Eric Trump Says There’s No Fooling the Customer

If there’s one thing Eric Trump learned while renovating and transforming the legendary Trump National Doral Miami golf resort, it’s that technology is key a component of customer service.

With the ubiquity of mobile computing, hotels and resorts must build systems that provide customer service anytime, anywhere.

“It doesn’t matter how good your physical asset is; if you don’t have that kind of service, you really have nothing,” Trump said. “It’s being able to throw the best events where your lighting control systems are in a central hub that can be controlled by any means of iPad, iPhone.”

Another key solution IT offers its guests is the power of personalization. With technology, there’s no reason a hotel can’t recall information from your last visit, such as your favorite wine.

Trump gave the example of a friend of his who stayed at one of the Trump family’s hotels in Las Vegas and forgot her curling iron, so she called the front desk and asked for one. When she checked into another Trump hotel in Chicago a year later, she found a note from the general manager that said: “I remember last time you stayed in Las Vegas, you forgot your curling iron — compliments of the Trump Family.”

This kind of personalization and customer relationship management is what sweeps guests off their feet. And Trump believes investing in such detailed experiences is critical in an environment where hotel guests carry so much power, since they can spread the word about bad experiences on review sites like Yelp or on social media.

“We always have to be perfect. There’s no more fooling the customer,” Trump said.

Watch Trump speak about technology and the hospitality industry in his session in CDW's Bring IT On Technology Leadership Series.

For more insights and ideas from leaders in technology, check out the rest of the Bring IT On Leadership Series.