As technology advances, so do the ways hotels are able to communicate with guests effectively. This has led to guest messaging becoming an effective channel for hotels to build guest relationships and improve overall operations. Combined with supporting hotel software systems, hotel messaging software can boost customer satisfaction, staff efficiency, and ultimately your bottom line.
Below you’ll discover just how guest messaging, when used correctly, can improve hotel operations, in addition to strategies you can implement into your messaging campaigns.
Reach guests at the right time
Let’s start with a simple exercise.
A guest has booked a room at your hotel. Do you:
- Do nothing.
- Send a meaningful, personalized welcome message to the guest.
The choice is obvious. With guest messaging software, in conjunction with supporting software systems, hotels can deliver personalized messages instantly that make an impact.
For the example above, while the guest may not be staying at your hotel at that moment, that doesn’t mean they’re not already your guest. So treat them as such. This is your chance to share the same anticipation for their stay with a welcome message. Integrating a text messaging system with Fuel’s Guest Messaging Solution, you can create and send triggered text messages similar to an email message.
And if you have a hotel mobile app, this is your opportunity to promote it. From there, you’ll be able to reach guests throughout the entirety of their stay, all the way to the post-stay survey. We’ll get into that even further below and you can find ideas, plus do’s and don’ts, on how to reach guests at the right time with a guest messaging campaign.
Prove you value your guests’ time
It’s not uncommon that even after guests have arrived at your hotel, rooms aren’t always ready. This can lead to front desk staff tending to dissatisfied customers that may have just spent days traveling to your hotel. With the Fuel Hotel Mobile App, you can simply send a push notification that alerts guests that their room is ready, removing the stresses that come with guest arrival processes.
Plus, guests can easily check-in prior to arrival and enter their room using hotel digital key technology, included in Fuel’s hotel app software. Now guests can bypass the lines and the crowds and head directly to their room for a contactless, stress-free check-in experience.
Increase revenue before, during, and after the stay
SMS messaging is a direct line between you and your guest that not only benefits relationship building but can also drive direct revenue. Word of warning: this is not the time to go overboard with revenue-driving messaging, as revenue should not be the focal point of any guest messaging campaign. However, if used correctly, guest messaging can become a channel for incremental revenue using effective messaging strategies.
Pre-stay messaging
Demonstrate value with pre-arrival upgrade messaging or by simply having guests download your mobile app, which can lead to even more incremental revenue opportunities.
Check out messaging
Upsell opportunities don’t stop after check-in. When you use the automated guest messaging functionality via Fuel’s Guest Messaging Solution, you can simply offer guests the opportunity to extend their stay or offer a late check-out via text.
Post-stay messaging
With any post-stay messaging, you should always lead with appreciation. Not only can guest messaging software improve your ROI but it can be used to build guest relationships even further. Reach out to guests with a sincere message that highlights your appreciation. Ask guests to fill out a post-stay survey which can provide valuable insights into what you did right and where there’s room for improvement.
Post-stay messaging is also your chance to highlight all the benefits guests can enjoy if they book directly, discount for a future stay, or even provide rates for similar dates, whether they booked through your website the first time or via an OTA.
Improve staff efficiency
With guest messaging capabilities, you’re not only valuing the time of your guests but also your hotel staff.
With the messaging capabilities included in the Fuel Hotel Mobile App and via automated messaging through the Fuel’s Guest Messaging Solution, everyday processes like check-in and checkout and room availability updates become automated, which allows staff more time to build valuable connections with guests that would otherwise be spent looking at a computer screen.
If guests have a question or request, they can send a message to your hotel which prompts an instant response with accurate information via automatic reply. Again, relieving hotel staff of menial tasks that are better served to automation.
Make sure you have the right software, like our Hotel Guest Messaging Solution, White Label Mobile App for Hotels & Hotel Digital Key, to pair with your guest messaging efforts.
Reach out to Fuel for more information about our complimentary messaging software solutions.
