It is important to stay on top of your game and keep delivering exceptional service. Customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry cannot be neglected especially with so much competition around.
Giving your guest a memorable experience and great customer service can help you get a word of mouth recommendation. It can lead you to get loyal guests who are likely to return back at your property only because of your exceptional service.
But, bad hospitality experiences can spread pretty fast in today’s connected world. To avoid getting into a messy situation, Here are some tips on what your guests are expecting.
Guarantee Hygiene & Safety measures
It is important to put customer safety and wellbeing first – and expressing this through your actions, policies, and offers. Hygiene measures are the new normal formula to build trust towards your property.
Housekeeping protocols will have to be updated to ensure high hygiene requirements and social distancing is maintained. Larger gaps between tables in in-house restaurants for food and beverages and things such as keyless entry will be important in the hospitality world post-COVID-19.
Talk to your guests about your health and safety standards, how you have put social distancing in practice in your operations and across your shared spaces. Communicate these practices to build and even re-build your community and their trust.
Go Digital with Smart Technology
The majority of guests today are self-sufficient, tech-savvy travelers who expect high-performing and intuitive apps and web platforms. Make sure your digital tools are all up to date and user-friendly.
The new age travelers have no patience and the need to deliver a seamless technology journey from discovery to booking is essential.
Offer Contactless Touchpoints
COVID-19 has changed the way we interact with others and hoteliers need to be adapted to this change for a better customer experience. Guests will be wary of too many touchpoints with staff, so now might be the time to look at your check-in experience and. Maybe now is the time to go mobile and give guests a contactless guest experience.
Use upselling platforms to market well and give personalized guest pre-arrival arrangements.
Cater to Millennials and Domestic Market
The former (18-34 years) are becoming a well-traveled segment the latter is a representation of the new normal target audience due to borders being closed. Staycation and leisure travel continues to skyrocket within the domestic market once things open up.
The tourism industry will see domestic travel as the new travel trend. Partner with local attractions to create packages that locals cannot look past. Gift vouchers provide not just an immediate cash injection for properties, but with the right offers, they become an attractive option for guests.
Respond Quickly
Handling guest requests more quickly, efficiently and with greater accountability will lead to fewer complaints, better guest relations, and lasting impressions. The internet has made people less patient. Guests want everything NOW.
Responding to online reviews, positive and negative, is not just helpful, but extremely important. Also, monitor your social media accounts and respond to inquiries across all platforms. This makes the customer feel you do care about your potential guests.
Offer Authentic Experiences
Offering unique experiences can help you stand out. Find your unique selling point and use it to your advantage – what’s that one story about your place and its people that will leave the guests talking? In an era where everything is ‘glocal’ – even Google is pushing to get local content – you should become the destination expert. Partner with your local businesses and offer great experiences.
With borders shut and consumers apprehensive to travel even where they have been opened, locals are being lured to experience their own backyard. Group travel is probably not an option for the remainder of the year – take that into consideration when planning your revenue.
Respond to Feedbacks
Taking the negative feedback as a medium to improve helps accommodation providers in delivering better service next time. ‘Customer is King’ and more so when your online reputation is at stake. Not only is it good practice to apologize for errors, it’s arguably more important to do your best to rectify them. Doing so will hopefully improve the customer’s experience and reassure them that their satisfaction is valued by the business.
Sustainability Rules
The threat to our environment is very real. It is not a surprise then that eco-friendly touches or full sustainability adoption is becoming a norm. If you’re adopting sustainable practices, make sure you talk about them. Sustainable tourism is not just a rising travel trend. It’s also quickly becoming a priority — if not a moral imperative — for hospitality leaders and hotel businesses around the world.
The key to making these changes successfully is educating guests and customers on why you are asking them to make these changes with you.
