Having Reservations About Central Reservations?
By Roberta Nedry, President, Hospitality Excellence, Inc.

Roberta Nedry

The properties are magnificent. The brochures are spectacular. The service experience promises to be one of the best ever. The guest is ready and dials the number for reservations. Filled with excitement and anticipation for a specific location, thanks especially to the hotel marketing efforts, the guest begins to inquire about all the things that are important to them and that are property specific. On the other line, a nice reservations center employee tries to respond. However, having never been to the property, the questions are difficult and the employee can not respond directly, even when reviewing the property description (which barely differs from the information already publicly available to the caller). Call volume is high, and the employee simply wants to get the necessary information, make the reservation, and take the next call. In many respects, the caller is still a statistic –not yet a guest.

The prospective guest hangs up, frustrated and confused. The employee hangs up, frustrated and confused. This is not what the online or printed marketing efforts had promised. The call was processed, but was the experience? What happened?

When calling hotels and other hospitality organizations about making reservations, guests are often switched over to central reservations. Call centers become essential to managing call volume and efficiently plugging guests in to the appropriate locations. However, without proper training and information, that’s where the disconnection can begin. How do off property call centers maintain the service connection and ensure a seamless introduction to the experience which guests’ expect? If, as they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, what training and direction towards the quality of that impression at the reservations center level can be most important ?

Reservation agents must have a solid understanding of their role in the overall experience of the prospective guest. They are not simply taking a reservation. They play the critical first role in creating that caller’s ultimate guest experience. They are not simply answering the phone and managing reservation details. They are responding to initial expectations and managing that caller’s first point of contact. That employee’s voice, their tone, their pace and their knowledge will all begin shaping a memory and a lasting…or blasting impression.

Guests may presume that reservation calls are routed somewhere other than the hotel, but they certainly do not expect that to be an excuse for lack of knowledge or service. It also may be challenging for one employee to be able to respond to the “multiple personalities” and rates of the properties they are representing. How does an agent transition from an $89.00, 3 star room reservation at an interstate traveler’s property off I-95, to a $450.00, 5 star room reservation in the heart of New York City? Guests want a seamless experience and they want to believe they are calling only one organization, not one that has hired another. Guests want to feel like the person they are talking to will be their guide and expert in planning the right ingredients for their trip.

To ensure guests do not have reservations about making reservations with your organization, consider the following in setting up any call center operation:

Don’t let your reservations center operations misdirect this stage setting opportunity for guest experiences. Center the calls on service, and the numbers will follow.

Roberta Nedry is President of Hospitality Excellence, Inc., consultants in guest experience management and audits, service excellence training for management and frontline employees and concierge development. To learn more about the programs her firm offers and their service expertise, visit www.hospitalityexcellence.com She can also be reached at 954 739-5299 or Contact Us.