There’s no magic button or single solution for improving hotel guest satisfaction. If hotels want to elevate the guest experience, it will take rolling up sleeves and digging into customer data and implementing cutting-edge hotel software systems that’s proven to make a positive difference in guest satisfaction and hotel ROI.

If you’re looking how to improve hotel guest satisfaction, incorporate the tried-and-true methods below into your hotel’s daily operations.

How to improve hotel guest satisfaction – 6 tips for success:

1. Make your messaging personal

Guests connect with personalized experiences. That’s why personalization is such an integral piece to a hotel’s marketing success. Long gone are the days of the spray and pray approach for hotel marketing campaigns. As the hotelier, it’s your job to share the right messaging with the right guests, making them feel like individuals and not just a piece of a larger whole.

With a guest messaging solution, you can segment guests based on spending behavior, stay history, and profile information. For example, hotels can build a list of individuals based on where they are in the customer journey, whether they tend to book a certain package more over others, or desire a specific room type. Use eye-catching email templates, provided to you through Fuel’s hotel messaging software, to create hyper-targeted email campaigns.

Go a step further and consider in-room features like a welcome card with the guest’s name or a dinner voucher to your restaurant. These are little things that can go a long way in improving hotel guest satisfaction.

2. Get rid of the check-in line

The check-in line has traditionally been viewed as a cumbersome slog for arriving hotel guests. Nobody wants to stand in a line after airport TSA checks and hours-long car rides. So, we have a solution: get rid of the check-in line.

With hotel digital key technology, guests can check in on their phone and receive their room key directly on their mobile device. Even if the room isn’t ready, guests will be happier knowing that they didn’t have to spend 30 minutes waiting in line just to be told they would have to wait another 30 minutes before they can drop off their luggage. In fact, there are several benefits to investing in hotel contactless check-in solutions.

3. Streamline the booking process

Making a room booking should be a simple, frustration-free process. Make a strong first impression by installing hotel booking software optimized for the user experience. Take into consideration the following questions:

• Is your booking engine mobile friendly?
• How many steps is the booking process?
• Does your booking engine look and feel like your website?

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and take the time to go through the booking process yourself. Take note of friction points and opportunities for improvement. Doing so will put you on the right path to building a better, smoother booking process for your guests.

4. Be there at every point of the customer journey

From the booking confirmation email to the post-stay survey, hotels need to be in contact with guests every step in the customer journey. Doing so illustrates your excitement for the guest’s upcoming stay and generally provides value to your guests.

Consider the following messaging categories as important to improving hotel guest satisfaction:

• Relationship-Building
• Stay-Related
• Revenue-Generating

Under those categories are specific stages in the customer journey that make it easier for hotels to visualize when to reach out to guests. These stages include newsletter signups, website visits, and upsell opportunities.

And just because you got the booking doesn’t mean the work is done. Hotels need to work just as hard to keep their existing reservations on the books. A booking confirmation email with additional hotel details, FAQs, and area information is a good start. Once their stay date gets closer, amplify excitement for the guest’s stay, and nudge them with an add-on or room upgrade. Learn more about hotel messages you should be sending to guests.

5. Always keep communication open

There’s nothing more frustrating than when businesses make it difficult for customers to reach support. That’s why hotels should keep every line of communication open for guests to send requests and general queries they might have.

A white label app for hotels makes this process incredibly easy for guests. With a built-in messaging system, guests can send service requests for things as simple as replacing a broken hair dryer or replacing a light bulb, without having to visit or dial the front desk. See even more reasons why hotels should have their own mobile apps.

6. Get feedback from guests

The most proactive way to finding opportunities to improve hotel guest satisfaction is going directly to the source itself. Post-stay outreach, like post-stay surveys and review requests, is key to finding opportunities for improving guest satisfaction. The feedback hotels receive from guests can lead to identifying crucial gaps in the customer journey and demonstrates a willingness to adapt to the expectations and preferences that guests have.

Fuel’s Final Takeaways

Improving hotel guest satisfaction includes using the right hotel software, making smarter digital marketing decisions, and listening to what your guests are saying. Be proactive and schedule a software demo with Fuel Travel to get your guest satisfaction, and your ROI, on the right track.