Turning Guest Problems into Opportunities - Sponsored Whitepaper

Turning problems into opportunities: Guest response systems provide the data needed to eliminate defects, improve processes and increase guest satisfaction

Manufacturing companies such as General Electric Co. and Motorola Inc. have used Six Sigma—the crème de la crème of total quality management programs—for years. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if one can measure how many defects there are in a process, one can systematically learn how to eliminate them and get as close to zero defects as possible.

Throughout the hotel industry, numerous improvement programs exist that focus an organization on defect reduction, customer service and process alignment. In a previous article I explained the benefits of implementing a guest response call center and technology to improve service delivery and collect data for process improvement. (See: Tired of fighting fires? Proactive hotel managers implement guest call centers to deliver outstanding service, save thousands of dollars.)

In this article I will discuss how hotel managers can use the data collected from guest call centers and other sources of guest feedback to analyze and reduce defects. I also will discuss the benefits of using guest response systems for continuous process improvement without having to invest the time and money in a Six Sigma program.

Unlike factories, where Six Sigma (commonly defined as 3.4 defects per million opportunities) is achievable, the hotel industry average for defects (problems experienced by guests) is more than 20 percent of all guest stays. With more than one in five guests experiencing a problem, the potential for defect reduction is huge. At this defect rate, for every point reduction in “problem experience,” a hotel can eliminate 5 percent of all guest problems.