This way you increase the guest experience
Guest experience
maart 2016
A guests’ appreciation of a hotel experience isn’t measured in gadgets **
Guest experience is the sum of the experiences a hotel guest has from the moment they book to after checking out. Guest experience also takes place online, a place that is often forgotten by hoteliers in their strategy for an optimal guest experience. At GuestCompass we also call it “online guest experience”.
Components of guest experience
The components of the guest experience each fulfill their own role. Some speak for themselves, others seem self-evident, but in practice they are by no means always. For example, every hotel will agree that the relationship with the guest is crucial and comes first. Yet in practice we see that that relationship is often minimal. After checking in, there is hardly any contact. Sometimes that only comes back when a guest leaves a review somewhere online. That is a missed opportunity and in our opinion the relationship with the guest must again receive the attention and the tools it deserves.
The performance delivered by everyone involved with the hotel influences the experience of the customer journey during the stay. The mutual professional relationship between the staff also has an impact on the guest’s experience.
Generosity and memorable surprises add that little bit extra to the guest experience. By generosity we mean that you exceed the expectations of your guests. This can be done in many ways, one of which is memorable surprises. Those surprises don’t have to be big. Small extras with an eye for detail provide experience and appreciation. For example, a drink at the bar or a coffee with a treat. A little local treat in the room. Or attention to personal circumstances and responding to them. What matters is that you offer something that is unique and slightly different from usual, so that the guest feels valued, remembers your accommodation and recommends it to others. The last aspect is security. Safety for yourself, fellow travelers and belongings. The feeling the guest gets when they walk into the hotel.
Benefits
Anyone who invests in guest experience will notice that this yields a lot. In a financial sense, it ensures more turnover. But guest experience certainly yields so much in the relational sphere. For example, our analyzes show that a good relationship with the guest prevents negative reviews and that guests more often leave reviews that are also more positive. It also ensures that guests return more often. These marketing benefits of a great guest experience are in fact priceless. If you would like to realize this in a different way, it would cost much more time, energy and money.
The value of reviews *
- 1 bad review equals 8 good ones.
- 1 good review increases the chance of sale by 7.3%.
- 70% of the unhappy customers who are served and where the problem is solved choose the same hotel for their next stay.
- 4 out of 5 potential guests click away when they see a bad review.
Improve the experience
Our customers enhance and improve their guests’ experiences in several ways. Of course by providing perfect service that exceeds expectations if possible. But they also manage to greatly personalize the interaction with their guests and by making use of today’s technology. You can personalize this by:
• Introducing the employees personally
• Proactively invite the guest to provide feedback
• A range of events and activities based on the personal experience of the employees, tailored to age, composition of the group (for children, for example) or the booked package
With the use of technology you are even better able to maintain and optimize the relationship with your guests. Numerous (web) applications are available for this and GuestCompass is one of them. A good web application prevents someone from having to download an app, because people are often not (or no longer) willing to do so. Instead, it is smart to run the application on the smartphone.
After all, someone almost always has it with him. This step makes it very easy for guests to communicate with the reception before arrival. During their stay, they benefit from extra information and promotions, they can quickly submit a complaint or wish or they can access their room or other areas with their telephone. After their stay, it is extra easy to leave a review on the platform of your choice.
The trends
• Guests are increasingly looking for a special, memorable experience. Something they can share on social media. That certainly applies to the so-called Millennials.
• We see the hotel key or room key card gradually disappear. Guests can access their room with their smartphone. Not only is this easy, but it also increases another important aspect of the guest experience: security.
• Domotics: in addition to opening the door, guests are also able to control the temperature, curtains and lighting with the hotel’s platform.
• The availability of more and more data makes it possible to respond increasingly to the personal preferences of guests.
• Reputation management: online reviews can cause major damage, but can also generate extra guests. We see hotels investing more and more time and resources to safeguard, protect and improve their reputation.
• The integration of the reception with the hotel bar No (boring) reception at a counter, but an attractive entrance, where the guest can immediately offer a drink if they unexpectedly have to wait when checking in or out. The hotel lobby thus becomes a meeting point where people like to and often come. Whether that is for a question or a consumption. Accor is at the forefront of this: within three years, no Ibis hotel in the world will have a reception desk, but a so-called “smile team”. These are multi-deployable employees who are front office employees as well as bartenders and concierges.