Hospitality is one of the most guest-centric industries, so hotels and resorts need to be able to reach out to their guests in the best possible way. Not only do they need great communication between hotel staff and guests, but they also need ways of communicating with their guests in advance as well as after they have checked out.
Even the best hotels have room for improvement when it comes to communication with their guests and in many cases, all it takes is going the extra mile to give your customers the excellent service they’re looking for.
As a guide for hoteliers, here are some ways that you can use to improve hotel guest communication and increase loyalty and profitability.
If your guests are dissatisfied with their hotel stay, it’s going to negatively impact your brand’s reputation and sales. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure that guests are well-informed before their arrival, during their stay and even after they’ve left your hotel.
The following 6 tips for hotels can improve guest comunication and increase the guest return rate.
Training your staff on how to better communicate with guests can benefit both the guests and your business. By improving staff communication skills, you can create a more positive experience for guests, which can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.
Additionally, better communication can help reduce complaints and negative reviews. Your staff is the first point of contact for guests, so they must be properly trained to communicate with guests.
By providing training on how to handle guest inquiries, how to deal with difficult situations and how to upsell guest services, you can improve your staff’s ability to communicate effectively with guests. This will in turn lead to happier guests and improved hotel ratings.
A personalized way of communication is quite necessary for improving guest experience. You can do this by including a personalized message when they book, thanking them by name when they check in and addressing them by name throughout their stay. You can also ask about their preferences and tailor your communications accordingly.
Make sure to follow up after their stay to thank them again and invite them back. If you have social media accounts, don’t forget to post about the amazing time they had at your property. Allowing guest to share their experiences is the key to improving word-of-mouth advertising.
They want to be able to tell their friends that they enjoyed their stay and give positive feedback on social media. Nowadays, getting feedback from guests and managing the feedback is quite easy because many hospitality automation solutions provide automated guest feedback management systems that help you do this task easily.
If you want to provide the best possible experience for your guests, it’s important to listen to their feedback. You can learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t by simply listening to what your guests have to say. Here are a few tips on how to effectively listen to feedback from guests:
Invite guests to speak: One of the most powerful ways to get feedback is by simply asking for it. When people don’t feel that they’re being listened to, they often stop sharing any concerns or complaints. So, you must ask them often.
Show an interest in them: Whenever someone shares their thoughts with you, show them that you’re interested in what they have to say. Nod your head while they speak and make eye contact with them as well.
Write down what they say: There’s no such thing as too many notes when gathering information from your guests who offer honest opinions of the hotel stay.
Make sure that your website, booking system and any other channel where guests can learn about your hotel are kept up-to-date. This includes your rates, room types, amenities and anything else that guests might want to know before booking a stay.
If you have listed your hotel on any listing website such as Google My Business, Just Dial etc., you need to update the information there as well. This way, potential guests can see that you’re active and attentive even before they visit your website.
And, send out a monthly e-newsletter to previous guests and subscribers. This is a great way to keep your hotel top-of-mind, share news and updates and build relationships with people who may one day stay with you.
Regular communication with guests is essential for ensuring that their stay is enjoyable and comfortable. By proactively communicating with guests, hoteliers can identify and resolve any potential issues before they become a problem.
Additionally, regular communication shows guests that you care about their experience and are invested in making sure they have a good time. Follow-up conversations should be scheduled at appropriate intervals during the guest’s stay to ask if there is anything else you can do for them or what they enjoyed most about their visit.
If you want to take your hotel business up a notch, you need to start automating your guest communication. By automating, you can take care of the little things that make a big difference to your guests. Automation will also help you keep track of your guests’ preferences and tailor your communications accordingly.
In short, automating your guest communication will help you provide a better experience for your guests and improve your bottom line. The question is not if you should automate, but how. Let’s explore five ways you can use automation in order to boost your hotel revenue.
1. Send a confirmation email with the customer’s booking details and other pertinent information when they book through your website or app.
2. Make sure all their requests are accommodated.
3. Give them reminders about their stay: what they need to do before arriving, transportation options available on site, etc.
4. Automatically send them tips on how to enjoy their stay even more with pictures from around the property or recommended activities nearby.
5. Send them something special like a voucher for breakfast or an offer from one of your partners.
As a hotelier, you should always be looking for ways to improve guest communication. After all, clear and concise communication is key to providing excellent customer service.
By following the tips above, you can start making small changes that will have a big impact on the way you communicate with your guests. Just remember to be patient, stay positive and always be willing to listen.
You will notice an improvement in the quality of communication in no time!