A new champion is emerging - Chief Experience Officers who focus on how to develop new services

As many come to terms with the changes taking place, more are understanding that far more work and planning is needed to ensure that real change does take place within operations, to ensure that customers really feel and see another level in hospitality service being provided.

There is a strong belief amongst many that service will prove to be a major factor in winning customers and employees back to hotels, offices and venues. The customer will arguably have less money to spend and will want to spend where they feel they can guarantee a great experience. Even within the workplace, many have created new working and life patterns and it will need something which raises the bar to bring many back in the short term.

The concept of the Chief Experience Officer, or a CXO, had begun to come to the fore pre-pandemic but in a different way. Many companies were conscious they were losing customers through poor communication of data, through poor process or systems, through poor call centres but the pandemic – as with other disciplines – has seen change fast-forwarded, and CXO’s in hospitality are focused on how customers can be won and engaged far better. How can greater spend and dwell times can be developed through greater care and service?

Many want to remain longer onsite – whether in hotels, in restaurants or in workplaces – so what more can be offered?

In the US, a number of operations from hotels to food service are developing new experiences so that guests, customers and employees feel another level in service provision. It is now being forecast that companies will create new positions/remits to focus on “the experience” which will look at new ways in how service provisions can be developed and improved.

Already, for those who have started to create new solutions in how they engage guests and customers, are reporting a clear improvement in spends and profit which is supporting the argument of even greater change.

It is understandable. Hotels want to retain more spend onsite and this can be only achieved by customers feeling comfortable and engaged by services. It is the same in food service as client companies are looking at how food service companies can make a real contribution in supporting the return of employees to the workplace. So many companies want their people back but are struggling to find how best to entice them back. Great support service can be a game changer in the battle to bring back employees to the workplace.

Service has improved radically over the last ten years and it is an exciting prospect to believe it can be evolved to ever higher levels. It makes Hospitality an ever stronger industry. People do respect great service as it makes a difference.