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According to a recent report by Twilo Segment, 56% of consumers say they will become repeat buyers after a personalized experience.
Personalization is essential to any hotel’s business strategy. According to the same report, almost 69% of business leaders are increasing their investment in personalization despite challenging economic headwinds.
So, what does personalization entail, what are the benefits, and how can hotels use it to their advantage? Read on to find out.
Personalization means tailoring the experience for individual guests based on their preferences, behaviors, and characteristics. You could greet a guest by their first name or congratulate a couple on their engagement with a complimentary bottle of wine, for example.
The goal of personalization is to increase guest satisfaction and loyalty. Guests want to feel valued and understood.
Data, technology, and great customer service are the keys to unlocking personalization. Hotels must utilize their property management systems and guest experience platforms to understand guest preferences, behaviors, and past interactions.
Guest personalization is crucial for hotels for several reasons:
Guest experience personalization might be important but it’s not always easy. This can be for a few reasons:
Getting to know your guests—from individuals to specific guest segments—is an important first step to personalization.
Guest profiles help you create a comprehensive picture of your guest. This picture can then help you apprehend your guest’s needs and preferences before their stay even begins.
Each guest should have a profile detailing their:
Guests leave valuable insight in their online reviews so it’s important to pay attention to them. Whether the review is positive or negative, it can help understand what they liked and disliked about their stay. This feedback can then help you improve upon their experience next time.
So, how can you encourage guests to leave reviews? Technology like contactless checkout gives you a way to guide guests to leave reviews on Google or TripAdvisor. Canary Contactless Checkout, for example, does this through a brief, customizable survey.
Did you know: Canary Contactless Checkout increases the number of 5-star hotel reviews on TripAdvisor and Google by up to 350%?
Pre-arrival personalization helps you create a positive and memorable guest experience before they’ve stepped foot on your property! It also demonstrates your commitment to understanding and meeting your guests’ needs. And guests will love you for it.
Tailored welcome messages or emails are a great way to get guests excited about their stay, make them feel valued, and create a good first impression. Here are a few ways you can take your welcome messages to the next level:
Set up the guest's room with specific amenities or arrangements based on their preferences, such as a favorite type of pillow, specific room temperature, or favorite snacks and drinks. Here are a few ideas:
During your guests’ stay, the opportunities for personalization are endless. Your staff must be alert and ready to continuously cater to guests’ preferences before they ask.
Training staff on guest recognition and engagement is crucial for creating a personalized guest experience. Here are a few ways you can help your staff delight guests:
Surprise and delight guests with personalized amenities that align with their preferences and interests. Here are a few ideas:
Implement a digital concierge or messaging platform that allows guests to communicate with hotel staff in real-time. This platform can handle requests, provide recommendations, and address any concerns promptly.
Say a guest needs restaurant recommendations, they can receive instant suggestions based on their preferences and dietary requirements.
Your post-stay engagement should be planned before your guests’ departure. Doing so will ensure you leave a lasting impression and enhance your chances of a repeat visit.
Personalized thank-you messages—whether they are handwritten or sent digitally—are a great way to express gratitude. They also present an opportunity to ask guests for an online review. Here are a few essential thank-you message elements to remember:
Any future marketing you conduct with past guests should be relevant and tailored to their interests. Here are a few ways you could personalize future communications with guests:
Upselling works best when the right add-ons are offered to the right guests at the right time. But you’ll only achieve this by getting to know your guests. For example, you could upsell:
Upsell technology allows you to upsell to each guest intelligently throughout their stay. This takes the burden off your front office staff and allows them to focus on customer service.
Get a Free Demo of Canary Upsells Today!
Messaging technology is a great, low-effort way to enhance your personalization efforts—at any point of the guest journey. That, and it saves time for your front desk!
With Canary Messaging, you can tailor your messages to each guest’s individual preferences and needs. You can also use messaging to communicate with guests about promotions, discounts, and special offers.
The messages can be sent either manually or on a scheduled basis, depending on the hotel's preference. The conversation history also allows you to access and remember guest requests and preferences.
Get a Free Demo of Canary Messaging Today!
Mobile check-in allows guests to complete the check-in process on their phones without having to queue. This means they can begin their stay sooner.
This is a great way to collect important guest information, preferences, and special requests. This data can be used to create detailed guest profiles that inform personalized interactions throughout their stay.
Get a Free Demo of Canary Contactless Check-In Today!
Guest experience personalization wouldn’t exist without quality staff empowerment and training. That’s why it’s important to prioritize the quality of your onboarding and working culture. A happy workforce means happier guests.
Putting guests at the center of everything you do will not only increase guest satisfaction, but also contributes to positive word-of-mouth, repeat business, and long-term success.
A guest-centric culture will also lead to a focus on guest personalization and exceptional customer service.
Create a supportive environment where staff feel valued, motivated, and confident to take initiative. This can be done by setting clear expectations, providing support from leadership, and encouraging autonomy and decision-making.
When staff members feel empowered and happy in their roles, they’ll likely go the extra mile not because they’re asked, but because they enjoy the job.
Personalizing your guest experience is a sure way to delight guests, encourage positive reviews, and bring them back again and again.
From building guest profiles to leveraging the right technology, personalization doesn’t have to be difficult. It just needs to be approached in the right way.
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