Author
Symmons Industries
Guest satisfaction is vital in the Hospitality industry. Providing the best experience can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth reviews that will increase profits.
However, a guest’s behaviors, preferences, and wants are constantly changing. Understanding what basic amenities that they desire and what little extras will make their stay even more special can help your hotel stay competitive. Here are four creative ways for you to improve your customer’s stay at your establishment.
Personalized Guest Experiences
Providing a personalized experience that focuses strictly on each individual’s needs can increase their satisfaction. Yet it can be a daunting process to implement, especially for large hotel resorts that may accommodate tens and hundreds of guests.
To streamline the process, you should focus on two areas of the guest’s hotel experience: when booking reservations and during their stay. Consider incorporating automated software and solutions to gather important customer data.
Booking Reservations: Nowadays, many guests use technology or online sites to book their stays. At this stage, you can use reservation software solutions to learn more about your guests, understand why they are staying at your hotel, and figure out what activities they would enjoy. Then you can gather the data to provide additional service deals and VIP packages to the right customers.
During the Hotel Stay: Some guests don’t develop any itineraries when they arrive at the hotel. They just basically wing everything about their stay, which can make it difficult to offer additional services or to detect maintenance issues. Certain tools, such as customer relationship management tools (CRM) and building management software, can gather purchase history and track hotel system performance to learn what guests enjoyed during their trip, as well as what could be improved on.
Collect Post-Stay Feedback
Post-stay surveys and feedback emails can help hotels of all sizes. They provide more in-depth information about the core functions of your hotel, the guest’s interactions with staff, the cleanliness of the guest rooms and common areas, and provided services.
Post-stay surveys also provide opportunities to allow guests to air their thoughts and provide information on what can be approved. In addition to using the data to see your hotel’s strengths and weaknesses, you can also provide follow-up customer service to certain guests who have had an unpleasant stay.
Most post-stay feedback forms are sent via email a day or two after the guest checks out. The email can have a link to a hosted survey site where the past guest can simple click on answers and type in longer comments. Survey completion times can range from 2 to 15 minutes. You may consider sending an initial short feedback email requesting basic information and then ask whether the past guest would be willing to participate in a longer survey when they have more time available. This setup increases your chances that the surveys will be completed.
Monitor and Improve Online Reputations
More people are relying on online review sites and hotel social media pages as their way to view how other guests enjoyed or disliked their stays. While many companies choose to ignore bad reviews, this indifference can lead to a damaged brand and reputation.
Responding to negative reviews provides you with the chance to show the hotel company’s personal side. Yet be aware that online conduct should always remain professional. Attacking a customer’s bad review, calling a guest bad names, or dismissing their claims as being illegitimate can lead to other web users to share the online communication exchange far and wide over social media networks. Instead, respond to reviews positively and ask the disgruntled guest if you can speak with them personally over the phone to provide enhanced customer service.
Get the Basics Right the First Time
Sometimes a hotel owner can get so focused on providing a multitude of extra services and amenities that they end up shirking on the basics. You always want to get the standard service offerings as fantastic as possible and then add in the extras as the icing on the cake. Basic services that could need improvement include:
- Free–and working–WiFi is a necessity for regular vacation guests and also for working professionals.
- Working keycards for doors so guests don’t make multiple trips to the front desk to get maintenance personnel.
- Door peepholes that allow for clear and unobstructed views provide added privacy and security for guests.
- Hot water, and plenty of it, for hot showers no matter the time of day, as people can arrive from overnight and late flights.
- Pest-free rooms and comfortable beds without bed bug infestations.
By improving the guest experience, you can continuously meet and exceed guest expectations. Then you can create loyal customers who will return again and again.
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