ORLANDO- The topic of conversation at the eTravcl World conference here yesterday was customer service.
Peter Greensberg, travel editor at NBC s Today Show, said during the afternoon address that hotels need to concentrate on offering guests an experience, not just a hotel room.
The question is not what can you do in this hotel that you can t do at other hotels, the question is what can you do in Orlando because you re in this hotel, said Greensberg.
During a meeting Greensberg had with hotel general managers in Hawaii for a taping of the Today Show, he addressed the question and was surprised at the response. After asking the group if they offered any unusual services at their properties that weren t advertised in their brochures, all of the GMs, stared at me like I was crazy, he said.
However, after the meeting with the general managers, he went to one of the Hawaiian hotels and asked the front desk if they offered any unusual services. The guy [I asked] turned and said, Do you see that bellman, Roger? He ll take you at 4 a.m. to go wild pig hunting and the chef will cook it for you in the morning.
So, Greensberg took the bellman up on his offer and filmed his segment for the Today Show about that experience.
After the segment, hundreds of people turned up at the hotel looking to kill pigs with Roger, he said. Greensberg s advice to hotels is to think outside the box, and to invest in customer care processes. (9/22/00) Diana M. Rodriguez