So, we’ve given you our thoughts and observations from 2014 and today we’d like to share some of our hospitality tips for 2015 with you:
1. According to a report by Deloitte, China and India will continue to be the key hospitality markets to cater for in 2015.
2. Understand your “customer’s journey” very well. This will assist you to know what customers need or want.
3. Get to know your customers in order for you to be able to serve them what they want the next time around. If you have a guest who comes down to the bar every evening and orders a Coke, tomorrow you will be able to take out the Coke and serve it to him as he sits down. He wouldn’t even have to ask for it.
4. Couple your service with an experience. Most customers, these days, like to have an experience wherever they go. Even a small trick with a napkin might have them in awe.
5. See what you can do to couple your service with cycling this year. This sport has increased tremendously, allowing for some great tourism and marketing opportunities.
6. Peer2Peer dining is an interesting trend that has emerged overseas which might not be a bad idea if implemented correctly.
7. You’ve got to be mobile. With wearable technological devices increasing, there is no turning back on this anymore. Hotel groups like Marriot, Hyatt and Hilton are currently working with companies like Checkmate to develop this mobile service even further, which means mobile is now a necessity in the hospitality industry.
8. According to a poll done for the Hotels.com mobile app, tourists upload holiday photos within ten minutes of arriving at a destination. Ignite Hospitality refers to them as “Braggies” and let’s face it, the “selfie” is here to stay. Keep in mind that people will be taking selfies at your destination too and they would want to link and share it with you. Be sure to be on social media!
9. Social Wi-Fi will be a trend in 2015, moving away from the original Wi-Fi login process, customers will now rather be encouraged to log onto destinations’ Wi-Fi through their social networks, allowing the destination to gain more access to the customer to build a better and stronger database.
10. Social reviews (Facebook, TripAdvisor, etc.) will only be increasing in 2015. Be sure that you have processes in place regarding responses to bad comments, maximizing good reviews, etc.
11. Stay active on social networks. Being on social networks is good, but you’ve got to interact and show customers that you are available on a daily basis.
12. Create your own mobile apps, allowing guests to order before they arrive. People tend to be impatient – ordering before they arrive will prevent them from waiting for their food, but it will also protect you from them changing their minds and going elsewhere when they arrive.
13. Food trends predicted for 2015 include reduced sugar and protein boosters. Customers want a “well-being feeling” and we need to cater for that.
14. Customers are experimenting with many local breweries and prefer beers and wines from micro-breweries and smaller boutique wineries. Guests would rather drink a beer that is promoted with the line: “We recommend this local beer, produced at a brewery just down the road.”
15. Sustainability is one of the big trends, whether we like it or not. Many customers prefer supporting establishments that make an effort to make their business more environmentally friendly. Consider looking at a few ways in which you can incorporate environmental and social responsibility in your business.
Travelling Mystery 