Many hoteliers tend to think pre-stay communication isn’t really that important – the guest has booked, their business is secured, the real focus comes while they’re actually at the hotel. Right?
The true guest experience starts the moment they book a room, not at the front desk. Effective communication with your guests before they arrive can help drastically improve the quality of their stay, ultimately turning them into repeat customers and ambassadors for your brand.
With the right approach, you’ll be able to gather information to personalise their experience, upsell on promotions and deals, and gather important demographic data to help define future marketing campaigns.
We’ve outlined five quick and effective strategies you can use to give your guests five-star treatment before they even arrive.
Using eMail
A booking confirmation email is one of the basics of communication during the pre-stay period, and even if you choose to do nothing else before your guest arrives, all hoteliers should be sending one.
Your pre-stay email allows you to you to share more information, include attached documents, as well as links to your website and social media channels.
Your first email should:
- Include a personalised, friendly message thanking the guest for choosing your hotel, and confirm that their booking was successful.
- Include links to any value-added services, upgrades or deals applicable during their stay. Be sure to also point guests to your social media channels, encouraging them to get in touch at any time with concerns or requests.
- Be succinct, you don’t want to bombard your guest with too much information at once.
It’s important to consider that many hotel bookings are made via smartphone. A 2016 study by Criteo showed that nearly 52% of hotel bookings in the US were made via smartphone, while a report from ComScore and Expedia Media Solutions showed that 57% of UK users prefer booking with a smartphone over other devices, so make sure your communication is mobile friendly.
