The competition for travelers’ attention is fierce, and driving the booking is just the first hurdle. But what happens after guests book their stay? That’s when the real challenge (and opportunity) begins.
Enter guest experience management. A hotel’s success depends on the impressions it leaves on its guests. Creating an unforgettable guest experience doesn’t just win rave reviews; it directly boosts your reputation and bottom line.
Let’s take a look at why guest experience management is important in hospitality and how you can strategically think about your approach to delighting everyone that engages with your property.
Simply put, happier guests are more likely to return—and more likely to share their positive experiences with others.
According to research from Deloitte, for every point increase in customer satisfaction, guests are 12% more likely to return to a hotel chain and 21% more likely to leave a positive review.
Giving guests a great experience, from the time they first visit your website to the time they check out (and beyond!) elevates your hotel’s reputation.
Customer service is often what people think of when the guest experience is mentioned, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Customer service focuses on fulfilling requests and resolving issues — it’s a transactional process that’s essential for preventing poor experiences and maintaining a positive reputation. When a guest complains about their room, how the front desk responds is an example of customer service in action.
By contrast, guest experience management is a concept that encompasses the entire guest journey. The guest experience begins from the moment they first engage with your hotel (even before booking!) to the moment they check out.
Guests begin forming an opinion of your property from the moment they come across it in their travel research, and it continues to develop through each subsequent interaction. Therefore, every aspect of your business contributes to your guest experience, including your website, reservation process, guest communication methods, check-in, amenities, services and more.
Good guest experience management requires a holistic approach that examines every aspect of an individual’s stay.
To manage something, you also need to measure it — which is why it is vital to continually gather and examine the feedback you receive about your hotel’s guest experience. Here are ways to analyze how guests perceive your hotel:
When working on hotel guest experience management, hoteliers can have an impact at every stage of the guest journey, from pre-booking to departure.
This is where the guest experience starts. Guests do their research, consider their options and (hopefully) choose your hotel for their stay — but all of that depends on their experience leading up to that point. Make it easy for potential guests to find the information they need through tools such as webchat agents that answer common questions, customer reviews that provide helpful insights and property photos of each room type so guests know exactly what to expect.
In between booking and arrival, there are ample opportunities to elevate the guest experience. Prepare them for a seamless arrival by showcasing relevant upsells that can enhance their stay, sending pertinent information about local attractions in the area and providing a mobile check-in option so guests can register for their own devices.
The way you communicate with guests during their stay is one of the biggest ways to impact the guest experience — and when asked, nearly 40% of millennials said they would like to be texted about essential hotel communications. Communicate with guests in a way they prefer through guest messaging and provide accessible information about your property through a digital guidebook guests can access from their phones.
Every hotelier knows the phenomenon of seemingly every guest wanting to check out at once, which is frustrating both for hotel staff and guests. Create a seamless departure experience by implementing a mobile checkout solution, self-service key drop and digital folios so guests can see exactly what they owe and why.
Guests want to communicate on their terms and with their own devices. For hotels, this means investing in an omnichannel communication strategy that can keep up with the rise in demand from guests who reach out across different (and sometimes multiple!) mediums. Investing in a guest messaging platform that can accommodate messages from online chats, WhatsApp, SMS and online travel agencies (OTAs) keeps everything in one place and guarantees that customers can reach you in the way they prefer.
Providing exceptional service is an important component of a hotel front desk staffer’s job. But what if we told you that there are many pieces of busywork that can be eliminated from their day-to-day roles while simultaneously benefiting the guest experience? Making use of AI that’s specifically built for the hospitality industry can do just that. When guests ask a question AI knows the answer to, it answers immediately, any time of the day or night. This frees up front desk staff to take on more nuanced tasks while giving guests the answers they need right away.
If guests don’t know everything your property has to offer, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to enjoy their stay to its fullest. Consider ways you can provide guests with information about your property in an easy to digest way, such as through a digital compendium they can access from their own devices once they arrive on-site.
While a high attention to detail and expertly trained staff go a long way, offering personalized upgrades and add-ons can make a significant difference in a guest’s overall experience (and increase your hotel’s revenue!). Taking the time to understand the type of guests who visit your hotel lets you create tailored packages for specific market segments to craft a visit they’ll never forget.
Advertising what your hotel is doing to stay sustainable can be a major selling point for guests, and have an impact on their overall experience. A recent report found that 65% of travelers feel better at staying in hotels with eco-friendly initiatives, and it’s an extra bonus when these initiatives also impact the customer experience. By implementing modern solutions such as contactless keycards, digital credit card authorizations and reducing laundry requirements for housekeeping, you can improve the day to day experience for guests and staff.
Want to learn more about sustainability initiatives? Get Canary’s Ultimate Guide to Sustainability in Hospitality ebook here.
With tech-forward, guest-focused solutions, Canary can help hotels of all sizes improve their guest experience. As the top-rated Guest Management System, we have solutions that enhance the guest journey at every touchpoint. Book a demo today to learn more.
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