12 secrets behind 4 of London’s top 6 hotels.

This blog has already covered the fact that various Red Carnation Hotels currently dominate the upper echelons of the TripAdvisor London rankings.

Here we delve a little deeper to explore what lies behind this success.

The number 1 London hotel at the time of writing (though this can change quickly) is the group’s Milestone Hotel, led by General Manager Andrew Pike, whom I was fortunate to meet recently.

The other hotels in TripAdvisor’s top 6 are Hotel 41, the Montague on the Gardens and the Chesterfield Hotel.  The Egerton House (featured as a recent number 1) has since slipped to just outside the top 10.

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What’s the “secret sauce” behind the consistency of the group as a whole?

When I met the Group’s Managing Director – Mr Jonathan Raggett – a while ago, he was quick to sing the praises of his company’s staff.

This message was confirmed by my visit to the Milestone Hotel (near Kensington High Street) where Mr Pike and I also spent some time discussing the group’s “Top 12 Service Standards”.

Here they are in full:

1.  Smile and use positive eye contact in every guest encounter.

2.  Whenever possible, call guests by their name.

3.  First impressions are lasting impressions.

4.  Anticipate the guest’s needs.

5.  Through pride and professionalism act as a RCH ambassador.

6.  You spot it, you own it, you fix it, you follow it.

7.  Practise a “Yes I can” attitude at all times.

8.  Discretion and respect are professionalism at their finest.

9.  No request too large, no detail too small.

10.  Think before you speak and look before you leap.

11.  There’s no “I” in team.

12.  To suggest is to sell and to sell is to serve.

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At first glance these sound like standard fare.  The difference at Red Carnation is the fact that these standards seem to be so well-executed.

Just glance at some recent TripAdvisor guest reviews for the Milestone Hotel for example, and you’ll instantly see what I mean.

I particularly like number 6 above.  Too often, hotel staff are forced to hide behind the need to refer knotty issues up the management hierarchy.  Guests don’t care about this and simply want their complaint resolved.

By empowering individuals to take ownership, staff start to behave like hosts rather than employees.  It’s a subtle but crucial difference.

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On the other hand, I took slight issue with number 12 being concerned that this might tip over into the dreaded “upselling”.

The men behind two of London’s most upmarket hotels – Mr Campbell-Gray at One Aldwych and Mr Gelardi at the Lanesborough – are also very much against the concept of “nickel and diming” guests to maximise revenue.

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This view is also shared by Red Carnation Hotels.  “Suggestion” is an art practised with great subtlety with a keen eye for the guest’s interests.

And it is backed by hard data which each hotel collects on guests’ prior stays to ensure that suggestions are highly personalised and relevant.

The ability to instil these values in staff is manageable for Red Carnation because its hotels are mostly quite small and intimate properties.

Let’s hope other hotels can follow their lead and recognise that everyone deserves efficient and friendly service, irrespective of the room rate paid.

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Photo credits: Red Carnation Hotel Collection.

Tagged as: Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, Egerton House Hotel, Hotel 41, Milestone Hotel, Montague on the Gardens, Red Carnation Hotel Collection