One of the most important steps in planning a vacation is choosing a hotel for your stay, without any doubts.
Consequently, the goal of hoteliers is to offer the best hospitality experience for their clients to make them repeat guests and grow the hotel’s reputation.
In order to achieve this, hotel managers need to understand which the definite aspects that dictate are the guests’ behavior in choosing a hotel over another. Once this is accomplished, the number of guests checking in in their hotel will automatically rise and the hotel will be more profitable.
So the question is simple:
What Are the Factors that Contribute to Choosing a Hotel?
According to a study conducted in 2012 by MarketMetrix.com, the main factor in choosing a hotel is the hotel location (30.2%) followed byprice (15.7%).
- The third factor in choosing a hotel over another, according to the same study, is previous hotel experience (11.9%).
If the first factor cannot be changed or adjusted, and the second is related to the hotels’ target customers, surely the third, namely previous hotel experience is an area that can be improved in any accommodation unity.
The Hotel Experience is Directly Linked to Meeting the Guests’ Needs
And in order to meet these needs, we have to identify them first. Studies that have aimed to explain the customer behavior and habits represent a great starting point for the matter.
- Hence, in order to assure the success of your hotel on the market, you have to know the customer behavior.
And the customer behavior reflects its perception of the hotel and the hospitality services offered.
- A study led by Gallup Panel Web in 2014 has identified hotel brand reputation as the main contributing factor when the guest chooses a hotel for the first time.
The same study shows that the main factor in choosing a hotel again depends on the way in which the hotel has managed to create a personal and customized experience for them. And this experience starts from the hotel staff’s competence and continues with the room comfort, the hotel services and facilities that together dictate this overall experience.
Hotel tech innovation is more and more relevant in choosing a hotel
Hotel technology innovations brings an added value and extra comfort to the hotel guest, firsthand. At the same time, it represents an excellent means to create a personal hotel experience for each guest, and this is something every hotel manager wants.
A more recent study run by SoftwareAdvice.com in 2015 backs this idea. The study entitled “Guest Preferences for Technology Use in Hotels IndustryView | 2015” aimed to investigate the implications cutting edge technology brings to the hospitality industry, and what are the hotel guests choices in this regard.
The conclusions were astonishing.
- 60% of the respondents have stated that they are “more likely” to choose a hotel that allows room access and check-in using their smartphone, over a hotel that doesn’t use this technology
- 63% of the participants said that they would rather prefer hotels that use smartwatch tech and hi-tech lobby area
- 40% of the total respondents stated that the aim of smart hotel technology should be reducing travel costs, as check-in kiosks
Undoubtedly, the factors that contribute to choosing a hotel over another are related to various multiple aspects that directly reflect the guest’s need. Hoteliers that speculate on the edge hotel technologies and integrate them smartly, will bring a real competitive advantage to their hotel. Given the dynamics of the hospitality market where the guest’s overall experience plays an important part.
The Calirom Solutions are specially designed for the hotel industry and come to meet the need for tech innovation and thus create a unique and excellent experience for your hotel guests.