Marriott International is constantly rethinking ways to better serve their guests. They are on the cutting edge of technology in the hotel and resort industry. To better serve their frequent business travelers they developed the Courtyard lodging company, which now provides moderately priced lodging for travelers. In recent times, Courtyard by Marriott reevaluated how they could better serve their guests and in turn increase the intent to return rate. It was decided that Marriott needed to evolve their amenities directed toward the fast paced business people using the hotel.
Before, guests would only be able to get headline news, financial information, and weather reports from printed papers at the front desk and directions to their business meeting from the front desk associate using a large, paper map. This caused the information to be less accurate and not up-to-date by the time some guests read it. So, with the constantly updating technology and needs of their guests, Marriott’s Vice President of Property System Services, Kermit Littlefield, knew something needed to change. The hotel wanted to simplify the process for the guests and staff, and also wanted to “simplify [their] IT systems so that the hotel general managers could focus on managing the properties and not on managing the technology”. With the help of Microsoft, the GoBoard was installed in the lobbies of over fifty hotels as a trial with the intention of placing them in all of the Courtyard hotels. This provided their guests with all the information they needed right at their fingertips. This touch screen technology allowed the guests to look up weather forecasts, news headlines, sports scores, financial information, airline delays, attractions, restaurants, and an interactive mapping system. This service also included a printer so the guests could take the information they needed with them. Microsoft also made this technology very hands-off so the managers would have more time to interact with the guests and build a stronger relationship with them rather than having to constantly aid the GoBoard.
I think this is a great enhancement for the Courtyard by Marriott. The research and development team was able to figure out what the guests needed and discovered ways to implement a solution. This technology gives its guests what they want and need in a timely fashion. Getting information is much faster and more efficient than before and the service is more personalized and interaction between guests and the hotel staff is encouraged and even strengthened. In addition, the innovation in the lobby presentation that went along with the GoBoard makes the hotel more welcoming. Since they guests now have everything they need they can consider Courtyard an “office away from their office”. Also, the Marriott reworked its infrastructure in order to minimize management’s time with the technology and maximize its time helping and building relationships with the guests. Therefore, Marriott used its supporting activities to increase the primary activities such as customer relations and daily operations like the usage of the lobby, the check-in process, and amenities offered to their guests. Furthermore, according to their survey results, guest satisfaction has increased. Service scores are up by ten percent and intent to return has also increased by twenty-seven percent. Moreover, this new technology helped Marriott increase revenue and market share.
Technology is constantly changing and affecting every market and industry. Therefore it is essential that today’s companies adapt to the changes. Based on this article and some older articles I read about Marriott International, I believe the company has done a great job in leading the industry with technological advances and customer satisfaction. I am impressed that they continue to stay on the ball and never cease to try to improve. The commitment they show to their customers is very welcoming, and I think it will continue to provide them with great success in the future.
Marriott has an array of product lines ranging from extremely expensive conference centers, to moderately priced hotels for families. Personally, my family is a big fan of the Marriott hotel chain, and this advancement in IT only further ensures our loyalty. Especially in service industries, having high standards for customer service is crucial, and Marriott's awareness of this issue, and improvement to it only betters their customer service efforts. This advancement is relativly new for Marriott and they have already seen an increase in guest satisfaction; I can only imagine what the future holds.
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