For hotels that want to stand out in a competitive market, using AI (Artificial Intelligence) is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity.
NB: This is an article from Strategic Solution Partners
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Hospitality marketing expert, Michael Kosmas, used generative AI to improve the guest experience and drive revenue growth for a global luxury hotel brand in three major city locations. Here’s how he did it.
The challenge: Managing customer feedback
Three hotels were struggling to keep up with guest feedback. They weren’t able to respond quickly to concerns, especially about the food and drink services.
With Michael’s help, here’s what they discovered:
- Over 60% of complaints were about food and beverage quality, with many guests saying it wasn’t worth the price.
- More than half of these complaints came from Google reviews.
- One location saw over 35% of complaints about the hotel’s design.
- Over 79% of the complaints about hotel locations were focused on one specific property.
The strategy: Turning feedback into action
Michael used his expertise in generative AI to gather and organize all guest feedback, turning unstructured, hard-to-read data into clear information that the hotel staff could act on. Here’s the four-step process he followed, with the ultimate goal of increasing revenue for the brand:
1. Mapping the guest journey
After a brief needs assessment, Michael created a clear, one-page customer journey map plotting a guest’s stay from booking to check-out, and highlighting all the key moments where guests and staff connect, whether in person or online.
This map was designed to help everyone at the hotels understand how and when to improve the guest experience, and inform hotel leadership of areas in need of improvement, allowing them to decide where to invest resources.
2. Gathering data
The next step was to collect all the guest reviews and feedback in one place, in real time. This included online reviews from sites like Google, Meta, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com, along with internal hotel information. Personal details were removed to protect privacy.
3. Organizing the feedback
Using affordable AI tools, Michael analyzed and sorted the feedback to highlight the most important issues.
4. Taking action
Michael put together an AI Consumer Sentiment Survey with a clear 360° view of guest feedback to allow the hotels to start making changes immediately.
The hotels used the insights to lower operational costs and improve customer satisfaction, in turn boosting revenue. Since results were tracked in real time, they could see the impact of their changes right away.
The results: Happier guests, more loyal customers
Thanks to the actionable insights from the AI Consumer Sentiment Survey, hotel management made several changes, including improving transportation options to their theme park, adjusting their food and drink offerings, updating menu options, and enhancing security at one urban location to help guests feel safer. These improvements led to happier guests and increased revenue.
The metrics
By tracking specific metrics across all three locations, Michael and the hotel teams could clearly see the impact of these upgrades on guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue generation.
1. Addressing security needs at the urban property
The hotel introduced a 24/7 “Virtual Agent” powered by AI, allowing guests to connect directly with staff or live agents. Guests simply had to say, “speak to a representative” or “speak to staff” for instant assistance. Whether through voice, SMS, or WhatsApp, the Virtual Agent engages in natural language conversation to answer questions, highlight security checkpoints, and guide guests on safety protocols.
This Virtual Agent eliminated wait times, responding immediately to guest inquiries. For example, if a guest asked, “Is it safe to walk to the Wharf from the hotel?” the Virtual Agent could provide detailed guidance, offer directions, and suggest options like hotel staff escorts or Uber services.
