Service Challenges in the Hospitality Industry

November 2013

VISION

Empower people in under-served segments through affordable mobile

education services that are engaging, impactful, and life-

changing.

SUMMARY OF CHALLENGES

• High customer acquisition costs

• Need for improved service to drive guest retention

• Much more global travel, especially by Chinese

• Inadequate attention paid by hotel owners to importance of training

• High staff turnover requires quick, cost-effective training

• Staff Retention

• Need for productivity improvement

• Little objective data

• Outdated, boring training approaches

• The Qooco approach

HIGH ACQUISITION COSTS

• Study of 250 hotels by Kalibri Labs found hoteliers paying 10-20% on transaction fees and commissions to third parties

• Another 20% on sales and marketing costs to acquire consumers, such as keyword buys, digital advertising, and branding fees

• Lee Pillsbury, co-chairman and CEO of Thayer Lodging Group, said “Mr. Expedia wants 18%, and Mr. Marriott wants 6%,. “At the end of the day it isn’t going to work. You’re not going to buy, build, maintain a hotel with those economics. The consumer does not want to pay 40% in marketing acquisition costs. They want more value than that.”

• Third parties put most of the focus on price. Their commissions remain high. Instead of customer acquisition, it is customer rental.

• Add in high labour costs, so where are the adequate margins?

IMPROVED SERVICE

• Memorable, differentiated experiences to drive repeat business

• Social networks spread the good and the bad about your hotel. Fast.

• Ensure staff consistently create memorable positive experience to drive repeat business, not a third party aggregator that puts the main focus on price.

• Improved service is driven by engaging, data-rich processes.

• Upselling does not happen accidentally. It is a process that must be institutionalized through the learning and development process.

CHINESE WAVE

• In a recent article in the New York Times, it was noted that $102 Billion was spent by the Chinese outside of China in 2012.

• This wave of Chinese visitors is going to grow further.

• What is your strategy to participate in this massive amount of business? Are you going to communicate well with them, or just pretend to communicate.

• What is the likelihood of repeat business with poor communication with these guests?

• Will the Chinese traveler feel special at your hotel? How about even understood?

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

• Staff training and development can help differentiate your offering, drive down costs, and increase revenues.

• Better guest experience improves loyalty and results in higher ranking on the travel sites and social media

• Improved training processes results in more engaged employees, and lower training, recruiting, and retention costs

• Better trained employees are better brand ambassadors, more trusted, and deliver more consistent high quality service

• Better training delivers better financial results for hotels

QOOCO TRAINING

• Comprehensive – specialized English, Mandarin, vocational simulations, video, quizzes, and games, all tailored to the hospitality industry

• Scalable using the Qooco cloud, with PC’s and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets

• Data-rich feedback to senior management, hotel management, and training management

• Monitoring and reporting, by department, property, chain, or any combination

• Fun and engaging – motivating for staff

• Improved opportunities drive retention, further reducing costs

TRANSITION TO THE FUTURE

Demo Video

No need to remain stuck in the past.

Thousands of pages in manuals sitting on shelves are not suited to today’s world. Rich, mobile interactive learning in your pocket is the future. Now.

SUMMARY

Embrace the future.

Embrace Mobile Learning.

Practice and motivate daily.

Improve the financial dynamics of your hotels.