Exactly Does Hotel Mystery Shopping Involve

If you own a hotel then you may have heard about hotel mystery shopping in the past. However, if it still remains something of a mystery to you then you may want to find out a bit more about it because it can be a very useful way to find out about areas of your hotel where you can improve your service.
Here is a quick guide to what is involved in hotel mystery shopping.
Quick Overview
Hotel mystery shopping is when a company provides you with a service whereby someone stays in your hotel as a normal guest and reports upon their experience afterwards. They may provide details about a whole range of areas of your establishment, depending upon the service that you require.
Mystery Visits or Phone Calls
Hotel mystery shopping can take a number of different forms depending on the service that you require. Although the standard experience involves someone staying in your hotel for a night or two, you may also want to hire someone to call your establishment by phone, either instead of or in addition to the guest staying the night.
A mystery phone service can highlight other important areas where you can improve, and is especially important because this is often the first point of contact for customers who are thinking about staying in your hotel.
Whichever type of check you want to be made, they are generally followed up with evaluations and reports that clarify all of the areas where you are doing well and where you could be making improvements.
Areas that Can Be Examined
There is a range of areas that you may want to be examined, and the amount of areas that you choose will often affect the price of the service. For example, you may want to test out all or just a few of the following areas:
• Reception service
• Hotel bookings
• Bar and restaurant
• Public areas
• Guest rooms
• Room service
You can normally choose from a basic service or a more comprehensive service, depending upon your requirements and how many of the areas of your hotel there are in which you feel you could improve. However, it is worth remembering that even if you think that one area of your hotel does not need improvement, sometimes a mystery shopper can highlight issues that you were not aware of, allowing you to improve that area even more.
Benefits of the Service
There are numerous benefits of inviting a mystery shopper to your hotel, and some of the main ones include:
• Find out which areas of your hotel need improving
• Identify staff weaknesses as well as positives that can be rewarded
• Allows you to seek appropriate solutions
• Receive coaching and training following your evaluation
• Improve the customer experience
• Boost sales and improve over your competition
As you can see, hotel mystery shopping incorporates a wide range of techniques. All of these have one goal in mind: to enable you to find out where you can make improvements and to act upon them.

The Many Benefits of Hotel Management Courses

According to industry statistics, the service industry accounts for approximately 60-70 percent of workers in Europe. In addition, the travel industry has also expanded significantly, due to the lower cost of travel and the explosion of digital tourism. Subsequently, the hotel management industry has also experienced unparalleled growth. No wonder hotel management courses are in such high demand.
By necessity, this is an umbrella industry that encompasses a whole plethora of other sub-industries. People in the hotel management industry need to be expert in both the front and back ends of various inter-related and inter-dependent businesses, especially as many companies in this industry are part of large conglomerations and lateral promotions are just as likely as vertical promotions. Thus, people who take hotel management courses have an inner track into a wide range of in careers in service-related industries, such as hotel and resort, food and beverage, restaurant and catering, travel and tourism, sanitation and maintenance, events and public relations, conference, leisure and entertainment, transport, retail, health and beauty services, and many many others.
Clearly, hotel management courses provide individuals with various skills that can be used in a host of different jobs and positions. Listed below are some other specific ways they can help you build a great career in the industry of your choice:
Specialised Skills
The hotel industry is a highly complicated and challenging one. Clients are highly demanding and require only the best in their accommodations, meals, and services. Thus, every employee must be an expert in their area, and managers must be adept in many areas - including recognising and managing these experts. Hotel management courses provide professionals with skills and technical know-how to get the job done.
Insider Information
In addition to specialised skills, these courses give individuals access to insider information. Having a skill does not necessarily guarantee that you can turn that skill into a successful business. In addition to known industry practices, each industry has 'secrets' that are passed down through the ranks. These courses are taught by professionals with extensive personal experience in the industry; thus, students get an insider look at how to succeed run a successful business.
Networking
As many successful professionals can attest, sometimes who you know is just as important as what you know. As mentioned, a hotel is not only a blanket business incorporating many sub-businesses, often, it is also part of a larger conglomeration. Hotel management courses offer opportunities to build a network of industry contacts. For students, it is the perfect opportunity to vet possible employers and distribute their resume, and for business owners to source suppliers, advertise their business, gain clients and even find partners and employees.

Hotel Management Courses

The past decade has seen an unprecedented rise in the travel and tourism industry, with an accompanying growth in the hospitality industry. Hotel management is the new 'it' career; thus, more and more schools now offer hotel management courses for those interested in the industry.
For those interested in the field, hotel management courses are a must. After all, a manager needs to be somewhat of a superhero. They are not only responsible for the smooth operations of their establishment on a daily basis-which usually includes a host of sub-establishments, such as restaurants, spas, casinos, clubs, bars, gift shops, business centres, and gyms, among others-but they must also be responsible for the business's financial success. They must ensure that their clients are delighted, that their facilities are top-notch, and that the staff members are both highly skilled and properly managed - and also that the business is making money.
Clearly, juggling all these responsibilities is not easy. Hotel management courses teach the manager stay on top of each and every one. They not only need to be experts in smooth operations, they must also be excellent at understanding finance, sales, marketing, customer service, communications, human relations, and perhaps most importantly, revenue management. They must also stay on top of economic trends, both local and global. For example, currency value and exchange can greatly affect revenue from tourists. They must be aware of competition and politics, also both locally and globally. They must be familiar with modern technology, such as automated reservations and communication systems. They must understand social networks and networking, as well as how to utilise the Internet to build and grow their client base and business. They must have strong problem-solving and analysis skills to be able to forecast demands, adapt to changes, and solve unexpected problems and complications. All in all, it's a lot to learn!
Admittedly, the prospect of being a hotel manager may be quite daunting and it truly is a challenging career choice. Fortunately, hotel management courses can provide important practical skills and information required for this career: reservations management, housekeeping management, quality management, food and beverage management, front desk organisation, purchasing and distribution, and telephone skills, as well as more esoteric skills and information such as revenue management, sales management, sales development, eMarketing, eDistribution, communication, finance, and leadership development. As one of the biggest and fastest growing industries in the world, it offers immense opportunities and promises great rewards, both personally and professionally. The right hotel management courses can help prepare you for success in this highly demanding, yet highly rewarding, industry.

Run a Successful Office Furniture Installation Service

Starting and maintaining a successful office furniture installation business can seem like a difficult task. This isn't because the prospective owner is incompetent or lacks the right amount of skills or knowledge. However, it's a proven fact that many businesses fail within their first year of existence. This alone shows that running a successful establishment of any kind is not always simple. With that being said, if you have been thinking about or you're in the process of opening an office furniture installation business, there are several things you can do to make your business stand out from the pack, which will then put you on a journey to success.
One of the things you can do is offer more than just installation services. This could include offering things such as desks, desk chairs, desk supplies, bookshelves and even file cabinets. Now, you may be wondering why you would need to offer these items. Well, because of your line of work and the people you will be catering to this would actually be a great idea.
For the most part, you would be dealing with establishments who are either relocating or opening up for the first time. The businesses that are relocating may not be in need of anything. On the other hand, some newer establishments may not yet have all of the supplies they need. By offering them the necessary equipment, you would be creating more than one avenue to make money. Not only would you be creating another way to make money, but you would also be making your business more attractive to customers.
Another way to make your office furniture installation service more successful would be to make sure you hire top-notch workers. Some businesses make the mistake of not being serious and diligent enough when it comes to finding the right employees. This is especially true for those who are desperate to find workers. Even if you find yourself in a bind and struggling to find help, don't make this mistake. Having subpar employees can really jeopardize your business. You will get a bad reputation and sooner or later you will be struggling to gain and maintain customers. So, the best thing to do is be patient during this process. Even if you have to open your business a couple of weeks after you intended; it's important to make sure you are completely satisfied with your crew.
Starting a business takes more than just a nice business plan and a few television commercials. You must also find unique ways to attract and maintain a customer base.

Office Equipment From Start Up to Corporation

All forms of business, whether it is offering a product or service, requires some space and office equipment in order to complete transactions or even to facilitate customer service. These tools are also required in order to conduct company housekeeping such as inner office communication for the smooth operations and continuity of that business's presentation, existence and continuance into the future. Frankly, every business whether founded online, in an office building, in a store front or in a shared kitchen at some point your business will require the convenience of standard office equipment such as multiple phone lines, printing, faxing, copying, and the ability to set up multiple computer stations.
Office equipment may seem like a generic term to describe all of the items required in a business environment in order to conduct its daily tasks. But the items that you can request for your specific business can be limited to the amount of time that you need to rent them and the limited tasks that you will require them for. One, you may simply need a call center for a fund raiser. Two, regardless of the size of your business, you may require computers, phones and desks to create a temporary or long term customer service facility for your business that is either online or off site somewhere else that does not have the room or connections for the type of space that you need to conduct that aspect of your business. Three, as the title suggests, you may be in the early stages of start up and require office equipment rental until your company is able to turn over sufficient profit for the purchase of your own tools and machinery.
Technical support is the number one requests for office equipment rental assistance. Regardless of the type of product or service your company offers to your specific audience you will require computers and phone lines. Whether you are reaching or responding to the general consumer or other businesses, through retail or wholesale, you have to be able to clearly and effectively communicate with staff and customers in a timely manner. Frankly, you can rent any piece of equipment that you need to support the completion of your general business transactions but you will always want to check a company's inventory and calendar to make sure that you will have the supplies that you need for the amount of time that you require for your business. From there you are in business and can continue to do so.