By Duve Team Stay updated on the latest Guest Experience and Hospitality Tech updates.
What if we told you that you can increase your hotel’s revenue, profitability, and brand reputation by improving just one thing?
That one thing? Guest experience.
In this article, you’ll learn:
Let’s share some of our insights.
In the hotel industry, one concept still stands supreme.
Guest experience.
Guest experience is the ultimate differentiator. It can make or break your hotel. According to a study by PwC, 73% of consumers say that a good experience is key to influencing their brand loyalty, and 65% say that a positive experience is more important than a great advertising campaign.
Guest experience more than just providing a comfortable bed and a clean room. It’s about creating a memorable impression that makes guests feel valued, appreciated, and cared for. It’s about exceeding their expectations and surprising them with delightful touches. It’s about making them feel at home, even when they are away from home.
Ensure optimum customer satisfaction and they’ll stay more, be more loyal, and spread positive word of mouth. Which is great—but also what every hotel in the world (should) be striving to do. So, why are so many guests disappointed? What are hoteliers getting wrong?
In our experience, many hotels don’t focus on the right areas, and don’t use hotel technology to reduce staff burden. With that in mind, here is some practical advice on how hotels can improve guest experiences:
When your guests walk into your lobby, are they about to face a long queue and an even longer wait? Or did you give them the gift of online check in?
Online check-in solutions allow guests to upload all necessary documents (passport information, parking registration) and start their holiday early — with no lines or delays. What better way to make a strong first impression and start improving their guest experience?
Your staff represent your brand in every interaction they have with guests. So, make sure they’re trained to provide friendly, helpful, and professional service to guests at every touchpoint, from the booking to check-out.
We get it — keeping a smile on your face is tough when you’re shorthanded and one employee has to do the work of 3. That’s why we advise hotels in our network to invest in labor saving technology. Which brings us nicely to our next item — a guest app.
Learn More: How To Improve Your Front Desk Operations: 7 Practical Tips
A good guest app makes for an even better guest experience. By using a white-labeled web app (with no annoying downloads necessary) guests can access information and services like:
This guest app means tech-savvy guests can access the information they need without going down to the lobby — reducing wait times and lines and taking the pressure off of your staff. Meaning they can focus on providing service with a smile and handling any issues that require a human touch.
The atmosphere of your business is the mood and feeling that you create for your guests. It can make them feel happy, relaxed, and comfortable…or the opposite. That’s why you need to create a welcoming atmosphere that appeals to their senses and emotions. Do this with:
Handling guest complaints is the perfect opportunity to show off your hospitality and improve guest experience. Things will go wrong — it’s life — but how you handle it says a lot about your brand. Here’s our advice:
Learn More: 9 Practical Tips For Enhancing Guest Experience
Improving guest experience is not only about doing things right. It’s also about knowing what works and what doesn’t. That’s why measuring and analyzing guest experience is essential for anyone in the hospitality industry.
CMO, Duve
Use the following metrics to measure and analyze your guest experience:
Collecting data is not enough. You also need to analyze it to make sense of it and improve your guest experience. Here’s how:
Learn More: The Most Common Types of Hotel Guests And How to Exceed Their Expectations
57% of customers will walk away — even from a brand they love — after one bad experience. You’ve got to get it right the first time. Ritz-Carlton is a giant of the hospitality industry with a reputation for consistently providing an excellent customer experience. But what’s the secret behind their success?
The Ritz-Carlton invests heavily in their staff. According to David Cayuela, GM of the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, “We don’t hire for technical talent but natural talent.” For Ritz-Carlton, it’s talent that makes the difference.
They don’t neglect training, with each new employee completing 250 hours of it per year. This training is available in a variety of formats to suit individual employees’ learning styles (seminars, workshops, one-to-one training, etc).
The Ritz-Carlton also trusts their staff to solve problems — with employees able to spend $2,000 per day to solve guests’ problems in the moment. You don’t have to have pockets as deep as them to improve your guest experience—just focus on empowering and training your staff and you’re certain to see results.
The guest experience is how happy your hotel’s guests are with their whole journey from booking to check-out. Every step of their journey makes them feel a certain way — and it’s your goal to make sure the entire experience matches their expectations.
To improve guest experience, you need to focus on the things that guests want. Many hoteliers call these the three C’s: Communication, Convenience and Choice. Get these right and you can stand out from the competition and improve brand reputation.
Guest experience shows how well a hospitality business serves its customers. A good experience keeps guests coming back and spreading positive word of mouth. A bad experience shows what you need to fix.
You want to give your guests the best experience possible — from the moment they book to the time they leave. Which can be a lot of work. And with ongoing staff shortages, that’s easier said than done. But there is one thing that can help.
Technology is a hotelier’s secret weapon in the quest for a better guest experience.
Hotel tech allows you to effortlessly automate many aspects of your guest journey. Think online check-in, web apps, AI chatbots, custom upsells, and more. These are easy to set up and can boost your guest satisfaction, brand reputation, and revenue.
Ready to take your guest experience to the next level?
