Die Valencia City Hotel Group mit Sitz in Houston, Texas, USA ist ein Hotelmanagement-Unternehmen, das sich auf die Entwicklung und den Betrieb von Luxushotels mit vollem Serviceangebot spezialisiert hat.

Time is always of the essence in delivering exceptional hospitality.

“People don't like to wait, and especially nowadays, with all the technology, everything has to be immediate,” Trent observed. Hearing back on an issue days later doesn’t cut it. “When something's bothering you, you dwell on it. And every moment that goes by, every moment that you're waiting, you start to think about everything else that you're not happy with. Those things grow. And if we didn't get ahold of them immediately, they probably would have told all of their friends.”

The nature of social media and online review sites has only increased the impact of this. “We used to say if a guest is happy, they'll tell one person, and if they're unhappy, they'll tell 10 people. Well, now, it's like 10,000 people. Every moment that goes by can really hurt our reputation quite a bit. Managing that reputation by being immediate and not having the guest wait is crucial.”

Trent sees timely guest communication as both crucial while a guest is on the property and once they’ve left. “It's a very important part of the hospitality experience. We may make mistakes, but it's crucial that we respond to reviews and surveys in a timely manner.”

Listening well and responding in a timely manner is where technology can help, but Trent and his team had a challenge.

Challenged to track guest experience

The Valencia team was using a legacy guest experience management system previously and noticed issues in a number of areas. “I don't think I've ever started looking for a new platform unless there was some dissatisfaction with the service. What got us looking for a new product was the support we received from the platform that we were on.”

Integrations were the first issue, both in collecting data and syncing it with their systems.

“The whole purpose for the guest feedback platform is to collect all that review data in one place.” Trent was finding feedback on some websites wasn’t being collected. “If it doesn't integrate with the different sites out there, then we don't have all the information.”

Equally important was the integration with their property management system (PMS). “The PMS integration is important for getting surveys out to our guests on time,” Trent added.

Important metrics and data weren’t present in the old tool. And without this key data, many on the Valencia team were hesitant to use it.

Overall, it felt as if their previous technology provider didn’t understand or respect the needs of Valencia Hotel Group. “We had multiple issues and it started to feel like we didn’t matter. It was really hard to get ahold of someone, and we felt like our calls were being ignored. It came down to just not having confidence that if we had an issue, it would be addressed.”

Finding a better solution

Trent and his team knew a change was needed. At Valencia Hotel Group, evaluating and buying technology is a group effort.

“We have a technology committee with our corporate directors and don't make any decisions when it comes to changing technologies independently,” Trent shared. This group is cross-functional to ensure all stakeholder needs are met. “Our revenue management director and our vice president of information technology were both heavily involved in this, along with several others.”

The company had built a strong relationship with Shiji previously, which made them an obvious place to turn for this part of their business. “They're very responsible, very responsive, and they go out of their way to take care of us in any way they can. So anytime we're entertaining the idea of looking at anything they cover, they're my first call.”

After speaking with the Shiji team, Trent and his team at Valencia decided to move ahead with Shiji’s guest engagement technology product line, ReviewPro.

The process went quickly and didn’t require a lot from the Valencia team. “The switchover was probably the least painful that I could imagine for such a complex integration with so much information going back and forth,” Trent recalled. “We had a few calls, and it was up and running. I’d say it was painless and completely unmemorable. And in this case, that's an amazing thing.”

According to Trent, technology should make the lives of hoteliers easier and free up time. “If we wanted to be stuck in an office, we probably wouldn't be in the hospitality industry - especially not in operations.”

This freedom to focus on serving guests - and their associates - gives Valencia Hotel Group a competitive advantage. Empowering associates with Shiji’s ReviewPro tools has helped with retention, morale - and helping them serve their guests.

According to Trent, having technology that quickly and easily collects guest feedback provides fresh ways to recognize and motivate team members. “We can say things like ‘Hey, Dorothy, you did a really good job. This guest left you a raving review online.’” The more feedback they can get, and the more timely they can get it, the more they can share the positivity and create a positive atmosphere with the team.

“Empowerment is crucial. It’s one of our primary principles in the Valencia Hotel Group. It’s beneficial to us on so many levels because it makes each team member feel like they're a part of something. They're not just told to respond to the environment around them and take orders. They have the ability to actually be part of what we do, and their opinions are respected.”

This sense of empowerment is also helpful for developing future leaders in the company. “The more they're empowered, the more we can see their decision-making skills, the more we can develop those decision-making skills, encouraging them to make mistakes and to learn from them. And so, that we actually have more of a bench to pull from when we open new properties.”