The Guest Experience Show

Bryn Netz is Sales Manager for Sureshot Redemption, a firm providing prizes and merchandise to family entertainment centers. In this interview, Bryn talks about what goes into a successful redemption counter and shares several examples from his years of experience. When it comes to the role of the redemption counter in an FEC, Bryn stresses that the counter is often the final impression that a guest has when visiting, and the way in which it is organized and managed is reflective of the center as a whole. We also discussed how the prizes themselves can drive repeat visitation, especially when they are in ticket ranges that are often out of reach for guests to achieve in one visit. And lastly, Bryn shares the importance of the team members to the success of the redemption, as well as the venue as a whole, and shares how each individual team member can generate a huge financial impact to the business.

Will Guidara is the founder of Thank You, a hospitality company that develops world-class destinations and helps leaders across industries transform their approach to customer service. He is also the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which in 2017 was ranked the #1 restaurant in the world. In this interview, Will shares insights from his new book, Unreasonable Hospitality, where he shares the importance of taking ordinary transactions and turning them into memorable experiences. Will believes everyone can be in the hospitality business, regardless of industry, because we all focus on creating human connections. In order to operationalize these types of experiences, Will talks about the role of the Dreamweaver at Eleven Madison Park, whose sole responsibility was to seek opportunities to exceed expectations. When asked how to justify the costs with creating incredible experiences, Will says that you should manage 95% of your finances “like a maniac,” and spend the remaining 5% foolishly.

Alyse Sklover is the Senior Events Manager for ROLLER, having joined the team in early 2023. In this interview, Alyse shares lessons learned over the course of her career, as she has seen the industry from the lens of an operator, supplier, and association. When asked about changes seen throughout the industry, Alyse states that some of the biggest shifts are due to behavior changes among guests and employees alike, prompting operators to put a stronger emphasis on the employee experience. Naturally, this led to a discussion on employee culture and ensuring that employees are treated as humans, not as simply filling a need for the business. And lastly, when asked about friction in the guest experience, Alyse talked about inconsistencies in expectations that lead to the need for guest recovery and resolution.

Jenna Boyo is the CEO of Planet Lazer in Kelowna, British Columbia. In this interview, Jenna shares how Planet Lazer has evolved in the nearly 20 years since she purchased the venue, and how she delivers a superior guest experience. Over time, laser tag has evolved from arenas with black walls and fluorescent paint to meeting the ongoing consumer trends and preferences, along with technological enhancements such as VR that have entered the space. Additionally, Jenna talks about how satisfaction leads to guests becoming walking billboards for the venue that help drive return visits and word of mouth. And lastly, Jenna tells us how Planet Lazer has made a positive impact on her community that has led to multiple generations of loyal fans.

Bryan Sklover is the Director of Community Relations and Game Presentation for the Savannah Ghost Pirates, a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL, whose inaugural season ended in April 2023. In this interview, Bryan talks about how the city of Savannah has embraced the team, despite skeptics who say that hockey isn’t popular in the southern United States. When discussing the Ghost Pirates’ fan experience strategy, Bryan says that he largely focused on engaging the Savannah community, which resulted in games selling out before the season even began, and by the time season ended after 36 games, 33 of them sold out. Additionally, Bryan shares detail on the immersive experience offered in the arena, which goes far beyond the game of hockey, but rather a fully themed entertainment attraction. And lastly, Bryan shares stories about fan experiences that truly evoke emotion, and said that emotions are not just about tears, but goosebumps.

Phil Bernardo is the CEO of Roseus Hospitality, a short-term rental management company based in Orlando, FL. In this interview, Phil talks about the challenges facing the short-term rental industry that Roseus aims to solve. Phil shares how Roseus offers an elevated experience compared to other management companies, such as ensuring that certain items and groceries are available in the home prior to arrival, and not having to do a series of tasks in order to check out. Additionally, Phil shares how competition in the marketplace has and will continue to lead to more opportunities to enhance the experience as guests’ expectations continue to rise. Lastly, Phil’s guest experience philosophy is to set and exceed guests’ expectations every single time.

Nick DiMatteo is the Chief Games Officer for Fortyfive Games, a firm that focuses on consulting, design, and operations for family entertainment centers, and Nick has patents pending with the plan to launch one of them by the end of 2023. In this interview, Nick shares how family entertainment centers have evolved over time. When you think about bowling centers and movie theaters, most modern venues offer much more than their core offerings of bowling and movies, in the interest of keeping you engaged longer and spending more money. Nick also talks about using data to anticipate guests’ behavior that influences their spending and overall experience, such as positioning kiosks in a game room within close proximity to when guests usually run out of money on their game card. And lastly, Nick discusses the importance of embracing failure, and how it ultimately leads to success.

Meredith Tatum is the Director of Experience at The Ozarker Lodge, opening in July 2023 in Branson, MO. In this interview, Meredith shares the details of the hotel’s unique experience and lessons learned from previous roles throughout her career in events, weddings, and food and beverage. When running successful events, know that there will always be hiccups along the way, and in most cases, the guests will never notice them. In describing the experience at The Ozarker Lodge, Meredith mentions that it will be the only boutique hotel in Branson, and the experience is significantly different than what a guest would receive from a major chain, thus giving the hotel a competitive advantage. And lastly, Meredith states that the most important part of hospitality is anticipating guests’ needs, where we identify what the guest might want or need as part of their experience and offer it to them before they even ask.

Max Pfeifer is the Experience Director at Museum of Play and Art (MoPA), a group of children’s museums that focus on learning through play. In this interview, Max shares how MoPA focuses on delivering a superior experience by hiring exceptional talent and running the business with state-of-the-art technology.Key takeaways:Guests should so satisfied that they advocate for the business and deliver the flywheel effect, bringing in new guests that marketing doesn’t need to pay to attractMax stresses the importance of training and development for the frontline staff, both during initial onboarding as well as ongoing learning throughout their employment.Max sheds light on MoPA’s strategy for managing guest flow and timed ticketing, which he refers to as “comfy capacity.”

James Jensen is Founder and CEO of JUMP, an immersive VR experience that puts guests into a hyper-real wingsuit simulator. In this interview, James walks us through the JUMP experience, where guests cannot tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not. James also talks about how the purpose of virtual reality is to discover our full potential and find our true self. Additionally, James shares that virtual reality allows for cognitive reframing, meaning it can reshape the perception we have of certain emotions - in the case of JUMP, it can help guests conquer their fears long after their experience. Lastly, James states that JUMP’s tagline is to create life-changing moments, which is embedded into how team members deliver the guest experience.

Jeremy Wells is Partner with Longitude, a branding and design studio for hotels and hospitality organizations. In this interview, Jeremy shares the details of building a brand strategy and the importance of it to the success of any organization. In particular, Jeremy stresses the importance of bridging the brand strategy with the guest experience so that the expectation seamlessly flows through from pre-arrival into the onsite experience. Additionally, Jeremy shares that when marketing and operations are misaligned, it can result in a venue being either undersold or oversold, neither of which are good for business. And lastly, Jeremy explains what a brand touchpoint is, and how operators should prioritize them in their overall strategy.

Clay Talley is an immersive customer experience strategist, who has worked across theme parks, water parks, and other immersive experiences. In this interview, Clay shares insights about creating immersive experiences, and in particular, Clay shares how Ballast Technologies successfully integrates virtual reality into water parks and waterslides, creating new unique experiences. Additionally, Clay stresses that the purpose of VR is to properly tell a story and deliver an experience, and poor instances of the application are when they are offered for the sake of VR itself. And lastly, Clay stresses the importance of the role of the frontline team member, and that employees can make or break the guest experience.

Alex Zeitz is the Director of Customer and Employee Experience at Virgin Voyages. In this interview, Alex talks about Virgin’s culture and how the employee and guest experience are directly interconnected.Instead of customers and employees, Virgin Voyages has sailors and crew members to show that the relationship is far more than transactionalThe role of technology in the guest experience should be to reduce friction at every possible pointVirgin Voyages scores highly in the category of “belonging” due to their diversity, equity, and inclusion program that positively impacts both the crew and sailor experience

Kari Manev is the Business Development Manager for ticketed attractions for Sensible, a climate technology company that allows consumers to have their ticket purchase fully refunded in the event of inclement weather. In this interview, Kari shares how weather impacts the guest experience, particularly in outdoor attractions and activities, and how guests now have the ability to have their purchase protected without impacting the revenue to the venue.85% of guests would prefer to have their ticket purchase refunded if there is inclement weather, rather than be given a raincheck to come back in the futurePositioning your product to the decision-makers to the family will set you up for the highest success rateGive your guests “Bonusland” opportunities whenever possible that are win-win for the guest and the business

Seb Gregory is a Senior UX Designer for ROLLER. In this interview, Seb talks about how user experience can make or break the guest experience at critical points in the guest journey.A poor UX can unravel an otherwise positive guest experienceROLLER’s online checkout regularly sees small enhancements along with occasional large improvements based on the latest trends in user experienceROLLER’s new progressive checkout is enabling venues to increase attendance, increase per capita spending, and reduce labor required for critical tasks

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Guest Experience Show! Over the last 99 episodes, I have had the privilege of speaking with so many amazing people from the world of theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, family entertainment centers, trampoline parks, zoos, museums, aquariums, and many other experiential industries, such as hotels, airlines, guided tours, sports and entertainment, and more, on how to create an incredible guest experience.For episode 100, I’ve looked at what ties all of these conversations together, and I’ve pulled out six themes that you can find across multiple episodes. We’ll look at each theme, and I’m going to share clips from previous guests that really drive the points home. I hope this inspires you to go back and check out previous interviews if you haven’t already.The six themes that can be found across the first 99 episodes are as follows:The role of technology should be to make it more convenient, otherwise it will create more frictionYour procedures need to be communicated effectively to guestsGuest experience is the best marketingA great guest experience starts with a great team member experienceTurn your critics into fansCreating experiences is entirely about designing for the memory

Julie George is the author of Million Dollar Host, where she helps entrepreneurs scale up a short-term rental portfolio using Airbnb. In this interview, Julie talks about how she scaled her business to 130 properties and more than $8 million in revenue before selling the company.Key takeaways:Automate, don’t complicateDon’t let technology become a friction point for guests who aren’t as savvyTreat guests the way you’d like to be treated

Will Henderson is a social media researcher at Clemson University, pursuing a PhD in social media behavior of theme park guests. In this interview, Will offers guidance into understanding how guests’ online behavior can impact the guest experience as a whole.Key takeaways:The type of content that a transient visitor or vacationer posts is different from a guest who has influenceNobody wakes up in the morning and wonders what their favorite theme parks are posting onlineThe best social media strategy is when you identify a core group of guests that you can personalize your message for

Marlon Rodgers is the Assistant General Manager at Adventure Air Sports in Kennesaw, GA. In this interview, Marlon gives us a look at what the guest experience is like at Adventure Air Sports.Key takeaways:Harnessing the benefits of the “cul-de-sac kids,” who will share the experience with their neighborsUsing memberships to help make an impact on guests’ lives in addition to economic valueUser-generated content should make the guest feel more connected to the venue

Don White is the President and CEO of Satisfi Labs, an AI-powered chatbot that helps consumers find information, get answers to questions, and even buy tickets to sporting events, theatrical performances, and attractions. In this interview, Don shares how consumer behavior is changing, particularly how people want to engage with a business.Key takeaways:Conversational marketing opens up a dialogue instead of presenting information for consumers to findThe way that information is delivered is one of the biggest friction points in the guest experienceRather than eliminate labor, AI-powered communication can help team members enhance the guest experience in the moment