What is guest experience?
Guest experience is about ensuring hotel guests feel welcomed, satisfied, enriched, and that they got value for their money. It’s important that the guest experience feels authentic and unique to every individual, so that it creates a lasting memory for the customer. Guest experience in hotels include the entire customer journey, from researching and booking all the way through to post-stay.
When it comes to pleasing guests, ‘personalisation’ is as buzzed as a word can get, but for good reason; there’s no excuse not to be taking a more focused approach to customer interaction. However, optimising the guest experience and ensuring guest expectations are met is a constantly evolving challenge for hoteliers.
With a veritable banquet of options at their fingertips, travellers are demanding more than ever before. It makes life harder for hotels, but also gives them a greater opportunity to deliver an experience guests will never forget. The collection and use of customer data will allow a hotel to effectively personalise their service for guests.
This blog will delve into how you can perfect the guest experience at your property.
Table of contents
Why is guest experience important?
Guest experience is important because it directly influences your hotel’s reputation, customer loyalty, and revenue. A positive guest experience leads to repeat business, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals, all of which are critical for your hotel’s long-term success. Guests who have memorable and enjoyable stays are more likely to become loyal customers, contributing to a steady stream of income for the hotel.
Much is discussed in regards to guest experience in today’s travel world, but often the guest experience and hotelier experience are inextricably linked. Both inspire and feed each other through demand, expectation, and satisfaction. In contemporary society, hotels are facing complex distribution, pricing, and guest contentment challenges.
It sees them fighting to balance their own business needs with the increasing and dynamic nature of travel technology, and the savvy, resourceful attitudes of travellers. As a result, hotels need to be led by traveller behaviour. The majority rules. Early adopters are typically well-educated, have high incomes, and are willing to take risks. Hotels are realising they need to be in many places at once, with constant visibility being a cornerstone of booking success.
Enhance guest experience and boost revenue What if you could personalise the guest experience while also increasing profit? Our smart hotel platform helps you do exactly that.
What are the 3 aspects of guest experience?
Guest experience is all-encompassing for your hotel, but focusing on 3 critical aspects will cover off most of what you need to succeed:
1. Improved consistency of room facilities
A key aspect of guest experience is ensuring that room facilities are consistent across all accommodations. By standardising rooms during a modernisation programme, hotels can deliver a uniform standard, removing the stress for guests of trying to book the ‘best’ room. This could include features such as king-sized beds, complimentary WiFi, spacious desks, TVs with multiple channels, and complimentary bathroom toiletries and hot beverage making facilities.
By creating consistent guest expectations and focusing on uniformity, hotels can ensure that every guest knows they’re getting a high-standard room. Consider the facilities you could make consistent across your property. It pays off, and the proof is in the online reviews. As a result of this focus, many hotels see improved ratings and reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor.
2. Strengthened direct booking strategy
Strengthening the direct booking strategy is another crucial aspect. For many hotels, direct bookings can account for a significant portion of revenue, particularly considering the fact that direct bookings avoid OTAs taking a chunk out of your bottom line via commission.
Increasing conversions with a simple guest booking experience is much easier than you think – and not just for big brands. Online booking engines, such as SiteMinder’s booking engine, can deliver a seamless two-step booking process for guests. These booking engines can be branded to suit your hotel’s website and enable you to upsell a more personalised stay for guests. Best of all, SiteMinder’s direct booking engine is mobile-optimised, so you can launch booking via mobile app with a high conversion rate with no added work involved.
3. Focused on a new food and beverage offer
Enhancing the food and beverage offering adds significant value to the overall guest experience. By focusing on improving staple menu items and introducing high-quality options, hotels can see a positive impact on customer satisfaction and sales. Offering a variety of vegetarian options, organic products, and premium coffee are examples of improvements that can resonate well with guests.
When looking at your food and beverage offer, think about where you can make some quick wins and improvements. Start by speaking to your chefs and ask them what changes they would make in order to improve your hotel’s breakfast menu. Then take your ideas to your food and beverage suppliers who can help you make the right choices for the right price. Overwhelmingly, you should trust your gut (pun definitely intended!) and think about the kind of breakfast you would like to eat as a guest. Value for money is crucial here and a few Google searches for the best hotel breakfast will help inspire you.
The digital guest experience: Expectations of tech-savvy operations
A new breed of tech-savvy travellers has emerged in recent years, and they expect hotels to be keeping up with technology. Even older generations are now well-versed in the use of social media and mobile devices, two things that are vital considerations for hoteliers. This means mobile-friendly websites, easy navigation, and a quick and simple booking process. Even while gaining inspiration to travel, people are using mobile technology to browse Facebook or Instagram, so a constant presence is needed from hotels.
Recognised as one of the most critical aspects for hotels, the guest experience starts prior to their check-in; it begins during their research for accommodation and also continues post-stay, with technology being a driver throughout the entire journey. Your guests may have found you through one of your online travel agents listings or directly on your own website and it’s at this point that your responsibility for their experience with your hotel starts. Once they’ve decided on a destination, their excitement will propel them into searching and booking a hotel. Guests expect this process to be fast and simple with payment systems that are accessible via mobile.
Mobile has become increasingly important. Consumers are finding more ways to solve their own enquiries. One of the methods they use is by downloading apps. When it comes to booking your hotel, they expect to be able to easily check their details and interact with your hotel instantly through an app rather than by email, phone, or web browser. If you don’t have an app, guests may decide to book elsewhere.
The hotel guest experience journey
The hotel customer journey is a comprehensive process that involves multiple stages, from initial dreaming and planning to post-stay engagement.
For guests, the process of booking travel really is a journey. Personal service is not something that appears, but something that is nurtured over time. Guests will respond better if they have personal support before, during, and after their stay.
How many points of contact are there in a guest’s experience?
There are seven main points of contact in the guest experience, ranging from the first dreams of a holiday (aptly named the Dreaming stage) through to the inevitable Return stage due to an excellent experience.
Each stage plays a crucial role in shaping the overall guest experience and determining customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Dreaming stage: Guests begin their journey by envisioning their ideal vacation, often influenced by social media and online content. Hotels can capture interest through captivating images and engaging descriptions of their properties.
- Planning stage: Once inspired, guests start researching destinations and accommodations, comparing reviews and amenities. Ensuring a strong online presence with positive reviews and detailed information helps hotels stand out during this stage.
- Booking stage: A seamless and user-friendly booking process is essential. Providing clear pricing, easy navigation, and multiple booking options, including a mobile-friendly platform, can significantly enhance the booking experience.
- Preparation stage: After booking, effective communication with guests through confirmation emails, local guides, and tips for their stay can build anticipation and provide valuable information, enhancing the pre-arrival experience.
- Experience stage: The actual stay is where expectations are met or exceeded. High-quality service, well-maintained rooms, and personalised experiences are key to ensuring guest satisfaction.
- Sharing stage: Post-stay, guests often share their experiences online. Encouraging positive reviews and engaging with feedback on platforms like TripAdvisor can influence future guests’ decisions.
- Return stage: Maintaining contact through loyalty programs and personalised offers encourages repeat bookings, completing the customer journey cycle.
All hotels are looking for ways to increase turnover. The more revenue a hotel can generate, the more options they give themselves to create profitable business strategies. Obviously converting as many bookings as possible is a core component of this plan, but getting existing guests to spend more is also a great option.
Find out more in our dedicated guide to the hotel customer journey.
How to improve guest experience in a hotel
Guest experience can seem like a daunting endeavour, with a huge number of different strategies that work (or don’t) depending on your hotel, its guests, your staff, and your USPs. It can feel tempting to let guest experience simply appear ‘naturally’ – after all, if you’re doing a good job everywhere else, surely guests will have a good experience simply as a matter of course?
The reality is quite different. Guest experience is a discipline unto itself, and too many hotels fall into the trap of complacency.
Changes have to happen now, and quickly. Failure will result in a business that isn’t operating at all.
On top of complying to any government and industry instated requirements, hotels will need to look closely at what travellers might be coming to their area, what they’re looking for, and what services can be provided to them.
Take into account:
1. Flexible booking policies
Many guests will be hesitant to book too far in advance and also may be forced to cancel reservations at short notice. The waiving or relaxing of cancellation fees is widespread across the industry for hotels, OTAs, and airlines. It will help to ensure guests needs are met and future loyalty by offering empathy through flexibility.
2. Cleanliness and hygiene
Travellers will naturally be health conscious when they travel in the immediate future so you need to make assurances that your hotel is undertaking best practice in this area. Assess which areas of your property need improvement and increased precautions.
3. Shared spaces (lobby, bar, restaurant, pool etc)
Overcrowding should be avoided at all costs as many guests will be concerned about this – and it will likely be illegal. Again, assurances will need to be made that you have this under control. Intensify cleaning procedures, especially in high touch areas like these.
4. Contactless check-in, room entry, room service etc
These are requests that travellers have been leaning towards for some time prior to the pandemic, but will become much more of a demand now. Not only will it save the guest time and inconvenience, it will now make them feel safer. Hotels should access industry specific apps to help with check-in and room functionality.
5. Wellness services and amenities
The psychological effects of a global event like this shouldn’t be understated. Travellers will be looking for body and soul restoration, to feel healthy, clean, and normal again. Many will be eager to escape the surroundings they have just spent in lockdown to find calmer experiences.
6. Surge in adventure/active holidays
Being cooped up for weeks and months on end will have travellers craving adventure, exploration, and fun new experiences. Hotels should look at what packages they can offer for this group. It’s the perfect time to connect with local companies to broaden your offering.
7. Local health facilities
Even when all the restrictions have dissipated, the fear won’t. Guests will be making sure local health services are close to where they are staying and are reliable, to ensure the safety of themselves, family, friends, and colleagues.
To aid guests, update information on your website, including room descriptions and use guest messaging apps to make communication easier and more personalised.
It’s important to put together a solid, proactive action plan that redefines the guest journey if you’re going to come out on top after the dust settles. The businesses that innovate and recognise the opportunities available to them will be the ones that succeed.
8. Value-for-money deals
Convince guests to spend a little more by providing value-for-money deals. You can offer these via your online booking engine at the time of purchase, or by sending an email prior to the guest’s arrival.
You might offer a spa package to some guests, or a restaurant deal to others. When guest’s check-in, take the time to ask them some general questions about their preferences.
9. Extended stay or discounted upgrades
Work on extending this by offering incentives to loyalty members. Send emails or in-app messages giving them the opportunity to book extra nights at a lower price or with free extras.
Display urgency messages on your booking engine to let guests know when occupancy for certain rooms are running low. This is a tactic used by many OTAs but your online booking engine should have this functionality available to you.
Use booking confirmation emails to offer a discounted upgrade so they can increase their party. Revenue can be made up from food, beverages, and amenities.
10. Know your guests in a deeper level
Use guest information to give them the best experience possible when they’re at your property. This means finding out what they most enjoy doing or what features they want in their room.
Stock the room with specific drinks and snacks the guest will love. Again, you can use your booking engine to give guests a range of options when they book via your website.
The deeper level of knowledge you have about your guest, the more likely your guest will stay loyal, because they trust you know what they want from a hotel experience.
If you are able to deliver a personalised guest experience, and get that guest to book directly with you again and again, you’ve increased the lifetime value of that guest. And that’s a great thing. After all, 86% of consumers say personalisation plays a huge role in purchase decisions.
Preparing your hotel for the ultimate hotel guest experience
To help get things off on the right foot, there are plenty of important tasks you can perform before your guests even finalise their booking or arrive for their stay. You want your guests to be in a good state of mind before they stay with you – anticipating their trip with excitement. This won’t happen if they have a bad experience on your website or with your booking process.
Here are some tips.
1. Assess your website experience
- Integration – Seamless integration between your website and online booking tool is a must if you want guests to have a user-friendly experience and convert strongly.
- Rates and availability – Your rates need to be up-to-date and clearly displayed. Keep your packages simple and connect to OTAs to increase your distribution.
- Mobile capability – More than 50% of travellers are booking their hotel using a smartphone. Your website must be optimised for these devices and you should also add links for maps so travellers can find your hotel while they’re out and about.
- Design – The design of your website is one of the biggest advertisements for your hotel to travellers. Guests want a clear picture of what it’s like to stay at your hotel. It’s important to include high-quality images and clear, legible text to position your hotel in the best light possible.
- Navigation – Ideally your website won’t be too many pages deep with simple headings, and a ‘book now’ button that is the first thing visitors see when they land on your homepage.
2. Manage your hotel’s online reviews and reputation
Travellers put a huge focus on reading online reviews before they make a booking. Sites like TripAdvisor are extremely popular so you need to have a verified and positive presence on these sites. Address all comments, negative or positive, in a considerate and timely manner. By showing that you’ve taken constructive criticism, your visitors will feel assured that their concerns are your top priority. Encourage guests to post about their experiences online, or ask if you can share their comments. By taking a proactive approach, your reputation will remain positive.
3. Think creatively with your packages
Guests won’t purchase a package just because you tell them it’s a great deal. You need to offer them value for money and something that will excite or interest them personally. Packages can apply to both leisure and business travellers as a pleasure and convenience respectively. Your hotel can only benefit from selling packages as guests who purchase them are less likely to cancel their booking. Ideally you want a package that will please every guest but at the same time, if you have too many it will dilute the impact. Three great packages are better than 10 mediocre ones.
4. Use other businesses to enrich your packages
Combining your services with that of another tourist attraction in the area is a surefire way to add value to your packages. It also gives you a lot of flexibility on what you can offer guests. Tickets to zoos, tours, theme parks, museums are always popular, as are restaurant vouchers. Even concerts or one-off events can be leveraged as short-term packages. This way you can cater for many different guests, those interested in adventure and those more excited by shopping or fine dining. Keep in mind that the situation with COVID-19 can change quickly so you need to update packages accordingly.
5. Promote one-stop shopping
Savvy travellers will look at your packages and wonder exactly what kind of deal they’re getting. Unless you and your business partner agree to offer discounted prices it’s likely the combined price of a room and a tour package will be similar to the components purchased separately. This is why you need to advertise the convenience and quality of what you’re offering, rather than spruiking the cost.
6. Be creative with your choices
Guests might become rather bored if they see yet another ‘romance’ package. Try incorporating more interesting content into your packages and their names. For instance a ‘bucket list’ package might include a selection of passes or discounts to the absolute must-sees of the local area. This will be an attractive option for guests because it’s likely they are already interested in visiting those landmarks.
For business travellers, always focus on convenience such as a package delivering breakfast to their room, free dry cleaning, and transport services.
7. Use your own property to add value
While most packages include a room and some type of external activity, you can make your packages even more enticing by adding your own service to the mix such as spa-treatments, a bar tab, or private dining experience. Guests will want to experience your amenities and they’ll be more likely to pay to do so if it’s included in a package.
8. Cater for speciality markets
Never ignore families. Often it’s the children you’re appealing to most because parents will be looking for activities that will occupy the kids. The same principle applies if you’re a pet-friendly hotel. You must also consider guests with disabilities and people with specific occupations that you can give personalised packages to.
9. Approachable communication
When your guests do arrive and stay you need to consider how you engage with them to create a great lasting impression. Being approachable and easy to communicate with throughout the entire journey will be much appreciated by guests. Hotels must become more open to conversation.
Communication with guests needs to be multifaceted if your hotel is going to please everyone. Use social media and other communication modes – text messages, WhatsApp, phone calls and more to create a rapport which grows into a relationship. This is just another opportunity for you to offer value adds and upsell the experiences.
10. Make guests feel at home
Creating a welcoming and homely environment for guests is essential for fostering a memorable and enjoyable stay. This involves going beyond basic hospitality services and integrating local and cultural experiences that resonate with your guests.
Provide detailed information about nearby attractions, cultural classes, and restaurants that celebrate regional cuisine and traditions. This not only enriches the guest experience but also supports local businesses and creates a unique selling point for your hotel. Offering guided tours, cultural workshops, or themed nights can immerse guests in the local culture, making their stay more memorable and meaningful.
Building personal connections with guests can significantly enhance their experience and loyalty. Prioritise the creation of social spaces within your hotel, such as lounges, rooftop terraces, or garden areas, where guests can relax and interact with one another. Organise social events, such as happy hours, cooking classes, or game nights, at specific times to encourage guest interaction. These events provide opportunities for guests to meet and connect, creating a sense of community. Additionally, these interactions allow your staff to engage with guests on a more personal level, addressing their needs and preferences, which can lead to stronger relationships and increased guest loyalty.
Viki Edy Priyatna,
E-Business & Reservations Manager
Qunci Villas
How technology can help improve hotel guest experience
Some obvious goals when serving guests are to make things easier, faster, more personal, and more satisfying. These days much of what you’re trying to achieve can be approached with a technological solution.
Consider the following examples.
Internet of Things
The connection and integration between different technologies and devices has been hotly anticipated by most industries, and it provides huge opportunities for hotels. For a guest, walking into a ‘smart’ room where they can immediately sync and exchange data with every electronic device from their phone is the new height of convenience and efficiency. This is what the Internet of Things (IoT) offers, with experts estimating around 30 billion objects making up the network in 2020.
Already, IoT products like LED lighting, automated curtains, temperature control, virtual concierge, smart TVs, and more are changing the way guests navigate their hotel stay. Sensors are already hugely popular, replacing buttons, handles, or other traditional mechanisms to enter rooms or operate devices. Mobile phones are an extension of this, eliminating a lot of physical interaction at the hotel.
Chatbots
Technology is often blamed for stifling human interaction and, in particular, the art of meaningful conversation. So it’s no surprise, then, that some of the technology industry’s best-loved platforms have historically centred around chatting.
Chatbots are designed specifically to stimulate intelligent conversation with human users, and have become the norm in the hotel industry. Texting and messaging will very soon become the simple and central entry point for the entire customer communication ecosystem since it’s quick, private and easy to use.
Mobile apps
You can immediately enter into conversation through an app, allowing guests to clarify details or make requests while you can offer guests special deals and promotions or ask for feedback. An app also allows integration with other communication channels like social media or push notifications. This means guests will never miss an update and can always access information on the go.
Apps can make life simpler for both your hotel and your guests in a number of ways:
- Integrating your guest loyalty program into your mobile app will allow guests to more easily collect points, earn rewards, and claim their benefits. You could even ask guests to build a more comprehensive profile in the app to gain more points. With more data, you can get to know more guests on a personal level and provide a greater level of service to them.
- By integrating your booking system with your app, your customer can literally do all their shopping in one place. They can book, confirm, request changes, purchase extras, receive and send messages – all within the app. This creates a faster and less confusing experience for travellers.
- On an app you can curate a personal guide for your guests telling them about all the features of your hotel, what attractions are close by, and where they should go to shop and eat. They could even make bookings for spa sessions at the hotel while they’re out. Guests are always looking for convenience on a trip, so helpful suggestions go a long way.
- Even though apps are becoming increasingly popular, there are still many hospitality businesses that haven’t adopted them. Having your own app will immediately put you ahead of other hotels in the eyes of guests and allow you to capture bookings you otherwise wouldn’t have.
- Many mobile communication apps have the capability to translate communications back and forth. So if a guest sends a message in their native Spanish, your hotel will receive it in English and translate your reply back to Spanish. This ensures there’s never any misinterpretation of requests or enquiries.
While a mobile app is a great idea for your hotel to implement, it can be hard to incentivise guests to download one for every property they visit. The best strategy is to get as many return customers as possible and unlock unique rewards through your app.
Shopping cart experience
Purchasing has evolved to be one of the simplest yet diverse things a person can do in the modern world. It’s all too easy to fill up a virtual shopping cart with the movement of a single finger, but there has also never been more options for buyers to choose from.
This system has been built upon the desires of consumers. When you think about shoppers in general, a range of options and freedom of choice are highest on their list of demands. But is there a hotel shopping cart experience? The short answer is no.
In reality, the process of purchasing a hotel room has been a very limited one. Customisation is kept to a minimum to make it easier for the hotel to manage their guests. Many hotels offer very similar packages or extras in distinct bundles that leave guests frustrated they can’t mix and match features.
Above all else, travellers want control. If someone is going to travel a long distance, most often overseas, to stay somewhere it’s only fair they’re in charge of their entire experience. But with a ‘set-menu’ of choices when booking a hotel, the likelihood of them being 100% satisfied with their stay is rather slim.
What if travellers are simply offered the choices that correspond to their desires? For instance guests could book in as little or as much detail as they want, including:
- Dropping a balcony into their cart
- Select a room on a low, mid, or high level
- Choices about what should be stocked in the mini-bar
- Specific bathroom amenities
- A pillow bar to choose from or even soft, medium, or firm mattresses if you can manage it
Ideas to enhance hotel guest experience through experiences
Here are some tips for offering experiences to your hotel’s guests – whether you’re located near well-known mainstream landmarks or some hidden gems off the beaten track:
1. Research, research, research
A quick Google search for ‘things to do’ in your town or city will reveal the key attractions that drive your guests to the area. Try to support the promotion of those activities and ask your hotel’s staff for their own favourites from the list. You could organise a research trip for your team so that your staff can recommend experiences more personally. The more you research, the more knowledgeable you will be and therefore more valuable to your guests as they seek inspiration and expertise.
2. Create a bespoke and unique experience
You don’t have to be located in one of the destinations where TripAdvisor or Airbnb list their top experiences. If your property isn’t in a tourism hotspot, create your own experiences which you can sell as add ons during the checkout phase on your website. You could have a tea brewing expert on site, wine expert, cheesemaker or perhaps you have a semi-pro photographer among your hotel’s staff. Delve into their skills that go beyond traditional hospitality and experiment with different offerings showcasing the diversity you have on offer. Research similar experiences to get your price point.
3. Sell smart using an intuitive booking engine
Your direct booking engine or online reservation system should empower customers to explore extras such as guest experiences. Many guests at the booking stage will have done some early research around the destination and will be familiar with some of the more popular activities on offer. Use this familiarity to your advantage and create add-on packages within your online booking engine. It’s a quick revenue win and gives guests one less thing to book at a later stage – convenience and price are a key consideration here.
4. Surprise them with gifts
Everyone loves gifts, and one of the best things about gifts in general is the surprise of getting something you didn’t expect. You can give guests this same satisfaction when they check-in to your hotel.
Surprises make people feel like they’ve gained extra value from their trip, a bonus they can feel happy about. It doesn’t require a large expenditure on your part either. Even something like free breakfast or a free massage on their first morning will be enough to put a smile on their face and let them know you appreciate them. If you want to think bigger, a room upgrade if you have a larger room standing empty will certainly help garner a positive review and build guest loyalty.
5. Personalised service
When it comes to the holiday season, it’s all about spending time with friends and family, the people who know you the best. It’s about having a good time with people you’re familiar with. Guests would love this feeling to be recreated at your hotel.
This means greeting your guests by name, tailoring your amenity and extra offerings to suit their preferences and demographic. You could even make use of a label maker and put names on complimentary gifts like chocolates or wine bottles. Personal touches not only represent a fun novelty for guests but also embed a memory that your hotel took the time to cater specifically for them, which is important when trying to boost return stays.
6. Match the festive season
Every visitor at your hotel will likely have a different culture or tradition when it comes to holiday season, particularly at the end of the year and you should certainly analyse your main market – but Christmas-themed features at your hotel wouldn’t go astray. Think about changing up your menu to incorporate Christmas regulars such as eggnog, turkey, cookies, or candy.
You can also extend this motif through the packages and deals you offer. When guests make a booking why not throw in a gift certificate for themselves or a family member, or a discount on ski passes and theme park entry? Holidays are about having fun, your hotel needs to make it easier for guests to do this.
Think about the design of your hotel too. Some decorations in the common areas and some smaller touches like personalised stockings in the rooms will help guests feel the positive energy that abounds during this time of year.
Lastly, you could send emails with things like advent calendars each day to increase their anticipation and excitement.
7. Make social media part of the experience
Guests are often on social media wanting to share their activities and discover what everyone else is up to. You can put yourself in front of travellers and guests by using these social media tactics:
- Fun festive contests — There are plenty of ways you can create interest through holiday contests. For example, get guests to upload a picture of their ugliest holiday sweaters, or their best cake creations etc.
- Holiday photo galleries — Post pictures of all the activity happening at your hotel, including decorations, events, restaurants and the guests themselves. Ask people to tag each other as well.
- Promote local events — Many guests will want to experience the unique end of year celebrations of their destination. Use your social media platforms and blog to promote and connect to local events. This will increase traffic to your site and hopefully entice more travellers to make a booking, especially if you’re located nearby to the aforementioned events.
At the end of the day people will notice when you aren’t paying them attention. Give your guests the feeling of being welcomed and cared for, and join in on the happy mood they’re likely to bring to their stay.
Hospitality guest experience tips
There’s plenty of discussion online about the distinction between service and hospitality and most of it points towards there being a clear difference. Service gets things done, while hospitality delights and brings experience to life.
While in some cases it can be subtle, sometimes it means the world to a guest. Using check-in as an example, your service might include asking for names and identification, and directing the guest to their room. Your hospitality will include a warm greeting and some questions to get to know the guest better. These conversations can uncover a lot of vital knowledge you can use to further enhance the experience of your guest – something that wouldn’t have been possible by simply dotting i’s and crossing t’s.
The snowball effect can be huge for your property. When you show your customers you care enough to give them something extra it can win you a repeat customer for life, ensuring valuable revenue for your business.
Additionally, going the extra mile and providing hospitality will likely generate strong customer reviews and referrals, making it easier to attract new customers and win more bookings.
Another way of boiling it down is to describe service as transactional, while hospitality is sincere and interactive. Understanding this can change the way you run your hotel and it will change the way guests experience your hotel too – all for the better!
Every industry has its own definition for guest service excellence but in the hotel industry in can come down to three factors:
- Detail – True attention to detail can’t be found in a manual. It can, however, be inspired by great working conditions and a genuine desire to help people.
- Personalisation – Birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions are great opportunities to personalise a guest’s experience. But there are plenty of ways to customise their visit every day, you just have to look for them.
- Creativity – Customers have expectations for what most hotels will and won’t do. Identify them. Then make it a habit to go above and beyond in interesting and delightful ways.
Here are some more tips to ensure you deliver the best guest service at your hotel:
- Hire the right personalities for customer-facing roles
- Surprise your guests with presents and appreciation
- Go out of your way to please guests
- Survey your guests so you can serve them better
- Be available always
- Communicate effectively and regularly
- Empower hotel employees to take initiative
- Serve with a smile
- Listen and respond to customer needs
Some of these tips might seem obvious but it’s one thing to listen to customers, and quite another to show them you are listening and make a difference to their experience they can see and feel.
Achieving the perfect hotel guest experience online
As stated previously, the experience a guest has with your property begins the moment they find your property online, via your website, social media, or on an OTA. It’s vital that you consider what impressions they’ll be forming during this research phase – you need to win them over here and good online experience is the way to do it!
Here are some ideas on how to attract your guests and make sure they don’t abandon you online.
Think like your customer
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about which of your property’s attributes attract guests the most. It may be great price, location, room types, specific services, particular amenities; whatever they compliment most during online or offline feedback.
Now consider if you’re showcasing these attributes to the fullest extent via your website. This analysis will help you to optimise your online positioning. Taking into consideration your best selling points, you can define the best way to put your property out there with a greater impact on your current and potential customers. Travellers want an accurate picture of what they’re getting for their money.
Be relevant to travellers’ goals
Focus on your website’s utility-value and on the content you offer. Your website’s main goal is to generate bookings for your property, so you must consider if you’re offering all the information your guests need prior to making a reservation. A good start is to be very clear and objective about the accommodation structure and amenities, as well as about the terms and conditions for payments and cancellations.
Make your website more appealing with high quality photographs from the rooms and common areas of your property.
Be pleasant and approachable
Aesthetics matter! Especially when talking about websites. Think carefully about your design and whether it’s robust or minimalist. It’s important to have a website which your customers are happy to spend time on, without feeling bothered by convoluted, long-scroll pages. Intuitively, when navigating on a website for the first time, we tend to know more or less where everything should be. For example, we know that on most websites the logo is also a link to the homepage, because we are all used to common online conventions.
When unsure about your design, rely on these conventions to make the customer feel more comfortable. A clear and obvious logo, contact information, navigation menu, social media icons and booking search options are the standard etiquette for any hotelier website header.
Think more than just a customer
Thinking like customers is essential, yet within the minutiae of everyday duties it is easy to lose perspective. You probably know everything you need to know about your website, so a simple task like finding information or making a reservation becomes very intuitive. It’s not the same for visitors.
When possible, try to run usability tests. Ask a friend, colleague or trusted customer who is not familiar with your website to complete a given task and to guide you through the process talking out loud. With this simple exercise you should be able to identify the main challenges that your guests face, from poor load speed to varying navigation difficulties.
Hotel guest experience examples: Insights from Airbnb
Airbnb’s acquisition of trip-planning service Vamo has further confirmed its rapid rise from an up-and-comer, to a major hospitality player.
Just as the hotel industry started to deal effectively with the changing landscape created by internet-savvy travellers and online travel agents (OTAs), the American ‘share-economy’ site strode on to the scene, turning every property on the planet into a potential vacancy.
The site, which allows tourists to stay in private homes around the globe, is now valued at $25.5 billion (USD), and is forcing the hotel industry to try and work out how best to deal with a challenge they’d never before considered.
For most hotels, the first two options are neither desirable nor feasible, and the third is what got so many businesses in trouble when the OTAs began their rise. But while it may be almost impossible to compete on price, the staggering success of Airbnb offers several useful lessons on the guest experience for today’s hotel owners:
1. Know your local market inside out
One of the main drivers for the success of Airbnb is the changing nature of the modern traveller. Increasingly, people are looking for ‘experiential’ travel and seek to achieve this by staying in less ‘touristy’ neighbourhoods, choosing to eat and drink away from the beaten track, and interact with locals in an attempt to uncover more hidden gems.
Airbnb has recognised that simple and constant communication between the homeowner and the customer is crucial, with those offering their properties often passing on recommendations for the best coffee or local bar to those staying at their property. The site has even compiled a series of neighbourhood guides to help visitors get everything they want from their stay.
2. Use your staff’s local knowledge and tap into their likes
A hotel’s offering now needs to encompass, not just a room, but a whole city. The best and simplest way for venues to ensure customers have a memorable stay is to take advantage of the fact that hotels have often been part of their communities for years, decades or even centuries. This institutional knowledge – and that of staff, who often live locally – should form a key part of the industry’s strategy to further engage guests.
There are various ways to do this – from producing online guides like Airbnb’s to increasing face-to-face engagement with guests, and attempting to offer them assistance for their whole stay, not just the time they spend in the property.
3. Be more flexible with guest options
To appeal to the travel-savvy Airbnb demographic, hotels may also need to introduce a greater degree of flexibility in their services. The constant interaction on Airbnb means everything is negotiable – from price, through number of guests, to check out time.
Increasingly, especially in the ‘shared economy’ in which Airbnb exists, the consumer has the power. Let’s say, for example, a business traveller is on a late flight and wants to check out a bit later in the morning as a result, or a family of five want to stay together in one room. With Airbnb this can almost always be arranged, but hotels can appear less flexible. This may have to change if more traditional properties want to win customers again and again.
It’s also worth considering how much information a more personalised approach would provide – conversations like these could provide all sorts of valuable data on what’s most important to your customers. Using your internet booking engine, such as SiteMinder’s TheBookingButton, you can tailor pre and post-stay communication and offers to suit specific guests and build repeat custom. Your guests are more likely to be loyal if they have a unique and tailored experience.
4. Make the most of your hotel’s website
But arguably the key facet of Airbnb’s rise is its website. As befits a company started by designers, the interface is clean, the filters are incredibly simple to use and the pictures are always stunning. Airbnb employs a team of freelance photographers to take shots free of charge for those not able to do their property justice. Again, this provides the user with control over their own selections and provides an aspirational element to the experience.
Hotels should reflect on this process and ask if their website does the same. Does your site offer genuine choice? Does it look as good as it could? Does the user feel like they can converse easily with the business?
These are all questions hoteliers should ask themselves about their site. They may seem like supplementary issues but ultimately they all drive bookings for Airbnb, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t for hotels too.
5. Think about what makes your hotel different to a home
All that being said, there’s little value in hotels slavishly copying the Airbnb model. It’s always worth talking up the points of difference in the hotel experience – perhaps it’s the sociable atmosphere of the bar, or the exclusivity and convenience of room service that sets a hotel apart. If so, talk these up to potential customers.
In seven years, Airbnb has grown from a tiny startup into a business with over 1.5 million listings that accommodates more than 17 million guests in 41,600 cities and, regardless of the views of some in the hotel industry, they seem to be here to stay.
Whether or not you agree with the model, ignoring the reasons for their rise can only have an adverse effect on business.
Guest experience lessons for hotel owners
Building a world class guest experience as a hotel owner is a constant journey, and the steps that you and your hotel take won’t always be the same step your peers need to take – and they won’t always be steps forward either. Often, motivation and resilience is the deciding factor in how successful a hotel owner is when building an excellent guest experience. Without knowing your “why” – why you choose to be in this industry – your attempts at guest experience will inevitably fizzle out.
Here are a few places to start:
- I just love working in hospitality and delivering a great guest experience
- I strive to achieve recognition for our hotel such as positive reviews
- I get the biggest kick from increasing revenue and seeing the results
- I love creating a healthy and positive work environment
- I enjoy seeking hotel innovation that enhances guest service and drives bookings
Staying motivated as a owner
Unsure of where to begin figuring out your “why”? Take a few inspirational words from some SiteMinder customers:
“Meeting and interacting with such a wide variety of interesting people and making sure I make their stay as memorable as possible.”
“Being an owner/operator and taking pride in ensuring the best possible experience at a fair price. Achieving a star rating of 4+ (when we were hoping for a 3+) this year has been a huge boost to our confidence and drive.”
“I am 78 years old and it gives me great pleasure to employ a small dedicated staff who participate in income as a just reward for outstanding service and loyalty.”
