The competition for travelers’ attention is fierce, and driving the booking is just the first hurdle. But what happens after guests book their stay? That’s when the real challenge (and opportunity) begins.
NB: This is an article from Canary Technologies
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Enter guest experience management. A hotel’s success depends on the impressions it leaves on its guests. Creating an unforgettable guest experience doesn’t just win rave reviews; it directly boosts your reputation and bottom line.
Let’s take a look at why guest experience management is important in hospitality and how you can strategically think about your approach to delighting everyone that engages with your property.
Guest Experience Management: Why is it Important?
Simply put, happier guests are more likely to return—and more likely to share their positive experiences with others.
According to research from Deloitte, for every point increase in customer satisfaction, guests are 12% more likely to return to a hotel chain and 21% more likely to leave a positive review.
Giving guests a great experience, from the time they first visit your website to the time they check out (and beyond!) elevates your hotel’s reputation.
Guest Experience vs. Customer Service: What’s the Difference?
Customer service is often what people think of when the guest experience is mentioned, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Customer service focuses on fulfilling requests and resolving issues – it’s a transactional process that’s essential for preventing poor experiences and maintaining a positive reputation. When a guest complains about their room, how the front desk responds is an example of customer service in action.
By contrast, guest experience management is a concept that encompasses the entire guest journey. The guest experience begins from the moment they first engage with your hotel (even before booking!) to the moment they check out.
Guests begin forming an opinion of your property from the moment they come across it in their travel research, and it continues to develop through each subsequent interaction. Therefore, every aspect of your business contributes to your guest experience, including your website, reservation process, guest communication methods, check-in, amenities, services and more.
Good guest experience management requires a holistic approach that examines every aspect of an individual’s stay.
7 Ways to Analyze Guest Feedback for Continuous Improvement
To manage something, you also need to measure it – which is why it is vital to continually gather and examine the feedback you receive about your hotel’s guest experience. Here are ways to analyze how guests perceive your hotel:
