hotel industry Archives

Hotels Embrace the New Concept of ‘Lifestyle’ in Marketing

The Hospitality Industry

Hospitality leaders agree: lifestyle hotels are more than a passing fad. The new norm focuses on guest experience and upscale communal features like critically acclaimed restaurants and WiFi friendly lobby seating.

Travelers want their hotel to be a desirable place to hang out, and “have a room upstairs.” The results can vary depending on the target market (young millennials, business travelers, international tourists) but the emphasis on a unique experience runs across the board.

A recent profile of the Freehand Hotels shows how the new chain learned from its first project, a hostel-style boutique in Miami with private and shared rooms. Guests loved the community lounge spaces but strongly preferred private rooms. Freehand changed gears for its subsequent hotels, moving away from shared bathrooms but keeping the lounge spaces.

Pod Hotels in New York City show the same commitment to the “lifestyle” concept. Guests are greeted by a twenty-something concierge dressed to go DJ at a nightclub — and find themselves immersed in a trendy bar scene before reaching the front desk.

Mainstream hotels and business hotels are embracing lifestyle, too. Some spotlight the beauty of restored historic buildings, local artwork, or lobby filled with business productivity tools.

For hotel management, the shift toward lifestyle hotels means creating a consistent atmosphere. After choosing new decor and lobby furniture, the hotel can streamline daily operations with new tools for hotel and hospitality cart movement. Employees work with motorized carts to get cleaning and maintenance done quickly — putting the best foot forward for the hotel’s lifestyle experience.

For more info on hotel and hospitality cart movement, visit DJ Products.com.

Hotels Embrace a “YOUniverse” Experience to Woo Bookings

From the lobby to the guest room, people want to feel a connection with the places they stay. What if every aspect, from the decor to experiential moments, felt utterly personalized?

If hoteliers can predict what their guests want rather than waiting for surveys and feedback, it’s much easier to get people’s attention and win their loyalty. Instead of just keeping on trend in terms of shower curtains and healthy food options, a hotel needs to be proactive about delivering the kinds of experiences that guests love, or even share on Instagram.

Data analytics can now go further than ever before to provide this kind of proactive insight. Sabre Hospitality describes the effect in its report on the “Youniverse,” which means the idea of creating a product or service tailored to various individuals’ tastes and preferences. Today’s highly connected world with big data available makes it possible to correctly predict, not guess, what your hotel customers want.

Much the way Amazon can guess what products a consumer wants, hoteliers can predict what amenities will delight a guest and make them feel a brand connection.

Staying Ahead of Hotel Trends

Though your customer demographics may vary, the biggest trends in hospitality right now center on experience, collaborative spaces, and clean design.

DJ Products makes powered carts for hotels to help automate the processes of housekeeping, supply carts, and more. By removing the task of manually pushing carts—a rigorous, repetitive injury-prone part of the day—your employees can improve the guest experience across the board.

Want to streamline services with powered carts for hotels? Browse DJ Products hospitality carts for more info!

What’s Trending in Technology for the Hospitality Industry?

With newer technology like mobile wallets changing people’s expectations in a tech-saturated world, the hospitality industry is catching up with the trends. Beyond the booking apps, hotels can use technology to radically change the way employees work and the guest experience itself.

At DJ Products, we know how to boost your staff’s productivity with powered carts for hotels. With the touch of a button, loaded housekeeping carts can roll down the hallways—protecting you from the ticking time bomb of repetitive stress injuries that lead to downtime and compensation claims.

Today, we’re rounding up hospitality tech trends including such highlights as:

Wi-Fi and Conferencing Equipment: Unless you operate a small bed-and-breakfast, it’s time to add cellular signal boosters and high-density Wi-Fi so guests and conference attendees can get reception.

Smart Check-In and Room Keys: Smartphones can now make key cards obsolete, so guests can check in online and stroll right to their rooms.

Robots: Room service, towels, and more can be delivered by robots. For a more personal touch, our powered carts for hotels can get your smiling human workers around the property faster.

Infrared Sensors: Putting an end to early morning door knocks, infrared sensors can tell staff if a room is occupied.

Smart Home Features: Reward your valued guests by letting them input preferred heating and air conditioning levels and more, integrated with smart home features that activate upon arrival.

The technology is already here for many of the new hotel amenities that people will soon expect. Get started with powered carts for hotels from DJ Products to speed up and improve hotel guest services.

Tips for Personalizing the Hotel Experience for Your Guests

Retail companies have successfully leveraged IT platforms to personalize the customer experience with actions such as suggesting purchases based on individual preferences. However, the hospitality industry is lagging behind in offering personalized service.

Bringing Personalization to the Hotel Guest Experience

Hotels have two significant roadblocks to personalizing a guest’s experience:

>Using different platforms for booking, POS, loyalty and other activities makes it difficult to efficiently capture the required data.

>Many guests book rooms through online travel agencies such as Expedia, so hotels don’t have access to email addresses unless desk clerks request them at check-in.

When Customer Service Misses the Mark

Carolyn Murphy, a marketing specialist for hospitality consulting firm Revinate, wrote about a less-than-satisfactory experience she had when checking into a hotel. The desk clerk asked Murphy if it was her first visit, despite the fact that she had stayed there twice before.

Murphy went on to add that she had posted a review of her original experience at the hotel on TripAdvisor and received a reply from the general manager. In addition, the day before Murphy’s arrival she tweeted about anticipating her visit and included the hotel’s Twitter handle.

According to a Yahoo survey, 78 percent of respondents expressed a preference for more personalized service. Giving guests a satisfying experience can pay off in more repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Powered Carts for Hotels from DJ Products

Hotel guests value comfort and convenience. Our powered carts for hotels let your housekeeping staff perform their duties quickly and discreetly.

Visit our website and use our online chat feature to get assistance from one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales engineers.

Bed Bugs in Hotels – The Problem is Getting More Notice from Guests

Over the Past few years, reports of bed bugs in hotels have received a great deal of media attention. Despite this fact, the hospitality industry is fighting an even greater battle with the public’s lack of general understanding regarding bed bugs.

Battling Public Misinformation

Researchers at the University of Kentucky recently conducted a survey to explore public perception of bed bugs in hotels. While 60 percent of respondents said they would move to a different hotel if they discovered evidence of bed bugs, no more than 25 percent would do the same with problems like smoky rooms or dirty linens.

Surprisingly, most respondents don’t know what bed bugs look like. When shown a “lineup” of five different insect pests, only 35 percent of business travelers and 28 percent of leisure travelers recognized the bed bug.

More than half the respondents said they would avoid a hotel that had a single online report of bed bugs. Jerrod M. Penn, PhD, lead author of the study, expressed concern at this finding, citing the unreliability of online reviews.

How Should Hotels Respond?

Wuyang Hu, PhD, senior author of the study, suggested a two-pronged approach to the issue:

Train hotel staffs to recognize bed bugs in the early stages.
Develop a reputation management plan to respond to online reviews as well as incidents within the hotel.

Improve Employee Safety and Job Satisfaction with Hotel Equipment Movers from DJ Products

Make sure your staff has the right tools to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Visit our website to learn more about our electric hotel equipment pullers and movers such as our best-selling CartCaddyLite.

Hotels Embrace Robots and Automated Butlers

Remember Rosie, the sarcastic but lovable robot maid employed by ’60 cartoon family The Jetsons? She’s becoming closer to reality as the hospitality industry increasingly integrates technology with guest services.

At Your Service: High-Tech Amenities

• The Aloft Cupertino, a stone’s throw from Apple’s California headquarters, employs Botlr, a robotic butler complete with bowtie who will deliver breakfast, towels and toiletries to your room.

• Luxury hotel YOTEL in New York City facilitates luggage storage with YOBOT. Guests leave their bags in a drop-off area for YOBOT to place in a secure locker and retrieve upon request. The entire process is controlled by touchscreens and PIN codes.

• Several Bay Area hotels have taken minibars to the next level with Plum, an automatic dispenser that holds wine at the perfect temperature and serves by the glass.

• All 748 rooms in the Wynn Las Vegas are equipped with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated personal assistant that handles tasks from opening the curtains to raising or lowering the temperature.

• Another plush Las Vegas hotel, the Aria, features in-room tablets for use in controlling room features, ordering room service, making spa or restaurant reservations and reading your hometown newspaper.

• Peloton’s internet-enabled exercise bikes are installed in several Westin hotels, allowing guests to take virtual spin classes.

Move Hotel Equipment Effortlessly with Electric Carts from DJ Products

Improve workplace efficiency and safety with battery-powered carts that allow a single employee to move heavy hotel equipment. Visit our website and use our handy online chat feature to learn more about solutions such as our popular CartCaddyLite from our helpful sales engineers.

What Important Trends Should Hotel Managers be Watching for 2017

Hospitality Trends 2017

A successful hotel is more than just a place to sleep. The hospitality industry is always adapting to accommodate evolving customer needs and incorporate current marketing methods.

Industry newsletter 4Hoteliers weighs in with significant hospitality trends that hotel managers should keep an eye on in 2017.

What Does 2017 Hold for the Hospitality Industry?

Technology continues to revolutionize the workplace as companies develop robots to enhance customer service in positions like housekeeping and concierge. While some workers may become displaced, this change will open up opportunities for those who are willing to learn new skills.
Guests will be able to use mobile check-in by means of a “pod” or simply by going to their room. In some hotels, guest room phones are being replaced with in-room tablets which can be used to order room service and control other functions.
Airbnb may be considered competition today, but in the future they are likely to morph into more of an overall distribution channel for both hosts and hotels. In the meantime, use Airbnb as inspiration to make your hotel the preferable resource for travelers.
How do you define your company culture? Improve employee retention by treating them with the same respect and value that you give to your customers.

Lighten the Load for Employees with Powered Hotel and Linen Carts

Providing a safe and effective workplace is a vital step in boosting employee satisfaction. Powered hotel and linen carts from DJ Products reduce risk of injury and allow employees to perform more efficiently.

Visit our website to learn more about the CartCaddyLite and our full line of powered hotel and linen carts.

Smoke-Free Hotels Embraced as the Future

No Smoking

If you haven’t noticed, over the past few years the entire hotel industry, from top to bottom, has been slowly transitioning to a smoke-free environment. Not only is this a direct response to the health issues of second-hand smoke, but it also directly confronts safety issues associated with smoldering cigarettes.

Examples include burn marks from lit cigarettes, damage to furnishings, risk of fire, and nuisance fire alarms. Each hotel has the potential of saving tens of thousands of dollars yearly by going smoke free.

Hospitality Industry Equipment

In every respect, the money saved by going smoke free can be invested into hospitality industry equipment, and more specifically, powered equipment for housekeepers and maintenance personnel.

Housekeeping is the backbone of every hotel, and powered equipment, such as linen carts and housekeeping supply carts, will make the hotel staff more effective and better still, more efficient every time they clean a room.

A powered cart for maintenance employees allows moving heavy tools and equipment with ease. Not only does it cut down on potential injuries, but it allows maintenance personnel to move quicker and easier through halls and passageways. There’s no more straining and pulling to get from one place to another as it is far easier to steer around corners, into rooms and around customers.

If you need more information on hospitality industry equipment like hospitality carts, motorized linen carts or any other powered cart that will aid in housekeeping or maintenance, contact DJ Products, We offer the mobile solution for your hotel housekeepers and maintenance staff that will aid in their effectiveness and overall efficiency.

Ergonomic Carts Can Help Struggling Hospitality Industry

Staycations and a sharp decline in business travel during the recession have pushed the U.S. hospitality industry to the edge. In recession for the past 24 months, overall occupancy rates continue to erode despite a slight seasonal uptick in June. Occupancy rates at U.S. hotels, motels and resorts have been falling even more rapidly than before over the past eight weeks and the immediate future doesn’t look good, according to industry watcher Hotelmarketing.com.

Continued concern about family finances and potential job loss have kept families at home. Group travel is down, and tours are being cancelled for failure to meet minimums. Businesses have cut travel to hold the line on expenses. Convention and trade show attendance is down. Hotels and motels are competing for a narrowing traveler pool that has forced many to cut staff until the economy improves and the hospitality industry rebounds.

Savvy hoteliers are turning to ergonomically-designed hospitality carts that allow a single employee to accomplish a greater workload with less physical effort. Ergonomic design eliminates strains and pains that workers can develop from pushing heavy laundry, cleaning and linen carts at hotels, motels, casinos and resorts. Powered housekeeping carts and clean and dirty linen carts allow a single employee to safely manage heavy loads of linens or cleaning supplies.

Powered platform carts and electric carts allow easy and safe movement of supplies, materials, parts or machinery from one area of a facility to another. Compact design permits operators to easily and safely maneuver carts through heavily traveled hotel corridors and narrow behind-the-scenes hallways. Motorized dump hoppers makes trash removal a breeze.

DJ Products, the national leader in the manufacture of ergonomic motorized carts and tugs, offers a full line of material handling products designed to meet the needs of the hospitality industry. Our motorized cart retro kit can be adapted and installed on any cart to increase safety and productivity. Visit the DJ Products website for more information.

Boutique Hotels Emerge as a Trend in 2015

Boutique Style Hotels

Boutique hotels have gone from an exciting fad to a lasting trend in recent years. In 2015, hospitality experts have observed more emphasis on both business-friendly hubs and Instagram-worthy lifestyle hotels.

To create the right atmosphere, hoteliers need fast and seamless housekeeping methods. Tools such as a powered housekeeping cart help accomplish the boutique vision by keeping staff happy and friendly and streamlining the cleaning process.

What is your hotel doing to stay ahead of the competition? Modern, premium surroundings are the new norm in hospitality.

Design and Layout Trends in Boutique Hotels

Tourism news magazine Tourexpi recently interviewed some of the leading hospitality design minds about the trends that emerged in 2015:

Striving for authenticity? Work with the local architecture and style, or take another route altogether. Faked authenticity is spotted easily.

Modular design. Get more mileage out of space with easily movable furniture in rooms and public spaces that perform double duty.

Public spaces rather than meeting rooms. Businesspeople are booking meeting rooms less frequently, preferring casual and impromptu communal spaces.

Smaller, minimalist rooms. People do little besides sleep and dress in rooms these days — and hotels are designing smaller rooms.

Foregoing bathtubs? Unless your hotel attracts families with babies, walk-in showers make more sense.

Streamline the housekeeping process, and it’s much easier to succeed as a boutique hotel. A powered housekeeping cart (either a new cart or a battery-powered retrofit kit) can be a major game-changer.

Make sure your employees have the tools they need to provide fast and friendly hospitality. Visit DJProducts.com for more info on our powered housekeeping cart.

Tag: hotel industry