Opinion
Optimizing the Guest Experience During the Contactless Era
The sector of hospitality is relationship-driven, and for many years, these relationships have been constructed on face-to-face interactions. Then got here COVID-19. Quickly, friends have been checking in by way of smartphone apps and self-service kiosks, and it felt just like the human ingredient of the business was all however ripped away.
As we’ve navigated by way of a number of waves of COVID and the easing of many early restrictions, the will for contactless expertise continues. And so, a dilemma stays – how do you construct relationships and preserve that cornerstone of connection together with your friends in a digital age?
The reply, as so many issues have been through the pandemic, is to adapt. The will for interplay continues to be there; solely the strategies have modified. With the correct expertise, you’ll be able to sustain with business modernization and nonetheless construct significant visitor relationships whereas contactless – from pre-check-in to after they depart your property.
Right here’s the place to start out.
Retaining Visitors Engaged Earlier than Their Keep
Among the finest elements of touring is the anticipation of a brand new journey. Hoteliers can capitalize on this pleasure by sharing all there may be to look ahead to with their soon-to-be friends.
The primary means to do that is to maintain friends knowledgeable. With ever-changing well being protocols and rules, having info accessible earlier than their arrival is pertinent to friends. Sending an electronic mail that features probably the most up-to-date info on well being protocols, amenity modifications and rules is one solution to reassure friends that they know every thing they should earlier than arriving.
You may as well ramp up your visitor engagement by providing service and amenity reductions. To excite friends much more, ship them customized affords for choose actions like eating, spa providers and different premium facilities. Not solely does this serve to entice your friends, however it may additionally enhance income.
Lastly, contemplate leaving a personalised welcome. Even (or particularly!) with contactless tech, it’s nonetheless important for friends to know they’re within the care of actual folks. Leaving a private notice or welcome reward is an effective way to remind them – plus, it may be executed with social distancing in thoughts. Don’t be afraid to get artistic! Think about partnering with an area enterprise to supply small presents and provides your friends a style of the native aptitude.
Optimizing the On-Web site Expertise
As soon as friends arrive in your property, it’s time to create an unimaginable on-site expertise. Know-how also can play an important position on this stage – so use it to your benefit. Have some ready-made sources accessible to your friends as they get pleasure from their keep.
First, contemplate the worth of SMS communication. Even probably the most impartial of friends can have questions. That’s why textual content messaging has change into a rising technique of visitor communication, with 36 p.c of friends itemizing the power to textual content a lodge of reasonable to excessive significance in 2021. Visitors can simply contact somebody with out having to sacrifice their poolside lounger. You may as well ship friends necessary info to maintain readily available, like dinner reservations or spa appointment reminders.
You may as well maintain friends engaged throughout their keep by sharing suggestions for native eating places, websites, actions and outlets. Since most of your friends are possible coming from totally different areas, it may be useful to supply them concepts of pleasurable actions to do whereas they’re on the town, plus it gives a lift to your native financial system.
Staying Related After Examine-Out
Simply because your friends have left doesn’t imply you’ll want to cease partaking. Retaining reminiscences of their journey (and your lodge) prime of thoughts encourages them to return and reveals that you simply care about their expertise.
First, ask for a evaluate. Inside a couple of days of a visitor’s departure is the height time to ask for a evaluate, as suggestions will nonetheless be contemporary. You’ll be able to place a hyperlink to widespread evaluate websites in a follow-up electronic mail or ship a textual content.
You may as well encourage friends to share their reminiscences by way of social media and tag your small business. Not solely does this offer you the prospect to work together with them, nevertheless it additionally creates useful content material for your small business. To encourage previous friends to share extra reminiscences, you’ll be able to supply to share tagged posts in your social feeds.
Lastly, incentives are an efficient technique to maintain engagement up and encourage repeat guests. Whereas they could not work for each visitor, those that frequent your lodge can reap extra advantages whereas serving to you preserve bookings. Incentives can fluctuate broadly from free nights and upgrades to reductions and different prizes.
Utilizing Know-how to Enhance the Visitor Expertise
Even because the business continues to alter from the analog methods of years previous, this doesn’t imply that we should forgo the human ingredient of the enterprise. That is the side of the business that retains friends coming again. Whereas our modes of interplay have shifted faster than anticipated, and property administration methods are extra sturdy than ever, the will to attach and supply a memorable expertise stays the identical. Know-how is ushering in a brand new period of hospitality – one marked by comfort, effectivity and higher visitor expectations. Your PMS is the important thing to sustaining these requirements, facilitating connection and finally bettering the visitor expertise.
This text was written by Adelle Rodriguez, Advertising and marketing Director, RMS North America. As advertising director, Adelle leads all demand-driving, model and income progress efforts for RMS North America. She develops and manages high-yield built-in advertising campaigns that ship measurable returns and optimistic buyer experiences. Internally, Adelle leads strategic, organization-wide workflow administration efforts to eradicate silos and streamline processes. She is a talented operational strategist, elevating buyer model expertise by way of smarter system designs.
