Now more than ever, guests expect hotels to provide personalized service. According to a recent study conducted by Infosys, 86% of consumers say that personalization plays a key role in their purchasing decisions. This trend in turn has an impact on hotel revenue.
The more hotels connect with their guests, the more likely they are to return. Whether it's sending a simple personalized welcome message or replacing feather pillows with hypoallergenic ones, anticipating your guests' needs is the best way to provide them with a memorable experience at your property and keep them coming back. And don't worry; it's easy to provide personalized service to your guests, and there are many ways to do it.
Experts suggest useful tips to personalize hotels' customer journeys. For hotels that can meet and exceed their guests' expectations, it's clear that personalization can drive more hotel revenue.
Collect Data through Your Booking Engine
The booking stage is an excellent opportunity to collect data on your customers and better understand their expectations.
By using an all-in-one hotel management solution with an integrated intelligent booking engine, you will be able to obtain essential information, such as contact information or stay preferences, which is then automatically stored in your PMS.
And remember, all data is important! Even the most basic information like your customers' first name or email address can be enough to start personalizing their experience at your establishment.
Use the Information Gathered to Offer a Personalized Service
According to a recent study by Accenture, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide personalized offers and relevant recommendations based on their preferences.
The best PMSs automatically create a customer record for each customer as soon as a reservation is made. This information is essential to identify your regular customers and offer them personalized services. With a PMS, you will also be able to record additional relevant feedback to anticipate your customers' needs and provide them with an optimal experience when they return to your establishment.
For example, if a guest mentioned a dairy allergy during their first stay in your hotel, you can surprise them with dairy-free welcome chocolates when they return to your establishment! This personalization of the offer is an excellent way to build customer loyalty.
Automate Communication with Customers
To provide a personalized experience to your customers, it is essential to ensure good communication with them; this will make them feel valued and considered.
By using hotel management technology with an automated communication tool, your customers will receive relevant messages at the right time.
For example, the best PMSs offer customizable email templates based on booking data. This allows hotels to provide tailored communication at every stage of the customer journey, from booking confirmation to post-stay feedback requests.
Pre-stay emails offering online check-in can also be useful for gathering additional information about hotel guests upon their arrival.
Post-stay communication adds value by thanking your customers for their stay, which helps build loyalty.
You can also include a discount code in your post-stay emails to encourage your customers to return, or a quick survey to show that the quality of their experience is important to you.
Offer the Possibility to Check-in Online
Personalizing your offer is all about giving your customers choices. Simply offering the option to check in online or at the front desk can help personalize the experience for your customers.
By automating your communication, each of your guests will be able to check in online on a platform that displays their name and the specifics of their stay. This will give them a personalized and simplified experience, rather than having to manually provide their personal information at the front desk of your establishment.
To take it a step further, you can also add automated upselling functionality during online check-in, to offer your guests additional services before they even arrive at your establishment. This will allow them to personalize their stay, and is a great opportunity for hotels to increase their revenue.
Tailor Your Offers to Different Needs
Offering customized packages that meet your guests' needs is a great way to enhance their stay at your hotel. From long-stay packages to special offers for families, hotel packages can increase hotel revenue while providing your guests with an unforgettable experience.
According to Trivago, customers who choose packages tend to stay longer, book earlier and are less likely to cancel their reservations.
By using an all-in-one hotel management system, you can easily offer packages on your website's booking engine. This is a great strategy to get travelers to book directly on your site, allowing you to communicate directly with them.
In an era where consumers expect brands to be responsive to their needs and preferences, the hotel industry now has the technology tools and data to deliver a personalized experience to travelers.