5 tips to turn satisfied guests into loyal guests

Improve your customer experience using post-stay feedback

Your guests’ reviews are crucial for getting feedback on how their stay went. These comments will help you to improve your offers and services as well as the experience your hotel provides. In addition, when guests feel heard and that their needs are taken into consideration, they will enjoy their stay even more and will not hesitate to return to your hotel. 

In order to collect comments and feedback from your customers, you can for example insert a link to your TripAdvisor page in your personalized post-stay email. You can also encourage your customers to share their experience on various social platforms.

Make good use of digital marketing

Digital marketing is beneficial to collect your customers’ opinions, but also to keep in touch with them after their stay, either through social media or using newsletters. This way, your customers continue to think about you, even after their stay, and recall memories of their stay. They will want to relive their experience by visiting you again. 

However, make sure your communications remain relevant and are not sent too frequently to avoid your customers getting tired of you. Otherwise, they may unsubscribe altogether from your communications.

Collaborate with local businesses

Once customers are interested in your unique packages, promote partnerships with local and environmentally friendly businesses. 

As with many travelers, discovering the region in an environmentally friendly manner is important, and can even be the main goal of their getaway. Partnering with a local outdoor business to offer discounts could be beneficial to both parties. Knowing that your hotel promotes buying and consuming locally will attract your visitors and when they want to come back to the region, they will not hesitate to come back and proudly contribute to the local economy.

Personalize your offers and services

Thanks to your customers’ comments and post-stay survey responses, you have a better idea of their needs and wishes for their next stay. This information can be a source of inspiration to better differentiate your packages. 

Don’t hesitate to use your database to personalize these packages ideas and adapt them according to your clients’ interests and characteristics.

For example, local businesses will appreciate if you have a flexible package catering to their business meetings’ needs, whether it’s a special dining room menu or a promotional rate for your conference room. By offering this flexibility and meeting their specific needs, they will be more inclined to make your hotel their reference in the region.

Create a loyalty program

Few travelers turn down an opportunity for discounts or additional services during their stay. Indeed, if a customer is forced to choose between two nearby establishments, the possibility of becoming a member of a loyalty program at one of them can be a decisive factor. 

There are several types of loyalty programs, and the which one you want to implement depends on your clientele, but also on your objectives. Your customers can have access to exclusive offers, additional services such as a complimentary parking or late arrivals, or receive points according to the amount spent or the number of reservations made. 

It may also be appropriate to reward your customers when they help you improve your customer experience, such as writing online reviews.

A loyal customer represents a great business opportunity for your hotel and can be a true ambassador for your hotel. There are many ways to build customer loyalty and encourage your guests to come back again and again, whether it’s through customer feedback, using appropriate marketing strategies, personalizing your offers and services, collaborating with local businesses or offering a loyalty program. However, each of these tricks requires knowledge of your customers, which is why it is paramount to have an efficient and effective PMS.