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Courtyard by Marriott Magnificent Mile Downtown Chicago is a 306 room hotel in the heart of the city. Unlike other classic city center hotels in Chicago, Courtyard by Marriott is just six years old and boasts an Art Deco-inspired design. The price and location make the hotel a favorite for both leisure and business travelers alike.
Glynn Knight is the General Manager of the hotel, which consistently ranks in the top 10-12% of Courtyard properties. Glynn learned of Revinate when White Lodging, the hotel’s management company, signed them up for service as part of a pilot program. Since then, he has become an active user and has benefited in many ways from the service.
Time Savings
Prior to using Revinate, Glynn manually researched the hotel reviews online. Either he, or the Director of Marketing, would spend time each day visiting TripAdvisor, and occasionally Yelp, to see whether there were new reviews that needed attention. Now, with Revinate, he is able to set alerts so he is notified when new reviews come in, not just from TripAdvisor or Yelp, but all the major OTAs and review sites. He says, “I have saved a tremendous amount of time with Revinate. But more importantly, I am now armed with more information on how my hotel is perceived than I ever had before. It’s an amazing product.”
Better Rankings
One of the key metrics that Glynn keeps a close eye on is TripAdvisor’s Popularity Index. As this score is comprised of the number of the reviews, the review ratings and the number of recent reviews, Glynn made a concerted effort to encourage reviews by providing staff with a TripAdvisor card that can be given out when guests compliment the property or service. Since beginning the program, the hotel has jumped 8 points in the Index. Glynn tracks his score, as well as his comp sets’ scores using Revinate. He brings the report to the Executive Committee meeting, where they discuss social media benchmarks and success.
Better Information
Before Revinate, Knight used Marriott’s Guest Satisfaction Surveys to find out how the hotel was faring in the eyes of his guests. Today, he is able to get real-time information and take immediate action, and, in the process, often turn a negative into a positive. For example, when Glynn started to see that guests were writing about the street noise at the hotel, he purchased white noise machines. When a review was posted that mentioned the noise he was able to show how customer savvy and attentive the hotel is by responding that although the hotel is located smack in the heart of city and guest rooms begin on the tenth floor and are insulated, guests that are sensitive to noise can also borrow a white noise machine for the duration of their stay. To guests, this gesture shows that the hotel listens and responds to feedback, thus turning a negative into a positive.
And Knight knows that all types of customers are reading reviews. He once had a customer doing a site inspection who asked about the noise since he had read about it on TripAdvisor. Since Knight was aware of the issue as a result of closely reading and responding to reviews, he was able to allay the inspector’s fears by saying, “Listen, we are a hotel located right in the heart of a major city, which is why guests love to stay with us. We are far newer than the other hotels you are looking at and have the latest sound insulation. Our rooms start on the 10th floor but yes, sometimes you might hear a siren. And because we know some people are sensitive to noise and we want all our guests to leave happy, we have white noise machines available for guests.” The prospect was impressed that Knight took all feedback seriously and knew about the issue and the hotel won the business.
New Business
The attention to reviews has paid off in bookings as well. Knight has heard from a few guests that they chose to stay at the hotel because the hotel responds to all reviews on TripAdvisor and clearly takes guest satisfaction seriously. For example, one review on TripAdvisor from Daphne Bernstein says, “I travel to Chicago on business frequently and have stayed at several Marriott properties in the area. I really like the Blackstone, but decided to stay at the Courtyard for this stay for one reason - I was very impressed that the marketing director took the time to comment on each TripAdvisor review. Once I got to the hotel, I found the service to be exceptional in all areas.” And Daphne isn’t alone in thinking the hotel has exceptional service. A quick look at Revinate’s Rating Comparison shows that Courtyard by Marriott Magnificent Mile leads the comp set with a 4.5 average across all review sites.Employee Recognition
Using Revinate’s Keyword Analysis Report, Knight is able to see how different teams within the hotel are performing. He can search for terms such as ‘front desk’, ‘housekeeping’ or ‘parking’ and read the reviews that mention those words. Many times, good reviews will mention the employee by name and, using Revinate, Knight is able to forward the review both to the employee, and/or his or her manager, to ensure the proper recognition. Since employees that are recognized for good work are often happier and more satisfied on the job, customer service is improving as employee recognition grows.
Just Getting Started
Having seen success with reviews, Knight is looking forward to getting deeper into social media and using Twitter and Facebook to create stronger relationships with customers. He says, “Right now we’re using Twitter a few times a week to communicate what’s going on in downtown Chicago. I’m looking forward to using it more to drive purchase at our restaurants with coupons. We’re just getting started but it’s exciting,” he says.
About Revinate
Revinate helps hotels compete with a user-friendly software solution for managing and tracking reviews and media mentions on OTAs and social networks. Developed exclusively for the hospitality industry, Revinate allows hotels to turn online guest feedback into actionable plans to quickly respond to competition and market demands, increase customer satisfaction and drive revenue. Revinate is based in San Francisco and has clients worldwide. To learn more visit contact us today.
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