Recast: Building relationships through reservations: Insights from The Broadmoor

In this recast episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens, CMO of Revinate, sits down with Sarah Stephens, Room Reservations Manager at The Broadmoor Hotel, the world's longest-running Forbes Five-Star property. Managing a team of up to 15 reservation agents at the 65-year Five-Star resort in Colorado Springs, Sarah brings 14 years of leadership experience shaping the guest journey long before arrival.

What you'll learn:
● The voice channel advantage: Why phone conversations enable special touches and memory-making moments that email and online bookings cannot replicate, illustrated through heartwarming guest stories
● Technology evolution in reservations: How Sarah's team transitioned from manual Excel tracking to real-time dashboards that empower agents to see their impact on revenue and conversions
● Training for five-star service: The month-long training process that includes dining experiences and property tours to ensure agents authentically share The Broadmoor's offerings
● Outbound call strategy success: How Sarah's team generates nearly $1 million in revenue over three months through strategic follow-up calls, turning conversations into bookings
● Listening as a superpower: Real examples of how agents pick up on guest comments (like Doritos or Melissa Manchester) and create personalized surprises that cost little but mean everything
● Quality assurance practices: How self-scoring, monthly coaching sessions, and call reviews maintain Forbes Five-Star standards while building team accountability
● AI and luxury hospitality: Sarah's perspective on why five-star properties may be among the last to fully embrace AI due to the irreplaceable value of human connection
● Career inspiration: Sarah's journey from a family Disney trip to studying in Croatia, discovering The Broadmoor, and building a 19-year career in luxury hospitality

Sarah also discusses The Broadmoor's 65-year Forbes Five-Star history, training agents to upsell ancillary services authentically, and why service excellence will remain the competitive differentiator as guests become increasingly price-conscious.

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[02:42] Uncovering guest preferences - Maintaining a 65-year Forbes Five-Star rating requires reservation agents to tune into every conversation for subtle details that elevate the stay. "Something that we always have top of mind are guest interactions. How can we make it special for our guests? What little clues can we pick up on that they're sharing with us in the calls to go above and beyond for our guests?"

[07:18] Empowering agents with data - Giving reservation agents real-time visibility into their call metrics and revenue generation builds genuine team investment. "The buy-in from that really allows a team to feel like they're a part of something, they're actually making a difference. And prior to that, they just came in and took calls, and they never had any knowledge of who or what they were really doing at the end of their shifts."

[11:26] Authenticity over digital booking - Taking agents to dine at resort restaurants enables them to describe property amenities with firsthand enthusiasm. "You're getting a special experience by talking to an agent versus going online or doing it via email, where those additional little things may be left out."

[16:39] Turning unbooked calls into revenue - Following up with callers who did not commit on the initial inquiry turns missed opportunities into substantial commission-free revenue. "It's been a huge tool that's really come back tenfold, and I think in the last three months we were almost close to a million dollars in revenue just in outbound with the team and them making those calls following up."

[21:30] Service as the primary growth driver - Personalization remains the single most powerful factor in guest retention for luxury properties. "Service is going to be the way forward, and if you want to be the best, you have to have that personalized service with each and every guest."

00:00 - Intro

00:01:46 - Maintaining a 65-year Five-Star legacy

00:06:27 - Evolving reservations from spreadsheets to live data

00:08:06 - Turning phone conversations into memorable guest touches

00:13:23 - Coaching reservation agents with call self-scoring

00:15:10 - Generating $1M in outbound call revenue

00:20:39 - The future of service-driven hotel reservations