Improving and enhancing the guest experience will lead to better reviews and revenue. This is how to make your guests happier with a digital guest journey.
Boost your reviews with a streamlined digital guest journey
Having a lot of positive reviews has become the Holy Grail for hotels, and there are plenty of good reasons why it is important to gain guest reviews for your hotel. Good reviews are pure revenue fuel. They make you stand out from the competition and will improve the overall profitability for the hotel in many ways. It’s about more than just reputation.
- It affects online visibility. If you want to show up on the top of a Google search you need lots of good content that is helpful, unique, interesting and constantly updated. A steady flow of guest reviews will affect ranking, give more exposure, and the visibility will have a positive effect on bookings and revenue.
- Reviews have an impact on booking decisions. Customers trust other customers. In the world of online booking and shopping, studies show that up to 70% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by the reviews left by others. When TripAdvisor asked its users about online reviews, 93% answered that they have an impact on their booking decisions. More than half wouldn’t even consider booking a hotel without reviews.
- Good reviews are the strongest unofficial quality indicator, and will lead to better occupancy and higher rates.
- Reviews are a great way to find out how you can improve. When guests tell you what they like and perhaps don’t like about your hotel you can constantly improve your services, offers, operations etc. based on their feedback. They are the most honest consultants you will ever work with.
In a reality where success relies on rating and reviews, how do you take control of your reputation and improve the guest experience? It’s actually easier than you think.
A better and more personalised guest experience with guest facing technology
The more a guest can interact with the hotel and its services, the more engaged the guest will become. If you can offer the guest a seamlessly connected guest journey with better and more personalised service, entertainment and targeted offers, it will create a positive experience that the guest will tell everyone about.
Truth is that the hospitality technology industry hasn’t been very innovative in this area, and has been focusing more on infrastructure and disassociated Apps and hardware, rather than on the customer experience and proactive solutions. But guest facing technology is the perfect tool for more and better customer engagement. Some basic example of what guets want to be able to do, seamlessly:
- Order drinks and snacks from the poolside using their own smartphone.
- Ask questions, get useful information, request maintenance and provide feedback without chasing after hotel staff, waiting for someone to answer the phone, or struggle with language barriers.
- Get popular entertainment, features and personalised media solutions that they are used to from their home environment.
- Get relevant and targeted but non-intrusive offers that feel more like a personal and attentive service. Like spa visits, exciting excursions or airport-transfers that they can book or purchase right there and then from their own personal device.
- Stay at a hotel filled with new possibilities for how the hotel can connect with guests and spend more time meeting their individual needs.
This isn’t just possible today, very soon it will be more or less expected.
Today’s guests expect more than a comfortable bed
When reviews are based on guest experiences, you need to make your guests aware of what you have to offer. Not only to promote your services and let them know how they can enhance their stay, but to stay personal and make the guests feel unique and cared for. The technology to get more options to engage with your guests is already here, and the digital transformation of the guest journey is needed to improve and enhance the guest experience. Consumers are already used to having their work, shopping, entertainment and services at their fingertips, they expect the same from the hospitality industry. They want to be connected to the hotel on their own terms, and receive a personalised experience. If you can offer them that, they will love you for it, come back for more, and recommend others to do the same.
The added benefits of the digital guest journey
Giving your guests more experiences will not only improve your reviews. More engagement with your guests will also lead to more ancillary revenue. If you improve guest satisfaction, the guests will spend more. You will also be able to take control of your brand and reputation, and make sure that the guest feedback will go straight to the hotel and not through some external source. Enhanced communication with your guests will also provide insights that will help you drive sales through data analysing. The more you know about your guests, the better you can treat them during their stay.
Technology that drives the guest experience will give value not only for guests, but ultimately also for hotels and their stakeholders. Don’t miss out on it.
We’ve recently published a whitepaper for a deep-dive into the subject. Please feel free download “How a digital guest journey can improve the guest experience and boost reviews” here:
About the author
Martin has a background as an entrepreneur and brand & concept inventor. Martin started his career as Management Trainee for the Kinnevik group of companies, as Marketing Manager for a mobile phone network in Vietnam. Martin has a Masters in Business & Administration from Stockholm University and Harvard University.