12 / 68
To Owen Perry, it’s simple: “Anything you do to improve your service
should end up in your sales, because happy people buy more.” And the
president of The Villa Group is quick to remind you, “That’s our motto —
happy people buy more.”
For The Villa Group, it’s a motto that appears to prove itself out. At
least when it comes to a change in check-in procedures at the devel-
oper’s Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto in Mexico’s Baja
California Sur. Since spring 2015, owners and exchange guests coming
to the resort can complete the check-in process from the comfort of
their home and bypass the line at the reception desk. Once they arrive,
getting into their unit is as simple as picking up a wristband room key
from a bellhop.
Result? Happier owners, for sure. And for The Villa Group, a happy
uptick in sales. “We’ve seen a 30-percent increase in members at the
resort upgrading their time with us,” says Perry. An outcome that has
motivated the company to roll out the hassle-free check-in to its other
resorts in top Mexican vacation destinations, including Cabo San
Lucas, Riviera Nayarit, Puerto Vallarta, and Cancún.
A-ha! Moment
The Villa Group has always sought to provide superlative service. A few
years ago, the company launched Personal Concierge, which helps
owners and exchange guests pre-plan their stay, making arrangements
for everything from airport pickup to spa appointments and sport fishing.
And yet as he contemplated the arrival process itself, Perry had an
a-ha! moment. “Some of these members we’ve known for 30 years. And
here we were, still treating them like they’re somebody off the streets. By
the time they go through security and travel internationally, by the time
they get to the resort, they’re beat up and the last thing they want to do
is wait to check in.” He asked himself, “Is there a better way to do this?”
From this, the pilot program at the Loreto property was born.
As part of the process, once guests make a reservation, they receive
a confirmation with a request for the information they’d need at on-site
check-in. The resort inputs this information into its system and provides
a pre check-in code. Once owners arrive at the resort, a bellhop has
their room-key wristbands ready and waiting.
According to Perry, the program’s popularity has been substanti-
ated by owner response. “We’ve got tremendous positive feedback
from owners who think that, ‘Wow, not only is this great service, but I
feel more appreciated as a member or owner.’”
“We had one member tell us, ‘I was at the pool having a margarita
within 10 minutes of arriving at the resort!’”
Ready to Roll
Perry was always confident that the idea was a good one, but he
wanted to start small. “Loreto is a smaller operation, and we could have
more control. It’s also about how you implement it, how you standardize
it, and the cost involved. We’ve been very thorough with this process.”
That effort paid off. Not only is the resort selling upgrades to owners,
The Villa Group has found the cost impact to be negligible. Says Perry,
“We use the same people that would be in charge of checking people in
the reservations systems anyway, so it’s really no extra cost to us.”
And it lightens the demands on staff. “Usually, all the planes arrive
within a couple hours of each other, and it really takes a lot of the pres-
sure off the whole property because we don’t have these long lines.”
The Villa Group intends to roll out the check-in program to its other
properties in 2016. For the time being, the abbreviated check-in will
only be available to The Villa Group owners and exchange guests. “For
other guests, the check-in process is a little bit more complex. But for
timeshare owners we know well, it’s so easy with today’s communica-
tions technology to contact them at home and let them go through the
process.”
Perry reports that 87 percent of owners and exchangers at Loreto
are using the check-in bypass procedure. To Perry, the high success
rate should come as no great surprise. “Happy people buy more — I
think it’s that basic. Let’s make these people happy.”
10
By Betsy Sheldon
Service Is Sales
How Hassle-Free Check-in Boosts Bottom Line for
The Villa Group
Cultura/Image Source
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
APRIL – JUNE 2016
SALES &
MARKETING