Improving Service through Guest Feedback Leveraging SALT insights to drive action at your property By Launika Arya, Senior Manager Guest Experience

Who is the Guest Experience Team? How does embracing guest feedback improve scores? How to leverage SALT to drive service excellence Q&A Agenda

Guest Experience Team – Voice of our guest Objective: To develop insights by analyzing all guest experience data sources and drive action through a consultative model with all HWW brands, including HHonors, and senior leadership The Guest Experience team will serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor, including: 1.Brand Health Ongoing brand performance pulse checks to identify strengths and opportunities Operational prioritization for scalable impact to guest satisfaction and commercial performance 2.Initiative Success Help define strategic initiatives to improve guest satisfaction and competitive positioning Evaluate initiative success through analysis of guest sentiment and impact 3. Fuel Innovation Identify unmet guest needs and trends in the hospitality industry Utilize internal tools and external partnerships to identify and elevate macrotrends

How does embracing guest feedback improve scores?

High SALT usage properties perform better consistently, demonstrated by tight distribution of scores Embracing guest feedback through daily engagement with SALT is directly linked to higher performance SALT allows you to see yourself as your guests do

What is the impact of stellar service?

Insight: Multiple attempts to resolve a problem leads to frustration with staff Action: Empower front line team members to resolve issues Delivering flawless service is a key driver to a property’s Overall Experience Overall Service 9-10% Overall Service 1-6% Overall Experience 9-10% Impact of a poor service is nearly a 40 point negative impact on a property’s Overall Experience Insight: Front desk knowledge on hotel amenities and nearby details is a satisfier for guests Action: Arm front desk to “read” arrivals to provide customized hotel and neighborhood details Insight: Second to the front desk, breakfast staff is the most talked about service team Action: Encourage breakfast staff to engage and service guests, especially regulars which are often Elite HHonors

Insight #1: First point of contact resolution increases guests satisfaction with staff when problems occur How many times did you need to speak with someone before the problem was resolved? Problem Resolution – Exceed + Met More than 2X increase in resolution rates

Exceeding a guest’s expectation in problem resolution is critical to recovering their overall experience Overall Experience 9-10% However, less than 6% of guests claim the resolution exceeded their expectations Exceeding a guest’s expectation can recover lost guest satisfaction from a problem occurring

Top drivers of exceeding a guests expectations 1.First point of contact resolution 2.Efficiency of response 3. Personal Attention 4. Knowledge Check In clerk fixed the reservation error. Usually I feel like a manager has to get involved! She quickly made my problem into her problem and resolved it Brought up a hot pot of coffee along with a new maker since mine was broken. WOW! All my questions were immediately answered and we were put in the correct room next to my kids Drivers of Positive Problem Resolution Guest Commentary

Are your employees empowered to make problem resolution decisions? Do you talk about the difference in exceeding a guests expectations versus just meeting them? How often are you celebrating problem recovery wins? Questions to consider:

1.Efficient Check-In Process Easy and problem free Acknowledgement of HHonors and M&E VIPs Room requests provided Room available and prepared Staff knowledge regarding hotel offerings 2.Appearance of Hotel Grounds/Lobby Safety and security Clean and maintained Adequate lighting indoors and outdoors Insight #2: Front desk staff delivery is critical to FMOT 1.Cleanliness of Room & Bathroom Smelled fresh and clean No signs of a former guest Condition of furnishings 2.Room Amenities In-Room technology Bath amenities Kitchen appliances (if applicable) 3.Hotel Amenities F&B offerings Wellness (Spa, Fitness, Activities) Meeting and Event space First Moment of Truth (FMOT) Creates the first impression and sets the tone of the stay Second Moment of Truth (SMOT) Showcases brand offerings and creates a lasting impact

Collectively, Front Desk problem types lead in incidence

Low Opportunity to Resolve High Low Impact To Return Intent High Front desk problems have the highest impact on return intent, but also the most potential to resolve Staff Interactions Billing/Rates Room Location/Type Reservation Accuracy Check In/Check Out

Is your front desk able to “read” a guest’s unique needs at arrival? Are unique delivery of acknowledgement methods discussed? Some problems can’t be avoided. Is your front desk trained to best resolve? Questions to consider:

Insight #3: Second to the front desk, breakfast staff is the most talked about service team Breakfast is a key component of a guest’s on property experience –Nearly 55% of guests will have breakfast at least once during their stay Guest expect breakfast staff members to keep breakfast items hot, stocked and surrounding areas clean –#1 guest complaint of breakfast staff was slow respond to refilling breakfast items or tidying up food mess left by other guests A great breakfast experience drives increased value perceptions –Guests score the value of price paid for their hotel stay higher 34% of the time when they’ve had a stellar (9-10%) breakfast experience

Is your breakfast staff engaging with the guests? Are they equipped to rapidly identify and fix outages? How can we celebrate our breakfast staff members? Questions to consider:

Your turn… How do you use SALT to improve/identify root drivers of service?

THANK YOU! Questions?