First of all, online check-in allows your guests to complete the process from a mobile device before arriving at your property. Moreover, they will have the possibility to complete their check-in and validate their payment information in only a few clicks. This tool will help you reduce contact with your guests upon arrival and minimize waiting time at your front desk, since your guests will only have to collect their room key at the reception or directly at your welcome kiosk.
Pre-registration
Pre-registration is a new feature which allows your guests to confirm their personal information online in an easy, fast and independent way. After receiving an email from your property, they will confirm their contact information and accept the stay’s conditions on a web form, using their personal mobile device. Also, pre-registration allows your guest to accept a credit card pre-authorization in order to guarantee its stay. Once at your property, all he has to do is to collect its room key at the front desk.
Welcome kiosks
Nowadays, some properties are providing welcome kiosks that give the opportunity to their guests to self check-in. Thanks to this 100% contactless and secure solution, your customers will be completely independent, since they will be able to collect their room keys without even going to the property’s reception.
Integrated payment
The connectivity between your payment terminals and your property management software (PMS) facilitates deposits and pre-authorizations. Operations are entered by the employees in the software so they don’t have to handle payment terminals. Integrated payment can be virtualized, in addition to being secure. It will speed up the check-in process at your property and will increase customers’ satisfaction. Since operations are done directly from the PMS, customers don’t have to take out their payment card upon departure.
The hospitality industry has always been focused on customer service, so hoteliers must find alternative ways to continue delivering memorable experiences while opting for solutions that prioritize social distancing. To do so, it is important to reassure and restore travelers’ trust by communicating all the safety and health measures of your property in a clear and effective way, as well as providing them innovative solutions to help them respect social distancing.
Travelers are now called staycationers, meaning they prefer to go on vacation in their own home country rather than abroad. Moreover, they mainly go on vacation for entertainment and relaxation after a long period of confinement. Staycationers are more independent when traveling but they feel a strong need to be reassured and to feel safe, especially regarding social distancing and health measures set up by properties. To do so, it’s important to take these changes in consideration and to adapt quickly.
3 hotel trends resulting from the covid-19 crisis
Coronacation trend
The trend “Coronacation” is a mix of corona et vacation, it reflects the high demand of staycationers wishing to travel despite the fact that the risk of spreading the virus is still present. Furthermore, the Coronacation trend has spread thanks to low-cost flights and accommodation offers, which has allowed some hoteliers to gradually restart their properties’ activities and even avoid permanent closure.
As you may know, staycationers now favor stays suitable for families including children and animals, combining safety and local consumption. This behavior’s change has forced hoteliers to adapt their offers in order to convince staycationers to make reservations within their properties. While price has always been an important criterion in travelers’ decision-making process, adaptability, availability and flexibility have also become important criteria. Therefore, several actions such as a flexible arrival and departure policy, the implementation of contactless solutions or a take-out meal service, limiting room cleaning in order to avoid contact between guests and employees will be highly appreciated by your guests and will sometimes make a significant difference when making a reservation. Thus, the crucial point of consumer’s decision is the property’s cancellation policies. Indeed, travel options are now so unstable that guests are looking for flexibility and easy arrangements in the case they can’t take advantage of their booked stay. A more flexible policy will certainly allow you to attract travelers who are not yet convinced to make a reservation. So remember to adjust your cancellation policies in your booking engine by highlighting your advantages offered and why not creating a specific Covid-19 policy that mentions all the actions put in place to simplify your stay.
Coronasafe trend
Despite an unpredictable future, properties’ activities are returning to normal step by step. Nevertheless, every hotelier must commit to guaranteeing an outstanding customer experience in a coronasafe environment. The coronasafe trend incites hoteliers to be “sanitary agile” and to promote the safety of everyone, both travelers and property’s staff. Moreover, several reinforced measures were quickly put in place to prevent the spread of the virus as example the obligation to wear a mask within the property, the reorganization of spaces, the provision of disinfectant products, the set up of plexiglass windows and markings on the ground in order to respect social distancing, the disinfection of rooms and common areas and the use of innovative solutions such as check-in kiosks, online check-in and QR code for online menus. It’s very important to communicate and promote these measures on your Covid-19 website page, on your social media and in your newsletters in order to inform and reassure travelers. You can also create how-to guides for your teams and guests. Finally, remember that in times of crisis and post-crisis, transparency and honesty are essential!
Staycation
The staycation trend also known as Holistay, has grown as a result of staycationers’ changing behavior. Indeed, they now prefer short stays in their own home country to encourage local tourism rather than travelling abroad. This trend particularly affects seniors and families who want to relax, do family activities and discover the beauty of their cities or regions. In addition, staycationers are interested in immersive experiences such as nature hikes, cultural tours and discoveries and culinary and tasting events. It would then be relevant for your property to offer affordable packages that include accommodation suitable for children and animals. You can also use your website and your online booking engine to promote your offers and partnerships with local guides and local small businesses in your city or region.
Besides being a rapidly changing industry in normal times, the hospitality industry faces many challenges caused by the Covid-19 crisis. Therefore, it is essential to be agile, to adapt quickly and to be reactive facing an uncertain future. It might be difficult to predict the exact date of a future pandemic but it is still possible to prepare for it, especially by planning emergency strategies and by using your property management software. Indeed, don’t forget that your Hotel PMS remains your best ally in times of crisis and post-crisis. Furthermore, it will allow you to manage your staff efficiently as well as all your property’s operations, to analyze your activities thanks to activity reports and to maximize your occupancy rate and your incomes. To finish with, remember that no matter how the situation evolves, you have to maintain the relationship with your guests by informing, reassuring and retaining them for the long term.
En effet, la satisfaction est représentée par une expérience réussie, une image et des croyances positives développées chez les clients fidèles. Néanmoins, satisfait ne veut pas dire fidèle. Un voyageur satisfait n’est pas toujours 100% fidèle et à l’inverse, un voyageur fidèle est avant tout satisfait de son expérience.
De plus, il est prouvé qu’il est 7 fois moins cher de fidéliser un client que d’en acquérir un nouveau car celui-ci est très attaché à la marque en question. Alors pourquoi ne pas saisir cette opportunité et transformer vos clients fidèles en véritables ambassadeurs de marque? Ces ambassadeurs représentent un réel avantage pour vous puisqu’ils vous feront 100% confiance et n’hésiteront pas à vous recommander à leur entourage, ce qui créera un effet de bouche à oreille. Ils seront également plus favorables à acheter vos services et ne seront pas tentés par les offres de vos concurrents. Aussi, vos clients fidèles seront plus compréhensifs en cas de problèmes techniques et ils seront également plus aptes à vous faire part de commentaires rétroactifs et de pistes d’amélioration.
Vous l’aurez compris, vos clients fidèles représentent d’excellentes opportunités pour votre établissement hôtelier mais savez-vous qu’il est possible de mesurer leur fidélité?
Le Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Le NPS est un indicateur incontournable si vous souhaitez mesurer la fidélité de vos clients. À l’aide d’un questionnaire de satisfaction client, vous devez poser la question suivante : De 0 à 10, quelle est la probabilité que vous recommandiez ce produit ou ce service à un ami ou un proche? Ainsi, vous serez en mesure de classer vos clients dans différentes catégories, soit les promoteurs, les passifs et les détracteurs.
La catégorie des promoteurs regroupe les personnes ayant répondu 9 ou 10 à la question précédente. Elle représente vos clients les plus fidèles et satisfaits de leur séjour et donc les personnes les plus susceptibles de réserver de futurs séjours au sein de votre établissement. De plus, les promoteurs recommanderont votre établissement hôtelier à leur entourage et joueront le rôle d’ambassadeurs de marque auprès de futurs prospects. Il est donc important de leur offrir un service irréprochable et une expérience client VIP afin qu’ils se sentent privilégiés et qu’ils continuent de parler de vous de façon positive.
Par la suite, nous avons la catégorie des passifs désignant les clients ayant répondu 7 ou 8 à la question de votre sondage de satisfaction. Ce sont des clients satisfaits de leur séjour mais pas assez satisfaits pour séjourner régulièrement au sein de votre établissement et pour le recommander à leur entourage. Les voyageurs passifs seront également susceptibles d’acheter les offres proposées par vos concurrents si elles sont perçues comme étant plus avantageuses. Il est impératif de ne pas les perdre de vue car il suffirait d’une petite touche de personnalisation pour créer un effet “wow” et donc de vous différencier de vos concurrents.
La dernière catégorie concerne les détracteurs, ce sont les personnes ayant donné une note entre 0 et 6 suite à une mauvaise expérience durant leur séjour. Par conséquent, près de 35% de ces personnes insatisfaites seraient prêtes à publier des avis négatifs sur votre établissement hôtelier et donc à nuire à votre e-reputation. Suite à cela, vous devez réagir rapidement et être proactif si vous souhaitez les transformer en promoteurs. Il est important que vous les sondiez et que vous les écoutiez attentivement afin de savoir ce qui ne s’est pas bien passez lors de leur séjour et afin de trouver des solutions rapidement. Pour calculer votre NPS il suffit de prendre le pourcentage de promoteurs et d’y soustraire le pourcentage de détracteurs. En général, un NPS est considéré comme excellent s’il est supérieur à 50%.
NPS (%): Promoteurs (%) – Détracteurs (%)
Le taux d’acquisition de la clientèle
Le taux d’acquisition de la clientèle sert à déterminer si une stratégie marketing ou une stratégie commerciale est efficace, soit, qu’elle génère un grand nombre de prospects. Ainsi, cet indicateur se calcule grâce à l’ensemble des dépenses engagées pour la promotion et le marketing sur une période donnée divisé par le nombre total de nouveaux clients acquis sur cette même période. Afin d’améliorer votre taux d’acquisition client, nous vous conseillons de privilégier les actions marketing à faible coût comme par exemple les campagnes d’infolettres ou encore l’optimisation SEO.
Taux d’acquisition de la clientèle: Dépenses liées à la promotion et au marketing / Nombre total de nouveaux clients
Le taux d’attrition de la clientèle
À l’inverse du taux d’acquisition client, le taux d’attrition client permet de connaître la proportion de clients perdus sur une période donnée. On peut considérer un client comme étant perdu si il est inactif et si il n’a pas effectué d’achat depuis 1 ou 2 ans.
Afin de déterminer le taux d’attrition client, il faut prendre le nombre de clients perdus divisé par le nombre total de clients et multiplier le tout par 100.
Taux d’attrition de la clientèle: (Nombre de clients perdus / Nombre total de clients) x100
Le taux de réachat
Cet indicateur est intéressant si vous souhaitez avoir un aperçu des clients en cours de fidélisation. Il sert également à mesurer l’impact d’une campagne marketing. Il suffit donc de prendre le nombre de clients ayant au moins réalisé un nouvel achat, divisé par le total de clients et multiplier le tout par 100.
Taux de réachat: (Nombre de clients ayant au moins réalisé un nouvel achat / Nombre total de clients) x100
Le taux de rétention ou taux de fidélité
Le taux de rétention autrement appelé taux de fidélité permet d’évaluer le nombre de clients retenus avec succès au cours d’une période donnée. Il suffit de le calculer de la façon suivante : (100 – taux d’attrition de la clientèle) x100.
Si vous souhaitez améliorer votre taux de fidélité, il est important d’être proactif et de vous concentrer sur des techniques de retargeting, de toujours garder contact avec vos clients et de les solliciter régulièrement à l’aide de messages ciblés et personnalisés.
Taux de rétention ou Taux de fidélité: (100 – taux d’attrition de la clientèle) x100
Les activités du secteur hôtelier sont très irrégulières et saisonnières, ainsi la fidélisation client peut alors devenir un véritable défi pour les hôteliers. De ce fait, si vous voulez réussir à fidéliser votre clientèle, vous devez prouver la réelle valeur ajoutée de votre établissement hôtelier. Plusieurs stratégies peuvent être mises en place comme l’utilisation des données clients récoltées par votre PMS, la mise en place d’un programme de fidélisation personnalisé, des actions de retargeting, un service à la clientèle compétent, disponible et à l’écoute de vos clients ainsi qu’une expérience client hors pair.
La fidélisation des clients à votre marque sur vos propres canaux de communication vous permet aussi d’augmenter votre nombre de réservations directes, évitant ainsi que les intermédiaires tel que les OTAs, gardent une commission sur les ventes réalisées. De plus, n’oubliez pas qu’il est important de garder le contact avec vos clients, que ce soit grâce au marketing par courriel, à votre blog ou encore à vos réseaux sociaux. En effet, les réseaux sociaux sont d’excellents outils gratuits à utiliser et facilement accessibles. Il serait alors pertinent pour vous d’établir une stratégie de contenu ciblée qui vous aidera à susciter de l’engagement et à créer un sentiment d’attachement chez vos clients, à construire une image de marque personnalisée et à mettre en avant la valeur ajoutée de votre établissement hôtelier.
Considered to be the most nomadic, flexible, demanding and connected generation, the Millennial generation referred by the “presentism”, also known as culture in immediacy. Often represented by start-up creators, autodidacts, entrepreneurs, artists or even self-employed workers, the Millennials like to travel, to share a different vision of things and are constantly seeking for fulfillment in their professional or personal life. Fond of unique experiences and discoveries, 80% of them declare that these would help building their own identity.
Véritable clientèle potentielle pour le secteur de l’hôtellerie, cette génération a forcé les acteurs de l’hôtellerie à As legitimate potential customers for the hospitality industry, this generation has forced hospitality actors to rethink their methods quickly and become more flexible in order to focus more on their guests. You have to be aware that it is a less wealthy clientele and that it is common for these individuals to use community platforms such as Airbnb. Therefore, the Millennials are not loyal to only one brand because they love to discover and try new things. Conscious of having a wide choice of accommodations, they are very sensitive to different criteria such as style, price, flexibility, comfort, values of the establishment but particularly in to its customer experience.
How to attract them to your property?
First of all, you need to be transparent. Remember that you can’t hide anything from them because they have previously made researches on your property, even without having stayed there. The e-reputation of your property becomes very important, whether it is on your website, on social media or on online review websites. Nowadays, travelers rely more on electronic word of mouth especially thanks to online reviews, comments and recommendations made by other travelers.
Furthermore, it would be relevant to adapt your offers or to create specific offers that could suit them. Indeed, the Millennials have a smaller budgets compared to their parents but still looking for attractive and affordable prices. Overall, Millennials combine business with leisure and they don’t hesitate to extend their business stay so that they have more time to discover new places. Therefore, do not hesitate to offer more than a simple room, opt for facilities with a refined design, large common areas as well as a local touch.
An authentic, unique and original customer experience is also an asset for your property if you want to attract the Millennials. Bet on a personalized experience that will create a strong sense of belonging such as special welcomed gifts or discovery activities whether it is outdoor activities, culinary workshops or discoveries of atypical places. Also, don’t hesitate to use customer data collected by your hotel management software including preferences, previous stays and reasons for the stay, to personalize the experience of your guests.
Thus, remember that this generation has grown with the beginnings of new technologies. They are fond of technology and connected 24/7 to their devices. 93% of them prefer to stay in an establishment equipped with technologies that would make their life easier during their stay. Once again, it’s not enough to provide them with free Wi-Fi but invest in innovations that would save them time such as online check-in, mobile applications, mobile payment services, check-in and check-out kiosks, connected robots and so many other possibilities. Moreover, keep in mind that your property must be present on social media because the Millennials are extremely active. They don’t hesitate to publish, consult online reviews and interact with others. In addition, 97% of them use social media including Facebook and Instagram, to publish content related to their travel experience and thus influence the choice of other travelers. As hoteliers, you need to optimize your online presence by modernizing your website, opting for an efficient booking engine and above all, mastering the management of your social media. Your social media are excellent advertising tools for your property, but also an opportunity to interact directly with your audiences and encourage them to book at your hotel.
There are many properties that decide to undertake sustainable development initiatives and it is not a coincidence. Respecting the environment is becoming an increasingly important criterion for travelers. Indeed, 75% of Millennials prefer to choose an environmentally friendly establishment. It would therefore be relevant for you to enhance your actions, whether for reducing waste or even reducing carbon emissions.
We all know that the Millennials will be at the heart of the hospitality industry in a few years. It becomes essential to reinvent yourself and rethink your strategies, especially by focusing more on your guests and on the customer experience that you offer them. Having a customer-centric approach which allow you to better meet your future guests’ needs.
First of all, you have to know that your property is more likely to stand out using new technologies. Be aware that this can be expensive but it will undoubtedly improve your customer experience. So keep in mind that adopting technologies should always be easy to use, but it should also save you time and make your customers’ lives easier. For example, you could focus on a digital customer journey, especially by optimizing your online booking engine which would simplify the process of travelers’ booking and then, offer them the possibility to register online few days before their stay. They can also complete their registration independently and quickly by using your property’s check-in kiosks. Thus, it is possible to use other innovations such as connected robots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality to revolutionize your property’s customer experience. Moreover, the automation of certain tasks will allow your staff to have more time to chat with your guests, meet their needs and advise them, whether it is about your different services, your catering offers, your spa packages or the authentic activities not to be missed.
Propose suitable offers at competitive prices
Although the price is not the only criterion taken into consideration by travelers, there is evidence that the price influences 7 out of 10 travelers’ final decision. Thus, they often tend to start their researches for accommodations on Airbnb because they think that prices offered will be more affordable. In reality, this is not always the case, it all depends on several factors including the destination chosen, the hotel’s location and services included. Thereby it would relevant to review your yield management strategy and to propose offers adapted according to the type of travelers whether it’s a couple, a family or even a business traveler. This would remove non-essential items and will help to suggest offers which are more personalized and at interesting prices for your target customer. Don’t forget that what allows’ you to stand out from Airbnb is mainly the services offered to your customers. In conclusion, be creative, offer modern and connected rooms, favor local partnerships, highlight gastronomic activities or authentic and personalized discoveries.
Strengthen the online e-reputation of your property
In order to stand out from your competitors, your property must be modernized and remain relevant to travelers. It starts with an excellent online presence with an optimized website, updated social media and positive online reviews. Why stand out online? Simply because all of these platforms influences travelers final choice. Indeed, it has been proven that 7 out of 10 travelers visit a hotel’s online platforms and online review sites before making a reservation. Moreover, be sure to stay active on each of your online platforms, whether it’s to respond to private messages and comments, to identify good and bad reviews left by your customers or to interact with your different audiences and then create your own online community. This will bring you more credibility and it will strengthen the e-reputation of your property.
Use Airbnb as a distributor
Nowadays, Airbnb is shifting and tends to become an OTA such as Expedia or even Booking.com. This change implies joining properties’ sales circuit as more and more booking engine and channel manager are connecting with this platform. As hoteliers, you can use Airbnb to put your rental units online. Thereby, this new sales channel can be a great opportunity for you to convert Airbnb users to make a reservation at your property.
Attract more Millennials
The Millennial generation is a potential clientele for the hospitality industry. Whether you are an independent establishments or a world leaders, this generation has succeeded in forcing hoteliers to reinvent themselves and adapt their properties while being creative. As hoteliers, it becomes unthinkable not to rethink your strategies in order to attract them to your property. Furthermore, it is proven that 52% of the Millennials who regularly use Airbnb will prefer a short stay at the hotel. So why not take this opportunity to attract them to your property? Indeed, they appreciate the fact that communication with the staff of the property is easier and that there is always someone there if needed. Before opting for a strategy to attract them, keep in mind that the Y generation is nomadic, flexible, demanding and connected. It’s a less wealthy clientele, who use collaborative platforms such as Airbnb. The Millennials aren’t loyal to a single brand because they like to discover and try new things.
As a result, several hoteliers have decided to bet on the opening of new lifestyle experience and trendy establishments. They also decided to break the old luxury’s image, which used to be for wealthy people and replace it with a more accessible luxury. The accessible luxury is represented by properties which are more modern, more connected and more personalized. Furthermore, this new concept boosts meetings and interactions between travelers and allows them to take advantage of various spaces specially dedicated to work or rest. Overall, the main advantage of this new concept is to promote emotional intelligence, especially by creating and stimulating emotion of your guests. This will give your guests the impression of feeling unique and special, thanks to small personalized attentions. In a nutshell, it will create a wow effect, given by a feeling of hyper satisfaction.
The hospitality industry is a constantly evolving sector which is facing new trends and new consumer behaviors. Indeed the demand is changing and today’s traveler is not the same as before. In addition, the evolution of new technologies forces hoteliers to adapt their properties quickly but also to learn how to reinvent themselves.
Innovation is definitely one of the success key to reinvent your property but several factors such as a diversified demand, regulatory safety and hygiene obligations must also be respected. Even if Airbnb is designed as a giant of the collaborative economy and a real competitors for every hoteliers, you should not see this collaborative platform as a threats but as an excellent opportunity to reinvent your property. It is true that it is a big challenge but it will help you to remain competitive and it will allow you to offer an authentic and unique customer experience to your future guests.
Nowaday, guests’ consumption habits have evolved, they are looking for more emotions, interactions and sharing. Thereby, a positive customer experience isn’t only compose of basic services such as comfort or cleanliness but by all the contact and interaction points between your establishment and your customers, throughout its customer journey. As for example, the ease of booking, the staff availability, the welcome’s quality, the speed of check-in, the bedding’s quality and the degree of personalization offered are part of the customer experience.
But what is the goal of a unique customer experience? To offer an innovative experience that makes life easier for your customers and increases their satisfaction. In addition, this memorable experience could be a real advantage for you and a true loyalty sign. Since a traveler would be willing to pay 5 times more than the initial price in order to have a better customers experience, it becomes essential to understand what your customer are going through and to adapt all of your strategies and actions. The typical customer journey should be as simple and smooth as possible if you want to have satisfied and loyal customers.
1- Personalized marketing
Current travelers’ expectations have evolved, each of them is unique and has different expectations from the others. Creating interactions with them will help you to identify their preferences and to create more personalized contents. Talking in a more personalized way with your customers will make them feel unique and not just one among many others. Moreover, personalized marketing favors a more personal discussion with your guests and allows to gather a multitude of information. The personalized marketing’s goal is to create interest among your customers and to maintain a strong relationship with them. Thereby, 3 out of 5 customers say that personalized experiences based on their purchases and preferences would increase their loyalty towards a property.
2- Online check-in
Considered to be a very popular technology, online check-in allows travelers to use a mobile device or a laptop to complete their check-in process before arriving at the hotel. It also enable them to validate their personal information and their payment guarantee remotely. All they have to do is to go to the property’s check-in kiosk in order to collect their room key, or to follow a special “express check-in” line in the event that the establishment wouldn’t have any check-in kiosks. The two main advantages of having this technology is to make customers fully autonomous and to reduce the waiting time at the reception. Thus, your employees will have more time to discuss more personally with your customers and help them if necessary.
3- Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is made of several techniques that allow machines to imitate a real form of intelligence. Within properties, tools have been developed thanks to artificial intelligence and voice recognition. For example, chatbots which are available H24 and help to improve the customer experience by quickly answer to users’ questions. This technology can answer in less than one minute when there are no employees available. We can also take the example of smart rooms, which allow guests to control some aspects of their own room through voice recognition such as light, television or air conditioning. Moreover, artificial intelligence is used for data analysis such as customer reviews and surveys. As a hotelier, using this technology is very helpful for taking the best decision and optimizing your performance and income.
4- Virtual reality
Virtual reality allows you to immerse an individual in a fully artificial world created digitally, by using headset, a mobile application, a video game or even a virtual reality simulator. It is an excellent idea for a property because it offers the possibility of living a unique virtual experience before making a reservation such as a visit of their future travel destination, their room, the establishment’s infrastructure and activities available.
5- Augmented reality
Reflecting a virtual interface in 2D or 3D, augmented reality works via a terminal that screens the real world while adding virtual objects, animations and sounds. It allows the user to view it thanks to a mobile device. As an example, your guests will be able to point your restaurant or spa and see the online reviews of your previous guests or they will also be able to take a tour of your establishment and learn more about the activities offered.
6- Robots
The purpose of using robots isn’t to replace the daily work of your employees. Representing another form of innovative technology, robots are able to perform some daily tasks, giving more availability for your employees to interact more personally with your guests and also to optimize your establishment’s performance. In addition, some robots with advanced features can occupy the role of a concierge, a porter, a receptionist or even a housekeeper.
As a hotelier, using new technologies is a great way to revolutionize your customer experience. The hospitality industry is highly competitive and constantly evolving, the main goal is to offer a unique, personalized and enriching experience that will satisfy your guests and retain them. Moreover, a satisfied customer will not hesitate to leave a positive online review, to subscribe to your newsletter, to follow you on social media, to use the word of mouth in order to spread a good message about your establishment but more importantly to comeback and stay at your place!
Quality of sleep is strongly correlated with the bed and its components. Ensure that all the pillows and sheets are clean, comfortable and of high quality. The mattress is also a crucial component. Your clients expect your mattress to be as comfortable as the one they have at home, if not better. If your mattress exceeds their expectations, they will enjoy their night and remember the wonderful sleep that they had at your hotel. Additionally, do not forget to flip the mattresses over when the time comes, in order to extend the mattresses’ lifespan and improve your guests’ comfort. Do not try to save money on beds because if your clients do not get a good night’s sleep, they will be irritated and more likely to leave negative online reviews and thus not stay with you again. It is therefore important to invest in quality components when it comes to beds.
In order to avoid having to change your mattress often, pick the ones that have a 10-year guarantee. You will save a significant amount of money.
The bedroom
In addition to the beds, make sure that the bedroom allows a good night’s sleep. Peace and temperature are two aspects that could make or break your client’s night. If you are aware that some of your room can be noisy, consider offering ear plugs or white noise machines upon request. However do not offer these complimentary solutions upon the client’s arrival, as this could cause them to be more aware of disturbances or pick up on some noise that they could have perhaps ignored otherwise. The light peeking through the blinds in the morning could also wake up some light sleepers. Make sure your blinds are as dark and as thick as possible and that the alarm clock’s light is not too bright.
Everything else
Obviously, you cannot control everything. Some external elements can cause your clients to have an agitated or unpleasant night, such as stress, jet lag or simply breaking their routine. To compensate for such elements out of your control, offer complimentary coffer in their room or at the front desk. You could also offer essential oils to breathe or to bathe with to promote relaxation. Additionally, you could replace the classic chocolate on their pillow with a soothing cream which they can apply on their neck to improve their sleep.
Do not forget that nothing is better than a restful night. Your client’s satisfaction is very much based on the quality of their sleep. Those who sleep like babies will be much more likely to come back and leave positive reviews online.
Holidays always go by too quickly. Thus, no matter if your clients stay with you for a night or for a week, they definitely want to make the most of it. Fortunately, technology allows you to speed up the process while offering an outstanding customer experience.
When sending your client their confirmation e-mail with the information regarding their stay, they will be able to check for any errors. This way they can communicate with you before their arrival to deal with the situation without it taking time off their future stay.
In order to offer an outstanding customer experience, make sure that your hotel has an efficient hotel management software (PMS). A good PMS should be equipped with advanced features which allow you to free yourself from some recurrent and time-consuming tasks. This way, you can ensure they have the best possible customer experience.
Go beyond your customer’s expectations
Everyone likes to feel special and your customers are no different. In order to improve their experience, you need to be aware of their expectations and go beyond them. They want to be special and feel like you know them well. Your PMS contains a significant amount of information regarding every one of your clients, so make sure to utilize this data, offering them little personalized attentions.
You are welcoming a client traveling solo? Greet them when they enter their room by leaving a welcoming message on their mirror. A business travellers just checked in? Give them the Wi-Fi password immediately! A family has chosen to stay at your hotel? Make sure the parents know the pool’s and/or the playground’s opening hours. You may want to program the television so that it is on the cartoon channel upon their arrival. If you have some information to communicate with the parents when they check-in, have some games or toys nearby for the kids to play with. The parents will then be able to get comfortable in their room while their kids enjoy their new toys. What an amazing way to begin the vacation!
Obviously some actions are better suited for certain types of clientele. On the other hand, some more general elements can satisfy more than one customer. No matter which segment of the market you are targeting, it is safe to say that travellers usually like to know what they can explore nearby. Thus make sure to always have a concierge available to answer any questions, whether present physically, or available through a phone number. You can also have a screen at your front desk from which your clients can search for restaurants, or even local attractions nearby. Be different and do not be afraid to innovate!
It is crucial to be aware of the latest trends in the hospitality industry, but also of your clients’ comments, whether it is an online review or comments left on social media such as Instagram. They might have some ingenious ideas on how to offer an outstanding customer experience at your hotel. Do not be afraid to ask for their feedback and comments, and to try out their suggestions. The outcome might surprise you!
As the welcoming manager, you can easily check the guests’ arrival times via your hotel management software. You will be able to predict trends and prepare for these specific peak times. These predictions will allow you to, for example, move your employee’s break accordingly so that they are available during peak hours. Arrival times can fluctuate depending on several variables, such as the weather. On a nice day, most of your guests will plan on arriving early in order to enjoy your facilities as much as possible. Therefore, by being aware of this trend in advance, you will be able to recruit more staff to welcome your guests earlier in the day, and let some of your staff go in the evening. With this information, as trivial as it may seem, you can manage your staff costs more efficiently, but most importantly, you can prepare for peak arrival times at your front desk. This can significantly help you avoid negative online reviews.
Saving arrival times in your hotel management software allows you to detect general trends. You could therefore identify seasonal trends or daily trends. During the week, you may welcome a lot of corporate clientele, which can make it seem like your arrival times solely correspond to the end of the business day. However, by having your data compiled in your hotel management software, you are able to verify if this observation is accurate or not. By having concrete data, you have a better idea of how to create a schedule for your front desk staff, such that every employee is busy and the waiting time at the front desk is significantly reduced.
Housekeeping
Your housekeeping staff will also benefit from this information. They will be able to prioritize their tasks according to the arrival times. Whether you pre-assign rooms or not, the different types of rooms you offer also have priorities. For example, guests who book a more luxurious room tend to arrive earlier. Therefore, the amount of luxurious rooms that need to be available earlier in the day is greater than that of more standard rooms. You can thus plan your housekeeping timetable accordingly in order to have many luxurious rooms cleaned and ready in advance.
By being aware of your guests’ arrival times, your housekeeping staff will also be better prepared to equip a specific room with gifts. For example, if one of your guests has requested a bouquet of roses and you know their arrival time, you can set a deadline for when the flowers need to be delivered to the room. Similarly, your catering staff can also exploit the guests’ arrival times stored in your property management software. According to the guests’ requests and/or packages booked, your staff can prepare in order to deliver bottles of wine or delicious welcoming treats.
Late arrivals
For many hotels, late night front desk opening hours can be limited, which is why it is important to set up a welcoming procedure so that the guest can still check-in and access their room. This procedure allows your hotel to gather all the information you usually get upon your guest’s arrival, while allowing them to check-in outside the opening hours.
By knowing in advance that a guest is planning a late arrival, your hotel can prepare for such a situation according to its policy. You can communicate with your guest all the information they need in order to check-in. This often happens for condo or chalet rentals, for which arrival times can vary quite a lot. It is not unusual for a guest to arrive in their condo or chalet without having physically checked-in with a front desk staff member. This can be done effortlessly if the guest has been given the correct instructions in order to check in in advance. Do not try to reach them last minute in order to give them this information if they have previously informed you of their arrival time.
How to gather this information
At Hotello, we have developed an online guest profile form which allows guests to confirm their information a few days before their arrival. On this guest profile, clients are able to indicate a precise arrival time, which you can later exploit to improve your guests’ overall satisfaction. This simple way to gather information straight into your Hotello PMS is a significant advantage. You could also ask your guest their arrival time when they book over the phone, or pick a booking engine which allows guests to indicate this information, which will then be transferred to your hotel management software.
When a guest is planning their stay at a hotel, you usually already know what is happening during the day. Make sure to ask for their arrival time so that you can give them an outstanding customer experience, and that your staff is ready to welcome them.
Have you ever felt your client’s displeasure during their stay? If you let a client leave your hotel on a bad note, you give them the opportunity to pour their heart out online, which certainly cannot have a beneficial impact on your hotel’s image. The best way to avoid negative reviews is to detect unhappy clients during their stay and immediately act in order to change their mind. Human contact can significantly help to boost your clients’ satisfaction. You therefore need to keep this human contact throughout your client’s stay: not only upon their arrival but also whenever they interact with your staff, whether it be with the housekeeping or the restaurant staff. Each interaction your client has should improve their overall satisfaction. It is crucial to motivate your staff to be proactive. Whenever a client points out a problem, discuss it with them while being open-minded and try to find an optimal solution. This could potentially save any situation and may even result in the client posting a positive review, if the situation was handled correctly and the issue was resolved.
Obviously, not every single client will leave your hotel on cloud nine. However you should have a rough idea of how satisfied each one of your client is when they leave your hotel, and be certain that you had tried everything within your power to resolve any discontent they may have had before they check out. You can also try and mitigate discontent after their stay in order to avoid negative reviews online. While thanking your client for staying with you, you can encourage them to write to you directly in order to communicate any comments or remarks they may have, and to fill out a satisfaction survey. Thus, they will be able to communicate with you their feelings and feedback without hurting your hotel’s image. Additionally, you will gain insight as to why they are not fully satisfied, and you will be able to lead some remedial actions to boost your future clients’ satisfaction.
Increase positive reviews
We wish to avoid for negative reviews to be available publicly, but that is the opposite for positive reviews. There are multiples ways to encourage satisfied clients to post positive reviews online. Therefore, if a client shares positive comments with you by e-mail or over the phone, remind them that they have the opportunity to share these online, via social media or OTAs. Also, if you can spot a satisfied client about to check out, you should ask them in person to post an online review. It has been proved that 70% of people asked to leave a review online end up doing so, so take advantage of that! You can also share positive reviews on your website or through various communications in order to build your standing and boost your bookings.
Answer all reviews
Whether you want it or not, you will certainly receive good and bad reviews. However you must answer every single one of them. You should of course thank those who left positive reviews, but it is even more important that you answer negative reviews. This allows you to start the conversation and show your unhappy client and potential clients who will browse through these reviews that you care about your clientele and that you wish to provide the best possible service. You will hence avoid or at least mitigate the effect of negative reviews on your hotel’s image.
In order to answer negative reviews appropriately, make sure to be calm, polite and understanding. It is important for you to answer quickly to avoid many potential clients seeing negative reviews unanswered. Do not be defensive, apologize for the inconvenience your client experienced and describe which remedial actions you will undertake to make sure this issue never happens again. This will let the client who left this negative review know that you care and take into consideration their feedback. The other potential clients who will browse through these reviews will be reassured to know real and remedial actions will have been taken as a result of these negative comments. You should also thank the client for their comment and feedback, and ask them to contact you directly by e-mail so that you can then offer them a compensation.
You now know everything about online reviews. All you need to do is to carry out the advice given above to avoid negative reviews, get more positive reviews and answer all reviews appropriately.
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