Page 168 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 3: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
guest preferences, but few have used this type of technology
more effectively than Ritz-Carlton as they support personalized
service.
While not every employee in the Ritz-Carlton system has
open access to the company’s customer relationship management
database, aptly named “Mystique,” all Ladies and Gentlemen
are provided “preference pads” on which they are encouraged
and trained to jot down guest preferences. These observations
are soon entered into the Mystique system, and that informa-
tion is readily accessible across properties. Kevin Walsh, senior
director of customer relationship management, emphasizes that
it is one thing to collect guest information and quite another to
make that information useful: “In addition to having the data-
base information available, our property-level guest relations
staff disseminates highlights from information about arriving
customers through channels such as lineup. The types of infor-
mation shared hotelwide can include why the guest is coming
in, if the guest is having an anniversary or other celebration, the
purpose of the guest’s visit, what expectations the guest has, and
how to make sure the guest’s stay is enjoyable. So the informa-
tion emerges into something we strategically use to better en-
hance the overall guest experience.”
Kevin sees the added value of this shared database, given the
growth of the company: “This readily accessible, compiled in-
formation is important because our repeat guests are very loyal
to Ritz-Carlton, so even if they typically stay at our Central Park
hotel, they will likely also stay with us in other cities. We have
to make sure when they visit a property that is new to them, we
take our knowledge of their preferences to produce a seamless
experience so they will feel as much at home with us at the new
property as they do in Central Park.”
While database information can provide historical details
about a customer, it is important to keep that data valid and rel-
evant to the customer’s current needs. In order to enliven the in-
formation in the Mystique database, Ritz-Carlton guest relations

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