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the relationship
Getting to or from a guest room with luggage and without delay
is a crucial element of any hotel or resort experience – and one
that is a reflection of the overall hotel brand impression. Iconic
hotel company Hilton Worldwide has teamed up with KONE in
a strategic partnership that is boosting business for both companies.
TEXT
WIF STENGER
PHOTOS
HILTON
H
ilton’s expectations in
terms of equipment
maintenance are simple,
says
Vicki Perry
of
Hilton Worldwide.
“As long as the elevator is maintained
well enough to prevent safety issues and
gets a guest from point A to B in an ex-
peditious manner, our guests are usually
satisfied. A bad experience in an elevator
is a reflection of the overall hotel experi-
ence,” she says. “This is why a proactive
and consistent maintenance program
is key, so that problems can be avoided
before a guest steps onto an elevator.”
As Hilton’s Global Account Director,
Strategic Account Management, Perry
oversees the strategic partnership with
KONE. The company currently works
with over 400 Hilton Worldwide proper-
ties and franchise owners maintaining
elevators and escalators around the
globe.
“Since working with KONE, the feed-
back from hotels has been very positive.
With a strategic relationship in place, a
corporate person from KONE can help
expedite any local issue that perhaps is
ELEVATING
not getting resolved quickly enough.
That has really been a benefit,” she says.
An essential part of the relationship is
listening to the customer’s needs. This
is reflected, for instance, when mainte-
nance is carried out.
“Hotel elevators are not used as
much between 10 am and 6 pm,”
notes
Brad Fleming
, Director, Strategic
Accounts, KONE Americas. “So you
have a bit more flexibility in maintain-
ing elevators during that downtime.
In some of their full-service and luxury
hotels, Hilton requires that full-time call-
outs be included as part of their main-
tenance contract. So they expect 24/7
response time automatically.”
“The maintenance process can dif-
fer at luxury hotels because of a higher
guest expectation level,” says Perry,
“but also at upscale full-service hotels
with large meeting spaces because of
the need to prevent disruption during
meeting periods.”
“KONE does a great job in communi-
cating with the local hotel management
teams. Their maintenance programs are
flexible and can be specifically tailored
to the hotel requirements.”
“Communication is always the main
ingredient,” agrees Fleming. “Being
flexible and understanding of our cus-
tomer needs has allowed us to become
a Hilton preferred vendor for vertical
transportation equipment and services.”
A VOICE IN THE COMPANY
When the strategic relationship started,
Hilton had already done an extensive
amount of business with KONE and had
an excellent relationship, recalls Perry.
“The benefit to working with a com-
pany strategically is that they have a
voice within Hilton and Hilton gets to
position, within the company’s travel
“KONE DOES A GREAT
JOB COMMUNICATING
WITH LOCAL HOTEL
MANAGEMENT TEAMS.”
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