From the moment the guest looks at your hotel and decides to make a reservation, we have a responsibility to influence their impression of what the stay will be.
Susie Boggie
Director of Rooms Operations
The Belfry Hotel & Resort
When does the guest experience truly begin?
Not at check-in. Not at the front desk. As Susie Boggie, Director of Rooms Operations at the The Belfry Hotel & Resort in the UK, shared during Duve’s Operational Excellence webinar, the journey begins the moment a guest encounters your hotel. From that first decision to the final follow-up, every interaction is a chance to influence perception, deliver value, and build long-term loyalty.
Here are 10 guest touchpoints that matter most, and how leading hotels are using technology and personalization to elevate each one.
1. Booking Confirmation: Set the Tone with Branded Communication
The booking confirmation is more than just a receipt. It is the first moment a guest interacts with your brand after making a decision. It sets the tone for everything that follows, and if it feels impersonal or generic, that impression can be hard to shake.
This message is an opportunity to deliver not just information, but reassurance. A well-designed confirmation reinforces the guest’s choice, communicates key arrival details, and sets expectations about the level of service and style they can expect. With customizable templates and branded messaging platforms like Duve’s Hotel Branding, hoteliers can ensure their confirmation emails reflect their visual identity, tone of voice, and guest experience philosophy. That creates a consistent and elevated first impression.
2. Pre-Arrival Communication: Build Anticipation and Reduce Friction
In the days leading up to arrival, guests are in planning mode. They are checking itineraries, sorting transportation, and getting excited for their trip. It is a valuable moment to build anticipation and reduce friction.
Instead of a single generic reminder email, hotels can use this time to deliver helpful, targeted information. That might include arrival instructions, digital check-in access, or personalized suggestions based on booking data. Platforms like Duve enable automated pre-arrival flows that feel timely and relevant, helping guests feel cared for before they even step through the door.
3. Online Check-In: Make Arrival Seamless
Check-in is often the guest’s first in-person experience. Long queues, paperwork, or unclear procedures can create stress at a time that should feel welcoming.
According to industry research, 56% of hotel guests still prefer in-person check-in services, while 44% favor self-service options. This divide underscores the importance of offering flexibility. Some guests want the personal touch of the front desk, while others value the speed and independence of managing their arrival digitally.
Offering online check-in before arrival helps guests feel in control of their time. They can upload IDs, sign terms, confirm preferences, and even schedule their arrival, all from their mobile device. Tools like Duve’s Online Check-In are helping hotels reduce front desk bottlenecks and provide a more modern, self-directed arrival experience that guests increasingly expect.
4. Pre-Stay Upsell Offers: Boost Revenue While Adding Value
The window between booking and arrival is filled with opportunity. Guests are excited, imagining their stay, and more receptive to offers that improve comfort, convenience, or exclusivity. For hotels, this is a key moment to drive ancillary revenue, but only if offers feel timely and relevant.
Smart personalization is the difference between a guest ignoring an offer and clicking “add to stay.” With tools like Duve’s upsells, hotels can automate these offers based on booking details, guest type, or stay dates. When upselling adds clear value, guests appreciate the option, and the hotel boosts revenue without sacrificing the guest experience.
5. Arrival and Welcome Moment: Create a Confident First On-Site Impression
The arrival experience sets the tone for the entire stay. Whether the guest is welcomed at the front desk or guided straight to their room via mobile key, the transition from outside world to hotel environment should feel seamless and intentional.
This is also a moment to provide practical information in a warm, welcoming way. Some hotels use automated welcome messages or QR codes in the lobby to guide guests to their personalized digital experience. These touches, enabled by tools like Duve’s guest journey flows, reinforce professionalism and hospitality from the very first steps on property.
6. In-Stay Communication: Be Present Without Being Intrusive
Even the best properties cannot anticipate every question. Guests often need quick answers or support mid-stay, and how a hotel responds in these moments has a major impact on overall satisfaction.
Modern messaging platforms allow hotels to be responsive and available without overwhelming staff. With DuveAI and a centralized Guest Inbox, guests can ask questions in real time in their own language and get consistent, branded responses. This empowers guests to get what they need without friction while freeing staff to focus on more high-value interactions.
For common questions, the Room Directory plays a valuable role. Hotels can use Duve to create a digital guide that lives on the guest’s phone — covering FAQs, property policies, amenity details, and more. This reduces repetitive questions at the front desk and empowers guests to find answers instantly, without needing to call or wait.
7. Menus and Mobile Ordering: Drive Revenue Through Simplicity
Food and beverage can be one of the most memorable and profitable parts of the guest experience, but only if it is accessible. Guests do not want to hunt for menus or wait on hold to place an order. We are living in a digital world, and expect consistent ease and convenience. The simplicity of ordering food without interaction, the way one would do at one with UberEats or DoorDash, should be easily replicated at a hotel.
With mobile ordering, hotels can put digital menus in every guest’s hand, making it easy to order room service, poolside snacks, or late-night drinks. Duve’s Mobile Ordering solution increases F&B revenue while giving guests more control over their experience. Orders are faster, clearer, and better tracked, improving satisfaction on both sides.
8. Mid-Stay Feedback: Catch Issues Before They Become Problems
Many hotels only hear about issues after the guest has left, when it’s too late to recover the experience. But by checking in with guests during their stay, hoteliers can identify small frustrations early and resolve them while the guest is still on property.
A simple mid-stay message asking “How is your stay going so far?” can uncover problems guests might not proactively report. With Duve, hotels can automate these feedback prompts via email, SMS, or WhatsApp and route any negative responses directly to the right team. That enables fast follow-up and real-time service recovery.
Guests feel listened to, and staff get the chance to fix an issue before it shows up in a public review. It’s one of the most powerful yet underused moments in the guest journey.
9. Checkout Experience: End the Stay on a High Note
The final hours of a stay are often rushed, and a frustrating checkout can undo an otherwise great experience. Guests want a smooth departure that respects their time and closes the stay positively.
By offering digital checkout, hotels can let guests review charges, leave feedback, and depart on their own terms. Duve’s express checkout and survey tools help properties end the stay with professionalism while gathering valuable data for continuous improvement.
10. Post-Stay Follow-Up: Leave a Lasting Impression
Once the guest has left, there is one last opportunity to leave a positive impression and turn a one-time visitor into a repeat guest or brand advocate.
Automated thank-you emails, review prompts, and personalized offers for return visits help extend the relationship beyond checkout. Duve’s post-stay flows let hotels stay connected with minimal effort, ensuring the guest journey ends as thoughtfully as it began.
Unifying the Journey: Why Connected Touchpoints Drive Real Impact
Every guest touchpoint, from the confirmation email to the post-stay message, is a chance to deliver value, delight, or reassurance. But true excellence comes from how these moments connect. When each step of the journey feels intentional, personalized, and effortless, guests do not just enjoy their stay. They remember it.
That is where Duve makes the difference.
Duve brings all of these critical touchpoints into a single, connected platform. Empowering hotels, from stand alone boutique properties to international chains, the ability to personalize every moment, automate routine tasks, and deliver consistency across the entire guest journey. It is not just about offering online check-in or mobile ordering. It is about orchestrating an experience that feels human, thoughtful, and unified from start to finish.
By turning fragmented interactions into a seamless flow, Duve helps you deliver the kind of hospitality that guests feel and talk about long after they check out.
About the author
The Duve team comprises hospitality experts specializing in guest experience personalization, operational optimization, and innovative hotel technologies. With deep industry knowledge, they help hospitality providers elevate service, enhance satisfaction, and drive growth.