With 2,881 rooms and 4,000 employees, there’s no such thing as a small problem at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Center in Nashville. Plummeting guest satisfaction scores three years ago could have meant disaster today as the industry continues to struggle through its deepest downturn.

When Danny Jones, executive director of business excellence, was hired four years ago, Opryland was at the bottom of the brand in guest satisfaction. The low point came in the third quarter of 2006 when scores fell into the low 40s, well below the competition in any benchmarking comparison. With help from Jones and training consultant FranklinCovey, Opryland’s guest satisfaction scores are now 48 percent higher. Customer loyalty improved 70 percent in three years.

Jones recently took some time to discuss the improvement and how the resort is faring through the downturn.

What does the executive director of business excellence do?

Basically, from a 30,000-foot view, it’s all about guest satisfaction: How do we make all processes work within operations to deliver expectations to each and every guest. The other big part is how do I drive more revenue or how do I get more cost savings into the business.

So how has business been this year?

It started out rocky, kind of mirroring what the economy did. The first quarter of this year got real rough, with groups canceling, lots of attrition. Now we’re well on the way to recovery. Our numbers year over year are off, but it had been gangbusters up to the fourth quarter of last year. We’re starting to feel confident now.

How much of Opryland’s business comes from groups?

Usually between 80-85 percent is from groups, although we kind of flip that during the holiday season when we go 80-85 percent leisure.

How hard has occupancy been hit this year?

Last year we were at 78 percent and this year we’re forecasting to be at 65 percent. The majority of the drop comes from corporations, associations and group business.

How important is the quality of service and guest satisfaction in times like this?

You’ve got to consistently execute with excellence. Right now people are waiting in line to grab your customers if you can’t execute while becoming more efficient at providing world-class service.

How did Opryland turn things around so quickly with guest satisfaction?

We really honed in on FranklinCovey’s Four Disciplines of Execution (focus on the wildly important, act on the lead measures to that, keep a compelling scoreboard and create a cadence of accountability). We had to get 4,000 people on the same page.

How do you do that?

You’ve got to start by focusing on executing the basic stuff. That is the challenge: How do you get 4,000 leaders aligned to what the overall organization is trying to accomplish. We’ve seen incredible leaps and gains in all parts of the business, from housekeeping to front office to food and beverage…everywhere. Seventy-five departments have all measured huge gains. It boiled down to having weekly sessions—no matter where you’re at in the hotel, from a three-person department to a 300-person group—on what they can impact for that week. We had to have those 4,000 people focused on this. The power behind it is in the alignment.

How much have you cut back in staffing this year and have you maintained the guest satisfaction scores despite that?

We’ve lost probably upwards of 10 percent of our staffing at all different levels. We’ve cut back pretty severely. We have less people trying to do more things, but we’ve maintained and continued to rise (in guest satisfaction).