NEW ORLEANS— Backed by a rallying theme of “I’ve Got The Power,” the first combined Hilton Hotels’ focused service brands conference kicked off here Jan. 22 in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, drawing some 2,200 owners and managers of Hampton Inn, Hampton Inns & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites properties to the Big Easy. At the opening general session, Tom Keltner, Hilton Hotel’s evp and president of Hilton’s brand performance and franchise development group, gave attendees a beacon to guide the three brands across the uncertain lodging waters ahead as they leverage the overall support of the Hilton brand. A key driver will push the market-share concept to the background as owners and managers are charged with going after wallet share in 2002. And they’ll be using the newest form— CRM— of the oldest premise— great service —to capture it. “Instead of calling it CRM (customer relationship management), we like to think of it as Customer Really Matters,” Keltner told the audience. “It’s a way to use our technology to give you the power to solidify relationships with your best customers and grow wallet share.” The Hilton-wide CRM initiative that launches this quarter specifically targets members of its frequency programs, such as HHonors Diamond, Gold and Four-Plus members. Enhancements being beta-tested include advance reservation confirmation via email tied together with a customized welcome message, a weather forecast and marketing messages upon arrival. Exit experiences include e-mailed folios and thank yous. “CRM will allow us to deal with our best customers in ways they define,” said Keltner. “It’s a way to move beyond frequency to the power of true loyalty. Frequency is about logic, mindshare; loyalty is about emotion; that’s heartshare. CRM gives us both.” Framing the impact such capture would generate, Keltner said increasing Diamond members’ share-of-wallet spend by 10% would yield $37 million in incremental room revenue, while increasing non-HHonors guests share-of-wallet by one extra stay would boost room revenues by $50 million on an annual basis. Stepping up CRM appears logical, as Keltner acknowledged “less than 50% of our Diamond members report receiving differentiated service and we’re currently losing 40% of our Diamond customers annually. We can’t afford that.” The initiatives are expected to help staunch that exiting pattern. “As we fight our way out of a soft market, we’ve realized the importance of each guest,” said Adrian Kurre, svp of Hilton Garden Inn. “Customers have all the leverage these days. We used to be able to hang onto them with good product and consistent service. But that isn’t good enough anymore…the magnitude of choice teaches consumers to make better informed selections based on what they like and don’t like. And that means the performance bar is raised for all of us trying to sell them anything from a bar of soap to a hotel room.” Jim Holthouser, svp-Homewood Suites, concurred. “Before the Internet you could lock customers in just by being customer-aware. But was then and this is now. Now [we]must be customer-centric. Customers aren’t willing to be locked in. And they’re only a mouse-click away from the competition.” He stressed it’s important for owners and managers to build relationships with guests around terms they define. “It requires finding out what they want before they want it and delivering beyond their expectations.” And according to Phil Cordell, svp-Hampton Inn/Hampton Inn & Suites, customers are “aggressively demanding recognition, respect, trust, fairness and honesty,” key elements he said the brands have the power to deliver by leveraging the weight of the Hilton and brand names, along with the market savvy of the owners and managers. As far as growth, all the focused service brands expect to maintain an aggressive stance in the coming year. Hilton Garden Inn has 127 properties open with 70 in the pipeline; Homewood Suites has 105 h
Phil Cordell