One of the most important aspects in creating a top hotel experience is undoubtedly the hotel–guest interaction. While a few years ago the only way of communicating with the guest was through direct interaction, today the guest-hotel interaction is strongly modeled by the digital mobile era in which we are living.
Why is Hotel Guest Engagement so Important?
The guest-hotel engagement and interaction is important for both parties. In this sense, guests create the hotel experience they need, while the hotel gets to know their customers better and sell more. In addition, the client’s interaction with the hotel is vital for creating an authentic bond between the two, which is the stepping stone for repeat business.
We can all agree that guest engaging is the best way to create an excellent hotel experience for your clients. But how can we increase this guests engagement and together with it their satisfaction with regards to the hotel services? Here are 3 solutions for engaging the guest in 2017!
1. Online Presence
Guest engagement begins even before he or she books a room and literally steps into the hotel. The first guest-hotel interaction takes place when the guest visits the website and searches for hotel information or books a room. For this, it is crucial that you have an up-to-date website with all the information within your guest’s reach.
Once the guest has booked a room, be sure to keep them engaged via confirmation emails to thank them for choosing your hotel. You can also share the latest hotel offers or other important information they need to know before the check-in.
2. Interaction through Social Media
In addition to a well-developed, easy to navigate and up-to-date website, another modern way of engaging the guest is through social media. We are talking about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the most commonly used social networking sites for hotels. Today’s guests are often times more interested in Facebook check-ins than the breakfast hours.
That’s why social media presence is paramount in creating the connection and interaction between you and the guest. For example, large hotel chains offer late check-out in exchange for guests to use Foursquare or Facebook Places to share their location in the hotel. Moreover, with social networks, you can create contests or announce the latest hotel offers or discounts and invite guests to share, like or hashtag, both for marketing and customer engagement.
3. Mobile Apps for Hotels
The digital mobile era guests are avid mobile tech and internet consumers. Studies show that more and more guests make reservations online and check-ins using their mobile phone or tablet. This tells us that the means of engaging and communicating with the hotel guest must be adapted to mobile technologies. In this regard, we have developed InfoStream, an interactive guest-hotel communication and engagement platform.
InfoStream is a real-time flow and exchange of information between the guest and the hotel, through which the former is kept updated. This way, the hotel guest can benefit from the services offered by your hotel simply using their mobile phone or tablet. The guest can both use InfoStream on their laptop, by accessing Infostream.ro, or on their mobile devices by downloading the mobile InfoStream app for Android or iOS.
How does InfoStream facilitate Guest Engagement?
1. Fast Check-ins and Check-outs. An excellent way to please guests during their hotel stay is through enabling an online mobile check-in system. This not only speeds up the check-in process but also opens the gate for more direct bookings. Moreover, a mobile app can make customers buy additional hotel services made available through the app.
2. Real-time Updates. With InfoStream, you can notify the guest in real time with regards to the best offers of the day, discounts, promotions or hotel events that will take place during his or her stay.
3. Mobile Room Service. Mobile apps are the room service of the future; at least this is what InfoStream brings. Guests can check the bar or restaurant and place a room order directly from the app. Moreover, with the help of InfoStream, the hotel guest can preset the desired cleaning hours for the room.
4. Reservations Made Easy. Your hotel most certainly has many facilities to offer to your guests. For this, we have included the reservations-making option with InfoStream. Your guests can now make reservations at the spa, book a massage or even a beach chair or chaise longue using the app. Furthermore, the guest can book a hotel-airport shuttle or a taxi at the desired time.
5. All in One Place. The guest can access at all times useful information such as phone numbers, Wi-Fi password, check-out date and time, complete order and reservation history from their InfoStream account. In other words: control, comfort and convenience!
6. Final Thoughts. Last but not least, through the Feedback option that we have included, you can now see the honest impressions of your guests after their experience in your hotel. This way they will appreciate your genuine interest in their experience with you. As for you, you will increase your chances of making them choose your hotel again in the future.
The idea behind InfoStream is to enable an authentic bond between the hotel and guests, by engaging them to shape the hotel experience they desire. With this interactive platform, you can get to know the guests consumer behavior better, so that you can offer them what they want and thus build their loyalty. Ultimately, by knowing what your guests want and engaging them in creating a personalized hotel experience, you will increase the hotel’s revenue on the long run.
For more information about InfoStream, please visit InfoStream.ro, or contact us.