Laura Yee Kui Choi

The importance of client communication and how to improve it

Posted on 12 August 202212 August 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

L'importance de travailler vos communications clients

The booking confirmation email

The booking confirmation is the first communication your client will receive. In addition to reassuring the guest that the booking has been made, it allows them to check all of their stay’s details. The booking confirmation should therefore contain information such as: dates of stay, room rates and/or package chosen, number of people, type of room as well as all policies regarding the cancellation or modification of the reservation. The guest can refer to this email whenever they want to verify any information. Given this is the only information the customer can refer to while waiting for their stay, this email could also contain information regarding arrival times and check-in procedures (if your hotel has them). It can includes self-service kiosk check-in, or any other method allowing the customer to check-in more easily. The first communication highlights the services available in your hotel. Even though the customer has chosen to stay in your hotel, they may not be aware of all the different possibilities offered on site and thus the booking confirmation allows them to explore these and plan their future stay even further.

The booking reminder email

The booking reminder email is a communication sent to the guest a few weeks, days or hours before their stay. This communication will remind the guest that their stay is coming up and will also remind them of the cancellation policy. Indeed, the earlier the customer cancels, the easier it will be for you to re-let the room. This communication can also be used to give them information which will simplify their arrival, such as online check-in, pre-check-in, quick check-in lines at your front desk or any other services which could prevent them from waiting. With this email, you will be able to help your client plan their stay by sending them links or information necessary to book additional services offered at your hotel. For example, you

can include the restaurant menu, the spa treatments, the seasonal activities currently being offered, as well as any links for online reservations or procedures to make a reservation. Moreover, this email could contain the local attractions that you wish to promote and, if applicable, the necessary information to make reservations. Finally, since the customer is preparing for their trip, this communication should contain a link allowing them to program their GPS via their cell phone. You can also share useful information on how to get to your hotel and suggest a list of items your clients should bring such as a swimsuit and sandals if you have a pool.

The thank you email

The thank you email is sent after the customer’s stay. It essentially includes a few words to thank the customer for choosing your hotel. It can also contain several important elements that will allow you to receive feedback but also build customer loyalty. The thank you email could include a satisfaction survey which, if connected to online review platforms, can allow you to act on your e-reputation. In any case, a satisfaction survey will allow your customers to give positive feedback but also to share any negative experiences. If the feedback you send following their negative comment is adequate, it may prevent them from writing their comments directly on online review platforms. It’s also an opportunity to build customer loyalty, by offering them an offer for a future stay or promoting future opportunities to stay in your hotel.

The invoice

In addition to being environmentally friendly, sending the invoice by email will simplify your front desk’s operations since you will no longer have to print clients’ invoices and wait for the printer to deliver the document. Therefore, you should encourage receptionists to send the invoice by email and make this communication as pleasant as possible so that the guest remembers that receiving an invoice from your hotel is an experience in itself. Don’t forget to include a thank you note and a way to contact you may they have any questions.

The cancellation confirmation email

This communication might seem unnecessary and yet it remains an essential communication since a customer who cancels their stay should be perceived as a missed opportunity which may come up again soon. Therefore, it is important to emphasize to your client your disappointment of not being able to receive them but also to include all possible means to contact you in order to resume a reservation. This can be a phone number, the link to your online reservations or your front desk’s email.

Your Property Management Software can also send other communications such as a rental contract, a notice of a deposit charge, etc. Each communication should be personalized, polished and carefully thought out so that the guest perceives the quality of your hotel together with the support and help that you offer them to make their stay unforgettable.

How to promote your hotel on Instagram

Posted on 18 March 202218 March 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

Make publications regularly

Most importantly, keep in mind that your publications are a sales pitch. They must reflect the image that you want to convey about your property and they must help you stand out. Using photos or videos, you should highlight your hotel as well as its infrastructures. These can include your restaurant, your pool or your spa.
Instagram publications allow you to reach a wide audience thus it is important to take care of the text that accompanies your photos or videos. This text must be clear, valorizing and of course without spelling mistakes. The content published must be in accordance with your brand image but also with your audience if you want to create interaction. Publishing regularly will also help you to develop your reputation and create a sense of belonging among your subscribers.

Post interactive stories

Many properties use Instagram stories to interact with their audience. These are temporary, last a maximum of 15 seconds and are visible only 24 hours. Stories are a great way for your followers to get to know you better but also for you to learn more about them. For example, you can ask questions to your audience, make a survey, broadcast a live, make room tours, promote your activities and packages, conduct interviews with your employees and much more. All means are good to promote your hotel in an original and authentic way while sharing positive emotions that create a relationship of trust with your followers. Also, using storytelling rather than purely advertising arguments will allow you to multiply the digital word of mouth effect around your brand but also to reinforce the feeling of belonging in your community through multiple interactions.

Use content generated by your own customers

There is nothing more authentic than content generated by your own guests! By definition, user-generated content includes all the content created by Internet users for free and which is community-oriented. These can be photos, videos, reviews or stories.Therefore, this marketing strategy can only be beneficial for you. It is free and allows you to generate interest around your brand while strengthening trust and the feeling of belonging with your customers. Nevertheless, don’t forget to ask your guests if you can re-share their content and make sure that the content published about your hotel has a positive effect on your brand image.

Add hashtags to your posts

Hashtags are keywords that allow your content to be found quickly in the Instagram search bar. These should be short, concise and relevant. Creating your own hashtags will further encourage your customers to use them in their posts or stories and help you build your e-reputation. Also, it is proven that posts with hashtags generate much more engagement than posts without hashtags. In addition to gaining visibility, you gain subscribers and attract potential customers.

Create your Instagram store

It is proven that 8 out of 10 users follow their favorite brand’s Instagram account and 80% of followers use this social network to learn about various products or services. Therefore, creating your Instagram store will allow you to promote your packages, activities and gift vouchers and therefore increase your related sales.

Organize contests and collaborations

Partnering with an influencer or a local company for a contest or collaboration could help you gain visibility and increase your number of followers. An influencer is a person with a large number of followers who creates and spreads content on their social networks. For example, they can share photos, videos, stories of their stay at a resort and may also give advice or talk about their experience in order to make their followers want to live the same experience. However, most of the giveaways and collaborations are not free, so it’s important to choose who you want to collaborate with. Make sure that there is a coherence between the influencer or company you partner with and your brand identity and values. Their published content should align with your audience’s interests.

Set up campaigns on Instagram

Finally, setting up campaigns on Instagram is a costly but effective strategy if it is adequately done.

Initially, you should define the main objectives of your web campaign (gain visibility, increase traffic on your website, increase sales) and the audience you are targeting by filtering by location, gender, age and activities.

Then, you have to choose the right visual, the right content and the right redirection link in order to make the users want to click on your campaign’s call-to-action button. Finally, don’t forget to measure the results of your campaign by relying on performance indicators such as the number of views, the click rate, the conversion rate and the number of sales. From these, you will be able to see what was effective and what could be improved for future campaigns.

Instagram has become an important and strategic platform for hoteliers to promote their establishment and services.

With the competition on Instagram being very tough, your goal is to go beyond simply promoting your hotel. You need to showcase your brand and differentiate yourself while ensuring the image you are conveying aligns with your hotel’s identity.

Everything you need to know about referencing marketing: SEO, SEA, SMO, SEM

Posted on 28 July 202129 August 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

marketing-referencement — Everything you need to know about referencing marketing: SEO, SEA, SMO, SEM

This digital marketing strategy is undeniably beneficial for your property since it will allow you to appear in the first results of a search engine and thus bring back traffic on your website and increase the number of online bookings.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization

You have probably heard your marketing team or your marketing agency talk about SEO at some point! Also called natural referencing, SEO is carried out using the algorithms of the different search engines. These algorithms rank the search results according to their relevance but also according to various positioning criteria.

It is therefore necessary to use relevant keywords related to your property type and the services you offer, to structure the published content and ensure its quality, to use hashtags, relevant meta descriptions and external links to optimize your website as much as possible.

Although SEO is a free or low-cost strategy, it requires continuous efforts and time to achieve significant results in terms of online visibility.

SEA: Search Engine Advertising

SEA, also known as paid or sponsored referencing, consists of bidding on a particular keyword and paying for it on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. Thus, you can create your campaigns and advertisements whether it is for the promotion of a special offer or one of your hotel’s activities and appear among the first results of a search engine such as Google.

Sponsored campaigns are an excellent way to gain visibility, increase your website’s traffic and conversion rate rather quickly but can be quite expensive.

In the hospitality industry, these keywords are often used by the big players in the industry such as Booking.com or Expedia, which are partly responsible for your own marketing. It will therefore be wise to target keywords that are not used by these big players in order to position yourself strategically on less expensive but still relevant keywords.

SMO: Social Media Optimization

SMO is a set of strategies and actions that aim to optimize the online visibility of a property, particularly through social media. Social media, being widely used by all, is an essential tool to improve your positioning in search engine results and your online visibility. Improving the referencing of videos published on Youtube, creating authentic content dedicated to Facebook and Instagram, and using popular hotel keywords and hashtags are examples of strategies that can be implemented to optimize your social media. Also, inviting as many people as possible to follow you on social media and share content about their experience at your hotel can only be beneficial. Keep in mind that you will also have some form of control over what you want to share on your social media platforms.

SEM: Search Engine Marketing = SEO+SEA+SMO

SEM simply represents all the strategies of natural referencing, paid referencing and social media optimization used in order to generate qualified traffic on your hotel’s website and potentially increase your online reservations.

Digital marketing has never been so paramount for any property wishing to improve its online visibility, especially on search engines. Thus, it is essential to have a solid SEO marketing strategy in order to be present in the first results of a search engine, but also to increase the traffic on your property’s website and to convert simple Internet users into future guests.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that referencing marketing is a short to long term strategy, which requires recurrent and productive work!

Millennials, the generation most ready to book their next vacation trip

Posted on 21 May 202121 November 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

Celle-ci est représentée par des individus connectés, passionnés de voyages et surtout de véritables consommateurs d’expériences personnalisées, uniques et mémorables.

L’expérience offerte par l’établissement hôtelier devient l’un des arguments les plus importants pour réussir à les convaincre de réserver un séjour. En plus de cela, il est prouvé que 70% d’entre eux préfèrent investir dans des expériences plutôt que dans l’achat de biens matériels.

Bien que les mois à venir soient encore incertains, les Milléniaux continuent de s’informer et de s’inspirer pour leurs prochains voyages. Ils restent tout de même enclins aux voyages organisés à la dernière minute. Cette génération de voyageurs rêve de pouvoir découvrir de nouvelles destinations et vivre de nouvelles expériences mais à quelques conditions près.

Voyager en toute sécurité

Friands de voyages et d’expériences, les Milléniaux sont à la recherche d’authenticité mais aussi de sécurité. Le respect de la distanciation sociale et la mise en place de mesures d’hygiène sont de mise afin de les rassurer et de les aider à se sentir confortables tout au long de leur séjour. Nombreux sont les hôtels qui ont décidé d’innover et d’opter pour des solutions en ligne et sans contact depuis la réservation jusqu’au check-in. Étant adeptes des nouvelles technologies, ces solutions sont très pratiques et permettent de perfectionner leur expérience de séjour.

Privilégier le staycation et les établissements éco-responsables

La tendance Staycation influence les habitudes des voyageurs. N’aimant pas perdre une minute de leur temps, certains d’entre eux privilégient les séjours nécessitant peu de déplacements et favorisant la découverte de leur propre pays plutôt que les voyages à l’étranger. Cela leur permet également de profiter d’offres moins chères et d’encourager le tourisme local. Les Milléniaux se sentent très concernés par les problématiques environnementales de notre société actuelle et sont prêts à s’adapter et à privilégier un séjour au sein d’un hôtel éco-responsable.

Choisir des expériences connectées mais pas trop

Bien que les Milléniaux soient en permanence connectés et adeptes des nouvelles technologies, ceux-ci souhaitent sortir de leur quotidien actuel et ressentent le besoin de s’évader et de faire des activités extérieures. Bien entendu, cela ne les empêchera pas d’utiliser leur téléphone mobile pour immortaliser leurs expériences et les partager sur les réseaux sociaux.

Les Milléniaux sont de véritables voyageurs autonomes. Ils aiment avoir le contrôle, prendre leurs propres décisions lors de leur expérience de voyage mais préfèrent tout de même être certains d’avoir une assistance personnalisée si nécessaire.

Nombreux sont les voyageurs de la génération des Milléniaux à vouloir voyager de nouveau. Ceux-ci souhaitent pouvoir se relaxer loin de leur quotidien stressant et sont impatients de pouvoir vivre de nouvelles expériences en toute sécurité.

Une question se pose alors, comment concilier une expérience de séjour mémorable et les contraintes de la crise sanitaire actuelle?

How to encourage guests to return to your property?

Posted on 5 May 202129 August 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

Les premières impressions positives

Il est important que les premières impressions de vos clients soient positives. Que ce soit au début du parcours client lorsque celui-ci visite le site web de votre hôtel, lorsqu’il valide sa réservation via votre moteur de réservation en ligne, lorsqu’il reçoit un email de confirmation de réservation personnalisé ou bien une fois arrivé à l’hôtel lorsqu’il échange avec votre personnel de la réception ou qu’il découvre une petite attention personnalisée dans sa chambre. Tous ces points de contact reflètent le professionnalisme et l’authenticité de votre établissement hôtelier. Ces points de contacts sont aussi votre vitrine en ligne, que ce soit le moteur de réservation en ligne qui doit avoir une usage facile et une présentation soignée mais aussi votre PMS (Property management software) qui va se charger de l’envoi des courriels et permettre à votre personnel de répondre rapidement à vos clients lors des différentes interactions.

Pourquoi ces premières impressions sont-elles si importantes? Tout simplement parce que ce sont des moments qui marquent vos clients mais aussi une opportunité pour vous de créer le fameux effet “wow”. Ainsi, leurs premières impressions peuvent être décisives et pourraient les convaincre de revenir séjourner chez vous.

Les procédures de réservation simples et rapides

Avec l’essor du digital, les voyageurs sont de plus en plus nombreux à réserver leurs séjours en ligne. Ainsi, le processus de réservation en ligne de votre hôtel est un élément déterminant et il devient alors important de le rendre le plus simple, rapide et intuitif possible si vous souhaitez que vos clients renouvellent leur expérience. À l’inverse, si vos procédures de réservation sont trop complexes et longues, cela pourrait frustrer vos clients, les décourager à réserver leurs séjours et potentiellement les convaincre d’utiliser les plateformes OTA pour réserver leurs séjours chez vos concurrents.

De ce fait, optimiser votre moteur de réservation en ligne vous permettra de simplifier la réservation des voyageurs et que ceux-ci passent par le moins d’étapes possibles. De plus, connecter votre booking engine à votre logiciel de gestion hôtelière vous aidera à automatiser de nombreuses tâches comme la gestion des disponibilités, stocks, réservations et à procéder au paiement en ligne. Les voyageurs auront donc la possibilité de voir en temps réel les hébergements disponibles et leurs tarifs. Aussi, ceux-ci pourront enregistrer leurs informations personnelles, ce qui facilitera leurs prochaines réservations et rendra le processus de réservation encore plus rapide.

Pour finir, assurez-vous d’avoir un service à la clientèle réactif, qui répond aux appels et courriels de vos clients et qui reste disponible pour répondre à leurs questions.

L’expérience offerte et la relation avec vos clients

L’expérience client représente toutes les interactions entre vos clients et votre hôtel, que ce soit avant, pendant ou après leurs séjours. L’objectif de tout établissement hôtelier est donc d’offrir une expérience mémorable à ses clients, mais comment y arriver?

Tout d’abord, votre expérience doit être centrée sur vos clients, ceux-ci doivent se sentir uniques et privilégiés. Il convient alors de connaître leurs besoins et attentes afin d’adapter vos offres et services. Sur ce point, il est primordial de consulter les données statistiques de votre PMS qui est une réelle mine d’informations sur votre clientèle et le type de consommation qu’elle effectue dans votre établissement.

Par la suite, équipez-vous de nouvelles technologies qui vous aideront à simplifier vos opérations, à automatiser les tâches répétitives de vos employés afin qu’ils soient plus efficaces au quotidien et qu’ils puissent être plus disponibles pour vos clients, pas juste des nouvelles technologies à l’affût des nouvelles tendances hôtelières. Il existe plusieurs innovations telles que l’enregistrement en ligne, les bornes d’accueil, l’intelligence artificielle, la réalité virtuelle et bien plus encore.

De plus, assurez-vous que vos clients soient satisfaits de leur expérience. N’hésitez pas à leur demander comment s’est passé leur séjour que ce soit lorsqu’ils passent à la réception ou bien en leur envoyant un sondage de satisfaction. Il est également important de toujours répondre aux avis client en ligne, qu’ils soient bons ou mauvais afin de remercier vos clients d’avoir pris le temps de partager leur expérience au sein de votre hôtel ou de leur montrer que leurs commentaires ont bien été pris en compte et qu’ils permettront d’améliorer l’expérience client de votre hôtel. Vous pouvez aussi vous référer à plusieurs indicateurs incontournables qui permettent de mesurer la fidélité de vos clients comme le NPS, le taux d’acquisition, le taux d’attrition de la clientèle, le taux de réachat ou encore le taux de rétention.

Les offres exclusives et les récompenses

Comme vous l’aurez compris, fidéliser vos clients n’est pas une tâche facile. Pour y arriver, il est possible de mettre en place un programme de fidélisation, des offres exclusives, un système de points ainsi que des récompenses, réservés aux clients les plus fidèles.

De plus, utilisez votre logiciel de gestion hôtelière pour récolter de l’information sur vos clients, faire des campagnes marketing qui cibleront vos clients fidèles et effectuer des actions de retargeting.

Lorsqu’un client séjourne dans votre hôtel et qu’il en repart très satisfait, n’aimeriez-vous pas qu’il revienne? Ainsi, des clients fidèles représentent une véritable opportunité pour vous de les transformer en ambassadeurs. Ceux-ci sont très satisfaits de leur expérience et vous font confiance, ils n’hésiteront pas à vous référer à leur entourage et à revenir régulièrement.

De ce fait, plusieurs éléments tels que les premières impressions positives, un processus de réservation simple et rapide, une expérience client mémorable et des offres et récompenses exclusives seraient de bonnes raisons pour vos clients de revenir dans votre hôtel!

User-generated content is a winning marketing strategy for hotels

Posted on 8 April 202121 November 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

What is user-generated content?

User-generated content (UGC) refers to all content created by Internet users free of charge which is for community or exchange purposes. Represented by pictures, videos, reviews or stories, these contents are published on different platforms such as websites, blogs, online reviews websites, and most importantly social media.

Moreover, this marketing strategy allows to you to promote your property for free, to transform your social media platforms into sources of information, to generate more interactions around your brand and to strengthen the trust and sense of belonging of your most loyal guests.

A source of inspiration for travelers

It has been proven that content generated by your users helps around 59% of travelers to plan their future stay, especially during their travel research. Additionally, user-generated content can be a true source of information, inspiration and even a way to evaluate alternative options for travelers. Thus, almost 53% of Mill e nnials claim that this type of content strongly influences their final purchase decisions. Similar to a digital word-of-mouth effect, user-generated content allows you to promote your property and its various services while encouraging travelers to confirm their booking at your hotel.

Content which generates interaction between travelers

In practical terms, user-generated content reflects your guests’ experience, whether it’s the room they stayed in, the food they ate at your restaurant, or the activities they did.

Therefore, this authentic content inspires travelers, creates interactions between them, reinforces their trust for your hotel and encourages them to book their stay in order to enjoy the experience offered by your hotel. Also, UGC generates 6 times more interactions than a simple promotional content created by the property itself and also improves your online ranking, i.e. your SEO.

For a hotel, it’s not complicated to convince users to generate content as 76% of them already publish pictures of their stay on their social media. Nonetheless, you should first obtain their consent before using their content on your own social media platforms.

In order to create a buzz around your hotel and generate more interactions, you can also organize contests on your social platforms and create hashtags that your guests can use to identify your property on their own social media.

A strategy to build trust and customer loyalty

When your guests stay at your hotel and generate content, they are showcasing the relationship they have with your property and sharing their experience with their own audience. While this helps to generate a lot of interaction around the property, it also reinforces travelers’ trust in your establishment. Indeed, it has been proven that 92% of them prefer to trust the content published by their friends, family or acquaintances rather than the promotional content of a brand.

Additionally, if the content generated by your guests is of high quality and highly appreciated, it will help to promote your property and build its online reputation.

Influential clients to pamper

If you can find guests which share a lot of content of your hotel on various social media platforms, it could be interesting for you to reward them so that they continue to produce free content for you. With the help of your PMS (property management software), identify these guests so that you recognize them on their next stay. An easy way to do so is to label them as VIP with an additional “influencer” label for example. On their next stay, these labelled guests may receive special treatment upon arrival, such as being offered a superior room by your staff or some other small kindnesses during their stay. They can share these special attentions and allow future guests take a peek into the great experience your property offers.

User-generated content (UGC) is an advantageous marketing strategy for properties wishing to promote themselves at a low cost.

This strategy allows you to highlight your guests’ experience, but keep in mind to check that their content does not have a negative impact on your hotel’s reputation. Indeed, as this content is a direct reflection of your property, it must be of high quality and appropriate.

In order to encourage your guests to generate more content, you can redesign some areas of your property. Do not hesitate to promote your social media platforms and your hashtags so that your guests can easily identify you. More importantly, try to promote the clientele who is actually promoting your property. Finally, it’s important to use UGC in a legal and ethical manner, by asking for consent and giving credit to the content’s owner.

4 trends revolutionizing the hospitality industry

Posted on 26 March 202121 November 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

Contactless and connected experiences

These days technology is everywhere. There exists an infinite number of new technologies which you can implement in your property, and it’s up to you to choose the ones that will best suit your establishment and your clientele and that will also allow you to minimize the interactions between your customers and your employees while offering them a memorable experience. Moreover, this will also help you to better retain your customers and encourage them to come back to your hotel. In fact, 4 out of 5 travellers say that the implementation of new contactless technol o gies would encourage them to stay in a property again.

Your Property Management Software (PMS) and its numerous integrations will give you the opportunity to automate your hotel’s systems and prioritize contactless experiences such as online check-in or the use of check-in kiosks. This 100% contactless experience gives your clients the opportunity to confirm their information, accept the hotel’s terms and policies and validate their pre-authorization. They will not have to register at the property’s front desk to retrieve their room key. Simple and efficient isn’t it? Moreover, this will save time at the front desk, ensure health safety protocols are respected and help maintain social distancing. Thanks to your PMS and its integrations, your clients will be in control of their own experience. For example, they will potentially have access to a home automation system in their room, be able to order an item from the restaurant’s menu on their room’s TV, receive personalized messages throughout their stay using their entertainment system or receive specific offers for a unique and personalized stay via a Guest Management System (GMS).

Stays combining work and leisure

With the rise of working from home, travellers wish to combine work and leisure, especially with the ability to work from anywhere. Thus, many properties have decided to convert their rooms into office-friendly rooms to offer a work environment which is peaceful and relaxing and also stimulates creativity and concentration. Therefore, having a fast and efficient Wi-Fi connection and conference rooms will be key factors in the upcoming months. Offering a package which includes a lunch box is an additional selling point for your clientele.

Revisiting restaurant services

Restrictions and social distancing measures pose a real challenge for hotels offering food services. In order to keep contacts to a minimum, many initiative have been put in place, such as using a QR code to view the menu, having the option to pick-up orders and having robotized in-room dining. Another simple initiative is to move tables and chairs from the hotel’s restaurant into the guests’ rooms to allow guests to enjoy the restaurant services in the comfort of their own room.

Eco-friendly stays

Following the recent ecological concerns, individuals are rethinking their daily consumption habits and travellers are more ecologically conscious when they stay at hotels. In fact, 66% of travellers are willing to pay more to stay in an eco-friendly hotel with environmentally friendly sustainable practises. These practises include eliminating plastic and single use shower products, reducing food waste, water consumption and energy, and using 100% recycled linens and towels.

Becoming an eco-friendly hotel is an excellent business strategy for those wanting to cut down on their cost, reduce their ecological footprint and contribute to their clients’ satisfaction. However, this transition requires all parties involved to be motivated and diligent. Promoting your ecological and environmental practises using green marketing will help you strengthen your brand image. Nowadays, 64% of establishments use green marketing to sell their products and services.

While being consistently evolving, the hospitality industry has always been able to adapt to new trends and reinvent itself to better anticipate its clientele’s needs. Respecting social distancing and health safety protocols is now more than ever a necessity. Hotel managers must therefore meet their clients’ expectations regarding these norms by investing in technology. This ensures guests are satisfied and have a successful experience no matter what the situation is.

The influence of social media on travelers

Posted on 12 February 20211 October 2021 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

Being present and active on these platforms offers the opportunity for your property to learn more about your potential customers, adjust your offers and services and to promote itself by using personalized and attractive content.

It seems obvious that the influence of social media on travelers is undeniable, but how do these social networks manage to convince them?

Using social media allows properties to promote their offers and services through quality, targeted and attractive content at a reasonable cost. Also, more than 60% of travelers love to share their travel content, whether during or after their stay, so why not take advantage of it? Indeed, their own social platforms are transformed into a true digital album that introduces other travellers to new destinations and makes them want to book their next stays. Therefore, encouraging your guests to share content on social media would promote your property and its guest experience for free to a larger audience by catching new customers’ attention. It could then lead to future bookings.

Interactions between travelers

More often, travelers are not sure about the destination to choose or even which accommodation and activities to book. They feel the need to escape and relax and therefore use social media to find inspiration for their next trip. As a result, travelers don’t hesitate to interact with other travelers, ask for advice and tips and most importantly, check online reviews on Google or Tripadvisor. In fact, it is proven that 63% of Millennials consult social media to choose their next destination and nearly 84% of them read comments and reviews before making their reservation.

E-reputation

In a hyper-connected world, building and consolidating your e-reputation has become a real priority. Indeed, the online reputation reproduces the effect of a digital word of mouth, meaning that everything Internet users say about you has an impact on your property. Plus, many travelers trust what they read on social media, which means the better your property’s online reputation, the more travelers want to stay at your property and the more your number of bookings will increase.

On the contrary, a bad reputation online can lead to a bad buzz or a crisis situation. It becomes important to ask your guests to leave reviews on your social platforms, but you must regularly check it in order to identify and respond to good and bad reviews.

Influencer marketing

This marketing strategy involves using an influencer’s awareness to promote your property. In fact, influencers are excellent brand ambassadors who will not only allow you to enlarge your visibility and your audience, but also generate interactions around your brand. This partnership will help you enhance the experience offered by your hotel and increase your bookings. Note that there are several types of influencers, depending on their number of followers. Each type uses different communication channels, produces different types of content and has different audiences. Moreover, the role of these people is to influence the purchasing decision of Internet users, while remaining as transparent as possible. Indeed, it’s proven that 85% of consumers prefer to trust an influencer rather than a brand directly.

Before signing a partnership, make sure that the chosen influencer shares the same values as your property, and that their content reaches your audience. Also, don’t forget to set your goals, your marketing budget and your ROI in advance.

The future of social media is still promising, since the number of users is estimated at more than 4 billion by the end of 2021, compared to 3,4 billion in 2019. Using social media has many advantages. Your goal is not necessarily to be on every platform, but on the most popular ones, in order to increase your online visibility and strengthen your notoriety. Regarding your property’s e-reputation, it is essential to make a follow-up of your social platforms in order to identify your guests’ opinions, improve your offers and services and stay informed about emerging trends that could allow you to attract new guests.

How to promote your property’s guest experience online?

Posted on 22 January 202111 August 2021 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

To do so, the different platforms on the Internet have inevitably become some of the most consulted information sources by travelers and therefore a strategic way to promote your property’s guest experience online!

experience-client-hotel-en-ligne — How to promote your property’s guest experience online?

Your website

Your website is an essential tool for promoting your guest experience. It’s also your property’s main online showcase, since it is one of the first platforms that travelers will visit to find all the information needed and have an overview of the experience offered. As you may understand, the more attractive your website is, the more it will stimulate Internet users’ curiosity and make them want to book a reservation. Therefore, you can use high quality photos and videos or even room tours to highlight your property, your rooms and all the available activities.

Furthermore, your website must be as optimized as possible in order to facilitate Internet users’ purchasing process and to encourage them to finalize an online reservation. The design of your website must be web responsive, which means that it adapts to the devices used, such as smartphones, tablets and computers. Moreover, it is important to have a clear and simple website navigation, since nearly 85% of travelers book their stays from their mobile devices. For properties that have specific units with names instead of different types of room, keep in mind that Internet users have to see quickly if the unit they wish to book is still available or not. To do so, an online calendar connected to your PMS could be a very interesting option, since travelers would be able to see units’ availability in real time.

Don’t forget that your website allows you to collect information on individuals who visit it, communicate with them directly through your online chat or to retarget them.

Your online booking

Did you know that your online booking engine is also an interesting tool for promoting your property? Indeed, you will be able to personalize it, choose the content you want to highlight, create packages or items for sale and update your prices. Thus, this tool will be directly connected to your PMS (property management software) and your channel manager, which will allow you to simplify your operations and your booking process.

Therefore, if you want to generate more online bookings, keep in mind that your online booking engine must be attractive and efficient. Its style and design must be coherent with your website and the information must be complete, precise and available in different languages and currencies based on the user.

Your social media

In the hospitality industry, social media represents real opportunities to attract potential customers. These platforms are consulted on a daily basis and the publication of travel content often creates curiosity and imagination for Internet users, which could encourage them to book their next stay at your property.

Furthermore, a good social media strategy allows you to promote your offers, packages and activities to a large audience, but could also reach a specific type of clientele, if wanted. This kind of advertisement is free, but you could choose to pay to add more visibility to your campaign. To reach as many people as possible, you can also use social media to share your guests’ content, including their photos, videos and stories. Indeed, it’s proven that 74% of travelers use social media during their stays and almost 97% of Millennials share photos of their stays on social media. So why not take advantage of it to increase your property’s visibility and interactions, but also to strengthen your e-reputation?

Even if the use of social media has many advantages for your hotel, don’t forget to check it regularly and respond to positive and negative guests reviews, so it doesn’t weaken your e-reputation.

Bloggers and influencers

Have you ever heard of influencer marketing? This strategy involves working with bloggers and influencers to promote your property to a larger audience, but also to gain more visibility online and increase your number of reservations. The role of these influencers is to affect the purchasing decision of Internet users and reassure them in their booking process, while remaining as transparent as possible. The main goal isn’t to lie to your audience to win their trust, but to share the experience of your property. In addition, it is important to mention that 85% of consumers will rather trust an influencer and follow their recommendations.

Thus, you have to define your campaign, your marketing budget and calculate the return on investment. Moreover, make sure that the influencer shares the same values as your property, that their audience matches the clientele you want to attract and that its content is consistent with your property’s brand image before signing a partnership.

In the hospitality industry, guest experience is very important and it’s at the heart of a property’s success. Moreover, the guarantee of a good customer experience is your PMS, since it includes all the guests’ stay information and allows you to coordinate with all the hotel departments. Therefore, it is not only necessary to refine your guest experience so that your guests can fully live the experience offered, but also be able to promote it in an efficient and intelligent way by using digital marketing tools.

How can a Housekeeping App improve your guest experience?

Posted on 28 December 202021 November 2022 by Laura Yee Kui Choi

The app facilitates customer requests

Thanks to the housekeeping app, the guests requests’ follow-up becomes easier. Moreover, it allows your housekeeping staff to see in real time the guest’s requests for the room they are currently cleaning. Thus, the app will facilitate the whole process. Requests such as hypoallergenic pillows or an extra baby crib can be added directly on the app and won’t be forgotten. As a result, the housekeeping app will increase the satisfaction of your guests.

Since the app is connected to your property’s PMS (property management software), guests’ preferences will be saved. The guest won’t have to remind the hotel for any specific requests for its next stays. Thereby, the property will be able to emphasize attention toward this loyal guest by putting everything he needs in its room during his next stays.

The room is ready before guests’ arrival

The housekeeping app will provide information to your staff about your guests’ arrival. Thanks to this app, the prioritization of houseworks becomes easier, since the staff is aware of the guest’s arrival, its specific room and room type. Upon arrival, the guest will be able to have access to its room immediately and fully enjoy its stay, increasing its level of satisfaction.

The app provides information on the exact number of people in the room and the length of stay

When your housekeeping staff begins to clean a room, they can quickly see the room occupancy as well as the length of stay. Thereby, it will help provide the right amount of towels and other linens for the exact number of guests, and thus allow savings on cleaning. This also applies to welcome products, since they are not consumed the same way if there are only 2 people in the room compared to more. The welcome experience of your guests will be tailored and personalized, because your staff will be aware of guests’ specific needs before they arrive.

The guest experience in a property is complex as it involves many elements. Indeed, each element must be a success in order for your guests to have a positive memory of their stay and repeat the experience by booking future stays within your property.

Furthermore, housekeeping is important to take into consideration. You have to provide adequate tools to your housekeeping team in order to offer a successful experience to your guests. These tools will help you have fluid communication and help your housekeepers be aware of all the stays’ details. By paying attention to your guests, they will feel all the efforts made by your team to offer them an outstanding experience.