NKYCVB’s Unprecedented Guarantee Program: Service Good Enough to Guarantee
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Frances Moad
(816) 506-0037 (m)
E-Mail: Pressroom@nkycvb.com | www.nkycvb.com
NKYCVB’s Unprecedented Guarantee Program: Service Good Enough to Guarantee
Covington, KY… November 15, 2001 The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau now has the meeting and convention industry’s very first Unconditional Guarantee Program for groups holding meetings in the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
“We believe this to be the only program of its kind in the country,” said Tom Caradonio, President of the NKYCVB. “We have a whole new level of commitment to the meeting and convention industry, and this will certainly make a difference in the quality of meetings held in Northern Kentucky.” He went on to explain the guarantee: “It’s this simple, if you aren’t satisfied with your meeting, we will give you a day’s free rental at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.”
A New Level of Service
The Meeting Guarantee was borne out of a series of focus group interviews with meeting
planners in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The Bureau conducted these interviews
in conjunction with their agency of record MKT. Says Barbara Z. Dozier,Vice
President of Sales and Marketing for the NKYCVB, “The message from meeting
planners was clear: improve service and deliver. In Northern Kentucky
we have the product and the people to ensure this guarantee program will deliver.”
As Dozier explained, the Guarantee Program covers six tightly-bound points that will make it attractive to customers.
*It is unconditional. A customer is either satisfied or not. A service guarantee will lose its impact in direct proportion to the number of conditions it contains. If a group qualifies, there are no conditions for the Northern Kentucky Meeting Guarantee.
*It’s easy to understand. If a meeting planner is not completely satisfied, that group will receive a free day’s rental at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
*It’s meaningful. The rental of a convention center can be staggering. A day can cost upwards of $12,000.
*Easy and painless to invoke. There are no strings attached, just a simple, “I am not happy,” can lead to the guarantee to be put in place.
*It involves communication. The Northern Kentucky CVB recognizes the importance of pre-convention and post-convention meetings between planners, hotels, the center, the bureau and vendor staff. Communicating wants and needs will assure all parties get what they want and what they need.
*Easy to collect. A check will be written to the dissatisfied organization, and sent within 48 hours of the end of the convention.
She went on to explain that there are qualifying factors associated with the Meeting Guarantee Program. “There are obvious qualifiers associated with the guarantee. A group must generate a minimum number of 250 rooms per night for three nights, the customer must agree to the pre and post convention meetings, and the guarantee does not apply to public shows. And naturally, the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau reserves the right to revise the guarantee.”
Hospitality Partners Hold Key to Success
Part of the imminent success of this program is the buy-in by other partners involved.
Hotels, vendors, the Convention Center, and even transportation providers in Northern
Kentucky will be making the extra steps for the Guarantee Program.
Pat Boylson, General Manager of the Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter, and his staff show an existing commitment to guest satisfaction. “It forces us to be pro-active, and to empower our employees to make decisions to completely guarantee a customer’s satisfaction with our product.” As he pointed out, most full-service hotels already have similar programs in place. “The entire hotel team, from bus boys to managers, needs to deliver the desired kind of service. Shame on us if we don’t empower all of our employees to fix a problem immediately,” he said.
Barbara Conrady, Director of Sales for the Radisson Inn, Cincinnati Airport in Hebron, Kentucky also agrees strongly with the Guarantee Program’s message. “It boils down to service, and this program forces all of us to go back to the basics of providing service. So many people have become weary of poor service in every business sector,whether retail, medical, banking or hospitality. To earn and retain your client’s business requires the confidence to guarantee satisfaction.”
Carl Ward, President of Executive Transportation unflaggingly gives his approval. A transportation provider in the area, Ward is also a past Chair of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Commissioners. “You have to stand by your business, and the hospitality community in Northern Kentucky is saying ‘we can give you the best’ through this program. It says a lot about the quality of people, services and commitment of our area when we can guarantee a meeting’s outcome 100 percent.”
The Convention Center as Catalyst
The Meeting Guarantee has been critical in Northern Kentucky’s recent growth.
An increase by almost 17.6% in hotel rooms over the past year, new attractions such
as the Newport Aquarium and Newport on the Levee serve to enhance Northern Kentucky
as a desirable meeting site. Most important, however has been the Northern
Kentucky Convention Center, the compelling ingredient in the Meeting Guarantee Program
mix.
Charles Wheeler, Jr., Executive Director for the Center says of the Guarantee, “It
really shows our hospitality community’s commitment to establish accountability
for ourselves and our customers.”
“The success of the entire program rests on our partnerships between our customers
and our service providers. We are envisioning a ‘seamless service’ concept
from start to finish on all events that visit the Convention Center and look forward
to rising to the challenge.”
The Best Laid Plans
What will the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau do if a meeting planner
is dissatisfied? Says Caradonio, “If we write a check, we will back
up the guarantee with press releases, and a press conference. This will be
a public apology to the meeting planner from Northern Kentucky. Our research
bears out that people who invoke a guarantee, leave with a higher level of satisfaction,
even more so than those whose experiences were satisfactory.”
“We are confident we can deliver everything in the guarantee, and the only way to get that higher quality meeting and service is to bring your group to Northern Kentucky. Since the program was put in place in 1998, we’ve not had anyone invoke it. That speaks volumes for our service.”
Economic Development Through the Hospitality Industry
Over $243 million in indirect spending was generated to the Northern Kentucky economy
in 2000 through visitors in our area. The direct economic impact on the community
by marketing initiatives of the Convention & Visitors Bureau was $72 million.
Tourism is the Commonwealth’s third leading industry, and its second largest employer
after healthcare.