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Revinate Success Story: Paradise Point Resort & Spa

 

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In August, 2010, Destination Hotels and Resorts took over the management of Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego. At the time, the resort’s TripAdvisor Popularity Index was at 121, (out of 249 hotels) smack dab in the middle of its market and at the bottom of page four on TripAdvisor for San Diego hotels. Less than a year later, the hotel has gained 59 points and is ranked 62. Paradise Point Resort & Spa can now be found on page two of TripAdvisor’s San Diego listings and it continues to see gains.

Dana Flower is the Marketing Manager responsible for social media at the property. She attributes the hotel’s recent success on TripAdvisor to a hotel-wide effort to increase its ranking by focusing on creating an excellent guest experience, which in turn drives great reviews. Revinate plays a large role in tracking its success and enabling staff to act immediately to improve operations and engage with customers. Dana says, “The bottom line is that if you provide a spectacular service and guest experience, the rest will follow naturally.  We’ve rallied our entire staff behind this effort by sharing great reviews via email and in staff meetings, announcing any and all changes in ranking, and setting monthly and yearly goals for our ranking, number of reviews, and ratings, which is really easy using Revinate. These activities create an atmosphere of excitement and importance, and keep the staff motivated to provide great service because they can see how their actions and quality of work are directly connected to our public reputation.”

When it comes to encouraging reviews, the property reaches out to guests both on and off property. The hotel staff is armed with personalized versions of the TripAdvisor card and when they come across guests who are clearly experiencing a great stay, they engage and encourage the guests to write reviews. In addition, when Dana receives a comment card that has high scores, she replies, thanks the guest and provides a link to share the feedback publicly on TripAdvisor. While the activity may be time consuming, Dana says, ”It’s definitely worth it in the end as many of the folks that I reach out to do post reviews.”  

Dana also uses Revinate to monitor social media and the Web in general to find happy guests. She says, “If a guest posts great things about the property on Facebook, Twitter, or our blog, I privately contact him to thank him for the comments and provide a link so he can share his experiences on TripAdvisor.”

Dana believes that the property’s investment in its online reputation is paying off in many ways. In addition to providing a higher level of service on-property, she says, “I believe the money we invest in TripAdvisor Business Listings and “Check Rates” features is going much further due to our improved ranking and quality of reviews.”  

Revinate Success Story: Greystone Hotels

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Greystone Hotels is a well-established West Coast hotel owner and hospitality management company based in San Francisco, with an eclectic range of properties in California and Oregon. An early adopter in using online reviews as a barometer of guest satisfaction, Greystone Hotels has been paying attention to public guest feedback since the first hotel review sites launched.

In July, 2010, Emily Johnson, Manager of E-commerce and Marketing at Greystone Hotels, saw Revinate for the first time and it was love at first sight. Emily recalls, “My first thought was that Revinate was the answer to my problems. For nearly three years prior, I spent at least two days a month manually assembling monthly online review reports for all nine hotels, in addition to daily monitoring and responding to reviews. It was so important, but also an incredibly time-consuming and arduous process.” Two weeks after seeing the product for the first time, Greystone Hotels was up and running.

Revinate Success Story: Delta Hotels and Resorts

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For many brands and hospitality companies, rolling out new technology across multiple properties can be a daunting project. But when Canada-based hotel chain Delta Hotels and Resorts made the decision to get serious about its online reputation, Revinate assured the team that implementation would be quick and painless. And now, less than a month after roll-out to 46 properties, Delta is singing Revinate’s praises.

Delta began looking for an online reputation management solution at the end of 2010 with the growing impact of TripAdvisor and other online channels on bookings. The corporate team began to investigate solutions that would make managing reviews and social media less time-consuming. Lisa Ballum was the marketing manager tasked with finding a solution. She says, “We looked at three or four software solutions but when I saw Revinate, I said, ‘This is it!’. It was clearly designed for hotels, which is important to us. In addition, it was easy to use, intuitive, and had all the features we needed.”

Ricardo Nicholas, Director of Brand Performance, wanted to make sure that the rollout would not impact daily operations or throw a wrench into an already busy hotelier’s day. When the sales director at Revinate assured him that he would have all the properties trained and using Revinate in a few weeks, he was skeptical. He says, “Coordinating a rollout of new technology across 46 properties can be tricky but Revinate made good on its promise of a quick and easy rollout. While we worked on the communications plan and a manual for the hotels that included brand guidelines, expectations and product instructions, Revinate scheduled multiple training sessions to accommodate about 350 employees. Since the software service is so easy to use, that’s really all it took. We were up and running about three weeks later.”
 
Just a month after roll-out, the feedback from the field has been very positive. Hotel employees report that Revinate is really easy to use and is providing them with valuable data and intelligence that they have never had access to before. Corporate users are able to track the portfolio’s progress in social media, access all reviews for all properties in a single place, and see the performance of the different properties across all key metrics.

Lisa and Ricardo are quick to add that they have been incredibly impressed with the quality of support they receive from Revinate. Lisa says, “From sales, to training, to customer support, everyone that we come across at Revinate is eager to please and delightful to work with. We are looking forward to a long and happy partnership.”

Revinate Success Story: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

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Manchester Grand Hyatt is a 1,625-room hotel located on the water and within reach of the city’s numerous attractions, including the Gaslamp Quarter, the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. The hotel features a full-service spa, tennis courts, a 24-hour gym, an outdoor pool and hot tub and a world-class marketing department.

Machester Grand Hyatt San Diego was one of the first Hyatt properties to adopt Revinate, now a brand standard among Hyatt hotels in North America. Kristin Spitz, Electronic Sales and Marketing Manager, is credited with finding and championing Revinate at the hotel. She says, “I was spending about three hours a day visiting all the review sites and seeing what was being said about our property. When I saw how much time I could save with Revinate, I knew it was a must-have service.” Using Revinate, Kristin estimates she saves more than two and a half hours a day, giving her more time to drive sales and engage with guests.

Kristin and her team have long believed that listening and responding to reviews and mentions is the right thing to do for the business. She says, “Our business is about customer service and listening to our guests. I love that there is such an accessible channel that allows us to listen to our guests’ comments and then improve our operations based on this feedback.” And guests are clearly taking notice. One TripAdvisor review of the property, dated February 22, 2011 states, “We originally had reserved a room at a hotel next door but decided to change when we noticed the staff pays attention to the TripAdvisor reviews.”

Investing in a social media program at the hotel is also paying off. Kristin uses Social Media Searches, a feature in Revinate, to find people who are looking for hotel recommendations in San Diego. Social Media Searches monitors Twitter, public Facebook pages, blogs, forums and millions of other sources. Kristin says, “Social Media Searches is a huge improvement over Google Alerts. It’s much more comprehensive and has proven to be a great tool, allowing me to find new business for both the hotel, and the spa.”

Kristin has also found that social media can be a valuable tool for driving loyalty and customer satisfaction. She actively monitors the Twitter hash tags for the groups meeting in the hotel to identify any issues that might arise or opportunities to surprise and delight guests. She explains, “By watching the stream of tweets during meetings, I have a real-time look at how things are going. A few months ago I saw a meeting guest tweeting about trouble with the wi-fi. Within minutes, I was able to send a technician to the room to fix the issue before it became a problem. The guests were floored at how responsive and on-the-ball we were.”

 

Revinate Success Story: Hyatt Regency Chicago

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Hyatt Regency Chicago is a AAA Four Diamond hotel located in downtown Chicago, minutes from the Magnificent Mile. The 2019 room hotel caters to both business and leisure travelers and is a Hyatt flagship property.

Jennifer Kedinger is the social media marketing manager at the hotel. As her title suggests, Jennifer is responsible for driving sales and loyalty for the hotel and restaurants through social media. While many hotels don’t yet have employees dedicated to social media, Jennifer is starting to see more and more hotels dedicate staff to social programs, especially among Hyatt Hotels, where her success has attracted a lot of attention. 

Jennifer has found great success using Revinate’s Social Media Searches and TweetConciege to monitor for guests checking into the hotel using Foursquare or announcing their arrival on Twitter. She says, “Monitoring these sites and reaching out to guests is a great way to welcome them, fix any issues that might arise in real time and answer any questions. Guests are always really impressed that we’re listening, and since so few hotels are doing it, they’re often surprised. I often get emails, tweets and cards thanking me for such a high level of service.”

When asked to cite specific examples, Jennifer recalls an incident when a guest tweeted that he checked into the hotel but forgot his toothbrush. Before he had time to put down his phone he received a tweet from Jennifer that a toothbrush was on the way up to his room. He later commented that he had never before experienced that level of service from a hotel.

Another example involves a guest that was welcomed via Twitter when he virtually checked in. Jennifer asked if she could assist with anything during his stay and he responded flippantly that he would like large quantities of Qtips and gummy bears. Jennifer responded with directions to the nearest store but also sent up an amenity to his room, causing him to tweet that he travels a lot for work and has stayed in many hotels but this was his most unforgettable hotel stay due to the dedication of the staff.

Jennifer also uses Revinate to manage online reviews. She says, “With Revinate, it’s easy to manage the hotel’s online reputation that’s being driven by user generated online reviews. Staying on top of this input helps the Management Committee keep a good pulse on the guests experience and then share that feedback with their team of associates.” She adds, “It has proven to be a great source to help the hotel maintain the authentic hospitality that they strive for everyday.” 

 

Revinate Success Story: Waterford Hotels and Inns

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Waterford Hotels and Inns, Inc. was founded in 1985 with a specific objective in mind. The goal was to provide management and consulting services from the hotel owner's perspective, a unique concept in an industry frequently driven by the interests of the management company.

Michael Hraba is the owner of Hraba Hosptality Consulting, hired to help Waterford Hotels and Inns with their social media strategy. Following is the unedited article that Michael wrote for the December issue of Hotels Magazine based on his experience using Revinate for The Allison Inn and Spa in Oregon’s wine country.

Revinate Success Story: Grand Hyatt Kaua'i Resort & Spa

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Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa is a Four-Diamond hotel in Kauai that offers something for everyone, including a spa, a championship golf course, multiple restaurants and pools and so much more. The 602 room hotel caters mostly to vacationers so online reviews, proven to impact bookings, are taken very seriously.

Diann Hartman is the public relations manager at the resort and the resident Revinate power user. In fact, Diann’s feedback on the product has helped guide Revinate’s roadmap. She says, “There were just a few features that I wanted to see Revinate implement and in just a couple of months, all my wish-list features were implemented. It’s great to partner with a company that really listens to its customers and continuously rolls out new features based on what we really need.”

Diann uses Revinate to actively monitor reviews for the hotel, as well as the restaurant and spa. She says, “The amount of time that I save using Revinate is incredible. I am responsible for putting together a monthly report of our online reviews and before Revinate, it was an incredibly time consuming project. Now I just run a report and there’s no manual work.”

Prior to signing up for Revinate service, Diann had little insight into her competitors’ customer satisfaction. Today, she has a much better grasp thanks to Revinate. She says, “We look closely at the rating comparison report each month to see how we are doing against our competitors. While we’re leading our comp set overall, it’s really helpful to see, at a glance, where we are really strong and where we have room to improve.”

A strong focus on online reviews has made an impact at the resort. As an example, Diann notes that last year many reviews mentioned that there was only one location to get towels, which the reviewers felt was inconvenient. In response to these comments the hotel implemented additional towel desks around the pool during busy times to increase guest convenience. This is a great example of how the insight gained from Revinate, and the appropriate action by the management team, have not only improved the guest experience, but have also improved the public feedback that the resort receives - feedback that helps other potential guests choose the Grand Hyatt Kauai.

Revinate Success Story: The Roosevelt Hotel

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For a classic New York City hotel experience, nothing comes close to The Roosevelt Hotel. Opened in 1924 at the height of the Jazz Age, the "Grand Dame of Madison Avenue" continues to impress guests in its prime location at Madison Avenue and 45th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Kelli Crean is the e-commerce manager at the hotel. Always looking for new technologies that can help drive sales and loyalty, Kelli heard about Revinate from the social media gurus at the Roger Smith Hotel, widely known as leaders in the industry and passionate Revinate users.

Prior to Revinate, Kelli spent a lot of time monitoring and responding to reviews by visiting TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hotels.com and other review sites. With more than 1000 rooms and a program to encourage reviews, the hotel often gets upwards of 100 reviews of month. With a policy of responding to both positive and negative reviews, Kelli spent the good part of the day reading and responding to reviews without being able to see key trends or track success.

When she began using Revinate in October of 2010, she immediately saw the ROI. She says, “In addition to saving me a significant amount of time by bringing all the reviews into one dashboard, the reporting features are incredible. It was great to be able to see that the work we put into encouraging reviews is paying off. We consistently blow away our competition in review frequency. And, being able to do keyword searches is already helping us make operational improvements. For example, we are able to see just how many people feel the bathrooms are too small and can now base any renovation efforts on a proven need. Finally, being able to see our competitions’ activity in social media is incredible helpful. The business intelligence that I get from Revinate definitely helps me do my job better.”

While Kelli is the most active user of Revinate at the hotel, all departments benefit from the weekly scorecard that is mailed out each week. Kelli says, “Online reviews and social media are such hot topics in hotels today. It’s great to have a simple report that I can share with everyone to show how we’re doing.”

Revinate Success Story: Hilton Hotels

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Hilton Austin

Hilton Austin is an 800-room property that caters to both business and leisure travelers. At the end of July, 2010, the staff began using Revinate to manage their online reviews and social media mentions.

Prior to Revinate, the staff was solely focused on TripAdvisor reviews and would log in to TripAdvisor every few days to read and respond to their reviews. While the team did have access to another tool prior to Revinate, it was less intuitive and had limited functionality.

Today, the sales and marketing team, in addition to the General Manager and Director of Front Office, actively uses Revinate to manage the hotel’s online reputation and to respond to reviews. According to Joanna Demeo of the sales and marketing team, “Revinate has definitely driven us to be more active with all review sites, not just TripAdvisor. In fact, using the Reviews Overview Report we were able to see that only 20% of our reviews were coming from TripAdvisor. We were essentially unaware of 80% of what was being said about us on the other sites such as Priceline, Hotels.com, Expedia, etc.”

Revinate Success Story: Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants

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In 1981, Bill Kimpton pioneered the boutique hotel concept in the United States. His dream was to provide weary travelers with a haven of comfort, service, security and style. His dream has become a reality. According to Market Metrix Hospitality Index™, Kimpton has the highest customer satisfaction scores (93%+) and emotional attachment scores (89%) of any hotel company operating in the United States.

Importance of Online Reviews

Kathleen Reidenbach, the VP of Revenue Management & Distribution, has always been a firm believer in closely monitoring reviews. She says, “Logically, I knew there must be a correlation between positive reviews on online review sites and sales. With review sites becoming the go-to place for hotel information, it seemed obvious that good reviews would drive bookings and bad reviews would turn off travelers,” she added. But while all of the hotels were trying to keep up with the review sites and responding as needed to guest feedback, there was no systematic way to cover all the review sites or draw a correlation to sales.

Revinate Pilot

In 2009 Kimpton launched a pilot program to test Revinate within eight hotels. Sarita Moore, Kimpton’s Regional Director of Online Marketing, East Coast was responsible for the rollout. Sarita eagerly watched the enthusiastic adoption of Revinate.  “Each hotel immediately recognized the benefits. In some hotels the GMs were the primary users. In others it was sales and marketing leads or the distribution and revenue teams. I was so excited to find a product that worked for so many groups and was adopted so readily,” she said.

In addition to being able to aggregate and systematically respond to reviews, the pilot hotels found tremendous value in the keyword features and reports. Sarita explains, “Kimpton was a first mover in many hotel trends such as pet friendly, eco friendly and women friendly hotels. It’s rewarding to be able to search on these terms and report back to leadership and ownership how these trends are positively impacting our business.  With Revinate we can accurately measure the results of our initiatives based on qualitative data provided by our guests.”

All Hotels Sign Up

On January 5, 2010, Reidenbach rolled out Revinate to all 51 hotels, where it is being actively used  by multiple departments within each hotel. Revinate’s ‘by hotel’ versus ‘by seat’ pricing means that anyone at the hotels can have access.