Introduction
Due to the stiff competition in the business world today, organizations have no choice but to offer memorable experiences for their products and services to every consumer they get into contact with. This is perceived as the only way through which organizations can attract and retain more customers. The current economy calls for organizations to devise memorable experiences for their customers. This is the sole approach that will help in increasing value to products and services offered by business firms (Allen 53). To attain this, organizations ought to engage their employees in ensuring that they instill memorable experiences to every customer they come across. To increase their profitability and overcome competition, five-star hotels across the globe have embarked on offering experience to their customers. This is achieved through individual personalized hospitality and product and service specialization. Hotels continuously monitor, understand and implement changing consumer trends in their services and events. There are different ways being used by five-star hotels in offering experience to their customers. This paper aims at highlighting some of these methods.
Changing hotel management and investment styles
As a way of nurturing experience in their customers, most of the five-star hotels have significantly differentiated their styles. The hotels are currently offering services that are strongly entrenched in family tradition. They are widely developing their hospitality and caretaking of their customers based on ensuring that they offer warm personalized services as their distinct style (Brotherton & Wood 231-245). Hotels have started assuming different social responsibilities such as assisting disaster-affected persons and supporting the homeless. There are those that are going to an extent of buying a carbon dioxide quota to help in reducing environmental pollution. By offering individualized services that are sensitive to traditions, they have made customers feel to be acknowledged. Foreigners who visit these hotels feel pleased by the warm reception they experience. They feel delighted to have their traditional meals as well as music. This has made them have a memorable experience. Such customers are willing to return to the hotel whenever they visit the country. With most of the five-star hotels coming up with investment styles that are creative and personalized, they have become more interesting to visitors. This has facilitated in increasing their profitability. Most visitors like it when they realize that their needs are addressed at a personal level and not generalized with the needs of other people in the hotel (Fenech 287). This makes them feel to be appreciated and develop the notion that their needs are fully catered for by the management. This has been one of the factors that have led to hotels retaining and expanding their market share to different countries.
Investment in food, accommodation, and transportation
Another approach that has been used by five-star hotels in offering experience to their customers is offering customized transport services, accommodations, and meals. Numerous hotels have employed staff from different countries. This has made it possible for them to understand the preferences of customers originating from different countries. With this information, hotels are able to serve a variety of meals based on customer preference. Food experience among the visitors is considered as the peak experience or one of the supporting experiences that can help hotels retain and attract more customers (Lashley & Lincoln 47-64). Five-star hotels have also invested in building accommodation facilities that offer the highest degree of comfort to their customers. Hotels have offered different rooms ranging from those that accommodate the entire family to those that suit individual needs. There are hotels that have been equipped with physical fitness equipment making them more attractive to customers. Some of the five-star hotels are offering transportation services to customers. Hotels have purchased buses and planes to cater to different consumer transportation needs. There has been a change in ways in which the hotels ensure that have focussed on improving consumer value.
Focusing on events and atmospheres
Providing the right atmosphere to visitors can be one of the most memorable incidences in their life. Different visitors would wish to experience different atmospheres based on the purpose of their visit. For instance, there are visitors who may have come for a honeymoon while others for a holiday. Five-star hotels have ensured that they provide different atmospheres to their visitors by offering different accommodation facilities. There are hotels that provide wellness areas within their environs. These include the provision of indoor pools. There are building designed and painted with different colors for varied use. Other hotels have concentrated on addressing customer needs for different events (Lashley & Morrison 89). These include weddings and conferences. Some of the five-star hotels have established boardrooms that can be used in events such as conferences and weddings. The rooms are equipped with all the necessary facilities making the guests comfortable. Due to economic barriers, these hotels have also concentrated on events that do not require a lot of capital investment. This has led to them focusing on utilizing their human resource in ensuring that they have fostered individual and personal experience in all their visitors. Hotels have managed to cut down on operation costs while at the same time enhancing customer experience.
Focus on organic products
Five-star hotels also focus on the quality of products and services they offer as a way of selling experience to their customers. The high demand for organic products among customers has led to most of the five-star hotels offering them. Focus on an organic product is based on eating as well as materials used in the hotels. For instance, Axle Hotel Guldsmeden found in Denmark has incorporated modern art, Persian rugs on wooden floors, and authentic art on walls (Pine & Gilmore 67). There are other hotels that have transformed into boutique hotels. Such hotels not only are they offering organic foods but they are also offering furniture and equipment. These hotels have ensured that they stand out with respect to ecological and organic products they offer. It is one of the factors that have led to consumer satisfaction as well as building the hotel brand.
Investment on technology
Apart from enhancing hotel efficiency in service delivery, five-star hotels are continually investing in technology as a way of selling experience to customers. This is attained in collaboration with their staff. The need for internet among customers has led to hotels offering it in their rooms of accommodation. Visitors are provided with network cables or sockets where they can plug in their computers and have access to the internet. This is through the help of hotel staff (Warde & Martens 31-44). The move has significantly saved hotel visitors’ costs with respect to time wasted looking for the service. This move has resulted in five-star hotels with these services recording a high number of visitors every year than before.
Conclusion
Relying on products and services delivery has proved not productive to five-star hotels. This is due to high competition from different hotels offering similar products and services. The advent of the experience economy has proved to be the only way to ensure that these hotels retain and attract more customers. Hotels are currently using all means possible to orchestrate memorable experiences for their customers. This has been through the way they offer their products and services as well as the way they structure and organize their facilities. Most of the hotels have decided to offer their services at a personalized level. This has made customers feel recognized thus willing to visit the hotel again (Yu 62-89). There are hotels offering services that are sensitive to traditions. Some hotels have invested in transportation, food, and accommodation. These hotels have ensured that they offer accommodation facilities that best meet all consumer needs. Serving a variety of meals has left all customers delighted in visiting these hotels. There are hotels that focus on events and atmospheres. These hotels have always ensured that they align their services with the required atmosphere and according to events taking place. Investment in technology has been another way used by five-star hotels in instilling memorable experiences to their customers. Hotels are now offering internet services in their rooms of accommodation. All these approaches have led to five-star hotels increasing their profitability as well as building their image.
References
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