Episodes

  • Are Sub-Optimal Reviews Sabotaging Your Hotel Marketing ROI?

    Are Sub-Optimal Reviews Sabotaging Your Hotel Marketing ROI?
    Nov 28 2023

    Stephanie Sparks Smith is CEO and Digital Matriarch at Cogwheel Marketing™️ and partner and consultant at Cayuga Hospitality Consultants. Her agency focuses on helping hotel owners and management companies drive incremental exposure and revenue to their websites and online channels through hotel digital marketing and advertising. I recently had the pleasure of talking with Stephanie about her perspective on the impact of guest reviews on marketing.

    Please listen, and share your feedback and if you enjoy the program, please share with your friends and your associates. Sharing and talking about podcasts with your team is a simple and affordable way to develop and inspire your team.

    For lots of great resources including Adele's Top Takeaways from this episode, please visit, https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews.

    If you would like more personal attention and assistance to support your team in a Reputation Cultivation Program, please feel free to contact Adele at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com and we will be happy to help.

    Get the Free Guide: Ten Tips To Take Your Team to the Top on TripAdvisor: https://www.adelegutman.com/getthefreeguide

    Follow and connect with Adele Gutman:

    Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/

    Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet/

    Thanks to our Sponsor!

    Thank you to our sponsor Guest Chat! Please visit https://www.guestchat.com/adele to enjoy your hotel's 90-day free trial with no contracts or obligations.

    Turbo Boost Your Success with Cogwheel Marketing:

    The expertise of Cogwheel Marketing is knowing the intricacies of the branded hotel systems and understanding where brand marketing stops and hotel level marketing begins. Cogwheel Analytics™️ , developed by Cogwheel Marketing, is a hotel digital marketing reporting and BI tool that aggregates data from multiple sources to allow companies to identify trends and opportunities in their online presence. https://cogwheelmarketing.com/

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    28 mins
  • Bringing Hospitality to Healthcare to Elevate the Patient Experience with Peter Yesawich

    Bringing Hospitality to Healthcare to Elevate the Patient Experience with Peter Yesawich
    Oct 26 2023
    38 mins
  • Every Week is Housekeeping Week with Lonny Wolfe and the Art of Housekeeping

    Every Week is Housekeeping Week with Lonny Wolfe and the Art of Housekeeping
    Sep 14 2023

    Happy Housekeeping Week, Hospitality Stars! Please enjoy this episode of Get Great Guest Reviews with our guest, Lonny Wolfe of The Art of Housekeeping. Lonny shared some ideas on what he does this week and every week, the infuse the spirit of Housekeeping week into the way he works to support his teams every day.

    Lonny and I know that supporting your team to present a sparkling-clean property is absolutely essential to inspiring five-star reviews and the guest loyalty that comes with it. According to Bain and Company, as reported by Harvard Business Review, it costs 25 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing customer. Additionally, Therefore, for hoteliers to optimize revenue and maximize profits, we hoteliers need to think of the heart of the house as an extension of our commercial strategy.

    Lonny is the authority on creating great guest experiences through housekeeping excellence, so please listen to his thoughts directly on the podcast.

    For lots of great resources including the complete show notes for this episode and more, please visit, https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews.

    Please listen, and share your feedback and if you enjoy the program, please share with your friends and your associates. Sharing and talking about podcasts with your team is a simple and affordable way to develop and inspire your team.

    If you would like more personal attention and assistance to support your team in a Reputation Cultivation Program, please feel free to contact Adele at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com and we will be happy to help.

    Follow and connect with Adele Gutman:

    Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/

    Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet

    Thank you to our sponsor Guest Chat! Please visit https://www.guestchat.com/adele to enjoy your hotel's 90 day free trial with no contracts or obligations.

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    34 mins
  • Mother-Daughter Hotel Owner Duo Inspire 90% 5-Star Reviews at the Saratoga Arms Hotel

    Mother-Daughter Hotel Owner Duo Inspire 90% 5-Star Reviews at the Saratoga Arms Hotel
    Aug 23 2023
    When your guests shower your hotel, motel, B&B, restaurant, or vacation rental in 5-star reviews, your guests will do so much of the marketing for you, making your business more visible online, and more enticing by elevating the perceived value of the unique experience you offer. Today, let's learn from Kathleen and Amy Smith, who are phenomenal hoteliers and hospitality reputation cultivation experts! Kathleen and Amy own and operate the #1 hotel on Tripadvisor in Saratoga Springs, the Saratoga Arms Hotel, which is celebrating its 25th year in business. Congratulations ladies! There's a Gaelic saying to describe the heart of hospitality in Ireland, "cead mílle fáilte," a hundred thousand welcomes. That authentic Irish spirit of hospitality is in the family DNA of these two women hotel owners, and it is easy to witness their leadership and heartfelt commitment to hospitality reflected in the work of their team. Just take a look at the astonishing 90% of Tripadvisor reviews scores showing enthusiastic 5-star reviews (aka-promoters) and only a pittance of 2.74% of reviews coming in at 3 stars or below (aka-detractors). This is world-class operational excellence and fantastic business savvy! You'll definitely want to listen to Kathleen and Amy share their tips on how they do it directly on this episode of Get Great Guest Reviews! Please visit for a few of my top takeaways from the conversation that you can start using today! For more resources, including the blog with complete show notes and more, visit: https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews Thank you for listening! If you appreciate this content, please share, comment, and subscribe! Your reviews also help others find us, so thank you in advance for your support. If you would like a Reputation Renovation or a Reputation Cultivation Program for your hotel or business, please contact Adele Gutman at GetGreatReviews@AdeleGutman.com
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    29 mins
  • How to Rank #1 in the USA on Tripadvisor with the General Manager of the Perry Lane Hotel Savannah

    How to Rank #1 in the USA on Tripadvisor with the General Manager of the Perry Lane Hotel Savannah
    Jul 5 2023
    Did you ever dream that your hotel, restaurant, or attraction could be ranked #1 in the USA? Well, dreams do come true when you commit to a proven plan for success. Consistency, Culture, Communication, Collaboration, and Celebration are just the start of these Inspiring Tips from Matthew Douzuk, General Manager of the Perry Lane Hotel in Savannah, ranked as the #1 Hotel in the USA on Tripadvisor Best of the Best for 2023 as well as #24 in the world! If you are looking for the path to astonishing results in loyalty, passion, and enthusiasm among your associates and your guests, I promise you if you put these concepts to work at your hotel, restaurant, or any service industry business, you will see remarkable results! Please listen in and share this thought-provoking conversation with Matthew Douzuk with your colleagues! For more resources, including the blog with complete shownotes and more, visit: https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews
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    33 mins
  • Alain Negueloua Shares His Secrets for Consistent 5-Star Reviews at Bardessono Hotel & Spa of Remington Hospitality

    Alain Negueloua Shares His Secrets for Consistent 5-Star Reviews at Bardessono Hotel & Spa of Remington Hospitality
    Jun 21 2023
    If you want to learn the inside scoop from a General Manager of a highly rated hotel as to what it actually takes to help a hotel's team inspire consistent Five Star Reviews from guests, this is the podcast for you! The Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, managed by Remington Hospitality, boasts a stellar 5 out of 5 Stars on Tripadvisor and Google, 9.1 out of 10 on Booking.com and 9.6 out of 10 on Expedia, not to mention some stunning ratings from travel guides and international publications. I had the pleasure of chatting with Alain Negueloua, the Vice President and General Manager of the Bardessono, to find out what kind of magic he and his team are doing to inspire such consistently enthusiastic reviews. If you care about revenue optimization, culture, and attracting and retaining great guests and great employees, increasing profit and customer lifetime value, please listen and share this episode of Get Great Guest Reviews with your associates. As a hotelier who led my previous hotel collection to the highest guest review scores in the world, a 96.1% GRI, Global Review Index from Review Pro, I am passionate about learning about the daily habits of high-rated hotels and what habits they have in common. SPOILER ALERT! While each General Manager and Hospitality Leader has a different way of describing what they do, there are core habits that highly rated hoteliers all share! Even better, you can apply these habits and philosophies to your daily work life, and you, too, will enjoy similar rewards. These proven principles will work in any category of hotel, restaurant, or attraction and in any service industry business where it is beneficial and vital to have returning customers and enthusiastic referrals, recommendations, and online reviews. Here's a quick overview of our discussion topics. For the Full Show Notes visit adelegutman.com/getgreatguestreviews The elevating impact of an entrepreneurial spiritHow experiencing excellence inspires more excellence in a communityHow to Stand Out from the CompetitionHow to Build TrustStories of the Power of Taking Action on FeedbackThe importance of collaborating with your team to solve problemsMaking Innovative Problem Solving a Daily HabitThe Importance of Sharing the WHY.Hiring the right people and implementing standards.Clearly communicating standards and expectationsThe importance of listening to feedback.Relentless, constant, gentle pressure delivers a great guest experience.The importance of paying attention to the little things.The value of cross-training teams.How a stellar online reputation can help you stand apart.How stellar online reviews can give a competitive advantage.How stellar reviews help attract and retain employees. Books we discussed: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer Built to Last by Jim Collins Good to Great by Jim Collins Become a Hospitality Star Maker! If you want to learn more about making every guest and valued team member feel cared for, appreciated, and respected? Keep tuned into this conversation and subscribe to Get Great Guest Reviews! I hope you enjoy and benefit from this episode! Thank you so much to my guest Alain Negueloua Vice President and General Manager of The Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, managed by Remington Hospitality: https://www.bardessono.com/ If you would like some help implementing these ideas, it would be my pleasure to make the process easy for you. Please set up a time for us to chat on Calendly: https://calendly.com/adele-gutman/15min Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker Sheet: https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet/ Twitter: @AdeleGutman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GetGreatGuestReviewswithAdeleGutman Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-great-guest-reviews/id1607713697 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzM3NzIxMy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYyoi9gqH4AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AAgxomCdTCWue20ru3QWs Thank you for listening! Have a great week, and keep reaching for the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Adele
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    32 mins
  • Dr. Peter Ricci, Champion for the Revolution of Progress and Flexibility in Hospitality Leadership

    Dr. Peter Ricci, Champion for the Revolution of Progress and Flexibility in Hospitality Leadership
    Jun 8 2023
    Dr. Peter Ricci has been honored as a Hospitality Hero and a Top 25 Minds by HSMAI and a Global Top 100 Most Power Leaders and Thirty Most Influential Educators in Hospitality by International Hospitality Institute. Undoubtedly, Peter is one of the most influential leaders in our industry. He deserves all these honors and more for applying his unrelenting yet loving, gentle pressure on the industry to move the culture forward in a more positive and richly rewarding direction. As Clinical Professor and Director of Hospitality and Tourism for Florida Atlantic University, Dr. Peter Ricci has his finger on the pulse of the dreams, frustrations, challenges, and opportunities of today's goal-oriented and aspiring hospitality professionals. In today's episode, Dr. Ricci shares his insights on why reputation and guest feedback management are more important than ever and how hospitality leaders can best empower and inspire our associates to deliver excellence in hospitality to every guest. As a former vice president of sales, marketing, and revenue for a boutique hotel collection for 20 years, getting great guest reviews, referrals, and recommendations was one of my key responsibilities. I believe that an energized team of cross-trained associates who take pride in creative problem-solving and continuous improvement is as fundamental to revenue optimization as a great website, booking engine, and pricing strategy. Therefore, I am excited to share my conversation with you, both operations and commercial leaders, with the extraordinary Dr. Peter Ricci. Please take a few minutes to listen and learn more from Peter's insights during our conversation on Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast! For full access to the show notes and more, please visit: https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews Please subscribe and listen to the podcast so you won't miss a single concept that you might like to try to progress and elevate your employee and guest experience. Why being in a state of flux is an exciting opportunity for growthHow to infuse technology without "tipping over the Apple cart"One hotel's big tip for offering flexibility in schedulingWhat the Country Club industry envisions for the future of work-life quality We also chatted about great books to read now: Show up, by Anthony Melchiori Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara The One Minute Manager How to Make Friends and Influence People Adele's Favorite Peter Ricci Quote from the show: "…the better the service, the more the finance on the top and the bottom. And so in the reduction in turnover, it's less costly, so it just makes financial sense as well. But that's always the missing piece. 'Oh, you want to add headcount, we can't afford it.' Well, how about what we're spending on turnover? Spending on retraining. Let's try it at least. All I say is try it, then you can see where it goes." If you want to learn more about making every guest and valued team member feel cared for, appreciated, and respected, keep tuned into this conversation and subscribe to Get Great Guest Reviews! General Managers, would like a free strategy session for your hotel? Feel free to connect with me and send a request. I love to help hospitality professionals elevate their productivity and profitability. Contact: getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com Until next time, keep reaching for the stars! Adele Gutman
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    45 mins
  • Raul Moronta, CCO of Remington Hotels talks about Brand Performance: Mission, Action with Intent, and Guest Satisfaction

    Raul Moronta, CCO of Remington Hotels talks about Brand Performance: Mission, Action with Intent, and Guest Satisfaction
    May 24 2023

    I am so excited to share with you my recent discussion with Raul Moronta, Chief Commercial Officer of Remington Hotels as we talk about Brand Performance: Mission, Action with Intent, and Guest Satisfaction.

    Ask most travelers, and you are likely to hear about the lowering of hospitality and service excellence since the devastating impact of COVID. In fact, most consumers would say that customer service in all industries has taken a severe tumble. But counter to the trend, in the past year or so, Remington Hotels has been dramatically elevating its brand performance and loyalty across its diverse portfolio of 120 hotels by investing in its people and the guest experience they deliver.

    You'll definitely want to hear what Raul Moronta has to say about this initiative and its impact.

    As someone who has led multiple hotels to successfully achieve Guest Review Scores that dominated their city, country, and, yes…the world, I was fascinated to learn more about what Remington Hotels is doing to drive revenue and loyalty at both branded and independent properties.

    Please take a few minutes to learn more from Raul's insights during our conversation on Get Great Guest Reviews the Podcast!

    For full access to the show notes and more, please visit: https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews

    What Actions Will You Take to Elevate Loyalty?

    A great guest experience worthy of a five-star review is no accident. It takes "action with intent" to continually support teams, diminish friction and make guests happy.

    Please take the time to comment, subscribe and share this podcast with business leaders who are passionate about elevating loyalty by creating a culture of hospitality and continuous improvement. And don't forget to check out our previous articles for tips you can start to apply immediately to your own business.

    Want a free strategy session for your hotel?

    Feel free to connect with me and send a request. I love to help hospitality professionals elevate their productivity and profitability. getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com

    Until next time, keep reaching for the stars!

    Adele Gutman
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    50 mins