Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Is that it? After all the effort you put into attracting guests to your hotel for their first visit, don’t stop there.
NB: This is an article from WebRezPro
The same effort you put into acquiring guests needs to be applied toward repeat bookings. By using an automated email platform as part of your property management system, post-stay emails are easily scheduled and customized.
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The best part? Once you’ve designed your emails and set up triggers, the rest of the work is done for you. If that sounds impersonal to you, don’t worry because the opposite is true through the power of guest data. So keep reading! We’ve outlined the essential post-stay emails your hotel needs to use now, what to say, and when to send them—so you can nurture return visits while focusing on the hotel guests in front of you.
The Why of Post-Stay Emails
Simply put, post-stay emails are important because they drive repeat bookings through building loyalty, boosting advocacy, developing customer retention, and maintaining relevance. The cost of acquisition on average is as high as 25% of your total booking cost, while repeat bookings are around five times less—it’s very much worth the effort.
Post-Stay Email Essentials
Hotel post-stay emails must be done tactically to be effective and should be:
- On brand: Colors, formatting, font, and images should be consistent with your website and other marketing materials. The design uniformity renders a sense of cohesion and trustworthiness.
- Valuable: Emails must be useful to your guests right from the get-go. Emails that are too heavy-handed in their marketing message without delivering anything appealing will result in low open rates and high email unsubscribes.
- Relevant to guests: Ensure each email is relevant to guests. What’s relevant and valuable to one guest may not be to another. Use guest and reservation data to deliver travel information and hotel deals that appeal to your hotel’s specific guest type.
- Timely: Emails should be sent at a cadence that makes sense to your guests based on when they stayed and when they may like to travel again. As they say, timing is everything!
Cadence: Immediately or up to one day after check-out.
Essential Post-Stay Emails
At their very essence, the purpose of post-stay emails is to thank guests for their patronage, ask them for feedback, and reward them for their loyalty. Let’s break it down even further into the specific emails your hotel should send post-stay.
Post-Stay Thank You Email
As soon as your guests check out, trigger an email to thank them for their stay. Along with sincere thanks and hopes that they enjoyed their stay, ask for feedback. Do not ask for a review at this time but rather ensure their stay was up to standard and free from issues. This gives you the opportunity to right any wrongs before they write a public review. A sincere apology, a discount on a future stay, or a rebate on their past stay can go a long way and dampen any negative experiences. Use the hotel manager’s signature and return email address so communication goes straight to the top! This reassures the guests that any concerns will be addressed appropriately and gives the manager deeper insight into front-facing operations.
