This presentation addresses some of the service challenges faced by the hospitality industry. It is presented here by Qooco CEO, David Topolowski.

1. Service Challenges in the
Hospitality Industry
November 2013

2. VISION
Empower people in under-served
segments through affordable mobile
education services that are
engaging, impactful, and lifechanging.

3. SUMMARY OF CHALLENGES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
High customer acquisition costs
Need for improved service to drive guest retention
Much more global travel, especially by Chinese
Inadequate attention paid by hotel owners to importance
of training
High staff turnover requires quick, cost-effective training
Staff Retention
Need for productivity improvement
Little objective data
Outdated, boring training approaches
The Qooco approach

4. HIGH ACQUISITION COSTS
•
Study of 250 hotels by Kalibri Labs found hoteliers paying 1020% on transaction fees and commissions to third parties
•
Another 20% on sales and marketing costs to acquire
consumers, such as keyword buys, digital advertising, and
branding fees
•
Lee Pillsbury, co-chairman and CEO of Thayer Lodging Group,
said “Mr. Expedia wants 18%, and Mr. Marriott wants 6%,. “At
the end of the day it isn’t going to work. You’re not going to buy,
build, maintain a hotel with those economics. The consumer does
not want to pay 40% in marketing acquisition costs. They want
more value than that.”
•
Third parties put most of the focus on price. Their commissions
remain high. Instead of customer acquisition, it is customer
rental.
•
Add in high labour costs, so where are the adequate margins?

5. IMPROVED SERVICE
• Memorable, differentiated experiences to drive repeat
business
• Social networks spread the good and the bad about your
hotel. Fast.
• Ensure staff consistently create memorable positive
experience to drive repeat business, not a third party
aggregator that puts the main focus on price.
• Improved service is driven by engaging, data-rich
processes.
• Upselling does not happen accidentally. It is a process
that must be institutionalized through the learning and
development process.

6. CHINESE WAVE
• In a recent article in the New York Times, it was noted that
$102 Billion was spent by the Chinese outside of China in
2012.
• This wave of Chinese visitors is going to grow further.
• What is your strategy to participate in this massive
amount of business? Are you going to communicate well
with them, or just pretend to communicate.
• What is the likelihood of repeat business with poor
communication with these guests?
• Will the Chinese traveler feel special at your hotel? How
about even understood?

7. IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING
• Staff training and development can help differentiate your
offering, drive down costs, and increase revenues.
• Better guest experience improves loyalty and results in
higher ranking on the travel sites and social media
• Improved training processes results in more engaged
employees, and lower training, recruiting, and retention
costs
• Better trained employees are better brand ambassadors,
more trusted, and deliver more consistent high quality
service
• Better training delivers better financial results for hotels

8. QOOCO TRAINING
• Comprehensive – specialized English, Mandarin, vocational
simulations, video, quizzes, and games, all tailored to the
hospitality industry
• Scalable using the Qooco cloud, with PC’s and iOS and
Android smartphones and tablets
• Data-rich feedback to senior management, hotel
management, and training management
• Monitoring and reporting, by department, property, chain,
or any combination
• Fun and engaging – motivating for staff
• Improved opportunities drive retention, further reducing
costs

9. TRANSITION TO THE FUTURE
Thousands of pages in manuals sitting on shelves are not suited to
today’s world. Rich, mobile interactive learning in your pocket is
the future. Now.
Demo Video
No need to remain stuck in the past.

10. SUMMARY
Embrace the future.
Embrace Mobile Learning.
Practice and motivate daily.
Improve the financial dynamics of your hotels.