NH Hotel Group provides an excellent service offering an innovative range of services and invites its customers to participate and get involved in ethical, social and environmental commitments. In its commitment to sustainability, NH Hotel Group seeks to include and involve customers in its Sustainable Business initiatives, whether by generating opportunities for social contribution or by promoting environmentally responsible behaviour.
FEEL SAFE AT NH
At NH Hotel Group we want our guests to continue enjoying our hotels and having unforgettable experiences. To that end, we have created Feel Safe At NH, a set of measures certified by safety experts, which have been implemented in all our hotels so that our guests, employees and suppliers can continue to enjoy all our destinations, with no worries.
In order to ensure the safety of guests, employees and partners, the Company has put into place a number of different initiatives and adapted almost 700 standards, completely redesigning the guest experience cycle. Backed by experts, these measures have been implemented in 2020 in each of the Group’s 364 establishments.
Feel Safe at NH reviews the entire way our hotels operate and concentrates all the initiatives under 10 lines of action that respond to our guests’ needs in the new social reality caused by COVID-19. From the cleaning and disinfection processes for each space in the hotel, to new digital solutions, processes and protocols for food and beverage management, social distancing rules, or air and water purification control, the measures in the plan cover all aspects that allow hotels to be reopened with maximum guarantees for the safety of guests and employees.
Each of the Company’s establishments has a designated health and safety officer in the new Feel Safe at NH operating process. They are responsible for leading the implementation of the plan, for employee training and, finally, for controlling the ecological and responsible use of protection equipment.
NH EXPERIENCE
As a Company strategy, NH Hotel Group has identified the need to believe in the intrinsic value of each of its brands. It therefore seeks to pursue maximum efficiency in media investments and an improvement in the customer experience with the development of Guest Intelligence analysis tools, detecting the “moments of truth” and providing support to an experience undergoing continuous redesign and implementation, as well as monitoring acceptance. In recent years, as a result of the Company’s new business strategy, the quality bases that characterise NH Hotel Group have been laid down.In order to reduce interactions between people and contact with surfaces as much as possible, NH Hotel Group has provided guests with advanced technological solutions such as:
Other notable experiences:
- FASTPASS: the main purpose of this initiative has been to offer guests the possibility of using three innovative services such as Online Check-in, Choose Your Room and Online Check-out, giving guests power over their stay.
The added value has been the inclusion of the “Choose your Room” option, which gives guests the option of exploring the hotel’s architectonic plan to decide which room they prefer, greatly impacting on our guests’ experience. Furthermore, other initiatives -on which we are already working – will be implemented in the future, such as face recognition, or being able to open your door with a digital key.
- Tablets in Reception: a new check-in and check-out process using a tablet that will allow a digital signature and a paperless, more efficient and sustainable check-in process, as well as a digitally stored record of customer signatures and consents.
- Lobbies Alive: a new lobby concept designed to improve the guest experience, obtain additional revenue and attract new customers. A lobby that connects the hotel to the city and the neighbourhood, and creates an atmosphere that is perfect for work, enjoying a drink, meeting friends or attending a social event.
- Mood Room: rooms that allow our guests to enjoy the best experiences during their stay, with the simple movement of their fingers. Thanks to the myriad of pre-set modes, they can enjoy unparalleled technological experience and transform the entire room to suit their mood. Lights, music, curtains and climate control, all controlled at the touch of a button.
- Pet friendly: a complete experience for guests who travel with their pets. This new operational promise for pets offers our guests the certainty that travelling to an NH hotel with their pet is possible and convenient. We offer a standardized pet policy all over the world, making our hotel chain pet friendly.
- Open Spaces: initiative through which all our outdoor spaces are promoted in more than 170 hotels, from gardens to terraces with swimming pool, rooftops with privileged views, and a long etc, to hold events and meetings and to offer unforgettable experiences to our customers.
- Extended Stays Programme: a new product focused on long stay clients (7 nights or more) such as digital nomads, corporate clients involved in long-term projects, etc. This product has been designed to offer a competitive rate that includes additional benefits in hotel services (discount in F&B, laundry, parking, meeting rooms…).
- Room Office: We offer the possibility of renting one of our spacious and comfortable rooms to be used as an office. Providing a quiet space, with all the necessary equipment: desk, office chair, Wi-Fi, private bathroom, television, and the possibility of hiring additional services such as drinks, lunch or any other F&B service. Within this proposal, we also offer the usual spaces of the hotel to hold meetings or work sessions such as the meeting rooms.
- City Connection: an initiative that lets our guests access all our lobbies in the city and enjoy some of our services and public areas, giving an added value mainly to our leisure guests. The aim is to improve the travel experience when staying at NH, offering our guests the possibility of having a convenient stopping place all over the city (to rest, use the Wi-Fi connection, have a drink, leave luggage …) and accessing any service at any NH hotel in that city.
GASTRONOMIC INNOVATION
NH Hotel Group is firmly committed to high quality gastronomy, innovation and the application of the latest trends in the sector, and therefore the Company is constantly in the process of innovating and developing exclusive gastronomic standards. However, in 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the F&B area, innovation has focused on actions and standards that help to protect our guests, increase food safety, improve sustainability and support groups most adversely affected by the pandemic.
Local regulations to deal with the virus have limited the types of services available in each region or country, and therefore the Company’s traditional standards have been adapted to these regulations and to the recommendation of the WHO. These adaptations have involved several innovative processes that allow NH to maintain differentiation, improve the guest experience in limited services and the application of new techniques or services.
Some of the processes in which innovative proposals have been applied throughout 2020 in the context of COVID-19 were:
- F&B Mobile Guest Service, developing a mobile app through which customers can see all available services, place orders or book a table in our restaurants.
- The Box, adaptation of the in-room breakfast service, with an attractive image and increased hygiene guarantees.
- Breakfast NH, adaptation of the famous NH breakfast to the new regulations in force. Three new service models have been developed (à la carte, assisted buffet service or mono-packed buffet), adapting to local regulations in each case while maintaining the traditional values of our breakfasts: a warm welcome, use of local products, varied and healthy food.
- M&E, adaptation of the entire range of F&B offered to the new requirements in order to assure safety and hygiene at our events.
- Take-away service, creation of a new service adapted to the mobility circumstances, for lunches and dinners, during periods of restrictions for restaurants.
- Business and Individual Delivery Menus, creation of menus for business and private individuals with delivery to offices and homes on special dates.
It should be noted that in 2020, due to the damage caused by the pandemic, NH Hotel Group has committed, as far as F&B is concerned, to improve sustainability and support groups that have been especially impacted by COVID-19. Some examples of the new actions taken are:
- Improving sustainability in F&B through a new process that increases efficiency in the management of resources and the use of excess production in kitchens. To this end, we have begun to collaborate with various food start-ups that reuse these surpluses, providing an alternative outlet for the product that is not consumed in the hotel.
- Special collaboration with World Central Kitchen, a foundation directed by chef José Andrés. During that hardest months of lockdown, some of our hotel kitchens were used to prepare more than 120,000 menus that were later distributed to local charities and NGOs. Apart from lending our facilities to this initiative, multiple professional cooks volunteered to participate.
NH Hotel Group offers exceptional cuisine under chefs holding a total of 8 Michelin stars, who in some cases have adapted their services to the COVID-19 situation with new proposals:
- Dabiz Muñoz, 3 Michelin stars with DiverXO at NH Collection Eurobuilding. During 2020, he has developed a delivery service (Goxo).
- Paco Roncero, 2 Michelin stars with Paco Roncero Restaurante. This year he has reinvented his Workshop concept by creating a unique conceptual space featuring multisensorial gastronomy and sustainability (Paco Roncero Taller).
- Chris Naylor, 1 Michelin star with Vermeer at NH Collection Barbizon Palace, creation of the delivery service for Michelin star in the Netherlands.
- Randy Karman, 1 Michelin star, with White Room at NH Collection Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky.
- Marcos Morán (1 Michelin star) consulting chef at Hispania Brussels, NH Collection Grand Sablon.
HYBRID MEETINGS BY NH: TECHNOLOGY THAT ADDS VALUE TO YOUR EVENTS
In a world that is constantly changing and facing a new reality, NH Hotel Group has improved its Meetings and Events services with the Hybrid Meetings solutions. Unforgettable new hybrid conferences and meetings with sound technologies that guarantee the safety of attendees at our hotels and the quality of the event for those who participate in it virtually.
The Company has adapted its superior quality services to hybrid events:
- A team of experts to advise customers throughout the process and help to organise the hybrid event they want.
- New gastronomic proposals with great quality and safety. All F&B options are now available in individual portions with a new service from hotel personnel in different configurations.
- Innovation to develop efficient and ecological solutions such as Sustainable Hybrid Meetings.
- As part of the Feel Safe at NH initiative, the Company has established new MICE measures and protocols to ensure the event’s safety.
NH HOTEL GROUP AND BMOTION AUDIOVISUAL PRESENT THEIR NEW OFFER OF PERMANENT SETS FOR MICE EVENTS
NH Hotel Group in Spain has joined forces with Bmotion Audiovisual to offer its customers a network of permanent sets the purpose of which is that events at its hotels continue to be memorable. NH Hotel Group in Spain has joined forces with Bmotion Audiovisual to offer its clients a network of fixed installation sets with the objective of continuing to offer memorable events. An initiative that aims to bring people closer and reunite them again, from a safe environment, so that customers can enjoy the benefits of a 100% face-to-face event, with all the added advantages of a virtual event.
The sets, encompassed within Hybrid Meetings by NH proposition, are equipped with the latest BMOTION technology and are operated by its team of experts. They are also connected to each other so that virtual and hybrid events can be held, both from a single location and by connecting several of them.
NH Hotel Group and BMOTION also offer a range of technological solutions to transmit virtual events with fully personalized 3D settings, which let participants be integrated in an immersive digital environment.
The sets can transmit single meetings or simultaneous meetings from multiple cities, offering the possibility of participating in person from any of the NH hotels that have this service or remotely from home. In Spain, this initiative is already available in six hotels in the country’s main cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Santiago, Seville and Bilbao) although it is possible to organise it in any city where there is an NH hotel.The Company has an audiovisual partner for MICE events with fixed installation sets in all the countries where it operates.
NH ROOM OFFICE, A NEW WORK EXPERIENCE
In the context of the new work trends that have arisen in recent years and in a world that will have to transform itself after the current pandemic, last summer NH Hotel Group launched the “NH Room Office” concept in the Americas Business Unit, specifically at the NH Collection Bogotá Teleport Royal as a pilot.
Months later, and following the success of this innovative proposal, the Company has extended NH Room Office to other countries in the Americas and Europe.
Videocalls, preparing presentations or giving online training course… working from home is not the best solution for all tasks. For this reason, the Company offers the possibility of renting a quiet hotel room with a pleasant workspace, from a half-day upwards. This new concept lets customers work with all the necessary equipment and maintain distance without having to be in a business centre or go to the office.
EVOLUTION OF QUALITY MEASUREMENT TOOLS IN 2020
An essential part of the customer experience continuous improvement process is monitoring perceived quality and the action plans that have been put in place. A significant example of a measurement tool is Quality Focus Online, which makes it possible to monitor customer reviews through internal and online channels.
Notable among the main improvements in the tool in 2020 is the creation of a new encryption system for our internal satisfaction survey to increase the security of the data it handles. Furthermore, a new hotel closed/open filter has been included with a view to helping the teams manage and evaluate efficiently the quality of the hotels that have stayed open during the pandemic.
To maintain the Company’s high standards in relation to quality and customer satisfaction and maintain maximum assurance of safety for guests and employees, this year a checklist has been developed so that, through the Health & Safety Managers, designated in the Feel Safe plan to be responsible for verifying and managing the plan in each hotel in each Business Unit of NH Hotel Group, the corresponding checks are carried out in each establishment and areas for improvement are identified, in order to implement the necessary corrective actions.
The existing tool for carrying out such control, the smartphone app called Iristrace, continues to be the tool used for conducting quality control in the NH Hotel Group hotels.
Furthermore, with the intention of understanding its guests better every day, the Company has continued to use the services of Trust You, a semantic analysis tool that makes it possible to have greater visibility of what customers are saying about NH Hotel Group and which has helped to identify the main areas for improvement both in terms of service and product. In addition, a new category has been included this year which has allowed us to monitor all comments about the pandemic and identify the improvements in this matter.
IMPACTS ON VISIBILITY AND PERCEPTION OF QUALITY
The overall perception of the Company’s quality has decreased by 0.1 pp compared to last year, having been affected to a relevant extent by the COVID-19 health crisis and associated contingency measures. The overall score at the end of 2020 was of 8.5. In relation to the overall score from online reviews, it has fallen to 8.4 (-0-1 compared to the previous year). The fall in the rating from Booking.com is especially noteworthy, down to 8.3 (-0.2 compared to 2019).
In 2020, all the Company’s brands have been impacted by the crisis, with the final overall scores: NH Hoteles, 8.3 (-0.1 vs. 2019); NH Collection, 8.8 /-0.1 vs. 2019); and nhow, 8.5 (-0.1 vs. 2019). In all cases, the scores are the average between NH Hotel Group internal surveys and online ratings.
SINGLE CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE TOOLS
The Single Customer Service Centre provides support to hotels and to customers. It combines Customer Care, NH Rewards and the VIP Desk and has continued to consolidate its service in 2020, extending its capacity for response and improving the level of service.
SAP module: TMS4 Customer Care
This is a module that lets any interaction with customers be recorded from the time the complaint is received. Customers can manage their complaints through multiple channels: email, telephone, website, hotels, social media…The types of contact are classified into comments or suggestions, complaints, congratulations, requests, claims or technical incidents.
Quality Focus
Every week data is drawn from the satisfaction surveys received, identifying those that will be managed by Customer Care. Depending on the type of comment received, the type of response varies from direct interaction with the customer, by email or telephone, to a standard email response for neutral comments.
In 2020, the Customer Care area has handled a total of 10,174 contacts from the Single Customer Service Centre (whether complaints, requests, suggestions, congratulations…); this represents a decrease of approximately 24% in contacts handled by this area compared to 2019.
It should be noted that in 2020 NH Hotel Group has had to face a very complex situation because of COVID-19, which has forced the Company to the partial/total closure of many hotels and to handle many more claims or incidents. In addition, the different quarantines established have not permitted many of our customers to travel and all the restrictions that are still in place have considerably limited travel (Germany has been the most affected country, followed by Spain and Italy). The temporary closure of borders, as for example by the United Kingdom and Germany, has made travel to common destinations more difficult.
This year there has been a considerable increase in the number of contacts, in many cases caused by the mobility restrictions referred to above and the requests from customers to modify the expiry of their NH Rewards points.
Complaints are handled by sending a letter of apology, response by the hotel or the legal department. Sometimes, compensation has been given in the form of a discount voucher, free NH Rewards points, complimentary room upgrade, etc.
Responses have been given within the established time in the vast majority of cases, except on certain occasions where there have been spikes in the number of emails received (in relation to cancellations/modifications caused by force majeure, refunds, or simply asking for information) which have had an impact on the response time. However, the Company continues to focus on customers and their satisfaction.
In addition to the tools referred to above, the Company also has official complaints forms in accordance with ruling legislation in each country.
CONTACTS RECEIVED BY CUSTOMER CARE *
*The scope of these figures includes hotels under management as well as the consolidated perimeter, as many of the complaints received cannot be assigned to a hotel.
COMPLAINTS RECEVIED BY SOLUTION PROVIDED
*Duplications
**Technical incidents – solution provided by IT
***Includes comments on internal policies, reservations and other services that depend on HQ and not on any hotel.
COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS
Direct contact with customers is key in order to offer them personalized services and make their experience with NH better and better. In 2020, more than 110 million emails were sent to customers.
Responsible guests
NH Hotel Group seeks to include and engage its customers in its sustainable initiatives, whether by generating opportunities to contribute socially or by promoting environmentally responsible behaviour.
In line with this, NH Hotel Group has launched its “Green Stay” initiative, a new service that will be applied in several hotels in the northern and southern Europe business units. Through this initiative, the Company offers customers who stay for more than one night the option of declining the room cleaning service, contributing to savings in water, energy and other resources. As a reward for these guests, the hotel offers them a voucher for a free drink for each day they participate in this initiative.
Improvement in direct sales channels
The tourism sector has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Business growth generated through the NH Hotel Group website since its relaunch continues and the first few months of 2020 were particularly extraordinary, with year-on-year growth of 14%.
From March onwards, the effect of the pandemic in 2020 has affected all regions, channels, segments, brands and domains. The mobility restrictions and travel regulations issued by each country have had a significant effect on the B2B segment. In contrast, the B2C segment has gained weight and we have seen a more dynamic recovery of the direct web channel, than the one experienced by intermediated channels. This has led to an all-time high in terms of the web channel’s contribution to NH Hotel Group’s total sales.
NH Hotel Group uses direct and indirect channels to market its products. The direct channels include hotels, the Call Center and the web. In 2020, the latter has helped to market products through 14 sites and microsites, using 21 languages or language localizations.
Our spirit is to be able to adapt and personalise the experiences of millions of customers who visit us through the web (both mobile and desktop versions) and the app. This personalization, combined with the systematic application of techniques to improve conversion and usability – with more than 370 experiments in 12 months – have allowed us to obtain double-digit improvements in conversion, even in such a uniquely difficult year as this one.
NH Rewards programme
NH Rewards has more than 9.8 million members and is one of the most complete loyalty programmes worldwide.
Through its four categories (Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum), the Company’s programme recognizes and rewards the loyalty of regular customers on each stay with benefits such as earning points -equivalent to euros- that can be redeemed for free nights or extra services in the hotel with no date restrictions. NH Rewards also offers flexibility by allowing payment using points and cash, special price conditions, exclusive privileges when reserving on the website and other benefits, as well as a range of differential services that enhance the experience in hotels of all NH Hotel Group’s brands.
NH Hotel Group collaborates actively with UNICEF, supporting its efforts to assure the rights and welfare of children throughout the world and respond to emergency situations. We have the support of our customers and employees in this collaboration. All the funds raised through donations of points are handed in full to UNICEF and are used for the development of health, education and protection programmes.
NH Hotel Group App
The NH Hotel Group app and its approach go beyond being a basic service tool for customers.
In line with the Company’s innovative spirit, the mobile app is used as a key differential tool and as a laboratory, to then launch new concepts massively on multiple devices, such as the launch of the FASTPASS service described above (and currently available in all devices) and the new app functionalities for the Feel Safe at NH protocols.
It is also worth noting that in this period the App has reached record highs in terms of share of contribution to the Company’s turnover.
CUSTOMER HEALTH AND SAFETY
NH Hotel Group has strengthened the disinfection and cleaning protocols in its hotels in line with the indications of the World Health Organization, following local regulations and taking inspiration from medical practice. These protocols have also been reviewed and adapted to the new reality by SGS, (Société Générale de Surveillance), a leading inspection, verification and certification company.
Under these protocols, public areas with a high level of traffic such as lobbies, reception, halls and restaurants are cleaned more frequently and with a specific type of disinfectant products based on advanced medical practice. Furthermore, public areas of hotels have signs specifying the limitations, avoiding crowds of people and contact between them, always keeping the distance required by local regulations. The design of furniture and spaces changes to comply with safety distancing regulations. In addition, training has been provided to hotel staff to help customers comply with these rules at all times.
In line with this, NH Hotel Group maintains its commitment to guarantee food health and safety at global level, in each of its hotels and restaurants. Thus, the Company ensures that all food preparation and service procedures comply with international regulations on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) for food and beverages. Finally, kitchens and kitchen utensils are cleaned following hospital protocols, thus assuring correct disinfection and decontamination at all times. For this purpose, NH Hotel Group has an international agreement with an external company specializing in food health and safety (Diversey), which audits, verifies and guarantees compliance with such regulations, as well as the mandatory legal registrations, laboratory analysis of food, continuous training of personnel in relation to food health and safety as well as specific hygiene manuals for each establishment.
In 2020, with the support of Diversey, the documentary frameworks and the critical control points analysis in the F&B environment (HACCP manuals, Food Hygiene …) have been adapted to the new regulations required by the COVID-19 situation. The guidelines have also been expanded with new control protocols for the reopening of hotels (cleaning and disinfection checklists, high contact surfaces, adequate use of COVID-19 disinfectants, new cleaning procedures …).
These processes are audited continuously in all NH Hotel Group restaurants and kitchens. Thus, all hotels undergo periodic food health controls conducted by Diversey and any failure by a supplier means, without going into criminal consequences, that the supplier in question must correct it or face automatic rescission of their contract with NH Hotel Group.
In addition, the following measures are in place in other areas of the hotels to guarantee guest health and safety:
GLOBAL WEBINAR FOR CORPORATE, MICE AND LEISURE CUSTOMERS
At the end of April, we hoped to gain a better understanding of the implications of COVID-19 for travel and explore the expectations of businesses for the future. To this end, NH Hotel Group sent out a global survey for its customers in the corporate, MICE and leisure segment.
The aim of the survey, shared with approximately 12,000 B2B customers worldwide, was to obtain knowledge of the plans and needs of the Company’s customers post COVID-19.
On June 9th, the Company organized a webinar aimed at these customers, mainly to share with them the results of this survey and to present the new Feel Safe at NH Plan.
The webinar, at which more than 500 people were present, was led by Ramón Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group, Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer and Javier Mármol, Vice President of Experience and Quality, and presented by Natalie Moran, Senior MICE & Corporate Director. They offered an update of the Company’s present situation and explained in detail the Feel Safe at NH actions implemented in each of the hotels, in line with the needs mentioned in the survey by our customers.
Following the success of this webinar, the sales team has replicated this format in the different Business Units, where they have shared the details of Feel Safe At NH with their local B2B customers, in their corresponding languages and adapted to local legislation.
HOTELS THAT ARE MORE AND MORE ACCESSIBLE
As a result of NH Hotel Group’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and accessibility for its guests, there are 349 hotels distributed over all the Business Units that have elements adapted to special needs. NH Hotel Group continues to work towards making all the Company’s hotels accessible.
“95% of hotels have some element of accessibility”
NH Hotel Group is also committed to the full integration in work of people with disabilities through responsible purchases from Special Employment Centres as suppliers of laundry services. The share that purchases from Special Employment Centres represented in 2020 was 4.4% (estimated with respect to the workforce in Spain, together with the Special Employment Center employees comparable to NH Hotel Group purchases).
