A guest-centric hotel (or a customer-centric operation) prioritizes guest needs and satisfaction over everything else.
NB: This is an article from Mews
It’s all about creating a personalized experience for guests to exceed their expectations and build customer loyalty. Personalization extends across all touchpoints: customer service, the technology you use, guest feedback and employee training, as well as community. You aim to offer the utmost flexibility to accommodate diverse needs.
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A guest-centric approach helps build lasting impressions, translating into customer satisfaction, loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth.
9 ways to build a guest-centric hotel
Now that you know the meaning of a guest-centric hotel, let’s look at the ways to create a hotel experience around this concept.
Prioritize flexibility
When it’s time to buy, choosing is easier when you’re not fully committing. Think of Amazon, who have some of the most flexible return policies of any company worldwide. Copy their approach to the hospitality landscape: allow flexibility when booking, giving your guests ample time to cancel or change their bookings.
Being flexible in your policies allows space to accommodate all sorts of guest needs. You can offer flexible check-in and check-out times and cancellation policies or accommodate different requests. Flexible pricing is another way to let guests choose the services that best suit them on a specific budget.
Encourage community engagement
People have different motivations behind travel, but modern guests look for contact with the local community. It gives them a sense of place and helps them understand their new surroundings. Encourage guests to engage with the local community through nearby attractions, events, unique experiences, and locally led tours. Learn more about community engagement.
Use smart technology
Integrating technology throughout the guest journey is a terrific way to enhance the overall experience. Here are some ideas: mobile check-in and check-out facilitate greater flexibility, as does smart in-room technology with voice-controlled temperature and lights. Or how about a virtual concierge and guest apps that make enacting service requests easier?
Use technology to offer more personalized experiences across all touchpoints and enhance overall operations with the guest at the forefront of all the decisions. Technology is the key driver of greater flexibility and personalization.
Offer exceptional customer service
Exceptional customer service should be at the heart of a guest-centric hotel. Training staff members to be attentive and responsive makes all the difference. Pro tip: use technology to fill in any potential customer service gaps.
Overall, the focus should be on creating a memorable experience where guests feel unique.
