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Santa
Fe, NM – May 2021 / Newsmaker Alert / As a hotelier and a business
owner, it can be hard to let go of certain aspects of your business. After
all, it’s hard enough to find hardworking employees who care about your
business like it’s their own, let alone outsourced workers.
Outsourcing
typically has a negative connotation surrounding it. When people think
of outsourcing, they think of cookie-cutter call scripts, aloof call center
agents, and long hold times accompanied by nauseating elevator music. As
it turns out, there are ways to outsource your reservation department that
free up your current employees to focus on guests and boost your sales
as well.
After
years of being on the fence and downright skeptical about the effectiveness
of outsourcing a hotel’s reservation department, I’ve witnessed more and
more hoteliers transition to a fully outsourced call center as their primary
or overflow reservation department. Since then, I have discovered a plethora
of benefits which I have detailed below in Selecting the Right Call
Center: How to Outsource Your Reservation Department without Sacrificing
the Personal Touch Your Guests Know and Love.
Only trust trained
professionals
Not
all call centers are created equal. When searching for the right call center
for your hotel, look for call centers whose agents are trained by the best
in the industry—The Kennedy Training Network (KTN). KTN instills in its
agents’ effective
sales (and closing) techniques, which they use on every call.
The
benefit to hoteliers? A properly trained call center will help improve
your property’s sales conversion with a higher daily rate while increasing
voice channel revenue and overall guest satisfaction.
Search for Five-Star
Standards and Compliance
If
you’re looking to outsource your reservation department, you will want
to ensure you have more sources of information than the call center itself.
Premium
hotel call centers are tested monthly by Forbes and the Kennedy Training
Network. Third-party testing ensures every call answered is of the same
professional quality.
Find a call center
that will increase your occupancy
70%
A properly trained call center will close up to 70% of qualified reservations
calls to help keep your hotel full, even out of season.
Trained
call center agents take the time to get to know the inner workings of your
hotel, so they can help sell your property using your best amenities and
features.
A properly trained
call center will increase your net operating income
A few
years ago, it was widely accepted that bookings would continue to transition
fully online. Then, something interesting happened, the online booking
market became oversaturated. Now there are dozens of channels to book online,
and nearly each of them features a different rate.
With
third-party vendors often outranking properties on Google and other search
engines, it’s difficult for customers to know if the rate their seeing
is the best available, so more and more customers are picking up the phone
and calling the properties themselves.
When
customers call, be sure you have trained and helpful experts on the other
end of the line ready to convert calls to revenue.
Find a call center
that will add a personal touch to your voice channel, not take away from
it.
Adding
call center agents who go the extra mile to get to know your business adds
a personal touch to your voice channel that will keep guests coming back
to your properties.
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According
to John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook, “In an increasingly digital
world, it pays dividends to add a personal touch to your business. When
that personal touch is coupled with the Kennedy Training Network knowledgebase,
it turns calls into reservations at a high rate.”
Additionally,
adding a personal touch with a kind and well-informed voice on the other
end of your reservation line will reflect positively on your brand and
help mold your brand’s identity. After all, you only get one first impression.
Maintaining
a proper voice channel through a trusted and reputable outsourced call
center, like Travel Outlook, will help grow your daily rate, increase occupancy,
and add to your net operating income. Additionally, properly trained call
center agents will add a personal touch to your business when it matters
most and build your brand around a reputation of professionalism and service.
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About
Travel Outlook
Given
its progressive approach to the voice channel – in terms of performance,
training, transparency, testing and the tools used to measure performance
– Travel Outlook Premium Hotel
Call Center has become the premier voice reservations team in hospitality.
Travel Outlook’s valued client list includes Catalina Island, Columbia
Hospitality, Highgate Hotels, KSL Resorts, Outrigger, Pacific Hospitality
Group, Proper Hospitality Group, The Irvine Company, Viceroy Hotel Group
and many others. Travel Outlook’s team and approach increases sales conversion
and helps to create more effective voice communication between hotels and
their guests, resulting in improved social scores in addition to increased
voice channel revenue. For more information, visit www.TravelOutlook.com.
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For
More Information:
John
Smallwood, President
Travel
Outlook Premium Hotel Call Center
Mobile:
505-470-3241
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Media
Contact:
Raul
Vega
LEVEL
5 Hospitality
www.LEVEL5hospitality.com
Mobile:
954-817-6371
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Previous Release: Travel
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