Keeping hotel guests happy is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and fostering loyalty. In practical terms, happy hotel guests means more positive reviews and recommendations, a growing brand reputation, and an increase in repeat-bookings and guest loyalty.
Ultimately, it means more bookings, revenue and profitability.
In this article, we’ll talk about 5 simple but highly effective strategies to provide exceptional service, enhance guest experiences, and ensure the happiness of each guest at your property.
Swiftly Address Complaints and Turn Them Around:
One of the most effective ways to ensure guests stay happy is by effectively tackling and resolving any situations that they have been less than happy with. Effective and timely hotel guest messaging and complaint resolution can help transform a negative guest experience into an opportunity to go above and beyond and demonstrate your commitment to guest satisfaction.
Act promptly to resolve issues and prioritize guest concerns. Ensure that hotel staff take the time to listen to guests complaints or feedback, empathize, and take immediate action to rectify any problems. Additionally, consider offering compensations or complimentary extras as a way to transform the negative into a positive, happy, and satisfactory experience.
Empower Staff to Elevate the Guest Experience
In order to compensate for a negative experience, or complement a positive experience that contributes to your guest’s overall happiness at your hotel, grant every employee the authority to enhance the guest experience – within a designated budget, of course.
Allow staff members to address guest requests or resolve minor issues without having to go through a lengthy chain of command to ensure quick resolution and avoid guest frustration.. For instance, enable employees to provide compensation or add-ons such as a complimentary meal after a complaint, or an upgrade to a suite for a special occasion.
An additional benefit is that empowering every employee fosters a customer-centric culture throughout the organization, motivating every staff member to feel personally committed to guest happiness.
Personalize Based on Guest Preferences
When a hotel takes the time to understand and cater to guests’ preferences, it conveys a genuine sense of care and attention. This personalized approach makes guests feel special and appreciated, leading to heightened satisfaction and happiness during their stay.
By paying attention to details such as room preferences, dietary restrictions, or activity interests, hotels demonstrate that they value their guests as individuals. Ways to personalize experiences based on guest experiences can include details in their room that make it feel like a home away from home – for example, by stocking it with their favorite snacks and drinks. Surrounding guests with the things they love and enjoy will undoubtedly bring them joy.
Alternatively, consider including add ons in line with their preference and needs. For example, for guests with children, a complementary child-care service could be critical for parents to truly be able to relax and enjoy their break.
Create Unforgettable Experiences
Unforgettable experiences have the power to create a highly powerful emotional connection, resulting in long-lasting memories. By curating unforgettable experiences for your guests, you’ll ensure they feel a long lasting positive association with your property.
When it comes to elevating guest experiences by going above and beyond their expectations, there’s an opportunity to get creative. Ensure that Food and Beverage staff go above and beyond for special occasions, such as birthdays or anniversaries. Collaborate with external partners to curate one-of-a-kind experiences, such as off-the-beaten path local tours, artisanal workshops.
Guests are pleasantly surprised or delighted by unexpected gestures, they develop a positive emotional attachment to the hotel, ensuring they feel a spark of joy whenever they think back to their stay.
Maintain Post-Stay Communication
Recognize that the guest experience doesn’t end at check-out. Communicate with guests after their stay to show your appreciation, nurture lasting relationships, and remind guests of the happiness they felt while holidaying on your property.
We don’t mean marketing emails, but notes that show your appreciation. This can include sending a simple personalized thank-you note after their stay, or perhaps even sending over the recipe of a meal the guests particularly enjoyed during their stay.
Post stay communication can also include well wishes for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. Not only will guests feel joy at receiving a thoughtful note, they’re likely to get a burst of endorphins as your email sparks memories of their happiness while on holiday.
