![\"\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/foto-1-20.jpg\")
We started with the interior, the color of the walls, the materials used in furnishing, the details
\nembellishing the space. Next, the priority shifted to Wi-Fi coverage, ambiance in public areas, and extra amenities on offer. The hotel industry\u2019s one-time motto \u201cmake yourself at home\u201d
\nsupports this. Furthermore, the service is expected to be impeccable in terms of staff behavior and the way you\u2019re treated from the moment you check in at the front desk up until you leave. However, this too has an upgrade called experience. The phenomenon, which is spreading like wildfire, is becoming so important that guests are making it the top priority \u2013 even above price and location. The question is: How can guests be offered an experience and what are the ways to breathe life into a hotel brand? Modern-day guests have a taste for adventure and singular experiences. They want to be amazed, astonished, left breathless, flabbergasted… Right there at the hotel itself!
On the other hand, the hotel industry is also aspiring to make visitors spend more quality time in the hotel. Hotels try to offer extraordinary amenities that will make their guests to want to come back. One option is that the hotel tailors the stay as much as possible to its guests. How? Through personalization. Information technology is utilized for these exact purposes. For example, when you turn on the TV in your room, you might see \u201cWelcome, Mr. Petrovic\u201d appear on the screen. Personalization can be even more visible if you\u2019re a regular guest of a hotel or hotel chain that collects your information, habits, and preferences. For example, if you often stay at the same hotel, they will try to provide you with the room you were most happy with, you might find a chocolate with a personalized welcome message or come across another small gesture of appreciation.
\nOne issue that may come up in personalization and using information technology for it is that to us it might seem like a simple thing. It\u2019s quite the opposite! Systems that facilitate this and companies that develop them often don\u2019t focus on the human being as the center of the entire experience affair. That is why hotel staff goes through additional training and tries to compensate for systems\u2019 lacking with their presence. Another option is for the hotel stay to be outside of your comfort zone. What does this mean? The human mind associates luxury with isolation, among other things. Isolation in every sense \u2013 as few guests as possible and as far away as possible from a city or place. There are hotels that took this quite literally and built resorts in deserts, where you simply have no need to leave the premises because everything is there.
\n![\"\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/foto-2-16.jpg\")
From live-in staff to on-premise doctors. They\u2019re virtually cities built in the middle of deserts.
\nA bit extreme, is it not? However, there are other ways to offer guests something out of the ordinary by offering an unusual concept. Hotels that don\u2019t have traditional rooms, but instead, for example, large wine barrels remodeled into rooms that have everything you need. Or hotels made of ice, hotels with underwater rooms, and suchlike ![\"\ud83d\ude42\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f642.png\")
Finally, we shouldn\u2019t forget about the experience provided on the hotel\u2019s official website. Since we live in the digital age, the hotel website is actually quite often our first encounter with the hotel. That is the starting point of our experience. If things seem complicated or inaccessible at that point, if you\u2019re having trouble finding the information you need or you can\u2019t find them at all, the chances of staying there start to drop. That is the reason why hotels and hotel chains are earmarking big budgets for UX design. Modern versions of hotels\u2019 online presentations are designed after serious and extensive research concerning guests\u2019 different preferences, habits, and expectations. What should catch the eye first? How much time does a user spend on average browsing the website of a hotel? What kind of information do they need? Designing the website has become a challenge in every sense.
\n![\"\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/foto-3-10.jpg\")
Creativity and innovation have become the parameters for success in any business, and the hotel industry is no exception. The constant search for new ways to entertain guests, as well as potential customers, has easily become one of the main drivers of this business. Read on to find out how hotels manage to create experiences for guests and what it looks like in real life.
\nThe post Creating Experiences in the Hotel Industry appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "Hotels used to be merely places to spend the night. The requirements included a clean room, comfortable bed, hot water, and edible food. Today they include a lot more.\nWe started with the interior, the color of the walls, the materials used in furnishing, the details\nembellishing the space. Next, the priority shifted to Wi-Fi coverage, ambiance in public areas, and extra amenities on offer. The hotel industry\u2019s one-time motto \u201cmake yourself at home\u201d\nsupports this. Furthermore, the service is expected to be impeccable in terms of staff behavior and the way you\u2019re treated from the moment you check in at the front desk up until you leave. However, this too has an upgrade called experience. The phenomenon, which is spreading like wildfire, is becoming so important that guests are making it the top priority \u2013 even above price and location. The question is: How can guests be offered an experience and what are the ways to breathe life into a hotel brand? Modern-day guests have a taste for adventure and singular experiences. They want to be amazed, astonished, left breathless, flabbergasted… Right there at the hotel itself!\n\nOn the other hand, the hotel industry is also aspiring to make visitors spend more quality time in the hotel. Hotels try to offer extraordinary amenities that will make their guests to want to come back. One option is that the hotel tailors the stay as much as possible to its guests. How? Through personalization. Information technology is utilized for these exact purposes. For example, when you turn on the TV in your room, you might see \u201cWelcome, Mr. Petrovic\u201d appear on the screen. Personalization can be even more visible if you\u2019re a regular guest of a hotel or hotel chain that collects your information, habits, and preferences. For example, if you often stay at the same hotel, they will try to provide you with the room you were most happy with, you might find a chocolate with a personalized welcome message or come across another small gesture of appreciation.\nOne issue that may come up in personalization and using information technology for it is that to us it might seem like a simple thing. It\u2019s quite the opposite! Systems that facilitate this and companies that develop them often don\u2019t focus on the human being as the center of the entire experience affair. That is why hotel staff goes through additional training and tries to compensate for systems\u2019 lacking with their presence. Another option is for the hotel stay to be outside of your comfort zone. What does this mean? The human mind associates luxury with isolation, among other things. Isolation in every sense \u2013 as few guests as possible and as far away as possible from a city or place. There are hotels that took this quite literally and built resorts in deserts, where you simply have no need to leave the premises because everything is there.\n\nFrom live-in staff to on-premise doctors. They\u2019re virtually cities built in the middle of deserts.\nA bit extreme, is it not? However, there are other ways to offer guests something out of the ordinary by offering an unusual concept. Hotels that don\u2019t have traditional rooms, but instead, for example, large wine barrels remodeled into rooms that have everything you need. Or hotels made of ice, hotels with underwater rooms, and suchlike \nFinally, we shouldn\u2019t forget about the experience provided on the hotel\u2019s official website. Since we live in the digital age, the hotel website is actually quite often our first encounter with the hotel. That is the starting point of our experience. If things seem complicated or inaccessible at that point, if you\u2019re having trouble finding the information you need or you can\u2019t find them at all, the chances of staying there start to drop. That is the reason why hotels and hotel chains are earmarking big budgets for UX design. Modern versions of hotels\u2019 online presentations are designed after serious and extensive research concerning guests\u2019 different preferences, habits, and expectations. What should catch the eye first? How much time does a user spend on average browsing the website of a hotel? What kind of information do they need? Designing the website has become a challenge in every sense.\n\nCreativity and innovation have become the parameters for success in any business, and the hotel industry is no exception. The constant search for new ways to entertain guests, as well as potential customers, has easily become one of the main drivers of this business. Read on to find out how hotels manage to create experiences for guests and what it looks like in real life.\nThe post Creating Experiences in the Hotel Industry appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2019-07-19T09:35:43+02:00", "date_modified": "2019-07-19T09:35:43+02:00", "author": { "name": "Milica Novak", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/milicanovak/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Milica-Novak.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/naslovna-105.jpg", "tags": [ "creating experience", "guests", "hotel industry", "hotels", "Hot topics", "Hotels and venues", "MUST READ", "WHERE AND WHY" ] }, { "id": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/quality-is-not-expensive-its-priceless/", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/quality-is-not-expensive-its-priceless/", "title": "\u201cQuality Is Not Expensive \u2013 It\u00b4s Priceless\u201d", "content_html": "![\"Mr](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/G-din-Adreas-V\u00f6gl.jpg\" "\\"Mr")
His career started as a room clerk at the Sheraton Hotel Munich and in 1992 he was voted for Hotelier of the Year in Austria. During his time as General Manager of the five star Hotel Imperial Vienna, the hotel was awarded by one of the leading global Hotel & Tourism Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, for World\u00b4s Best Hotel. Since 1996 Andreas provides strategic as well as operational matters to clients all around the world as a hotel & tourism expert.
\nYou\u2019ve visited Serbia many times, as a consultant and lecturer. What are yours three main impressions about the country and its tourism industry?
\n\u2022 An increased awareness for the potential of tourism is noticeable; particularly in the HEALTH & SPA sector. This is the field where Serbia offers some great natural resources that are being developed gradually by local entrepreneurs.
\n\u2022 The same applies for the wide field of AGRO TOURISM \u2013 an excellent opportunity to stabilize the rural community in the provinces. Both business opportunities have been most successfully implemented in my home country, Austria.
\n\u2022 With the increasing speed of talks for an EU affiliation, BUSINESS TRAVEL will pick up significantly. This can be noticed virtually every day at the airport of Belgrade.
As a professional, who is well-known in hotel industry, you had the chance to work in many countries and different continents. What was your biggest challenge in terms of work environment?
\nThere are really many factors that one must consider when it comes to this. I would like to point out, irrespective of the country, to make people that are being engaged in the hotel & tourism industry (be it owners, investors, managers, staff\u2026) aware of the need and complexities, that this is a \u201cService Industry\u201d. Successful managers and enterprises have already well understood (and earn hefty dividends), that it must be the supplier\u00b4s (hotelier, restaurateur etc.) sustainable dedication to \u201cdeliver\u201d\u2013 surpass \u2013 the guests/market
\nexpectation \u2013 always! 24 Hours \u2013 from the moment the guest decides to travel to a destination, book a hotel, or a restaurant table in Serbia. This is a highly critical process that can take some years to bring to fruition. A well proven metaphor for this challenge is the quality level of the \u201c5 Senses\u201d (sound, taste, feel, smell, visual) that is being provided. How does this 5 Senses environment fit (match) in terms of quality, the quality of service and product of the destination, hotel, the restaurant etc. and the guests (markets) expectation is crucial.
All professionals from hotel industry can hear you in April this year on a conference \u201cQuality First in Hotels & Tourism\u201d that will be held in Belgrade. Could you please tell us something about this event?
\nI shall quote Mahatma Gandhi who said \u201cQuality is not expensive \u2013 it\u00b4s priceless\u201d. I can only full heartedly congratulate the organizers TIM-SERBIA and the Faculty of Business Organization in Belgrade on this \u201cicebreaking\u201d initiative for the sake of a more quality
\noriented, more profitable tourism in Serbia. The program and lectures are superb and can be a great value for all professional visitors. I consider it of particular interest, that the conference will highlight pragmatic solutions but as well share a view into the future of
\nthe hotel & tourism industry.
In your opinion, what is a MUST for delivering quality in tourism?
\n\u201cQuality\u201d per se is defined by the market/guest \u2013 we intend to operate in 80% reliable \u2013 sustainable quality in service which applies for all segments of the \u201csupply chain\u201d for hotel & tourism products and 20% clever \u2013 guest service oriented investments. Both these elements have to be visible to the guests at the \u201cMoment of Truth\u201d. This is exactly the moment, where client\u2019s expectation make contact with the product or service. The best hotels do deliver more than the guest expects.
\n![\"\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/foto2-2.jpg\")
In addition to that, what do you consider as the biggest threats in hotel industry these days?
\nTravel is an \u201cage old habit\u201d of mankind \u2013 you cannot avoid \u201ctravel\u201d. Having that on mind, the industry has to be up on its toes to deliver products and service in the very rapidly changing world and expectation of markets perception \u2013 throughout the supply chain I have mentioned above.
\nAs cover story of this magazine issue is Play and Learn concept, did/do you practice this kind of approach? What do you think about it? Do you find it can be useful?
\nPlay & Learn is a most useful tool to transport content to participants. I for myself have quite some years ago developed a hotel & tourism management Play \u2013 for the first time in Europe. The Diamond Fever is a workshop that is based on hotel\u2019s and departments
\nspecific needs. It\u2019s the staff self-initiated readiness that brings about the most innovative, very practical and measurable quality improvement results. As part of the game, these are collected in a summery which is the basis for further quality improvements measures in a hotel.
The post \u201cQuality Is Not Expensive \u2013 It\u00b4s Priceless\u201d appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "We all know quality should be a must. But, how do we create and deliver it? For this issue of SEEbtm magazine we have talked to one of the leading professionals when it comes to this subject \u2013 Mr. Andreas V\u00f6gl who he has been involved in the hotel & tourism business since 1972.\nMr Andreas V\u00f6gl\nHis career started as a room clerk at the Sheraton Hotel Munich and in 1992 he was voted for Hotelier of the Year in Austria. During his time as General Manager of the five star Hotel Imperial Vienna, the hotel was awarded by one of the leading global Hotel & Tourism Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, for World\u00b4s Best Hotel. Since 1996 Andreas provides strategic as well as operational matters to clients all around the world as a hotel & tourism expert.\nYou\u2019ve visited Serbia many times, as a consultant and lecturer. What are yours three main impressions about the country and its tourism industry?\n\u2022 An increased awareness for the potential of tourism is noticeable; particularly in the HEALTH & SPA sector. This is the field where Serbia offers some great natural resources that are being developed gradually by local entrepreneurs.\n\u2022 The same applies for the wide field of AGRO TOURISM \u2013 an excellent opportunity to stabilize the rural community in the provinces. Both business opportunities have been most successfully implemented in my home country, Austria.\n\u2022 With the increasing speed of talks for an EU affiliation, BUSINESS TRAVEL will pick up significantly. This can be noticed virtually every day at the airport of Belgrade.\nAs a professional, who is well-known in hotel industry, you had the chance to work in many countries and different continents. What was your biggest challenge in terms of work environment?\n\nThere are really many factors that one must consider when it comes to this. I would like to point out, irrespective of the country, to make people that are being engaged in the hotel & tourism industry (be it owners, investors, managers, staff\u2026) aware of the need and complexities, that this is a \u201cService Industry\u201d. Successful managers and enterprises have already well understood (and earn hefty dividends), that it must be the supplier\u00b4s (hotelier, restaurateur etc.) sustainable dedication to \u201cdeliver\u201d\u2013 surpass \u2013 the guests/market\nexpectation \u2013 always! 24 Hours \u2013 from the moment the guest decides to travel to a destination, book a hotel, or a restaurant table in Serbia. This is a highly critical process that can take some years to bring to fruition. A well proven metaphor for this challenge is the quality level of the \u201c5 Senses\u201d (sound, taste, feel, smell, visual) that is being provided. How does this 5 Senses environment fit (match) in terms of quality, the quality of service and product of the destination, hotel, the restaurant etc. and the guests (markets) expectation is crucial.\n\nAll professionals from hotel industry can hear you in April this year on a conference \u201cQuality First in Hotels & Tourism\u201d that will be held in Belgrade. Could you please tell us something about this event?\nI shall quote Mahatma Gandhi who said \u201cQuality is not expensive \u2013 it\u00b4s priceless\u201d. I can only full heartedly congratulate the organizers TIM-SERBIA and the Faculty of Business Organization in Belgrade on this \u201cicebreaking\u201d initiative for the sake of a more quality\noriented, more profitable tourism in Serbia. The program and lectures are superb and can be a great value for all professional visitors. I consider it of particular interest, that the conference will highlight pragmatic solutions but as well share a view into the future of\nthe hotel & tourism industry.\nIn your opinion, what is a MUST for delivering quality in tourism?\n\u201cQuality\u201d per se is defined by the market/guest \u2013 we intend to operate in 80% reliable \u2013 sustainable quality in service which applies for all segments of the \u201csupply chain\u201d for hotel & tourism products and 20% clever \u2013 guest service oriented investments. Both these elements have to be visible to the guests at the \u201cMoment of Truth\u201d. This is exactly the moment, where client\u2019s expectation make contact with the product or service. The best hotels do deliver more than the guest expects.\n\nIn addition to that, what do you consider as the biggest threats in hotel industry these days?\nTravel is an \u201cage old habit\u201d of mankind \u2013 you cannot avoid \u201ctravel\u201d. Having that on mind, the industry has to be up on its toes to deliver products and service in the very rapidly changing world and expectation of markets perception \u2013 throughout the supply chain I have mentioned above.\nAs cover story of this magazine issue is Play and Learn concept, did/do you practice this kind of approach? What do you think about it? Do you find it can be useful?\nPlay & Learn is a most useful tool to transport content to participants. I for myself have quite some years ago developed a hotel & tourism management Play \u2013 for the first time in Europe. The Diamond Fever is a workshop that is based on hotel\u2019s and departments\nspecific needs. It\u2019s the staff self-initiated readiness that brings about the most innovative, very practical and measurable quality improvement results. As part of the game, these are collected in a summery which is the basis for further quality improvements measures in a hotel.\nwww.voegl.at\nThe post \u201cQuality Is Not Expensive \u2013 It\u00b4s Priceless\u201d appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2018-03-29T10:41:45+02:00", "date_modified": "2018-04-03T09:32:33+02:00", "author": { "name": "Milica Novak", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/milicanovak/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Milica-Novak.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/naslovna-36.jpg", "tags": [ "Adreas V\u00f6gl", "conference", "consultant", "expert", "hotel industry", "quality", "tourism indusrty", "Interviews" ] } ] }