context. They want consistent information and the ability to save and display customer history.

2. Reachability

Your brand must make customers aware of all customer support digital channels available and make sure that preferred channels are reliable.

3. Service convenience

Provide clear, current information to customers seeking support, including how to ask for “quick-and-live” and “end-to-end” support.

4. Purchase convenience

Your brand should provide easy-to-understand, up-to-date information on products and purchases and the ability to conduct end-to-end transactions. Also, make subscribing to new products and services a fast, easy experience.

5. User-friendliness

Customer service software should have an intuitive design and be easy to navigate.

6. Personalization

Use customer data to recognize each customer as an individual and to meet customer preferences automatically and according to context.

“Knowing where you are on the [DCX] maturity ladder is very important to customer experience strategy,” says TTEC.

“It is imperative to optimize digital interfaces and integrate them with other channels to create a truly omnichannel environment. Not only will it improve digital customer experiences, it will optimize your operations to allow greater efficiencies and save costs.”