Omni Hotels Deploys Live Chat Solution for Meeting, Event Planners

Planners looking to hold their events at an Omni Hotels & Resorts property can now communicate more efficiently with hotel sales contacts with the use of LivePerson Enterprise, an online chat solution deployed in April within the meetings and events section of the company’s Web site.

Nearly 50 percent of Omni’s business is derived from its meetings segment, according to the company, which has partnered with LivePerson in order to engage prospective meeting and event clients in real-time and more quickly give personalized assistance during the question-and-answer process typical prior to prospective clients submitting a formal RFP. The company had previously relied on phone calls and e-mail responses for queries.

"We have been using LivePerson throughout other sections of our Web site for some time, achieving amazing results—18 percent conversion rates, 87 percent customer satisfaction scores and an average order value increase of 15 percent," said Kerry Kennedy, vice president of e-commerce for Omni. "Based on these results, we knew chat would prove to be successful for our meetings and events business. Since deploying the solution, we've been able to increase RFPs with the majority of them becoming potential business for the brand."

Results from a chat exit survey show that customers enjoy having the ability to chat and have their questions are answered in real-time, and that customers feel they are able to develop a relationship with their chat agent, building a deeper level of loyalty and trust with the company.