Leveraging real-time communication in the post-pandemic world is one of the best strategies that hoteliers can adopt in order to increase guest satisfaction and even maximize revenue in the long run.
NB: This is an article from TrustYou
Now more than ever, guests will seek an open and honest connection with the hotel they choose to book, along with reassurance throughout their entire journey. While communication and engagement are beneficial at any stage, there’s no better time to make a difference than the present, while the guests are on-site.
The challenge, however, arises when trying to encourage guests to leverage real-time communication and reach out with any concerns, questions, or issues they might have. The need to do so might be more intense now than ever before, however, guests might still need guidance and a little push. This is why hoteliers need to find new and creative strategies to promote real-time communication in ways that are convenient for their guests; and few things are easier to distribute and use than QR codes.
The TrustYou Live Messaging solution enables hotel guests to communicate while on-site, either through live chat or their preferred messaging apps, while Live Survey encourages guests to leave real-time feedback. Hotels can facilitate access to all these means of communication by using QR codes. The trick, however, is how these QR codes are distributed in creative and appealing ways that would encourage guests to start a conversation.
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Here are some best practices for promoting QR codes in your hotel, to support live engagement, open and constant communication, as well as increase the chances of fixing issues on the spot and enhancing guest satisfaction:
At the front desk:
Share the relevant information about your services and premises with your guests, right after they check in. The reception is usually the first point of contact when a guest arrives at a hotel and it’s the perfect occasion to provide them with the available information and means of communication throughout their stay. Especially in the context of the pandemic, it’s important to inform guests from the start what are the measures taken in terms of safety and cleanliness, what’s new, what changes, and sometimes, even which amenities are open or closed. All these details can easily be sent through an automated message, once the guests scan the QR code and get on board with the live engagement apps available.
Welcome packages:
If you offer welcome packages as a way of delighting the guests from the start, think about integrating a QR code in whichever treat you provide. It’s an easy and subtle way that is bound to make an impression and encourage guests to get in touch. If, for example, you offer a sweet treat, like the cookies in the image below, you can arrange to have the personalized QR code displayed on them.
Room keys:
This is already a very popular and foolproof way of promoting QR codes, since every single guest, without exception, will use a room key. Having the code displayed on the room key, along with a short text that explains the meaning and purpose of it, is an easy way of bringing attention to your communication strategy and available channels and it is literally in everyone’s hands.
Website or wi-fi page:
A hotel’s website is often the first point of contact when making a booking, so most of your guests will already be familiar with it even before their stay. At the same time, accessing the wi-fi page is one of the first and most important things that guests want to do after they check in. Don’t miss out on this opportunity that is a top priority for so many travelers and make sure to display the QR code on both of these channels in order to encourage guests to share their impressions and feedback in an easy and convenient way.
In-room:
The room is the place where guests will spend most of their time while on the hotel premises so it’s important to promote your QR code and any other important information at key points around the room, whether it’s on the nightstand, the desk, the mirror, etc. Make sure that your guests will notice it, without being too intrusive or exaggerated. Simple touches like a flyer here or there are enough to let guests know that you are there for them, at just a scan away.
Online menus and room service:
If you offer room service or even an online menu at the restaurant, this is a great opportunity to promote your communication apps and live survey. Give your guests the chance to reach out with questions or to share their thoughts on the food, the service, or anything else that might have made an impression on them.
While you don’t have to adopt all of these distribution strategies at once – since that could easily become overwhelming for guests – you can always pick the ones that would make the most sense for your hotel business. The key takeaway here is to make sure that you leverage QR codes in easy and effective ways that will encourage the much-needed live interaction that can have such a positive impact on the hotel’s satisfaction scores, reputation, and even revenue.
Keep in mind that when you provide multiple, different means of communication and encourage your guests to share their thoughts and concerns, you can actually make a difference on the spot. You can immediately fix issues, answer questions, and show that you genuinely care for your guests’ needs and wellbeing, which, in the context of the current pandemic, matters now more than ever.
