The Jeff Pulver Blog: The Garden Court Hotel Understands Social Media

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August 24, 2007

The Garden Court Hotel Understands Social Media

When visiting Palo Alto, the one hotel I always look to stay in is the Garden Court Hotel. Over the years I have always had a great experience being one of their guests. And when you travel a lot there are times when you notice the little things innkeepers do which make a BIG and lasting impression.

When checking out, I noticed a personal note from their general manager, Barbara Gross, who made reference to a blog post I had written earlier this week, about when I saw my friend Jacob Ner David at the Beach Bakery in Westhampton Beach. The fact that Barbara made the effort to research one of their guests and then write something personal about it on a handwritten note, I thought was a pretty amazing touch, and something I had never experienced in the past. Yes, I have received welcome letters from general managers at other hotels but nothing ever written from a personal perspective and connected to me.

Turns out I wasn't alone in this guest experience. I was traveling with my friend, Amit Shafrir, CEO of VooV.tv, and when I told him about my note, he opened his bag and showed me his own personalized note which referred to his recently purchased iPhone -- something Barbara Gross could have only learned about by Googling "Amit Shafrir" and reading his guest blog post about his iPhone experience.

This "social media" experience as a guest of the Garden Court Hotel made me appreciate how it is the little touches people do which define their approach to customer service. And it is an example of how many small (and not so small) businesses can benefit from implementing their own social media strategy around their customers.

Using the blogosphere and social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook provide a great amount of metadata about a lot of things, ranging from our individual personal preferences to our passions and whatever experiences and thoughts we may share in our blogs. I would like to believe the efforts Barbara Gross puts into learning about her guests influences others in the hospitality industry.

And should you need a place to stay in Palo Alto, consider staying at the Garden Court Hotel and tell them Jeff Pulver sent you. :)

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media, Barbara Gross, Garden Court Hotel, Palo Alto, Amit Shafrir, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff on August 24, 2007 07:27 AM | Permalink

Additional resources: #140conf events | Watch the Jeff Pulver Show | Jeff's Qik Videos

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Posted by: faisal at January 27, 2010 12:42 AM

That's great, and not to poo-poo fantastic customer service, but what does this have to do with understanding social media? So the GM knows how to use Google and can read. What are they doing to take advantage of social media?

And Dude, clean up your blog. These comments are full of spam.

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Posted by: دردشة at February 1, 2009 11:15 AM

Thanks for the blog. I work for a hotel management company, Prism Hotels, and am constantly looking for ideas and suggestions of how we can offer a "wow" to our guests and this really is a great one. I'm also trying to study and learn how best to bring our hotels into the world of social media, and after reading your blog, it solidifies in my mind that it's service experiences beyond the norm that will cause people to talk about you on the web. I appreciate reading about great ideas, such as this one you experienced. Thanks!

Posted by: Allison Handy at November 18, 2008 01:02 PM

Hotel 2.0! Good Post, and kudo's to the Garden Court.

Posted by: Andrew at August 27, 2007 08:19 PM

It is the beauty of great customer service, with a twist. We are so accustomed to the "Best Buy" experience, that we forget what it is like to have someone be so responsive.

Kudos to Barbara Gross and her personal style. Make sure she puts in for a raise!

Posted by: Nancy at August 26, 2007 11:23 AM

Reminds me of the Ritz Hotel in Taipei. I stayed there the first time since it was owned by a friend of a friend. During my visit, the staff from bellboy to cleaning staff was constantly coming up to me with a "good day, Mr. Maeir, what can I do for you?". Never saw such service anywhere else, but The Ritz became my hotel from then on...

Posted by: Moshe Maeir at August 25, 2007 05:20 PM

I'll do that. I plan on going to Palo Alto in '08. And if you're ever in Vegas (I picked a bad time to move back to DC!) check out the Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Great people.

Posted by: Tinu at August 25, 2007 07:38 AM

That's fantastic! I always love little touches like that. About 15 years ago I was flying on United either between either SEA or LAX and JFK and I had upgraded to first class (they used to let you double upgrade, skipping business class if you used 2x the certificates!). As we leveled off, a flight attendant appeared with a bottle of wine nicely wrapped in a cloth napkin with the captain's business card and a hand-written note on the back reading "Welcome aboard! We always like it when our frequent flyers travel with us." I was gobsmacked, to say the least. I had never experienced anything like it before or, alas, since.

Posted by: Mark Rabinowitz at August 24, 2007 02:52 PM

Cool. Great hospitality industry tip I will pass along to my son studying at Johnson & Wales. He can impress his profs with the concept of "Guest Googling!" Of course the information flow and personal data available via Social Networks is invaluable for business development... not too long ago I read a Tweet that someone I was following on Twitter was going to be having drinks that evening with someone else I had wanted to meet for business reasons. I PayPal'd $10.00 to the person who Twittered and asked them to "introduce" me to the other person and that the first beer is on me! A "cold beer call" proved to be much better than a Cold Call!

Posted by: Jeffrey Sass at August 24, 2007 11:19 AM

That is person to person care. Wow!

Posted by: Liz Strauss at August 24, 2007 10:02 AM

Impressive touch, and even more impressive you shared the love back, which I guess is the point.

Coolio

Posted by: Chris Hambly at August 24, 2007 08:41 AM

I agree - that is a really polite, nice touch. It gets in touch with our inner happy zone. Thanks for sharing jeff.

Posted by: Philip at August 24, 2007 08:34 AM

August 24, 2007

The Garden Court Hotel Understands Social Media

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