Why does Guest Experience matter?
Every hotel is in the business of providing a unique experience, but many hoteliers fail to recognise that a memorable guest experience begins long before a guest arrives at the lobby. Designing a seamless, personal and digital guest experience impacts every part of your hotel and requires a strong understanding of your guest and their expectations. The quality of your guest experience can significantly improve the value of your relationship with a customer and improve your hotel’s chances at attracting more guests.
What is Guest Experience?
Guest experience is the way a guest will experience the overall service, communication and quality of stay provided by a hotel. Creating a seamless guest experience affects how a guest feels and engages with a hotel from check-in to check-out and beyond.
It’s essential for your hotel to consider what type of guest experience you want to curate at each step of the journey. From pre-arrival to departure and post-stay, take a look at how a well designed guest experience can make a remarkable difference:
Pre-arrival:
Creating a seamless guest experience starts long before a guest’s check-in date. Understanding the purpose of a guest’s visit can provide valuable insight into how you can improve their experience from pre-arrival to departure and post-stay.
From booking confirmation emails, to the way your hotel communicates with its guests can immediately set the tone for the rest of their relationship with your hotel. At the pre-arrival stage, it’s important to manage your guest’s expectations. For example, if a guest is expecting mimosas by the pool, informing your guest as early as possible that the pool is under maintenance can help avoid unmet expectations upon arrival.
Knowing who your guest is another integral aspect of creating a seamless guest experience at the pre-arrival stage. For repeat guests, it can be impactful to celebrate their return with a ‘welcome back’ message rather than a generic welcome email.
Staying at the hotel:
From the moment a guest enters your lobby, your hotel has an opportunity to define the rest of your guest’s experience. Hotel reception staff can wrongly assume that a guest is satisfied as soon as they check-in but establishing intuitive communication touch points with your guest during their stay can help you identify roadblocks, concerns or opportunities to improve their experience before the stay is over.
During a guest’s stay at your hotel, look for appropriate and non-invasive opportunities to touch base and ask if there are any ways you can improve their stay – if there is opportunity, it’s important to act on it promptly before the guest leaves a negative review.
Where possible, seek to identify the reason for your guest’s stay early on as this can help make your relationship with a guest more personal. For example, if a guest is gathering at your hotel for a birthday or anniversary celebration, you have an opportunity to curate the guest experience in accordance with the purpose of the stay.
Post-departure:
It’s easy to forget that a guest’s experience is not over when they check out. Taking the time to contact your guests to ask about their stay, seek feedback and offer discounts for returning visits can make a remarkable difference in the guest’s experience and memory of your hotel.
Don’t be afraid to ask what your hotel can do to improve its services – this information is critical in helping you invite the customer back again. Taking the initiative to hear and address their feedback can also prevent negative reviews.
As you invite a guest to return, don’t neglect this opportunity to offer guests the ability to become an ambassador or join a membership program to help create a stronger sense of loyalty.
Why does a digital Guest Experience matter?
Many hotels fall into the trap of thinking that a digital guest experience is complete with a check-in kiosk in the lobby. In reality, many hotels in Australia are missing key opportunities to connect with their guests online.
As the hospitality industry grapples with the rapid changes in technology, it’s important to understand that today’s digital environment has changed guest expectations drastically. As more guests choose to search, book and communicate with a hotel online or via a smartphone device, it’s crucial for hotels to create a digital guest experience that exceeds expectations.
How memorable and relevant is your hotel’s current guest experience? Determine the quality of your hotel’s guest experience score with our free Guest Experience Survey today.
Article by Nicole Sideris,
Chief Customer Officer, Hotelr
LinkedIn
