Wednesday 26 September 2012


In the event you work in a management position in a hotel, mystery calls are among the tools obtainable to you for helping assess and create your business - but how exactly do they work, and what is the specific benefit of using them? There is a great deal of buzz around mystery shopping techniques at the moment, because although the idea has been in existence since the 1940s, the combination of today's competitive climate and the new possibilities offered by modern know-how mean that the practice is even more useful. From a straightforward yet effective idea - engaging a 'mystery shopper' to try out different aspects of a business and document back on the quality of service - this industry has branched out to include diverse approaches and techniques, of which is mystery calling. Here are some of the ways in which hotels can benefit from the service.



In-Depth and Detailed.

As the bookings department is the front line of service in lots of a hotel, mystery calls permit the effectiveness of that front line to be put under the microscope. One time a business has engaged in a programme, they are going to be called by a person acting as a feasible customer, and from this, the selling method of the hotel in general as well as the performance of employees can be evaluated. Much over any statistics or other reports, this enables the kind of in-depth, flexible approach that allows a business to focus in on particular aspects of their sales strategy and make detailed discoveries about what is working and what could be improved on.

A Holistic Method.

Over basically offering the chance to check up on isolated aspects of performance in a given hotel, mystery calls permit the sales method to be assessed on a holistic scale - even with complex bookings such as those for huge events. Potential customers do not only approach by phone, but increasingly use a combination of phone calls, e mail and other online communication channels. A comprehensive programme can assess an establishment's approach to their 'client' across all of these channels, allowing the whole booking method - from preliminary contact to the final negotiations - to be monitored for evaluation. The hotel will be able to learn where sales strategy is strong and where it could be worked on.

Long-Term Development.

In addition to offering an in-depth assessment for a hotel, mystery calls permit for sustained staff development, so it is important to choose an agency that works closely with the management team to maximise this chance. If managers are engaged and aware of each step in the method, the lessons learned from these calls have lots of potential to boost performance in the long term.

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