The guest experience focuses on the relationship between your hotel and its guests.
NB: This is an article from Oaky
It includes every interaction or communication with your guests, whether direct or indirect, even if it doesn’t result in a booking. A smooth experience impacts how your guests feel about your hotel and services and how they engage with it in the future.
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Continuously enhancing your hotel guest experience can go a long way in boosting your hotel’s brand image and reputation. If guests enjoy their stay at your hotel, they are more likely to return and refer your hotel to others, helping you attract even more guests.
After all, word-of-mouth marketing is the most influential in driving buying decisions today. In fact, 77% of consumers often read online reviews when making purchase decisions and 49% trust online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends. So positive reviews are crucial to your hotel’s success. They pave the way for more bookings, higher occupancy rates, and greater revenue.
Why is it important to enhance the guest experience?
Delivering a memorable experience allows you to leave a lasting impression. Some of the most important reasons for enhancing the guest experience include:
- Facilitating word-of-mouth marketing: By leaving a positive impression on your guests, your hotel can generate more guest reviews helping you grow faster.
- Building your hotel brand: If guests leave positive reviews online, it creates a solid brand image and further drives bookings and revenue.
- Strengthening your guest retention: By meeting your guests’ expectations and providing top-notch customer service, you can increase the number of repeat guests and boost customer loyalty.
Prioritising consumer experience will help you achieve an increase in hotel sales and revenue. That said, enhancing the guest experience is easier said than done.
It’s crucial to deliver a seamless experience from when your guests book their stay to when they leave your hotel. It is a continual process. Here are some of our recommendations to take your guest experience to the next level.
Enhancing the hotel guest experience prior to arrival
1. Create your guest profile
Before you determine how to cater to your guests, you need to know who they are and what they like. Researching your target audience and developing guest profiles is a good way to offer brilliant service to every guest. It is important to research your target audience beforehand to understand how to personalise their experience. This allows you to create segments for the different types of guests visiting your hotel and tailor their experience.
The more you can personalise their stay, the more appreciated and welcome your guests will feel. Every personalised interaction will elevate your hotel in the eyes of your guests. Sharing their preferences across departments can ensure better coordination and a phenomenal experience.
