Search Results formystery shopper
Genuine traveller insights keep hotels in The Know
I previously discussed how today’s travellers consult online reviews over traditional rating systems when picking out a hotel to stay in. But just like fake news, fake reviews have also spread across the internet – after all, a writer in London (and his friends) turned his garden shed into the hottest fake restaurant on TripAdvisor! Understandably, hoteliers are scrambling to check which online reviews came from actual stays in their establishments. Enter The Know, which promises to bring transparency, authenticity and ease of verification to the feedback process for the hospitality industry. Founded by former bankers Mané Ryatt and Fiona Adams, who channel into the business their twin passion for travel and problem-solving, The Know assures luxury and boutique hotel clients of detailed, confidential, qualitative insight and analytics using sophisticated, customisable surveys. Ryatt and Adams share, ‘All hoteliers love to receive positive feedback, especially the direct guest forms that rate everything with the highest possible score and have a comment saying, ‘Everything was wonderful!’ But, is this really what good feedback looks like?’ ‘Everything was wonderful!’ But, is this really what good feedback looks like?’ The Know transforms the mystery shopper format into a smart, innovative and exclusive mystery guest service. It’s an invitation-only online club where seasoned travellers with discriminating tastes are vetted as real paying guests before they can share honestly, comprehensively and anonymously about their hotel stays. Members are required to stay for longer than two nights, or else they forfeit cash reimbursements, loyalty points and other benefits that The Know will pay for their reviews. This filter, The Know says, helps hotels better understand their guests, track their own performance, and create action plans. Where standard mystery guest suppliers don’t pay for their (often too short) stays while hotel inspectors have their stay coloured by their own years in the hospitality business, The Know’s format also verifies reviewers, so that both readers and hoteliers gain trustworthy insights from ‘Knowers’. But what other qualities can help hoteliers gain actionable intelligence from standard reviews? No worries, The Know has also identified and weaponised them: Consistency – generating similar answers across all respondents Detail – the right amount of questions to get the right kind and amount of feedback Balance – encouraging guests to share both positive and negative comments Recommendations and suggestions, generated through incentives Confidentiality – limiting feedback access to hoteliers so that they can fix any issue before it becomes public knowledge The Know says that when feedback covers all of the above aspects, the hotelier truly has the opportunity to use it as a tool for change. ‘General managers and their teams need so much more than just a couple of sentences and a number rating to be able to refine their offering and exceed ever-increasing guest expectations,’ Ryatt and Adams explain. With all this, it’s no wonder The Know was recently selected as a Hospitality Partner to the luxury hotels, spas and venues under the Condé Nast Johansens collection. The publication's hotel portfolio in the UK and Ireland will be the first to enjoy The Know’s service. ‘We are delighted to partner with Condé Nast Johansens,’ says Ryatt. ‘Their carefully curated list of hotels fits perfectly with our aim to ‘Make Great Hotels Exceptional’.’ Fiona Patrick, client services director of Condé Nast Johansens, shares The Know's excitement. ‘It is the attention to detail that turns a hotel stay into an exceptional one,’ she explains. ‘In the strive for excellence, it is sometimes the little things that count for a great deal in the luxury hotel sector but can be missed. The Know, with their in-depth reporting and feedback, make sure we are all ahead of the game and exceeding expectations of the discerning guest.’
Emaar’s H1 2024 rally: Celebrating achievements and future prospects
Emaar Properties held its mid-year internal staff rally, a quarterly gathering where Emaar’s leadership reviews and shares the Company’s operational performance and way forward with the staff. During the rally, Emaar presented significant milestones and achievements across all areas of its operations. Commenting on the company’s performance in the first half of 2024, Mohamed Alabbar stated: “Our performance in H1 2024 shows Emaar’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation. We are not just managing businesses; we are shaping legacies and transforming communities for a prosperous future.” Some of the highlights presented during Emaar’s H1 2024 Rally include: Emaar Development saw remarkable progress with 30 launches successfully completed, resulting in the sale of 8,400 units within the first six months, representing 56% growth. Emaar partnered with 995 agencies and trained 5,945 agents through the Emaar Academy to achieve such growth. Certain significant projects, including Address Residences Zabeel and Palace Residences Dubai Hills Estate, sold 2,500 units each in just seven days, highlighting Emaar’s strong market presence and appeal. The company awarded 50 construction contracts worth AED 8.7 billion. Additionally, Burj Khalifa achieved LEED Platinum certification for sustainable construction, further showcasing Emaar's commitment to sustainability. Emaar’s malls, including Dubai Mall, continued to thrive, with Dubai Mall being recognised as the most visited place on Earth in 2023 with 105 million visitors. In H1, 2024, the mall recorded 8% increase in footfall as compared to the same period in 2023. Enhancements such as improved carpark availability and world-class washroom designs further elevated the visitor experience. Emaar Entertainment and Dubai Opera experienced unprecedented success, with record-breaking attendance at Dubai Opera, attracting 250,000 spectators. The Marassi Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, the largest in Bahrain, and the first IMAX with Laser in Bahrain’s Reel Cinemas, showcased Emaar’s commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment experiences. Operational excellence remained a key focus, with 2,331 fire safety and emergency preparedness training sessions conducted, training 6,561 Emaar and retailer staff. Emaar Community Management effectively managed water accumulation during heavy rainfall in April, ensuring continuous support and recovery for affected communities. Emaar notably offered free repairs for all residential units within its communities which were affected by the heavy rains. More than 4,500 homes were repaired until end of June 2024. Emaar’s project development continued to excel, earning the ‘Developer of the Year’ award by Arabian Business. With 30 launches completed and 8,400 units sold in H1 2024, representing a 56% growth compared to H1 2023, Internationally, Emaar marked significant achievements with the 100% sale of Urban Oasis in Gurgaon during its launch and substantial progress in Panorama and The Views in Karachi. Emaar Hospitality celebrated numerous accolades, including Forbes Travel Guide 5-Star Ratings for Address Istanbul, Address Beach Resort, and Armani Hotel Dubai. New openings and rebranding efforts, such as the rebranding of Address Dubai Mall and the opening of Palace Dubai Creek Harbour, underscored Emaar’s commitment to delivering exceptional hospitality experiences. Customer excellence remained at the forefront, with over 21,000 service requests handled, 6,000+ unit registrations managed, and 3,500+ units handed over to customers in H1 2024. Additionally, 500+ mystery shopper audits were conducted to ensure the highest standards of service. Emaar's H1 2024 rally focused on the company's dedication to innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction. Looking ahead, Emaar remains committed to its mission of creating a lasting legacy of excellence by inspiring success in every community it serves.
59club Asia signs Laguna Golf Group to its partnership portfolio
Laguna Golf Group, renowned as operating world-class golf courses in three different countries located in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, has recently joined the rapidly expanding list of clients of 59club Asia. Recognised as Asia's first integrated golf resorts, which offers not just golf, but also impressive lifestyle amenities like spas, restaurants, bars, boutique shops, and sports activities, Laguna Golf Group is committed to maintaining a very high level of service, following its own high standards. By utilising the industry leading services provided by 59club Asia, such as customer service analytics and unmatched training platforms, the resorts can ensure ongoing improvements in providing service excellence to both members and guests. At the same time, the resorts are dedicated to achieving enhancements in all operational aspects to enrich customer experiences. 59club Asia provides tools for assessment that are peerless in the market, including Customer Service Analysis, Staff Training Programmes, Surveys for Members & Visitors and Mystery Shopper Audits. These tools can provide important information to hospitality management teams to help them improve customer service and sales practices. Paul Wilson, AVP & Group Golf Director of Laguna Golf, expressed great enthusiasm about partnering with golf’s leading benchmarking company, 59club Asia, and said: “We're excited to announce our collaboration with 59club Asia, renowned experts in people development with a proven track record of managing top-tier golf courses in Europe, Middle East, U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. This partnership focuses on elevating our golf courses and services alongside 59club Asia. Our selected participants include our prominent golf courses in Phuket, Indonesia and Vietnam—Laguna Golf Phuket, Laguna Golf Bintan and Laguna Lang co. With 59club Asia, we're dedicated to achieving our shared goals.” After securing the collaboration with the Laguna Golf Group, Araya Singhsuwan, Operations Director, 59club Asia, said with confidence: “Laguna Golf Group stands out as a prime destination for golfers in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. With a dedicated management team focuses on enhancing customer experiences, their collaboration with 59club Asia brings even more value. Through Mystery Shopper Audits and Member & Visitor Surveys, they're gathering essential insights to further elevate their already high standards and provide an exceptional experience for all”. 59club Asia stands as the foremost provider of cutting-edge software and comprehensive assessment criteria within the golf industry across Asia. Based in Bangkok, the organisation is at the forefront of revolutionising customer service analysis and training for golf clubs, the leisure and hospitality industieres throughout the region. Through innovative technology and tailored evaluation standards, 59club Asia empowers golf clubs to enhance their service quality, ultimately leading to elevated customer satisfaction.
Hotels & Resorts Should Get Ready For A New Standard Of Luxury
World Class Certification Services is setting the global standard for luxury travel Distinguishing one luxury hotel from the next can be challenging, especially when there is no worldwide standard for what "luxury" is. The best receive diamonds, stars, pearls or rosettes. Additionally, many travel magazines, blogs, and review sites hand out their own awards based on subscribers reviews or votes. The issue with these ratings is that they are all subjective, some much more than others. The traveler is left confused and the truly luxurious hotels are left without a way to set themselves apart. World Class Certification Services, Inc, is a cutting-edge service that is raising the bar on luxury hotel and resort ratings on a global level. Based in Denver, Colorado, WCCS is setting itself apart by providing a powerful, third-party verification of quality that is not afforded by various other ranking services. "Our service is different because it is a certification and not an "award". A hotel or resort must apply for it and they have to earn it no matter where in the world they are located. Our inspection protocol has been in development for the past several years in order to ensure that it is as unbiased and complete as possible. We are excited about bringing a global standard to the industry." After a hotel or resort has applied for certification, a highly trained inspector will travel to the property where they will spend 4 nights and 5 days evaluating the property using World Class Certification Services proprietary inspection assessment that focuses on a consistent and uncompromising experience. "The current rating services say they inspect anywhere between 500-800 different points at any given property, but they only allow their inspectors 1 or 2 days. Is that really long enough to observe all of those points efficiently? We dig deeper, we observe things on a very detailed level. Our standards are high, but that is what being World Class is all about." The brainchild of Kevin Moll, the founder and originator of the global brand Mystery Shoppers, now TrendSource, and President & CEO of Restaurant Consultants Inc., World Class Certification Services was purchased and launched in June 2017 by powerhouse management team, Deina & Sara Elliott. With over 45 years of combined experience in hospitality, customer service, and restaurant & bar operations, the duo is ready to up the ante when it comes to luxury travel. Sara Elliott, President, says "We are passionate about travel and we saw the need for a worldwide standard. If you book a 5-star rated hotel in France, chances are it is going to be very different than, say, a AAA-Black Diamond rated resort in the United States. When you book a hotel or resort that has been World Class Certified , you know you are going to have a consistent and truly luxurious vacation experience no matter where you are in the world." "Travel has changed since 1950," says Deina Elliott, Executive Director "you would think the rating systems would have changed as well, but there hasn't ever been a world-wide standard. Until now. World Class Certification Services is changing that. We are the new standard in luxury travel." Minimum amenities for certification include: a swimming pool, at least one on-site fine dining restaurant, 24-hour room service, and a high-end spa or fitness facility. Boutique, historic, or unique properties are exempt from meeting all requirements and are encouraged to apply. To learn more about how World Class Certification Services can bring additional recognition to your property and to apply, without obligation or cost, please visit www.wccsi.com or call (720) 722-1676.
Top 6 Hidden Gems You Must Explore in Dublin
Dublin is the vibrant capital of Ireland and is famous for its rich history, lively culture, and friendly residents. Dublin is home to many lesser-known wonders and iconic landmarks such as the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College. Here are the top 6 hidden gems worth visiting that will make your journey a never-forgotten one. Just book your air tickets from Chicago to Dublin as soon as possible and discover these exciting destinations. Little Museum of Dublin This museum, located in the heart of Dublin, serves as a reminder of the vibrant history and culture of the city. A fascinating journey through Dublin's history is offered by the museum's collection of artifacts, photographs, and documents. This exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of the city's evolution through iconic moments in Irish history and everyday life snapshots. Little Museum is distinguished from traditional institutions by its intimate setting and community-focused approach. That Museum creates an immersive experience that resonates with visitors on a deeper level and thrives on personal stories and connections. Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Goal is an important site in Irish history as it serves as a symbol of resistance against British rule. Its walls bear witness to the stories of political prisoners who fought for the independence of Ireland. Beyond its historical significance, the architecture of the building tells a story in and of itself. This building is designed in a Victorian style, with its imposing stone facade and panopticon layout representing the harsh conditions of the time. There is a story behind every cell and corridor. Killiney Dublin's coastal delight Among Killiney's many attractions, Killiney Hill Park is a generous green space providing panoramic views of Dublin Bay. Nature lovers will enjoy the park's walking trails, scenic spots, and peaceful retreats. Killiney's natural splendor is further enhanced by its rich historical heritage. Learn about Killiney's evolution over the years by visiting the historic sites and landmarks. The pristine beaches of Killiney invite visitors to discover the beauty of the Irish coastline. Here you can enjoy a wide range of seaside activities, from leisurely beach strolls to water-based adventures reminiscent of a coastal lifestyle. The Temple Bar The Temple Bar is located on the south bank of the Liffey River and serves as the cultural center of Dublin. Its history dates back to the 17th century, and its cobblestone streets have seen centuries of change. Dublin's evolving narrative can be seen in the Temple Bar, which originated as a medieval quarter and would eventually evolve into a cultural hub today. From the moment you enter The Temple Bar, a lively atmosphere reverberates through its narrow streets. The sounds of music, laughter, and the clinking of glasses define the essence of this cultural district. It is just a matter of booking an air ticket that you will be able to experience the warmth of this place. Grafton Street There is no better place to experience shopping, entertainment, and cultural experiences than on Grafton Street. Grafton Street is regarded as a shopping paradise. The street is lined with boutiques, flagship stores, and international brands that offer a diverse range of merchandise for avid shoppers. Take a stroll along Grafton Street and be captivated by the talented street performers. The lively atmosphere is enhanced by musicians, artists, and entertainers, which provide shoppers and passers-by with an engaging and dynamic experience. Cafe En Seine When you enter Cafe En Seine, you will be transported to a world of timeless elegance. Designed following the Art Deco movement, the ambiance and decor create an atmosphere that combines sophistication with warmth. With a fusion of international flavors and locally sourced ingredients, Cafe En Seine's menu offers a gastronomic delight for every palate. With a varied schedule of live music performances and themed parties, Cafe En Seine is more than just a dining destination; it's a hub for vibrant events and entertainment. Conclusion Finally, Dublin's hidden gems add an element of mystery and charm to an already captivating city. Explore beyond the familiar to discover what makes Dublin such an outstanding destination. It is recommended that when you visit from Chicago to Dublin explore these mentioned spots, as well as some lesser-known places, and you will be able to gain a greater understanding of them by visiting them.
No companies found matching your search.
Return To HomeNo Event found matching your search.
Return To Home