Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn

HOLIDAY INN • BINGHAMTON, NY

DCG helps Holiday Inn, Binghamton improve both the guest experience and profitability 

Tony Dottino had a bad guest experience during a stay at a Holiday Inn in Binghamton, NY. After reviewing his comments on a customer satisfaction survey, the General Manager contacted him and asked him to give the Holiday Inn another chance.

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CHALLENGES

  • Hotel had low customer satisfaction scores
  • Staff had poor morale, and displayed no initiative in improving the guest experience.  The pervasive attitude was anything that went wrong was somebody else’s problem
  • The rooms were old and smaller than the current industry standard
  • The combination of a poor guest experience and newer hotels opening in the market resulted in fewer bookings and declining market share
  • The city was in a recession, and businesses were moving out of downtown
  • The leadership team had no clear strategy for improving its competitive position

SIGNATURE SOLUTIONS

  • DCG conducted Leadership Frameworks sessions with hotel leadership to set strategy
  • DCG assessed the commitment of the leadership team, and identified leaders with passion
  • Leadership identified service offerings that could differentiate the hotel from its competitors
  • Through the GRI workshop, front line staff identified guest satisfaction opportunities and efficiency improvements
  • Helped reposition the hotel competitively

RESULTS

  • Within 18 months, overall revenue increased by 35%, occupancy increased by 13 percent, and the customer satisfaction improved from 25th to 8th within the region
  • Increased occupancy and demand for special events allowed the hotel to increase their room rates to be higher than the new hotels in the region
  • Due to the hotel’s unique location on a river, it began offering “Party on the Patio” on Friday/Saturday nights. This brought hundreds of new people to the hotel each weekend
  • Hotel leadership and frontline workers innovated, offering theme nights such as Mardi Gras, and set up the hotel lobby as a living room. The hotel’s motto became “we are welcoming each guest into the living room of our home.” When your workday was done, you visited your friends in the house/hotel lobby
  • Staff members continuously identified opportunities to reduce expenses by eliminating waste and improving their own productivity