Showing posts with label bookassist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bookassist. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Record response to BC&M annual guest survey

As part of the Belmore Court & Motel commitment to our customers & Vision of becoming the leading independent accommodation base in Northern Ireland we sent out our annual guest survey a couple of months ago.

Almost 10% of the surveys were returned with some really helpful and useful information; 93% thought that we were achieving our Vision.


It is fantastic to read that more than 99% of respondents found the booking process to be Excellent or Very Good. Comments include; Professional and Competent staff, Staff extremely helpful, Michelle was so friendly, Staff were quick to respond, Lena friendly as always, & Very helpful. Online comments; One click and done, clear and easy to use & Missed special offer online, but rang and was able to book


It was a credit to the reception team that no one felt that the welcome was poor and that 99% thought the 1st impressions, welcome, service and booking accuracy were either very good or excellent. This is reflected in the comments; All first class, reception area is always clean and tidy, staff are efficient & approachable and outstanding service as always.


It is also a credit to the housekeeping department that 99% or guests found the cleanliness of the room to be very good or excellent. And that 97% found the maintenance with a similar breakdown of scores. 2 responses showed the facilities to be poor. Both these guests stayed in the Motel Standard Rooms.

Comments included; Couldn’t fault a thing, facilities excellent when room price taken into account and the room was as good as I would expect from a 3 or 4 star hotel.

Not all comments were positive and these give us opportunity to improve; TV and wireless tend to drop out when least expecting it, no WiFi available, Poor WiFi at times - unstable connection,  in winter it just seemed so cold in the motel rooms and Apartment was a bit musty.


Overall almost 98% of people felt that we offered value for money – with 46.5 stating our accommodation was Excellent value for money. Comments from very reasonable to relative expensive. Prepay option was excellent.


The vast majority of people found the Friendliness, Quality and Choice to be very good or excellent – 93%, 86% & 77% respectively. Only 3% thought he choice could be improved. Comments; pleasantly surprised by the quality of food and selection, Varied buffet, fresh and plentiful, Gluten-Free bread was supplied for me, It is a good healthy option, Excellent food and healthy and delicious and plenty of variety.

Negative comments included; What can you say about toast & cereal?, selection wasn't great, breakfast room was a bit hectic, choice for the breakfast could be improved, cooked breakfast could also be offered, Hot breakfast would be more appealing, perhaps having boiled eggs on offer for a hot breakfast and cooked breakfast option would be nice.

Describe you experience at the Belmore Court & Motel in 1 sentence;
A great response from this open ended question; Flawless, perfect service and no issues whatsoever, Superb location, professional service, good value, Friendly, comfortable and great value for money, Convenient location at a reasonable price, I left the hotel satisfied and willing to return, Great rooms,  friendly and helpful staff, Top class facilities for whoever!!, We felt as if our custom mattered, thank you, Home away from home but more relaxing, Relaxing environment where I get a good sleep, A very enjoyable stay, made by your friendly staff, perfect as a base to visit surrounding area, First Class accommodation with welcoming staff and accommodation to suit all people and pockets.

Improvements: following the Annual Guest Survey
  • New Wifi system offering Free Wifi to every customer for the first 30 minutes. £5 per 24hour period after. Executive rooms and longer term corporate clients will receive complimentary Wifi all the time.
  • New heaters are being installed in the older building housing the Motel Standard Rooms providing a better, more efficient heat which is controllable by the guest and aesthetically more pleasing.
  • 32in LCD Digital TVs are also being installed in the Motel Standard Rooms improving the quality of the stay - better picture and more channels.
  • It is hoped in the new year we can paint and redecorate the Standard Rooms with the laying of a new carpet.
Congratulations to Mr Andrew McMurray who won the 2 night break in our Executive Suite. Thanks to all who took part in the survey.

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Belmore Court & Motel wins best Online Strategy

Last Friday night Mary and I attended the inaugural Digital Advertising Northern Ireland (DANI) awards in the Hilton Hotel, Belfast. We had been nominated in 3 different categories; Best Viral, Best Mobile App & Best Online Strategy.

Almost 200 people filled the function room at the awards and we were seated at a table along with Todds Leap and Creative Media. I think we were the only table West of the Bann.


The judges included;  Left to right Maurice Mulvenna, Professor of Computer Sciences at University of Ulster; Katrina Doran, Editor of Sugahfix.com; (back) Director Repknight Online Reputation Management, Ruan O'Tiarnaigh, Jill Culbertson, Co-Founder Navajo Talk; John Reid, Managing Director The Gurus Network and (centre- front) Naomh McElhatton, Managing Director Digital Advertising Northern Ireland.

After a great meal and a bit of craic Nuala McKeever took to the stage and managed to slag off most of the people in the room and tell some great jokes. Nuala then proceeded to announce the shorlisted companies. Anticipation filled the air while the noise from the audience decreased.



In our first nomination our Viral advert for the Best Viral featuring my 8 year old son, Lewis, doing a video tour of the Belmore Court & Motel was up against the Belfast Giants singing "All I want for Christmas" and Derry's Ledgendary Campaign. The Giants won and it was hard to complain because Mariah Carey tweeted about it and Sky Sports even featured it. We did achieve Highly Commended status.


The next award we were shortlisted for pitted us against lookaly and another company but it was always gonna be hard to beat the local Lookaly company. there service really is great. Once again we were awards Highly Commended.

At this stage we thought we were going to be the perenial bridesmaids. Our last nomination was for the best Online Strategy. This award reflected the best overall strategy incorporating pay per click, social media, Search engine Optimisation, etc.

I waited nervously on stage with the CIM Ireland and Alzheimers Society while the winner was announced. Finally our name was announced as winner and I was really shocked and just stood there with my Mickey Mouse hands in the air (that's another story).




The judges said "This best overall strategy has been given to a company that has engaged with all the online elements – including continuous developmenf of their website, SEO, PPC, Facebook, YouTube, Ecommerce, online advertising and PR … Showing a clear return on investment making a massive £10 for every £1 spent … direct website revenue now accounts for 40% of overall revenues and they’re listed no.1 on Google."


On collecting the award I was asked for the oppotunity to speak through the microphone. Taking advantage of this I thanked all the team at the Belmore Court & Motel, Bookassist Ireland and my wife Mary. I also thanked Naomh McElhatton for having the courage to organise these types of awards; it really is just the right time for them to happen.


The night went on into the early hours in the morning. As usual it was great to meet old friends and make new ones. Really pleased to meet Grannine Maher and her husband and catching up with Niall McKeown from ION. 


 


We retired to our suite (perk of the hotel industry) and slept well after a very statisfactory night. Spent the next day shopping in Ikea with a sore head. Looking forward to next year already.


It really was an honour to win this award and it was great that Bookassist Ireland were able to help me throughout the years and with the application forms. I look forward to continued success with them in the future.

The DANI Awards 2011 Winners

Best B2B Campaign: Equality Commission (iON)

Best B2C Campaign: Treat Ticket

Best Viral Campaign: Belfast Giants

Best Social Media (SME): Boojum (Mammoth)

Best Social Media (Corporate): Cool FM

Best Mobile App Campaign: Lookaly

Best Web Design: Todds Leap (Creative Media)

Best Online Strategy: Belmore Court & Motel

Business Person of the Year: Russell Moore


Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/in-pictures-northern-ireland-digital-advertising-awards-night-16077589.html#ixzz1eHSmDLar