The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the most widely used—and fiercely debated—metrics in business today. There has been a lot of discussion about its effectiveness, and for good reason. Critics argue it can be an oversimplified number that companies chase for bragging rights, often without building the systems to act on the feedback.
The ongoing discussion about NPS is valid because listening is not the same as caring. But what if the problem isn't the NPS question itself, but the philosophy behind its implementation? What if we could use it not just to listen, but to build a culture of caring that drives real, daily improvement?
Amidst the debate, I wanted to share a case where we successfully implemented a simple NPS system in a hotel setting. Here is my story of how our 175-room hotel in Stockholm cut through the noise and used one question to transform our guest experience, unite our team, and ultimately drive our bottom line.
The Challenge: Making Guest Satisfaction Everyone's Job
Like many hotels, we wanted to go beyond simply satisfying guests; we wanted to create genuine advocates. The challenge was translating this ambition into daily action for every employee, from the front desk to housekeeping to maintenance.
We needed a system that was immediate, simple, and empowering. We found it in NPS, but we implemented it in a way that perfectly embodied the system's original intent.
Our Simple, Powerful NPS System: "Big NPS" in Action
Recent research makes a critical distinction between "little nps" (just chasing the score) and "Big NPS" (using the score to fuel a customer-centric culture). Without even knowing it, we built a "Big NPS" system from the ground up. Here's how it worked:
- The Personal Ask: At check-out, as the agent printed the folio, they would say, "While I print your folio, could you please answer this one quick question about your stay?"
- The Card: They handed the guest a small card with the ultimate question: "How likely are you to recommend our hotel to a friend or colleague?" with boxes from 0 to 10. A note invited comments on the back.
- Anonymity is Key: The guest dropped the card into a sealed box. This anonymity was crucial for honest, unfiltered feedback.
Many on the team pushed to automate this process with post-stay emails. We consciously resisted this. We believed—correctly, it turned out—that the personal, face-to-face ask was the key factor in getting feedback. We feared that an automated system would see our response rate plummet.
The results validated this choice. We achieved a consistent response rate of over 70%. Research shows many email NPS campaigns struggle to get even 20-30% response rates, meaning our data was not just plentiful, it was highly representative and trustworthy.
From a Score to a Culture
Every day, our front desk manager spends less than 15 minutes calculating the score by categorizing guests—Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), and Detractors (0-6)—and using the formula:
NPS=%Promoters−%Detractors
Our score hovered between 45 and 50, which is excellent. But the real magic wasn't the number; it was the conversation that followed. The front desk manager announced the score to all staff in the afternoon shift briefing with the question:
"This is how our guests rated us today. What can we do, as a team, to improve their experience and earn a higher score tomorrow?"
The front desk team immediately sent comments about a slow elevator to maintenance. They celebrated notes about a fantastic breakfast item with the kitchen team. This daily ritual powered our success. We didn't just track a metric; we lived the "Big NPS" philosophy of continuous, team-wide improvement.
Beyond the Score: Why NPS is a Strategic Powerhouse for Hotels
Our experience, backed by extensive research, shows that a well-run NPS program offers several strategic advantages.
1. It's an Early Warning System for Your Online Reputation
We quickly saw that our daily NPS was a powerful predictor of our online reviews. A dip in the score was a clear signal that a negative review on TripAdvisor or Google might be coming. A widely cited Cendyn study found a strong correlation (0.913) between a hotel's internal NPS and its public TripAdvisor rating.
2. It Creates a Roadmap for Action by "Closing the Loop"
The true ROI of NPS comes from acting on the feedback. By identifying Detractors, Promoters, and the often-ignored "Passive" guests, you can create a clear action plan to resolve issues, encourage positive reviews, and convert satisfied guests into true fans.
3. It Drives Both Short-Term and Long-Term Profit
Ultimately, guest satisfaction is an economic engine. Our NPS system drove financial success in two distinct ways:
- The Short-Term Impact: Hotel operations live in the present. We need to satisfy our guests today. Our daily NPS system was ideally suited for this pace. After counting the scores, the team could reflect for a moment and find a few concrete ideas on how to improve the guest experience for those checking in the very next day. This immediate feedback loop drove daily operational excellence.
- The Long-Term Compounding Effect: The real financial power came from consistency. Those small, daily improvements compound over time to create a truly excellent and reliable guest experience. When the experience is consistently excellent, it attracts more guests automatically through word-of-mouth, leading to a lower customer acquisition cost. Furthermore, happy guests are more likely to pay a premium rate for a guaranteed great stay and are more inclined to buy more products and services from the hotel, boosting total revenue.
NPS isn't just a satisfaction score; it's a tool that drives both immediate improvements and long-term, sustainable financial success.
Using NPS Wisely: Avoiding the Common Traps
The power of NPS is matched by how easily it can be misused. To get real value, you must avoid these common pitfalls.
- Don't Just Chase the "little nps" Score: As Fred Reichheld, the creator of NPS, warns, many companies "mangle" the system by focusing only on the number. The goal isn't to hit a target; it's to understand the "why" behind the score and improve the underlying experience.
- Never Tie NPS to Individual Compensation: This is the fastest way to destroy the system. It incentivizes "score begging" and data manipulation rather than genuine service improvement. Use NPS as a tool for coaching, not for punishment.
- Recognize Its Limitations (and Embrace Simplicity): A hotel stay is a complex journey. We knew we wanted to go deeper and even played with using different colored cards to distinguish guest segments. But we decided against it because it would complicate the process. We made a conscious choice to prioritize a simple, actionable system over a complex, data-heavy one.
Conclusion
Our hotel's simple system of cards and conversations succeeded because it embraced the "Big NPS" philosophy. It showed us that building guest loyalty requires empowering the entire team to listen and respond every single day, not relying on a spreadsheet.
Every hotel should focus on implementing an easy-to-use system that drives improvement, rather than striving for a perfect, complex one. We achieved this, and it made all the difference.
