The Richardson Hotel Group and Sidona Group embark on enhancing the south west hotel chain’s guest experience.
Sidona Group, the hospitality customer experience experts, has announced a deal with the Richardson Hotel Group to deliver guest experience training designed to improve the management of guest expectations across the group’s five hotels which include the four star Grand in Torquay. Other hotels in the group include The Falmouth and The Metropole in Padstow. The training will focus on the behaviours, standards and techniques needed to deliver “marvellous memories” to guests, tying in with the group’s strap line “where memories are made”.
All staff will attend Sidona’s “Marvellous Memory” training workshop, which will take place throughout February and March. Key areas covered will include: understanding what guests expect and value; what a superb guest experience looks and feels like; how to tailor the experience to different guest needs and how to use powerful language techniques to evoke positive emotions in guests.
With over 70% of a guest’s experience coming from the emotions evoked during their stay, it is vital that staff understand that a great hotel is much more than its physical assets and processes, and that everything a member of the team does has a real impact on a guest’s experience.
In addition, Sidona will host a specialist leadership Masterclass for Richardson’s managers and team leaders, honing their leadership skills and focusing on their role as guest experience ambassadors. They will be responsible for sustaining the “Marvellous Memories” programme, embedding this into Richardson’s culture and training of new recruits.
This announcement comes alongside the appearance of Richardson’s latest hotel purchase (October 2012), the now in(famous) Grosvenor Hotel in Channel 4’s “The Hotel”. The show is currently airing and the Richardson’s buy out features in the episode on 17th February 2013. The partnership with Sidona is not as a result of this acquisition, however consistency of service across the Group will be a key focus, and The Grosvenor will need to match the standards of the other properties in the portfolio.
“We are thrilled to be working with Richardson Hotels on such an important training project,” comments Derek Blackburn, managing director of Sidona Group. “Richardson is taking a bold and proactive step in ensuring all staff members are focused on building an exceptional experience and great memories for guests. The Group is growing, and to embed this sort of customer focused culture at all staff levels will only help the chain go from strength to strength. We look forward to starting on this journey with them.”
“Our mantra and brand statement at Richardson is ‘where memories are made’” continues Richardson’s Regional Manager Chris Jones. “It is therefore vital that we deliver super memories at every point of our guests’ stay with us. We have so much going for us, superb locations, historic properties, growth and investment and wonderful staff. This training will help us take our staff to the next level, to help Richardson stand out as an exceptional hotel chain in the south west and to ensure our guests continue to return and recommend, not just because they love Cornwall and Devon but because they love the guest experience they receive with us.”
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