Services Provided: Pre-opening logistics, critical path support, guest-facing content, amenity selection, training program development and implementation, hiring support, service guide creation, music curation, in-room technology design, SOP development
Engagement Length: 18 months
What started as simple training support for Highgate Hotel’s newest luxury property, The Knickerbocker Hotelin New York City, ended up becoming a long-term project focused on multiple areas of both the employee and guest experience.
As hotel openings can sometimes be the most confusing and stressful time for the first wave of staff, we made sure their on-boarding experience was filled with exciting programming and deeper involvement in pre-opening tasks. The program we designed went beyond basic technical training to include a strong focus on a culture of service. We curated a team of amazing thought leaders to produce a training program that included:
-Intuitive service sessions to help colleagues truly anticipate guest needs and connect with their experience on a much deeper level.
-Storytelling workshops to ensure that all employees could articulate the rich history of the hotel as well as give relevant concierge recommendations in a story-like way.
-Training from renowned communications strategist, Richard Greene, to ensure the Sales team's own marketing language matched the actual guest experience.
This innovative approach manifested itself in the guest experience as well. Urchin Workshop brought the narrative together curating the musical styling of the hotel’s public spaces, amenity selection and creating content for in-room guest tablets.