How to use Instagram to improve your guest experience
Guest experience is a central concern for hotel owners. So how can you personalise this experience? There are many factors to take into account. Of course, nothing can replace dedicated staff who are attentive to your guests’ needs. However, technology can certainly help to add value to the experience at every stage of the stay. This has many benefits for a hotel; like how in a previous article, we mentioned the impact it has on guest loyalty. It is also a means of measuring satisfaction at a large scale.
Instagram is, in many ways, a very interesting lever for hotels. It acts as a source of inspiration for travellers as well as a window into the experience that a guest may expect to have in your hotel. Before addressing the guest experience in more detail, let’s recap some basic tips on how to use Instagram effectively.
Tips to manage your Instagram account effectively
1. Be visible and informative: In the same way as other platforms such as Facebook or Google, Instagram acts as your establishment’s shop window. You can share images of your rooms, your restaurant and even of your staff. You can also provide your followers (potential clients) with extra information about your hotel. Like adding links to your website, providing a brief description of your services and promoting a hashtag through which people can find other content related to your hotel.
2. Start the conversation: Instagram makes communication with guests possible in several ways. Firstly, you can display your email address between the description and photos on your profile. With just one click, guests can contact you. Secondly, you can communicate using private messages. This function is similar to messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Lastly, you can like and reply to comments left by users on your photos. 
3. Keep your content varied: There are several types of content available to post on instagram. Firstly, showcase your establishment and its strong points. It is straightforward to take photos of your rooms, restaurant and the dishes it offers. These act as a source of inspiration for travellers and convey the experience of your hotel visually. Secondly, take advantage of the content posted by guests. During their stay they will often post photos to show off their experience with family and friends. Consider them as ambassadors and make sure to showcase their photos to give them a feeling of importance. Also don’t hesitate to share images linked to your environment. This can help diversify your content and present yourself as an expert on your town, city or region. For example, you could promote a particular theme by offering your followers and guests the chance to discover the parks and green spaces in your area through your posts. This way, you are not just promoting your services, but also communicating an experience through your own initiative. Lastly, Instagram allows you to post stories. These are great for showcasing your hotel through live photo and video content, which some followers may find more engaging. For example, you could film a live video of your bar staff making the cocktails you offer, conveying the experience of your bar in a more down-to-earth manner.
Some final thoughts on the guest experience via Instagram
The few tips we’ve shared provide the key to successful management of your Instagram account. Through these simple actions you can optimise your hotel’s visibility whilst improving the guest experience. If you make yourself accessible and available on Instagram, guests can interact with you and see that their expectations are met and their questions answered. By putting the guest at the heart of your posts, you make them feel as though they are unique, strengthening their experience as a result.
Do not underestimate the impact that an image or video can have on potential additional sales. Instagram acts as a source of inspiration. So combined efforts, such as personalised communication with your guests at every stage of their stay, can have an impact on the marketing of your restaurant or spa. We mentioned methods to inspire guests and how you can convey emotions and experiences through your photos. See this as an opportunity to make yourself stand out and to target your audience. In a recent study, Skift found that couples are increasingly using Instagram to get inspiration for their honeymoon. This phenomenon can of course be transposed to other client groups, such as families.
The guest experience is now a crucial element in your strategy, but it is vital to remember that it does not lie solely in posting nice images and videos. Personalisation must be at the forefront of your sales strategy. To achieve this, using the necessary technology will make the task easier in many ways.
At Customer Alliance, we enhance the guest experience by helping hotels with their communication at every stage of the stay. Notable benefits can be seen, such as optimised performance, improved satisfaction, increased additional sales and development of guest loyalty.
Having trouble finding your way around Instagram? Ask for a personalised demonstration with one of our experts and find out about the potential improvements and benefits your hotel can enjoy!