What is hotel customer service?
Hotel customer service is the range of services and interactions provided by hotel staff to ensure a pleasant and satisfying experience for guests. It includes everything from booking and check-in to answering questions, resolving issues, and providing amenities during a guest’s stay.
To help you master hotel customer service, this blog will briefly discuss the most important factors that go into creating positive, shareable, memorable experiences for your guests, including practical tips, tricks, tools, and actionable strategies. Table of contents
What is the importance of customer service in hotels?
Customer service in hotels is crucial because it directly impacts the guest experience and the hotel’s reputation. It’s a straightforward idea:
- Excellent customer service ensures that guests feel valued and taken care of, which can lead to repeat business and positive reviews.
- Satisfied guests are more likely to recommend the hotel to others, boosting the hotel’s reputation and attracting new customers.
- Exceptional customer service can differentiate a hotel from its competitors, creating a loyal customer base.
Investing in quality customer service not only enhances guest satisfaction but also drives long-term business success. Deliver world-class hotel customer service with SiteMinder Enhance guest satisfaction and boost revenue with SiteMinder’s tools for efficient operations, personalised experiences, and global reach.
How to provide the best hotel customer service
Did you know that for 61% of travellers it takes just one bad experience to swear off a hotel brand and find an alternative? This shows that a lot of people will only stand to have their trust broken once, and are not liable to provide many second chances. In fact, if multiple negative experiences occur, you’ll lose 76% of customers. It’s not a surprise that guests have high expectations – and they continue to rise – but it is concerning for hoteliers, who are trying hard to generate long-term customers.
So, how do you work on preventing this one destructive experience? There’s probably no way of eliminating it completely. Mistakes do happen, as do unreasonable customers – but by taking a laserlike focus to customer service and realising it could be the most important function at your hotel, you can start to build a reputation for excellence.
Here are our top ways to provide the best hotel customer service that you can achieve for your property.
1. Look beyond your borders
One of the most salient points to make is that customer service is universal, abounding in every industry. So even if you’re convinced you have the best customer service in the hotel industry, it doesn’t mean you can’t improve on it because a brand in another industry may set a whole different standard for what great customer service means.
What you really should be doing is keeping up with customer expectations. If that means you’re strides ahead of your rivals, all the better.
Think carefully about your own experiences. Which company has impressed you the most? Whoever it may be, you can use this as a benchmark to mark your own business by.
Realising that customer service could be the most important function at your hotel, helps you to start building a reputation for excellence.
2. Aim for consistency
Everyone has off days and one day it’s going to happen to your staff or yourself at some stage. To help avoid lapses make sure attention to detail is a priority at all times. You also need to make it fun, not only for guests but for yourself. If staff are enjoying their working environment it will show in their performance and vice versa.
The more guests you can leave a great impression on the more likely it is some of them will become free ‘brand ambassadors’, recommending your hotel to people they know and sharing their experience on social media. They’ll even spend more while at the property too!
3. Think considerately about what customers want
Often businesses don’t take enough time to truly understand the needs and desires of customers. Rather they offer what they themselves perceive to be of value, and often it’s too surface level.
Comfort is essential for travellers who want to spend the majority of their time relaxing. Getting the simple things perfectly right is usually what guests will love, as it appeals to their basic human needs.
Don’t be shy in asking for constant feedback and discovering what the guests at your hotel appreciate the most and what you can do to improve their stay next time.
4. Have flexibility when it comes to service
Sometimes solving a problem for a customer or making their stay as good as it possibly can be requires something out of the ordinary. Great customer service shouldn’t be dictated by company policies or rules all the time. Staff should have a certain amount of freedom in this instance to do what they feel is necessary to make a guest happy.
When things go wrong, or a guest makes a complaint a certain amount of creativity is going to be needed to get things back on track. The more effort a staff member is able to put in, the more likely it is that a guest will give the business a second chance or change their negative feedback to a positive review.
5. Know your customer base
Today’s travel market is diverse, encompassing everything from baby boomers to socially-minded millennials to wealthy leisure travellers. The more you understand your target market and the emotional experiences they seek, the better you can tailor your products and offerings to serve them.
To build loyalty, a hotel’s offerings must be aligned with their guests’ core values and beliefs. For example, 77% of millennials believe it’s important that their money goes towards making the world a better place, a finding which has important implications for hotels catering to this fastest growing travel market segment.
6. Improve on operation processes
Today’s consumers are expecting ever-greater levels of speed and efficiency. As such, consider incorporating your operations processes into your marketing strategies, such as self-serve kiosks that save time at check-in or online booking systems that allow customers to digitally view and select their rooms.
7. Maintain supplier relationships to high standards
Savvy businesses know that excellent relationships along their entire supply chain are essential to their success. As such, treat your suppliers with the same courtesy and respect that you grant your customers, and make sure they know you expect the same level of service from them.
8. Exceed expectations
When a guest stays with you, they are entrusting you with their care and well-being. As such, strive to exceed expectations at all times and, in turn, they will reward you with their loyalty and free word-of-mouth marketing through their networks.
Clearly, there are many ways to redefine your customer service. From your front desk to your online presence, creating memorable, customer-centric memories is the key to success now and into the future.
The more emphasis the hotel owner or manager puts on customer service, the more engaged staff will be in delivering great service. It can’t be stressed enough that guests are the most important part of the hotel business.
Hotel customer service examples to enhance the ambiance of your property
Exceptional customer service is key to elevating the ambiance of your hotel and providing guests with an unforgettable experience. By implementing personalised touches, efficient processes, and cutting-edge technology, you can create a warm and inviting environment. Here are some examples of how to enhance your property’s ambiance through superior customer service:
Personalised welcome message
A personalised welcome message can make guests feel special and valued right from the start. For instance, using SiteMinder’s booking system, you can gather guest preferences and send a tailored welcome email before their arrival. This message can include details about their room, local attractions, and any special requests they made. Such personalisation shows attention to detail and enhances the guest’s initial impression of your hotel.
Efficient check in and check out
Streamlining the check-in and check-out processes can significantly improve guest satisfaction. Using SiteMinder’s integrated systems, you can offer online check-in options, allowing guests to bypass the front desk upon arrival. Quick and efficient check-out processes also ensure that guests leave your hotel with a positive impression, minimising any delays or inconveniences.
Multilingual approach
Catering to a diverse range of guests by offering multilingual services can greatly enhance the guest experience. Employing multilingual staff or using translation apps during interactions ensures clear communication and makes international guests feel more at home. SiteMinder’s website builder includes the ability for multilingual websites, ensuring that you can market to and communicate with guests in their preferred language.
Technology integration
Integrating modern technology into your hotel’s operations can create a seamless and enjoyable experience for guests. For example, using SiteMinder’s channel manager, you can ensure that room availability and pricing are always up-to-date across all booking platforms.
Additionally, implementing smart room controls, mobile room keys, and digital concierge services through one of SiteMinder’s partners can impress tech-savvy guests and enhance the overall ambiance of your property.
Benjamas Kitsaengklai,
Assistant General Manager
Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel and Spa
Hotel customer service tips for leveraging social media
Do you know how your guests really feel about you? Fortunately, technology is making it easier than ever to get real-time feedback with website and smartphone surveys as well as social media listening tools to actively monitor what people are saying about your brand online.
‘The customer is always right’ has never been truer than in our age – the age of the Internet. With the ability of a single tweet, post or review from an unhappy customer to reach thousands, it’s your responsibility to listen to customers and make things right. Statistics show hotels that exceed their customer experience scores by 10% exceed $1 billion in aggregate revenue.
When it comes to posting and sharing content, Twitter is less effective than Facebook and Instagram, and staff can find it overwhelming to keep on top of the continuous, snappy engagement that this social media platform demands.
However, its 320 million monthly users can’t be ignored, and Twitter is without doubt the best social media channel for breaking news, tracking trends, and responding quickly to customer complaints and comments.
Twitter is especially suited to the fast-moving mobile use of frequent travellers, but they will not engage with sales-related tweets.
Here’s our advice on how to engage with and listen to your hotel’s customers on Twitter.
1. Speak up
Anyone taking to Twitter to complain about your hotel is already disproportionately upset. The customer service process within your property has failed them somehow, and your silence in response to their tweet is contemptuous.
Don’t be afraid of engaging in this type of conversation. If you follow the guest on Twitter you can continue your discussion via private message, and return to the network with a public message along the lines of, ‘I’m so pleased we resolved this difficulty…’.
2. Speed up
Make sure staff keep their eyes peeled for any negative activity to respond to appropriately – and you’ll be among the minority of operators that bother.
3. Use hashtags
Tweets with hashtags receive more retweets and favourites. Anyone who searches for a hashtag you have used may find your tweet, and more importantly your hotel.
As well as generic hashtags such as #travel #trips, you should generate others that may resonate with your customers or that are appropriate to your location.
Don’t overuse hashtags though. They’ll make your tweet appear cluttered and disrupt the narrative. Twitter says to use no more than two hashtags per tweet.
4. Provide valuable information
A hotel can become a valuable news source by posting information about local events. Enliven your chat with photos of the city, discount vouchers, and comment on positive local news stories as they unfold.
Tweet about local events, especially if you’re providing a transport option or shuttle to them. Always include the host organisation’s Twitter handle in your comments, and images or videos.
Hilton has become well-known for the travel advice it gives out on Twitter – take a look at its profile @HiltonSuggests to see the kind of tips it regularly publishes.
5. Be proactive
Did one of your guests tweet that he isn’t looking forward to waking up before dawn for an early morning meeting? Surprise him with fresh coffee at his door. It’s quite straightforward to set up your Twitter feed to follow mentions of your city, a competitor or a local event.
Keywords like ‘lost’, ‘tired’ ‘hungry’ or ‘disappointed’ so you can come to the rescue of disenchanted travellers with the offer of a room at a special rate, or a free hot chocolate.
Don’t overdo this. Jumping on every tweet that mentions your town sounds desperate and you don’t want to dominate the conversation.
6. Personalised the service
Your hotel is a people business and guests visit you for a memorable stay. You should make an effort to replicate face-to-face interaction.
Put your name and the names of anyone who tweets on your business account. End your hotel’s tweets with names, as opposed to initials, to help create a sense of familiarity with your hotel and your staff.
Want guests to remember you even more? Offer the personal touch that will stick out in people’s minds. Greeting your guests by name, offering personalised recommendations and treating guests to services above and beyond the norm will help you leave a lasting impression.
How to improve hotel customer service standards to meet cultural needs
Cultural awareness and sensitivity is extremely important at your hotel, from both a guest and staff perspective. Wherever your hotel is situated you must consider that the culture of visitors may be very different to yours, and it’s also likely you will hire staff from diverse backgrounds too.
Including this in your hotel customer service strategy will greatly improve your level of guest and staff satisfaction, resulting in better reviews and an improved reputation for your business.
Here are the most important things to take note of.
1. Be conscious of food requirements
Yes, when people travel they are often open and eager to try new things but they also want access to what they like and what they’re familiar with. This is where it’s vital to know the historical trends of your hotel and collect data on your guests.
If the majority of your guests are Chinese, the food you serve in your kitchen or restaurant should provide them with traditional and authentic options. The same goes for Middle-Eastern guests who will require Halal meals to be available. Other cultures, such as Greek, typically eat at unconventional hours. Some Greek travellers probably won’t want their main meal of the day before 10pm so navigating situations like this is something else you will have to juggle.
For guest satisfaction, there are few things more important than the dining experience at your hotel so it pays to consider the options carefully.
2. Accommodate religious beliefs and rituals
Many religions have strict customs that guests will need to adhere to even when on holiday.
You should think very carefully about setting aside quiet and private spaces for prayer and contemplation. The space needs to be easily accessed and available at all hours of the day, so you don’t exclude anyone.
You should also note the time of year that guests are visiting and see if anything of religious significance is happening. For example, pay attention to the dates for when Muslims practice Ramadan as they change every year. You should consider removing alcohol from their rooms and be flexible around meal times.
3. Educate on customs and preferences
While dining and religion are definitely the two most important considerations, cultural awareness also extends to the hotel room itself and the everyday interactions with your guests.
Take TV for example. Guests want something that interests them and something that allows them to relax. If all you’re offering is local news channels or cartoons, you may be inviting some frustration from your guest.
With some Arabic channels, a Bollywood movie channel and a large variety of daytime international soaps, you’ll be ahead the game.
Another factor is the way your staff communicate with international guests.
Even though in Japan bowing is a common custom, it’s a very complicated one and Japanese travellers don’t usually expect to be greeted in this way when they come to your hotel. If you bow too low, or not low enough, you risk offending your guest as soon as they arrive. In the same context, within certain Middle-Eastern cultures a man would never shake hands with a woman.
It’s always best to train your staff to use some reserve in these regards and maintain a neutral but respectful approach.
4. Know how to get the best out of your staff
Many hospitality workers are also migrants so the chances of you hiring a staff member from a different culture is high. There may be language barriers to overcome, but the most important element is the attitude and respect you have towards each other.
Feedback and criticism can be approached in many different ways depending on culture. Some cultures like to be direct, while others will be less confrontational and more passive.
In countries like France, Italy, or Spain decisions are always made by people nearer the top of the company hierarchy while in certain
Scandinavian countries, lower grade employees are given the autonomy to make decisions. This is why it’s important both you and your staff are on the same page when it comes to managing the many nuances within your hotel.
Hotel customer service training & skills
Effective hotel customer service training is essential for ensuring that staff have the skills needed to provide exceptional guest experiences. Key skills include communication, problem-solving, empathy, and knowledge of hotel operations. These skills help staff anticipate guest needs, resolve issues efficiently, and create a welcoming atmosphere. For comprehensive training resources, visit our dedicated pages:
