If you are monitoring guest feedback all year round, you will have noticed that different time periods will yield different results for your key metrics.
NB: This is an article from ReviewPro
As well as a weekly pattern and changes in volume over national holidays or festivities, the summer months will probably come with fluctuations in guest satisfaction, review volume and even other metrics like guests’ perception of value.
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By identifying and comparing data trends from past years, you can pre-empt any issues in the run-up to peak season and make preparations accordingly.
“Guest feedback data allows you to measure your hotel’s performance over time and ensure that you’re learning from feedback and making improvements,” says Neil James, VP of Global Customer Success at ReviewPro.
In order to ensure that you are leveraging data to its full potential, we recommend these three steps:
1. Measure
2. Understand
3. Improve
Measuring guest satisfaction
Start by identifying the KPIs you will be measuring. For online reviews, this typically means the ReviewPro Global Review Index™ (GRI), an industry-standard online reputation score based on aggregated data from more than 175 review sites & OTAs in over 45 languages. The GRI™ can help you identify how satisfied guests have been at your hotel during any given period. Furthermore, you can compare to the previous period or even to competitors.
Understanding the results
Semantic analysis allows you to drill down into the ‘whys’ of your GRI™ results. With the semantic analysis dashboard, you can easily see which topics are driving negative reviews and even compare them to competitors. This data can be used to decide which areas should be promoted, maintained, or improved.
Additionally, you have the impact analysis tool. This function gives a clear, immediate visual of what semantic keywords are impacting your business and by how many GRI™ points. Remember that GRI™ is directly related to revenue, so by focusing on key areas you can quickly amend the issues that are impacting guest satisfaction, boost bookings, and increase revenue.
The PMS filter allows you to contrast which rooms, room type of guest type (loyalty, corporate). For peak season, this may mean identifying which rooms need the aircon fixed, which rooms to book first and last because of noise/views, or which rooms have which types of reviews for specific demographics such as families or couples.
Effective change
“Hotel managers should take into account that, in many cases, implementing the necessary changes doesn’t always mean added costs,” says Neil James. “They could be improving process efficiencies, staff training or even changes to the recruitment process.”
Sometimes, small changes in line with guest needs can have profound effects. For example, the revenue manager at one of our client brands identified that the breakfast options were harming their hotel’s online reputation. By adding a wider variety, they managed to bring the F&B score up by 5 points and improve the perception of value at the hotel.
Peak season certainly brings its challenges, but with some foresight and preparation, you can still ensure you meet your guest’s expectations!
