MINI-CASE: RADISSON EXPRESS YOURSELE On September 17, 2004, Scott Heintzeman, chief infor- mation officer of Radisson Hotels and Resorts, announced an industry first: The "Express Yourself" initiative (see Figure 8.1). The cornerstone of this initiative was the abil- ity of reservation-holding Radisson's guests to check into arrival, chose stay preferences (sce Figure 8.3), and print the Check-In Pass (see Figure 8.4). 3. Hand the Check-In Pass and ID to the Express Yourself front desk staff person (using a separate line from regular onsite check-in) when first arriving at the property. the property as early as a week prior to their stay As some competitors were focusing on installing check-in kiosks, marking the third attempt by the indus- try at making kiosks work after failures in the 1980s and 1990s, Radisson decided to differentiate itself by taking a page out of the airlines playbook-24-hour anywhere 4. Receive an envelope with a welcome packet and the room key 5. Go on to their room. 6. If guests had signed up to receive an e-mail of the bill following departure, they could avoid check-out at the hotel. Web-based check in. Describing the rationale for the initiative, Bjorn In order for Radisson to deliver on the promise of the ini- Gullaksen, Carlson Hotels Worldwide executive vice pres- tiative, a number of changes were needed. For example. bold step to transform what consumer research has con- guests who checked in online must be preassigned to sistently shown as the least desirable experience in the rooms, and their key must be made ahead of time and hotel stay-standing in line for a slow check-in or slow placed in the welcome packet. ident and brand leader, explained: "Radisson is taking a check-out" (see Figure 8.2 for the online check-in DIS process). 1. Do you believe that 2.JDo you believe that this initiative has the potential to Radisson Express Yourself is an In order to take advantage of the initiative, Radisson 1. Book a reservation any way they chose (online, 2. Check in online on Radisson.com (see example of an IT-dependent strategic initiative? Explain. guests had to create added value? Substantiate your answer. 3. Do you believe that the Radisson Express Yourself toll-free reservation number, travel agent, or with the hotel directly) initiative improves customer service? How? What would you do next if you were put in charge of the initiative? Figure 8.2) from seven days to six hours before