Successfully Fielding Legitimate Guest Complaints AND How To Stop The “Full Refund Scammers"

Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Friday, April 19, from Noon – 12:45pm EST. REGISTER HERE

While the vast majority of guests who complain simply want to be heard and have their issues resolved, a small but vocal minority intentionally seek out issues they can use to argue for compensation, discounts, or even a full refund. Unfortunately, untrained staff and first-level supervisors cave all too easily, and worse yet, grow cynical about the intentions of future guests. KTN President Doug Kennedy

In this webcast, Doug covers KTN’s “EARS” method of successfully resolving routine guest complaints in a way that wins loyalty and encourages positive guest reviews. Next, he presents ways in which everyone on the guest services team, including reservations, telephone operators, guest services, front desk reception and/or concierge staff, can help overcome those who arrive with the objective of getting their stay comped.

Topics to be covered include:

• Using the EARS method to overcome both components of complaints; the issue itself, and more importantly, the guest’s emotional reaction to the issue.
• Notating comments made during the booking and/or prearrival phone calls and written correspondence that present as “red flags.”
• Documenting the details of special requests, especially when the staff has had to say no or that it is requested but not guaranteed.
• Recording timelines of requests and complaints, along with the response times and action steps taken.
• Standing up to bullies when necessary, documenting their argumentative or threatening remarks.
• The importance of not caving to threats. (They will probably do that bad review anyway, even if you do cave!)
• Defending your brand when responding to unjust online guest reviews.

Topics for Doug’s monthly webcast training events rotate each month, covering hospitality and guest service excellence, transient reservations sales, and hotel group/event sales. In creating this series, Doug draws on content from his on-site training programs, conference keynote presentations, and his monthly training articles.

Everyone who registers receives a link to the recording, even if they cannot attend. The 40-minute format is perfect for “lunch and learns” or excerpts can be shared at staff meetings. The target audience is anyone who is interested in upskilling themselves or others, and the topic areas are broad enough to be relevant for all sectors of the lodging industry.

We are grateful to the generosity of our sponsors who have allowed us to offer complimentary admission, said Kennedy. It takes a lot of time to design, promote, and deliver these events, and so we would normally charge at least $99 registration per person, but this series is now completely free to all.

Sponsors include: Travel Outlook, the only KTN Certified call center, Better Talent, a subscription-based talent acquisition company serving the lodging sector, and Track Hospitality Software, a TravelNet Solution, whose products include a PMS and CRM.

Complimentary registration can be accessed at www.KTNwebcast.com Here are the additional topics and dates scheduled so far.

Reservations Sales Agents: It Is NOT Our Job To Tell Them What’s Available; It IS Our Job To Help Them Decide!

Friday, May 17 (Noon EDT)

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Doug created this month’s topic in response to a trend our KTN team sees when conducting pre-training mystery shopping for our clients. Too often, when agents determine the caller has not stayed before and does not have an accommodation in mind, they immediately list the available options and rates for rooms, rental homes, or suites. Some agents even offer to email the whole list, which may seem kind but is definitely not helpful. Doug refers to this as providing “website search helpdesk support,” and reminds everyone that if that’s all we do, our jobs can immediately be replaced by IVR, AI, and ChatGPT. Instead, participants learn how to lead conversations that may lead to an immediate booking, or at least help the caller narrow down their choices.

• Understanding the concepts of “choice overload” that travel planners are experiencing when they search online and how that leads to FOMO, which is truly a psychological disorder many of us feel these days.
• Using investigative questions to discover “the story” behind the caller’s plans, gaining their confidence, while also controlling the call flow to minimize talk time.
• Using needs-based recommendations and suggestions that refer back to the caller’s needs and therefore have a greater impact.
• As callers start to decide, endorsing their choice as being a good option for them.

Train Your Entire Staff To Elicit Kama Muta (Commonly Called That “Warm, Fuzzy” Feeling)

Friday, June 21 (Noon EDT)

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It’s something that virtually all humans have experienced in our lives, especially those who work in guest-facing jobs in the hospitality industry. It happens when we make an authentic, personalized, and heartfelt connection with another human. It is a mutually experienced feeling, felt across cultures, nationalities, and languages. There is even a common gesture that humans around the globe use when the feeling arises, which is raising the right hand and placing it over the heart. While we in Western Cultures apparently don’t have a word for this feeling, one can be found in the ancient Sanskrit language. The word is Kama Muta, which means “being moved by love.” It is written as काममूत. This webcast covers:

• Understanding the diversity of human travel experiences being lived out every day on the other side of the doors to your guest rooms, homes, and suites.
• Realizing that hospitality can be a philosophy for daily living that just might make you a happier human. What’s good for the guest and good for the company is also good for us personally!
• Bringing out the best in others, brings out the best in ourselves. In other words, we can have a lot more fun at work!
• Using your power of release, stomping out cynicism, and shining the light of hospitality to everyone we encounter.

How To Turn Every Guest “Conversation” Into A Sales & Marketing Opportunity

Monday, July 22 (Noon EDT)

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As tech solutions continue to replace “touch points” in our guests’ cycle of service, each remaining “conversation” becomes ever more important, especially since guests are more likely to reach out to our humans either when things go wrong or when they have a special request or need. With so many guests booking online, often through third parties, and with an ever-increasing number using self-check-in, any remaining interaction might be the only chance to put a “face” on your brand and foster loyalty. Doug’s webcast will cover:

• How to turn inbound emails, chat messages with “quick questions,” and in-app message exchanges on OTA’s into opportunities to convert a new booking, cross-sell, or upsell.
• Maintenance techs and housekeeping inspectors may be the only face of your company and in the best position to encourage a positive guest review of social media posts, especially for guests who check-in via an app or keyless entry.
• These days, it is often the random encounter in a corridor, walkway, or elevator that creates the best opportunity to humanize your brand.
• It’s everyone’s job to “know the product,” which is of course the overall experience not the room, suite or vacation home. Answering questions is good, but proactively offering “local insider’s tips” is a true gesture of hospitality.
• It’s the “people parts” that make the difference to guests. So in that sense, everybody sells!

For additional details, contact KTN at info@kennedytrainingnetwork.com or by phone (01) 954.533.9130 www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com.

*Sponsored By Travel Outlook, Better Talent, and Track Hospitality Software.