Boost the Guest Journey (and Your Revenue)!
For hotels, guest satisfaction doesn’t begin on arrival. It starts well before that…
For hotels, it might seem strange to focus on a boost in the guest journey. After all, you want to earn money, run paid ad campaigns and drive up revenue via bookings. But there’s more to hotel marketing than just that.
It’s about guest satisfaction.
Ask any marketeer, for hotels or otherwise, and they’ll tell you that there is no marketing as powerful as paid marketing. Satisfied guests not only have the potential to become return guests, but they become a walking, talking advert for your hotel establishment.
They’ll wax lyrical about the experiences, the memories and the times that they had staying at your hotel to friends, friends of friends and second cousins twice-removed at their aunt’s second wedding.
It all adds up.
Questions About the Guest Journey?
Boost the Guest Journey
The moment they consider you as a destination, the experience has begun. Although they may not officially be your guest yet, if they follow through on the booking process, then their journey begins the moment they visit your website.
Think of it as Schroedinger’s guest. They both have and have not begun the booking journey. It’s only when they book that the time spent on your website before that moment comes into play.
In short, hotel guest experience begins at your website. A good guest experience will convert a few more potential guests, as well as satisfying those who would already have made a booking.
A bad guest experience on the website will simply deter the vast majority of guests.
Examples of a boosted guest journey can include:
- Quick hotel website loading speeds
- Simple, yet evocative images
- Clear booking engine
- One that suggests alternative dates if there are no available rooms for their chosen time
- Direct booking incentives
Pre-arrival & Arrival Phase of the Guest Journey
If your booking process has already offered guests a chance to make requests, cutomise their stay and pave the way for a pleasurable stay, then that’s a brilliant start.
But why stop there?
Just because they couldn’t think of it at the time, they could well have other requests or last-minute changes that will make that 4-star review into a 5-star one. It’s vital to send an email (or two, but don’t irritate them too much) to your guests to double check.
For example, an email a week before arrival and an email 24 hours before arrival is more than enough to ensure that you are prepared for their stay, and that they feel like special guests.
Improve the Guest Journey -> Better Reviews -> Gain More Guests!
On top of that, you can boost the guest journey by offering guests online check-in or self check-in!
These measures are relatively simple to employ and they’ll safeguard your guest satisfaction by avoiding long waits at a check-in desk! This is vital, as Hotel Tech reported that even a 5 minute wait at check-in can reduce guest satisfaction by 50%.
You can also include yet another potential moment for guests to request items or services. You can offer them the opportunity to book their parking spot 24 hours before arrival, breakfast order modifications or even offer a room service bottle of wine deliverable 30 minutes after self check-in!
Your possibilities are only limited by the hotel services you offer and the inspiration you have
Stay Phase of the Guest Journey
Speedy service is essential.
Yes, clean rooms, available activities and a phenomenal atmosphere are all factors that play into the experience of a guest’s stay. These go without saying. However, all that work that you did in the pre-arrival and arrival phase aids the guest journey once they have arrived.
All the planning, personalised requests and preparation mean that your team is prepared.
A moment’s planning is worth 10 moments of doing, because you can order, manage and focus your efforts where they are best required before they are required.
With all that work optimising the guest journey beforehand, you have already bought your staff more time to handle the day-to-day tasks that crop up along the way!
Departure & Post Stay Phase of the Guest Journey
Do you know what great relationships and great hotels have in common?
Communication.
It’s fantastic for building healthy relationships and for boosting the experience along the guest journey. This is because once a guest leaves your hotel, that doesn’t mean they are no longer your guest!
They are a potential returning guest and should be made to feel that way. It’s not goodbye, merely “Au Revoir!”
That’s the reason why in the departure and post stay phases of the guest journey you need to communicate with your guests.
- How was their stay?
- Was anything missing?
- Would they like to leave a review online?
- Why don’t they join your membership scheme for a discount on their next stay?
All of these questions are about guest care, but they are also all about hotel marketing. Each answer is something that you can leverage to boost the reputation of your hotel. The better your earned marketing, the more direct bookings you can achieve at your hotel.
More bookings mean more revenue and the chance to scale up your services, hotel or workforce!
Questions About the Guest Journey?
We are here to answer all of your hotel marketing questions, but we don’t just limit ourselves to the digital marketing for hotels! Thanks to our parent company, Regent Consulting, all of our hotel marketing specialists have practical experience and knowledge of hotels, not just theoretical.
That being said, we can revamp your hotel’s online presence in no time at all. In fact, why don’t you request a free hotel marketing audit? It’s quick, easy and at no cost to you!
We’ll compile a report within 48 hours, and schedule a one on one meeting with you to discuss our findings of your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. After that, we’ll release the full audit report so that you can review it at your leisure!
Get in touch with us at Regent Marketing now, and see what your hotel marketing is missing!
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