One of the main challenges faced by the hotel industry in recent years can be summed up in one question: How to improve the customer experience? On one hand, hotel-related concepts are evolving. On the other, the customer journey hotel is changing at the same pace as technological innovations and consumer habits. However, the challenge faced by hotel owners remains the same. They must provide the most personalised customer experience possible in order to see a positive impact on revenue, customer satisfaction and loyalty.

But what exactly constitutes the customer experience in the hotel industry?
We could link the customer experience to the feeling experienced by the customer during their stay in a hotel. Consider, for example,  their interactions with the staff or their use of the different services available (restaurant, gym, spa…). However, this would be a quite reductive view. Indeed, the customer experience can be understood from several aspects. It can also be perceived differently depending on the customer’s expectations. Some swear by a digital customer experience. Others are looking for an environmentally-friendly experience. The key idea, therefore, is personalisation. As a result, everyone creates their own experience. A study conducted by Deloitte on customer experience and its evolution highlighted different factors. For example, 66% of customers particularly appreciate the hotel owner’s engagement with them. Meanwhile, 62% particularly like it when staff listens to their needs.

To sum up, the secret to a good customer experience lies in knowing your customer. And, by definition, knowing the customer leads us to personalisation. The latter must occur at every stage of the customer journey hotel. To improve the customer experience, it’s necessary to understand their journey, which can be quite complex.

Achieving a better understanding of the customer journey in the hotel industry

The customer journey hotel encompasses several phases which can be summarised as follows:

• Inspiration phase: Looking for ideas and information about a destination or establishment. This can occur by word of mouth, social media, or review platforms like TripAdvisor.
• Selection and booking: Making a decision in the booking process. After consulting various sites (OTAs, review platforms, hotel websites…), the customer feels reassured and proceeds to make a booking. Customer reviews play a decisive role, especially if they are spread over review platforms and hotel websites.
• Preparation for the trip: Gathering information about the destination and the establishment. Here too, a hotel’s website can make a difference by providing information. This may be about the services the hotel offers (restaurant, spa, shuttle…), or about points of interest in the region. This is an effective way of opening up a conversation with the customer before they arrive, and can be done via pre-stay emails.
• Arrival at the hotel: First impressions and first contact with the staff. Here, it’s important to facilitate the check-in process, share relevant information with the customer, and show that you are attentive to their needs.
• The stay: The customer is looking for more than just a room. This step is right at the heart of the customer experience. Customers have different needs (such as extra pillows or duvets). Here you should highlight your services, and offer as much as possible to enhance the customer experience.
• Departure: The end (or nearly) of the experience in the hotel. It’s important to invite guests to express their views so you can capitalise on their reviews which will offer a serious advantage when it comes to attracting future customers.

By implementing a strategy that aims to improve the guest experience hotel during each of these phases, you guarantee customer satisfaction.

Why should you implement a strategy aimed at improving the customer experience?

As previously mentioned, hotels are no longer only selling rooms, but also customer experience. It’s therefore important to examine the different benefits. Satisfaction, revenue, and operations are the three pillars that should form the foundation of your strategy.

Increased guest satisfaction

The guest experience hotel and guest satisfaction are, of course, linked. Put your customer in the best conditions at every point during their stay, and increase your chances of satisfying them. In concrete terms, you can achieve this by anticipating their needs. Meet expectations before and during their stay, and be reactive when a problem needs solving. Again to Deloitte’s study, customers are 40% more likely to leave a positive review if their problem was resolved quickly.

Additional sales

The question of how to make additional sales represents a big challenge for hotel owners. Indeed, hotels often possess numerous opportunities for upselling. By focusing on the guest experience hotel and placing the customer at the heart of what you do, however, the task becomes easier. Here are some examples to put into practice:

• Room upgrade
• Bike or parking space hire
• Local products available to buy
• Reserve a table in the hotel restaurant
• Book a massage or other treatment in the spa
• Products placed in the hotel room (upon arrival) depending on the nature of the stay (for example a bottle of champagne or bouquet of flowers for a romantic stay…)
• Sale of tickets for activities in the area if you can negotiate a preferential rate (museum, theatre, theme park)

These few examples are, in theory, easy to apply. Set out a strategy that aims to generate additional sales at different points in the customer journey hotel, and you will quickly see the impact on your revenue.

Optimising operations

It might seem as though implementing all of these practices to improve the customer experience will simply complicate operations. However, the opposite is true: if you manage the customer experience in a proactive way, you anticipate not only the customer’s needs, but also your workload. For example, if your pre-stay communication is sufficient, you can answer the following questions:

• Do I have enough rooms available to offer upgrades?
• How should I manage my receptionists’ schedule based on when customers are due to arrive?
• How can I optimise my services/departments depending on customers’ demands (restaurant, spa…)?
• Which resources do I have to make available for customers in their room upon their arrival?

These criteria are just a few possible directions to take for improvement. Depending on the nature of your clientele, there may be various other options.

How to enhance the customer experience in a hotel

There are several ways to personalise the customer experience in a hotel. As we’ve already mentioned, being attentive to the customer’s needs is key, as it enables you to add a personal touch.

Listening to and analysing the customer

It seems so simple, and yet…We’re experiencing an increasing buzz about the Voice of Customer. (We’ve even created this Voice of the Customer Guide for you.) This entails analysing and understanding expectations, preferences, and other needs customers might have. It deserves particular attention. Indeed, information about customers and their needs gives you all the answers you require to offer a memorable guest experience hotel. First of all, ask yourself the following questions:

• How can I collect this information best?
• When should I interact with the customer to gather this information?
• How do I analyse this information in a relevant manner?
• Is there a way I can use this information to personalise the customer experience?

In order to gather information about the customer, you need to implement an efficient means of communication at different points in the customer journey hotel. But how? It goes without saying that asking clients orally and then manually, while recording any information you get, is impossible. On the contrary, you need to use the right forms of technology and the correct channels to facilitate the process.

When and how should you interact with the customer?

Depending on the type of interaction you wish to have with the customer, you need to establish the correct communication channel. This allows you to gather relevant information. Naturally, your online presence already offers you several options. You can be contacted via your website or your Facebook page. Your Google My Business or TripAdvisor profile are a digital shop window.  They facilitate the process of making contact, and indeed ultimately gathering information.
Furthermore, by implementing a communication strategy that’s tailored to customers’ behaviour, you can cover the different stages of the customer journey hotel.

In concrete terms, this could take the form of:

• Anticipating certain demands or conducting a pre-check-in with a pre-arrival email
• Encouraging additional sales and resolve any potential problems with a during-stay email
• Sending a pre-check-out email responding to any final demands and thus ensuring overall customer satisfaction

You can also improve the customer experience by enhancing your services. Let’s take a look at how you can do this in a creative way.

Promote your services…

But what if your hotel doesn’t have a rooftop swimming pool or a luxury spa? A good customer experience starts with good communication. Put the customer in the best possible conditions. This all goes back to interactions established at the right moment.

Established communication by interacting with the customer at different points in the journey. This will allow you to expand the services you offer. If you are attentive to your customers’ expectations, you will be in a position to offer tailored services. Ultimately, this will expand your offering.

… in a creative way

For example, your customers might be interested in sporting activities. Fet in contact with companies in your area to set up a partnership offering different activities. (Think yoga, pilates, bike hire, or hire of other sports equipment.) Maybe your customers are in search of cultural pursuits? Consider the museums and festivals in your area.

Of course, these examples are not exactly lucrative. But your increased range of offerings and care for your customers will make their guest experience hotel memorable.

… in a lucrative way

Finally, we come to additional sales. Even if you don’t have a restaurant or bar, your location is likely to have some gastronomic delights. Perhaps you could offer some local products for customers to purchase. You could do this via a pre-stay email. Offer your customers the chance to have these local products in their room when they arrive.

As you can see, the customer experience does not necessarily require futuristic artificial intelligence or a seawater swimming pool. Every hotel is different and can set itself apart by personalising the experience. To achieve this, you need to listen to your customers and, therefore, communicate with them at every stage.

Let’s now conclude by discussing how to measure the customer experience.

How to measure the customer experience in your hotel

Establishing a strategy that aims to improve the customer experience in a hotel demands a great deal of effort. All areas and departments must be considered. As a result, it is useful to analyse the results of any actions you implement. The customer experience can be evaluated based on three criteria.

Customer satisfaction

We won’t go into any more detail on this criterion. Instead, take a look at our very detailed article on how to increase customer satisfaction.
To sum up, we can say that the result of a good experience will be excellent customer reviews posted on different platforms. A satisfaction survey is also a very effective tool to measure customer experience. Open questions, different rating scales review platforms, Net Promoter—there are many different ways to evaluate customers’ feelings.

Revenue

As previously mentioned, the secret to a successful customer experience lies in promoting your services and doing this in balance with your customers’ expectations.
One of the best opportunities to make additional sales is prior to the stay. See our article: How to improve your upselling performances before your guests set foot in your hotel.  Customer Alliance allows you to boost your additional revenue through personalised pre-stay communication. Depending on your priority, showcase your restaurant, spa or any other service. Then, conduct a detailed analysis of the activity generated as a result of these interactions. You will be pleasantly surprised by the potential these additional sales offer for your hotel’s revenue.

Loyalty

Loyalty is essential in the hotel industry. It will enable you to get a clear idea about the quality of the customer experience. What are the prospects that customers come back to my hotel? Would these customers recommend my hotel to their friends and family? Will customers who booked through an OTA then make direct contact with me? These questions characterise the impact of the customer experience on loyalty. We talk about it more: How Can A Guest Experience Strengthen The Loyalty of Your Hotel Guests?

To conclude…

If you follow the steps outlined in this brief guide, you’ll have the best chance of improving customer experience. Attentiveness, understanding, personalisation, promotion, and analysis sum up the different factors linked to customer experience in the hotel industry. If you equip yourself with the right technology, you can implement an effective customer experience strategy and reap the rewards.

Customer Alliance and its brand-new platform allow you to offer memorable experiences. Imagine communication and feedback collection at every stage of the customer journey. Request a personalised demonstration and take advantage of our practical tips which you can apply in your hotel!