With competition getting fierce in the hospitality industry, it is extremely important for hotels to ensure great customer experience. Not only should guests feel they made the right choice, they should be impressed enough to come back for more.
A Harvard review shows that guests who had the ‘best experience’ actually spend 140% more than those with mediocre experiences and on the flip side, 78% have cancelled a transaction or intent to buy after a poor experience.
A guest’s experience directly impacts the profitability of a hotel, so hotels need to ensure that they give their guests the best possible experience.
Also, it’s not that difficult since the hotel already has the right tools for the job, they just need to ensure that they are utilised well. One of the best tools available is a hotel management system and here are 5 ways in which it can be used to ensure a great customer experience;
1. Optimise online presence
Hotels can integrate their hotel management system with an efficient distribution system and optimize their online presence. Internet travel and hotel statistics indicate that 57% of all travel bookings made are done over the internet, so it is not sufficient for a hotel to only have their own website.
Hotels need to be globally visible in the online marketplace; they need to be present on OTAs, social media channels, review websites and so on.
2. Mobile bookings
65% of all same day reservations are made via a Smartphone. Hotel bookings need to be accessible via a smartphone or else they’ll lose out to the competition.
A cloud based hotel management system like Hotelogix provides a responsive design of their multi-device booking engine enabling a guest to book at the hotel via their mobile. All the details required would be displayed seamlessly thus a guest can easily book their rooms. This simplifies a guests booking experience and encourages them to book with your hotel.
3. Create personalised experiences for your guest
Often the data collected from a guest is neglected during the time of booking. Hotels only take the data which they feel is relevant to them: like number of room nights, date of check in, pick up details etc.
Hotels can use the data collected via the hotel management system and create a more personalised experience for their guest. Before the guest arrive interact with them on email and ask if they have any special requests which can be kept ready before arrival.
Store details of guests preference on the hotel management system so that if a guest comes again, any employee accessing the hotel management system can pull up their details and be aware of their likes and dislikes.
4. Go mobile
A mobile hotel management system simplifies the workload of the front desk and provides them with more time to interact with the guests and respond to their feedback. Hotel managers can manage reservations; check ins, booking details, rates, housekeeping etc all via a hotel management system on the go. This ensures maximum efficiency and fewer errors resulting in more satisfied guests. It’s a complete win-win for all.
5. Use reports to guide decisions
There are numerous reports that can be sourced via a hotel management system. For guest satisfaction, managers should analyse guest reports, their feedback, transactions made by the guests, their booking experiences and so on. This can help hotel determine if there are any markers for guests who are repeat guests or those who spend more at the hotel’s various point of sale (POS). The data can help hotels correct what doesn’t work for them as well as build upon the factors which lead to guest satisfaction.
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