The guests have spoken: During The HSMAI Day Sweden at Clarion Hotel Sign on October 11th, HSMAI, in cooperation with the German company Customer Alliance, announced the first national Guest Experience Awards in Sweden. The Award is based on customer satisfaction data and ratings in different portals, such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Google, Facebook etc.
In partnership with HSMAI, Customer Alliance have developed the Guest Experience Award to honour and acknowledge hospitality companies who have delivered exceptional customer service over the previous 12 months. They have analysed over 20,000 hotels, restaurants and attractions who have consistently delivered the very best outstanding guest experiences in Sweden.
As a review management platform, Customer Alliance are in a prime position to not only collate a full-market overview of guest feedback across the industry’s top portals, such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Google and Facebook, but to truly understand the guest sentiment behind this feedback. Whilst the award is based upon factors such as the overall review scores left by guests on portals, and also, importantly, the continuing experience which guests receive after they leave, the quality of the finalists goes to show that amazing guest experiences is not just for large establishments with multi-million dollar marketing budgets. As they say, a smile costs nothing – and truly impressing your guests is a result of passion and dedication by a great team.
It’s important to note that there have been no judges in the selecting the finalists and winners of this award. It is purely based upon publicly available data, and alongside a few minimum criteria all candidates have equal opportunity to win their respective category. We feel that this is the truly best evaluation of service quality as it give small, family owned establishments equally opportunity to be recognised alongside their larger, more well-known counterparts.
It’s an honour to announce the recipients of the inaugural HSMAI & Customer Alliance Guest Experience Award for Sweden. These candidates have really impressed us with their efforts over the past 12 months and the final results were very close amongst the finalists.
Experiences and Attractions
For any tourist region to flourish, Experiences and Attractions are a critical element to the ecosystem as they give tourists a reason to come and they end up spend their money at local businesses whilst they are there. However, attractions can come in many forms – from amusements parks and museums to bars and activities – and the candidates have really shown the broad spectrums of attractions for today’s modern traveler.
From over 1,200 candidates in the category, these 10 finalists have shown outstanding commitment to their guest experience:
- Åre Chokladfabrik
- Army Museum
- Bodyflight Stockholm
- Junibacken
- Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde
- Sherlocked
- The Hallwyl Museum
- Tropikariet
- Vasa Museum
- Vaxholms Hembygdsgårds
The winner in the category Experiences and Attractions: Vasa Museum
About the winner in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
The winner for the 2018 HSMAI & Customer Alliance Guest Experience Award for Attractions went to a museum here in Stockholm. Some may argue that the museum was built over 300 years ago, despite having only opened less than 30 years ago. As one of the most popular museums in all of Scandinavia, guests are treated to an glimpse into life upon a 17th century ship. With 1.5 million visitors, and almost 5,000 reviews over the past 12 months, this museum has achieved an outstanding 94% guest satisfaction rate.
Our showcased highly recommended: Sherlocked
About the highly recommended in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
Our showcased highly commended Attraction for 2018, goes go to a location from which you may never leave. As one of Europe’s most popular and largest Escape Games, this location has taken on the theme of one of England’s most beloved detectives. With a 92% satisfaction rate and over 200 reviews over the past 12 months, it’s apparent that plenty of satisfied guests made it out in time!
Restaurants
From Michelin star restaurants to the local burger joint, restaurants come in all shapes and sizes – as does the guest experience which they deliver. With the rise of online delivery platforms, it’s increasingly important that establishments place more focus than ever on the experience which guests receive when they come to the restaurant. As we all know, it’s more than just the food!
Having evaluated almost 18,000 Swedish restaurants of all sizes, making the finalist list is a massive achievement and one which each should be particularly proud of. Here is the top 10 finalists:
- Bar Nombre
- Gästabud
- Lilla Ego
- Mom’s Kitchen
- NISCH
- SK Mat & Människor
- Surfers Visby
- Thörnströms Kök
- Vollmers
- Wedholms fisk
The winner in the category Restaurants: SK Mat & Människor.
About the winner in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
The winner for the 2018 HSMAI & Customer Alliance Guest Experience Award for Restaurants goes to a fine dining experience in Gothenburg. With one Michelin Star to their name, this restaurant has achieved not only an unforgettable guest experience but a culinary one to go with it. With local, seasonal ingredients and an open kitchen, this restaurant brings the food and guests truly together.
Our showcased highly recommended: Mom’s Kitchen
About the highly recommended in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
Our showcased highly commended Restaurant for 2018, is also from here in Stockholm. They have proven that delivering an amazing restaurant experience doesn’t have to involve fine dining and a Michelin star. In fact, sometimes all you need is a warm, home-cooked meal and a friendly face. Having achieved a 94% guest satisfaction rate from over 400 reviews, it seems like that’s just what the people of Sweden are looking for!
Hotels
By far the most competitive category for the awards, it was truly impressive to see the commitment which many of finalists demonstrated towards the guest experience. The hotel industry is one which has long embraced online reviews, and the need to continue the interaction beyond the guest’s stay, and this absolutely shows with on average, a 25% response rate to online feedback amongst all finalists. So it makes sense for us to leave the most competitive category for last.
To establish the finalist, we evaluated hotels of all sizes throughout Sweden. These finalists truly have demonstrated an amazing commitment to the guest experience and to make it to the 10 finalists, is an achievement in itself:
- Clarion Collection Hotel Borgen
- Clarion Hotel & Congress Malmö Live
- Downtown Camper by Scandic
- Gammelgården Hotell
- Hotel Kungsträdgården
- MJ´s (Malmö)
- Hotel Pigalle
- Hotell Hovgård
- Hotell S:T Clemens AB
- Ocean Hotel
The winner in the category Hotels: Hotell S:T Clemens AB
About the winner in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
To be expected, this hotel is one of the top rated location on portals such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Expedia for the island which they are located. With buildings dating back to the 17th century this family operated establishment on Gotland is testament to what dedication and passion can achieve. With over 94% guest satisfaction rating from almost 400 reviews over the past 12 months and taking the time to respond to almost 60% of the feedback left by guests, this hotel has truly gone above and beyond for their guests.
Our showcased highly recommended: Hotel Kungsträdgården
About the highly recommended in this category, Shane Forster from Customer Alliance said:
The showcased highly commended Hotel for 2018, is again from here in Stockholm. An exquisite hotel with each room uniquely designed to capture the essence of the 18th century building. Guests are able to take advantage of the in-house restaurant, wine bar and sauna during their stay. Achieving a 93% guest satisfaction score over the past 12 months, it’s clear to see that guests are always in for a treat.
For more information contact:
Shane Forster, Head of Marketing, Customer Alliance
E-post: shf@customer-alliance.com
