According to a study by McKinsey, 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated. With knowing that more than half of the customers coming into your hotel or many of your hotel properties are influenced by their experience, what are you doing to differentiate yourself?
There are many ways that a hotelier can elevate their guests’ experiences through their hotel Property Management System (PMS) or through guest experience platforms. Through a cloud-based PMS, hoteliers can build guest profiles to tailor personalized experiences during future stays. With the data capturing intelligence built into a property managment system, hoteliers can collect and act upon their guests’ likes and reward them for being a loyal customer. By building guest profiles, hotels can boost their lifestyle marketing efforts and drive more revenue through hotel packages. For example, with creative and special packages aimed towards a romantic getaway, spa enthusiasts or even towards the corporate traveler, hoteliers have the opportunity to increase incremental revenue by selling additional products or services that a guest may have not thought of getting during their stay. Through the right promotions on your website, social media accounts, email blasts and push notifications, new and returning guests will see that effort and want to experience these ‘WOW’ factor packages, creating an increase in conversion and a boost in repeat bookings.
To make the most of every guest, marketing an unforgettable experience for your guests should start before they even arrive. Hoteliers can start engaging with guests before they even book a stay through targeted email campaigns. You can offer incentives based on the guests’ previous experiences or gather insight into what they have been searching on your website. Perhaps someone is on the fence about booking a room at your property, but you can see they have searched for room availability and viewed the restaurant menu on property a few times. By sending them a targeted email offering a discount for dining there this weekend or offering to make a reservation for them if they book now could incentivize that guest into moving forward with their stay.
Streamlined Staff Management = Better Guest Experiences
Through a guest experience platform, such as Intelity, hoteliers can better their management and automate staff operations so that the main focus remains to be on the guest. Through real-time analytics built into the platform, your staff will be able to track revenue and view guests buying habits. This information can be incredibly useful for up-selling product on your property. With in-room tablets and mobile app functionality, your staff can send push notifications or messages to guests while they are staying at the property. Welcome guests digitally as soon as they arrive, send out reminders about happy hour or live music in the hotel lobby bar, or send out personalized offers such as 2-for-1 deals at the spa. By targeting the right people at the right time with the right offers, you can reach your target audience when they’re most receptive. With the easy-to-use platform, your staff can seamlessly have control over hotel operations, while never losing engagement with guests.
The bottom line is that a good guest experience can benefit your bottom-line and boost brand loyalty. Through word of mouth, social media and online review channels, having bad reviews or bad experiences can be detrimental. In order to create a great guest experience, hoteliers should be selling an ideal place to stay for a vacation, relaxation, corporate events, etc. A great guest experience goes into more than just having a great product, it is all about selling a feeling. People will remember how they felt and how the staff treated them, and that is what they will base their reviews on, their loyalty and where they invest their money into. With a dynamic property management system and a great guest experience platform, hoteliers will be able to deliver on their guests’ needs and elevate their experience.
Ready to see how a partner like SkyTouch can impact your operations and your revenue? Contact us today and book a demo of the SkyTouch Hotel Operations Platform.
