Clients
LRA works across industry verticals and on projects of various size and scope with one common thread - helping clients deliver exceptional customer experiences.
At LRA, we are very proud of the clients that we have helped. Our client list represents companies and brands large and small, globally-recognized and less well-known, all with one thing in common - the desire to differentiate themselves from the competition based on customer experience. The client relationships described in the following project capsules and case studies run the gamut from full Customer Experience Management engagements to more focused projects utilizing only one of our CEM solutions. Most client engagements come with a good story or two...as well as a satisfied client eager to discuss their LRA experience.
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Interested in learning more about LRA's Customer Experience Management solutions?
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Some of the most buzz-worthy brands in hospitality operate under the Starwood umbrella, and LRA helps ensure the buzz stays worthy, from Boston to Bangkok. The LRA Brand Assurance program makes sure the Sheraton Service Promise is kept, the Westin Heavenly Bed is truly celestial, and that W Hotels truly can deliver Whatever/Whenever. With an active role on each brand's standards committee, LRA ensures that the brands remain cutting edge and the individual properties remain just as sharp.
Ritz-Carlton Club
The name of the game in the luxury vacation ownership business is owner satisfaction and sales, and even a brand with the strength of Ritz-Carlton needs a little bit of extra insight into what elements of the experience drive those two outcomes. Ritz-Carlton Club turned to LRA to help better understand the valued elements of the prospect and owner experience and how those elements translated into happy customers, a steady stream of referral business and bottom-line growth.
The PGA Tour's Tournament Players Clubs
With course supply far out-driving demand, the TPC embarked on a strategy to differentiate its clubs. LRA's research indicated that immaculate greens and ornate clubhouses were a must...but expected, and that service interactions - beginning at the bag drop - were the real drivers of an optimal golf experience. With that information in hand, LRA helped TPC reengineer the service elements of the golf experience, integrate guest/member satisfaction metrics into management compensation scorecards and help each individual course action plan towards increased revenue.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
The LRA - Hyatt relationship operates on several different levels. LRA's Quality Assurance Group conducts Hyatt's QA Mystery Shop program, a comprehensive site visit that scores service and facility elements for multiple brands. LRA's Research Group works with Hyatt on a variety of initiatives, including several high-exposure ad hoc research studies and an ongoing project with Hyatt Vacation Club to measure the efficacy of the sales process. The goal - identify the key drivers of purchase intent in order to convert interest into ownership.
ARAMARK
LRA works with multiple lines of business within the ARAMARK Corporation, a global leader in foodservice and facility management, on a variety of projects, ranging from the development and implementation of hospitality service standards and business processes, to conducting research programs, to the development of complex "Knowledge Base" websites. Within ARAMARK, LRA works with its Stadiums & Arenas, Parks & Resorts, Healthcare, Higher Education, Senior Living, Business Services, Conventions & Cultural Attractions and ARAMARK Harrison Lodging divisions.
Wyndham Worldwide
Wyndham Worldwide has engaged LRA on a number of guest experience initiatives. From the design and development of a customized Quality Assurance program for the namesake brand, to the facilitation of an "experience design" process during the Ramada re-branding, to assisting Super 8 with the creation and communication of operational and service standards, LRA has demonstrated the flexible applications of its CEM Methodology. LRA has even trained Wyndham's internal QA team, developing a well-received training program to teach consistency and objectivity in the field.
International Speedway Corporation
International Speedway Corporation (ISC) owns and operates 13 motorsports entertainment facilities throughout North America - including the iconic Daytona International Speedway, and runs the 19 NASCAR events held at these sites. With competition for the entertainment dollar at an all-time high, ISC worked with LRA to measure the NASCAR race fan experience with a comprehensive post-race survey so as to ensure that fans come back for the next race, tell their friends...and the bleachers remain filled.
Grupo Posadas
Mexico's best-known hotel company was struggling with inconsistent service delivery across 80-plus properties and five brands. LRA developed a Mystery Shopping program to address the issue, but quickly realized that the deficiencies were primarily a result of inconsistent expectations. Working with the Posadas team, LRA helped overhaul Posadas' standards to create a guest experience "playbook." The result - "Prometeo," which consistently communicates expectations for guest service and turns mystery shopping data into immediate action-planning for improvement.
Station Casinos
With an increased emphasis on the lodging experience in Las Vegas, Station Casinos was interested in measuring the guest experience at its varied portfolio of hotel-casino properties in the Las Vegas market. LRA created an online system that generated a guest survey invitation upon checkout, allowing Station to gather immediate operational feedback to property-level operators and high-level oversight to corporate officers via a dynamic executive dashboard. LRA's advanced analysis provides longer-term strategic guidance, keeping heads in beds and the jackpots ringing.
Shell Vacations Club
Shell, one of the leaders in the timeshare industry, felt the need to take a deep dive into the prospect sales experience to identify what elements of that experience motivate prospects to purchase...and how effectively are their sales offices executing on those needs. LRA designed a dual-mode research project, conducting a prospect study on the sales experience to identify the key drivers of purchase, and then deploying a mystery shopping program to the field to measure execution and help action plan for improvement.
Intercontinental Hotels Group
The relaunch of a brand is enough to keep even the most confident hotel executive up at night - when the brand is an industry icon such as Holiday Inn, the process calls for an extra layer of assurance to make certain the new brand is performing on all cylinders. IHG turned to LRA to provide a comprehensive brand evaluation program for all Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties in the EMEA and AP regions; the results were so powerful that this one-time initiative transformed into an ongoing program for all IHG brands in EMEA.
Stowe Mountain Resort
With a $100 million capital improvement campaign yielding a new base area and five-star resort hotel, Stowe is transforming its business from a "ski mountain" to a full-service "resort." Stowe realized that a transformation of that nature doesn't occur with the facilities alone - it requires a shift in the service culture and orientation of the organization. LRA is working with Stowe to measure the Stowe guest experience and employee engagement, and use the related analysis to ensure that this ongoing transformation is a smooth ride, for clientele old and new.
Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts
When Sol Meliá, the twelfth largest hotel chain in the world, announced a strategic plan centered around "enhancing the value of its brands [and] repositioning the brands on a higher level," they recognized that defining the internal brands would be as important as marketing externally. Meliá contacted LRA to run six distinct "brand boot camps" for each of the company's hotel brands, where the desired brand image was translated into a distinct service philosophy and brand and operational standards - the foundational elements of a distinct, differentiated and branded guest experience.
Toll Brothers, Inc.
When the nation's leading builder of luxury homes wanted to ensure that the "Member Experience" associated with the private golf clubs in their Country Club Division, they turned to LRA for assistance. Home buyers in these high-end master-planned communities were promised a spectacular "living" experience and LRA designed a two-pronged approach involving members surveys and quality assurance evaluations to ensure that Toll was delivering, from tee to green...and beyond!
VIA Rail Canada
VIA Rail, which operates the Canadian national passenger rail service, was seeking a way to provide an enhanced passenger experience based on the brand promise of a "more human way to travel." LRA developed an enterprise-wide initiative focused on creating "customer intimacy," working with VIA Rail managers on skill development in the areas of modeling, promoting and coaching a high-end, high-touch service experience. At the end of the day, travel is about more than keeping the trains running on time - it's about connecting with your passengers on a personal level!
Foxwoods Resort Casino
With the development of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Foxwoods Resort Casino has been in pedal-to-the-metal growth mode. Thus the need to thoroughly capture "voice of guest" feedback to ensure that the top-notch Foxwoods guest experience was being delivered consistently across a rapidly-growing enterprise. LRA designed and launched a post-visit online survey instrument that provides both immediate guest feedback and a long-term blueprint for the optimal guest experience, allowing Foxwoods to focus on the jackpot - satisfied guests and continued growth.
Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos
What do you do when you have one of the world's strongest, most recognizable brands...and in order to realize your growth objectives, you have to loosen your grip a little? You turn to LRA to help manage the growth by creating a comprehensive set of operational and service standards that capture the Hard Rock "vibe" and ensure that each new property is infused with the proper rock 'n' roll spirit that is a pillar of the brand. The result - each new Hard Rock that comes online in the future, from Madrid to Manhattan, is....Hard Rock, through and through.
Albertsons
Albertsons, the nation's #3 supermarket chain, had been succumbing to the "Flavor of the Month" phenomenon - a new "brand promise," advertising campaign and training program with each new leadership team. Its performance in industry customer satisfaction scores reflected the fragmented message. LRA helped Albertsons align and communicate a consistent, simple service philosophy (GOT - Greet, Offer, Thank) and the related training to more than 200,000 employees, showing Albertsons that it has "GOT" to be easy!
Choice Hotels
Faced with dipping guest satisfaction scores and seeking to elevate the public perception of its brands, Choice Hotels turned to LRA to implement a Quality Assurance program to reinforce its brand standards. Today, LRA consults with more than 6,500 properties representing seven different brands throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, providing Choice's corporate team with a consistent measure of franchise performance and each property with a blueprint for improvement.
Delaware North Companies
With holdings ranging from the Ahwahnee Lodge at Yosemite to the Boston Bruins, DNC remained largely anonymous to the general public despite being one of the world's largest food service & facility management companies. When DNC approached an ad agency about elevating its brand profile, they were advised to improve the DNC guest experience first. LRA helped develop, implement and now measure "GuestPath," DNC's branded service philosophy and delivery program that guides every guest interaction, from LAX to the moon...or at least the Kennedy Space Center.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
For the first time in the history of the Indianapolis 500, ticket renewals weren't automatic. To make matters worse, some of the defections were in newly renovated corporate hospitality areas, where elevated ticket prices came with elevated expectations. LRA developed a research program for the hospitality area patrons, as well as a follow-up study focused on regular fans identified as "lost customers." The resulting analysis provided IMS with a blueprint to address customer concerns, improve the experience and keep the grandstands packed with race fans.
Live Nation
Declining concert attendance and the proliferation of competition for the entertainment dollar were just a few of the issues facing Live Nation when they turned to LRA. Instead of 40-plus outdoor amphitheatres doing their own thing, LRA created a set of universal service standards and expectations branded "SHOWTIME" and trained seasonal personnel at regional locations throughout the country. With a robust guest satisfaction and loyalty tracking program in place, Live Nation is positioned to make sweet music for live music lovers across the nation.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The PANYNJ, which oversees LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports, was faced with the realization that travelers really had a choice - i.e., regional airports and Southwest. In response, the PANYNJ set about engineering a more pleasant travel experience and employed LRA to help design that experience - from the vendors to the gate agents - as well as measure its delivery via a mystery shopping program. Though preconceived notions are hard to change, travelers are voting with their feet and their votes. Both travel volume and traveler satisfaction scores are on the rise.
Read the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Case Study
Signature Flight Support
As the world's largest network of Fixed Base Operations (FBOs), Signature Flight Support operates 75-plus locations dedicated to fueling and servicing private and/or corporate aircraft. Their challenge - how do you provide a value-add for clients for what is essentially...a gas station? LRA's continuous customer satisfaction and loyalty research program helps answer that question for Signature, allowing its operators to nimbly respond to pilot needs and wants and gain further insight into the elements of its service offerings that drive satisfaction, loyalty...and constant refueling!
Troon Golf
As the industry leader in upscale golf course management, Troon manages more than 185 courses from offices located in Scottsdale, Tokyo, Brisbane, Lugano and Dubai. The geographic spread and a brand promise ensuring an exceptional golf experience presented a unique challenge to Troon corporate leaders - they couldn't just show up at the club around the corner to ensure all was in order. Serving as a corporate proxy, LRA's quality assurance consultants visit Troon courses globally to ensure that the experience delivered matches the extraordinary one promised.
WCI Communities
Luxury homebuilder WCI invested a great deal of time and money in re-branding around the "lifestyle" provided by a WCI home. The company quickly realized, however, that the "internal brand" - i.e., the infrastructure and training required to fulfill that expectation of "lifestyle" - needed the same care and attention. LRA worked with WCI to develop that internal brand and the optimal customer experience - from the first sales call to the first tee - and how to implement and measure it across 35-plus communities to ensure the "lifestyle" is being delivered, each and every day.
First Niagra Financial Group
In 135 years of operation, First Niagara was known for customer service within its home region of Buffalo, NY. As the bank's footprint grew, leadership wanted to ensure that the service culture inherent in the brand's legacy remained relevant and meaningful across the expanding geography where First Niagara services its customers today. LRA worked with First Niagara to define its internal brand message around a distinct service culture and philosophy, and created training and coaching tools to perpetuate the First Niagara experience, from Niagara Falls to Saratoga Springs.
Dover Downs
As one of the major employers in Dover, DE, the hotel-casino-racetrack complex was troubled by high employee turnover and the negative impact it was having on its reputation as an employer. LRA designed and implemented an online employee engagement study. The analysis of the key drivers of employee engagement and Dover's rapid response to employee needs stood in stark contrast to past efforts and yielded in immediate jackpot - decreased turnover, the related decrease in recruiting, hiring and training costs and a restored image as an employer of choice.
Net Jets
NetJets pioneered the concept of fractional jet ownership, becoming the first company to offer consumers a "share" in a private jet, creating a business model so appealing that legendary investor Warren Buffet purchased NetJets in 1998. With explosive growth and a high-end consumer, however, came the challenge of being able to provide the same personalized and attentive service that had earned NetJets its reputation for excellence as a smaller enterprise. LRA worked with NetJets to further define and refine that service experience, creating standards and training to drive the desired customer outcomes that would effectively scale for a fleet of six planes...or six hundred.
Lifepath Hospice
As a leading provider of hospice care in Florida, Lifepath knows a thing or two about clinical prowess. As the company expanded, however, leadership wanted to be sure that they continued to excel in what they called "the art of hospice" - i.e., making patients and their family members feel cared for. LRA worked with Lifepath on a full organizational assessment to identify how they were meeting the needs of all of the company stakeholders - doctors, hospitals, employees, patients and their families - to ensure that the concept of "care" remains in the forefront of everything they do.
Churchill Downs Incorporated
The iconic home of the Kentucky Derby felt the need to elevate its customer experience on two fronts. For one, renovations at the namesake track created some big-ticket premium seating areas and the accompanying big-ticket customer expectations. Secondly, the company had acquired a number of additional high-profile racetracks...but didn't know how to create a branded "Churchill Downs" customer experience. LRA helped CDI facilitate the creation of the "Aspire" Guest Service model, implemented the related training across the enterprise, and runs an ongoing mystery shopping program to measure compliance.
