Whenever you visit a hotel, all the guests want to have is an excellent experience. So, what can a hotel do to wow its guests? Here in this post, we discuss several great ways to delight your hotel guests. In the era of Airbnb and other travel market disruptors, delighting your hotel guests is no walk in the park. You need to work harder and serve better to wow today’s guests.
The COVID-19 pandemic has even made it more difficult for hotels to attract and retain customers.
Wouldn’t be nice if there were industry tips to help you delight your guests during hotel stays? Well, there are numerous gurus and experts talking on the subject but we are yet to explore the consumer’s mind.
While one of our earlier posts discussed in details top tips on customer service, this one focuses on quick yet effective ways to delight hotel guests. Let’s begin.
1. Exceed Guests Expectations- Promise less but Deliver more
It pays to do a little more for your hotel guests. After all, they are the reason you’re still in business.
You see, today’s guests are no longer impressed by the old tricks; they are often on the lookout for dynamic services and memorable stays.
That’s why it’s essential that you go above and beyond to exceed guests expectations.
Little things like surprise discounts, small gifts or extended check-outs can do wonders for your guest satisfaction.
Also, Hotel chains need to come up with some intangibles. The service concept of Tajness by Taj Hotels & Resorts is one such example.
Exceeding Customer Expectations and impressing them at every customer touchpoint is sure to yield great returns for the business.
2. Always Listen to your Hotel Guests Actively
Concise and clear communication is crucial for improving customer service.
Make your guests feel important by listening to their concerns no matter how small they are. Respond to complaints on time.
Follow up via social media, emails and other channels to ensure that your guests are delighted.
When the customer know that you are listening compassionately, their expectations lower and delight increases.
Active listening is a key skill to have that makes customers feel at ease leading to lesser complaints and more memorable stays in the hotel.
3. Take Advantage of Technology to please hotel customers
We are all obsessed with technology and hotel guests love the display of technology especially when it is for their comfort.
With constant upgrades in hotel tech, there’s a huge incentive to leverage technology.
Automate most hotel processes to give your staff time to offer personalised services, and delight your guests.
Don’t forget to incorporate a robust quality management system, hotel software, check-in app, menu app, and so on to enhance guest-facing tech.
Taking advantage of technology effectively and efficiently is going to be one of the Key Success Factors in the Hospitality Industry in the coming years.
4. Leverage Social Media to Know your guests better
The rise of social media platforms has made communication quite easy.
Take advantage of social media to entice and engage your guests before, during, and after their stays. It’s also a fabulous way to know your guests.
This way, you can offer tailored services.
Using Best Marketing Practices can help hotels in gaining a competitive edge over competitors.
Keeping your hotel guests updated on new offers, wishing on birthdays through personalised message, inviting for gala dinners with exclusive discounts can help in delighting hotel customers. And all this for more profit to the hotel. A win-win for all.
5. Always Keep Your Promises
It is said that ‘Promises are mean to be broken’. This must not be the case in the hotel industry. A broken promise in the hotel industry equals a broken relationship. This can lead to losing many customers and their lifetime business. Huge potential loss.
Go on a limb to keep your word. Hospitality is mostly about keeping your promises. Deliver in excess of that is promised.
Guests get riled up when they don’t receive special services they were promised when they made their reservations.
If at all, avoid making promises that you cannot fulfil.
6. Always Keep Your Staff in the customer success Loop
Your hotel is as good as your staff.
It’s crucial that you train, motivate, and track your team to ensure customers are delighted through impeccable service.
Ensure that your guest-facing staff does a bang-up job – they should be courteous, prompt, and professional.
Service in the Hospitality Industry is and will stay the main tool to delight your guests during hotel stays.
Here’s a quick video interview on how Ritz Carlton WOWs its guests through superior service.
7. Offer Personalised Experience
The best way to delight your guests is to offer tailored services. This is what most of the top hotels do. It’s time to take this personalised service a notch higher. Technology is at our service now and most of the innovation in the hotel industry should be targetted towards improving customer experience.
You are going up against cookie-cutter AirBnBs, so pull all the strings to ensure that your guests enjoy a personalised experience.
It is the personalised experience that has given an edge to Top Hotel Chains like Hyatt, Marriott, Waldorf Astoria (Part of Hilton Worldwide) etc.
Conclusion
Here you go. Some of the ways to ensure the complete delight of your hotel guests during their hotel stay.
It is the memories that your customers want to cherish for a lifetime and they pay a premium charge for the same.
When hotels commit and under deliver, the relationship of a lifetime starts on a sour note. So, please use these ways to ensure the relationship with your hotel guests is always special. Happy guests mean happiness all around for the hotel business.
