This document discusses best practices for guest service in the hotel industry. It emphasizes the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication with guests, including using an appropriate greeting, personalizing interactions, thanking guests, and active listening. Visual communication such as smiling and maintaining proper grooming standards is also important. The document stresses that guest service should be a central focus communicated to all employees through ongoing training programs. Guest feedback can help motivate strong service performance.

1. GUEST SERVICE

2. Contents
 Service Standards
 Guest Conflict Resolution
 Empowerment
 Diversity Awareness
 International Guests
 Management’s Role in Guest Service

3. Introduction
Guest satisfaction is crucial
in maintaining loyalty.
 Guest loyalty ensures
repeat business.

4. Service Standards
Guest service is
paramount to hotel
success
Guest interaction defines
guest service

5. Verbal Means
Verbal communication allows
for gaining insight into a guest
The most important verbal
tools in ensuring guest
satisfaction are perhaps the
simplest

6. The basic rules for verbal
communication are:
 Use an appropriate greeting
 Personalize the conversation
(use the guest’s name)
 Thank the guest
 Listen

7. Verbal Means (Cont…)
 Use an appropriate greeting: employees should greet
every guest appropriately whether in person or over the
phone.
 They should identify the time of day: “Good
morning/afternoon/evening”.
 When greeting a guest over the phone, an employee
should also include their name and department: “Good
morning, front desk, this is John, how may I help you?”
This reassures the guest that they have reached the
appropriate department

8. Verbal Means (Cont…)
 Personalize the conversation: this helps to set a relaxed
tone in the conversation, however using an appropriate
title (i.e., Mr. or Ms.) is important
 During check-in or checkout, the guest account will let
the employee know the guest’s name
 Many phone systems will identify the guest’s name and
room number, as will many PMS systems
 Guests greeted by name are subtly reminded that the
hotel values their business

9. Verbal Means (Cont…)
 Thank the guest: thanking the guest in a sincere manner
is also very important
 Employees may conduct a variety of guest services in a
day, and each of these transaction should be completed
with a “thank you”
 Thanking a guest for staying at a hotel also implies that
the hotel appreciates their business

10. Verbal Means (Cont…)
 Listening: this is the only way a receiver can hear the
message that the transmitter is sending, so employees
can listen for subtle hints and signals a guest gives out
during communication
 The employee creates a comfort level when they listen,
and letting the guest initiate the tone of the conversation
also puts him/her at ease

11. Verbal Means (Cont…)
 Failure to listen properly can cause problems
 The seven common listening errors are:
 Failure to concentrate
 Listening too hard
 “Jumping the gun”
 Lagging behind the conversation
 Focusing too much on delivery or appearance
 Omitting
 Adding

12. Visual Means
 Communicating visually is as
important as communicating verbally,
as visual communication can
reinforce what is being said verbally
 The complete delivery of guest
service can be accomplished by
incorporating both means

13. The rules for effective visual
communication are:
 Communicate with a smile
 Be aware of body language
 Observe the grooming
standards

14. Visual Means (Cont…)
 Communicate with a smile: a genuine smile that
accompanies a greeting or thank you reinforces the
message
 Smiling at guests helps create a comfortable
atmosphere
 Be aware of body language: observing guest body
language is like listening with eyes, it can give the
employee clues on how to communicate with the guest

15. Visual Means (Cont…)
 Common body language signals include the following:
 Crossed arms may indicate a defensive posture
 A guest who leans across the front desk during conversation
may be aggressive
 Strong and consistent eye contact may indicate confidence
 Strong firm handshakes may also indicate confidence
 Red eyes may indicate fatigue

16. Visual Means (Cont…)
 Observe appropriate grooming standards: hotel
employees are viewed as an extension of the hotel so a
guest’s perception of an employee can contribute to the
guest’s overall perception of the hotel
 The first and often most long lasting perception a guest
makes on an employee is the employee’s appearance,
so most hotels have instituted grooming standards

17. Guest Service Management
 The guest service philosophy of a
hotel should be communicated
consistently
 This communication should begin
with the first day of employee
orientation where all new employees
should be given the hotel’s service
philosophy

18. Guest Service Management (Cont...)
Guest service training continues
beyond orientation and introduction
of the service mission statement, and
should be constant
 Larger hotel chains have complete
divisions at a corporate level
dedicated to creating and
implementing guest service programs

19. Motivating for Guest Service
 Motivating employees to embody the service mission
statement in their day-to-day duties helps ensure guest
satisfaction
 A good way to motivate is through guest feedback, and
most hotels have some version of a comment card in the
guest rooms
 These cards encourage guests to rate and/or rank the
services received during his/her stay
 They also solicit the names of employees that have
impacted the guest’s stay

20. Motivating for Guest Service (Cont..)
 Employees or departments that are mentioned should
be rewarded or recognized in some way
 The employees can be proud of these rewards and a
healthy competition can ensue to see which employees
can get the most rewards