Understanding Guest Experience and Loyalty in Hospitality Industry

Guest loyalty is the emotional relationship between the business and the customer displayed when a customer is willing to purchase a product repeatedly from the business rather than the competitor. When the customer has a positive experience with the business, loyalty becomes a byproduct. 

The concept of loyalty can be challenging as the needs and demands of the guests keep on changing from time to time. About 70% of the travellers would prefer to have content about travelling and destinations as per personalised experience. Leveraging this, a hotel could tailor its content to suit the needs of such individuals. 

Even then, you will have to deliver a unique guest experience to make yourself stand out in the crowd. A reward system is the most sought after way to gain customers' loyalty but it alone is not cutting it. Offering a personalised experience has proven to be the sure-fire way to improve the guest experience and consequently, guest loyalty. 

Most hotels do not follow up with the guests after they have left the accommodation. This is detrimental to the guest experience. A good guest experience begins from booking and continues after the guest has left the accommodation.

 

Who is a loyal customer?

Similar to an ideal buyer's persona, there are certain characteristics of a loyal customer. Apart from purchasing your product again, and offering referrals and recommendations, here are some of the other traits of a loyal customer: 

 

1. They are not cost-conscious 

Guests, when they recognise a quality product, will not be cost-conscious. They would rather pay more to get better service than go to a hotel offering less service for cheap. If the quality of stay is immaculate, they will like to return to the hotel and recommend it to their acquaintances.

 

2. Offering reviews

Offering reviews is one of the well-known traits of a loyal customer. They will offer a review of the hotel and of their positive experience. They will be your advocate for people who are deciding between you and your competitor. These reviews will shift new customers in your favour.

 

3. Ignore competitors

 Loyal customers ignore competitors because they are satisfied with the quality of service offered. You could be a hotel in one of the most crowded destinations but if your services are truly unique, these customers will return to you for another stay. 

 

4. Offering feedback 

Loyal customers offer feedback to ensure that you can offer more personalised service to them and improve the existing experience you offer. 

 

5. Understanding of error 

Loyal customers are more tolerant of errors than new customers. If any mistake occurs, they will see oversee it and trust that you will resolve them. This trust that has been established between the hotel and the guest is priceless. They will be more compassionate with the staff and will be forgiving.

 

 

Using Optimiser CRM to boost customer loyalty 

 

1. Leveraging customer data

Optimiser offers accurate segmentation with personalised messaging, interactive tracking of customers through the sales cycle, and targetted campaigns. You can gather data from multiple channels, track high-volume leads and understand the unique needs of your clients. 

 

2. Enhancing customer communication 

Optimiser CRM can allow you to keep in touch with your customers and leads with an open channel of communication. Optimiser captures data from third-party apps and sends you a notification about the updates. You can interact with the customers by sending them personalised content that will be informative as well as valuable to the guests. 

 

3. Discovering the customer needs

To grow guest loyalty, the best option is to collect more data and segment your existing customer base into smaller groups. You will be able to understand them more personally. 

By looking into the customers' past interactions such as purchase history, stay history, web and email interactions, social media interactions, their interests etc, you will be able to collect the relevant information you need to offer personalisation.

 

 

4. Gather feedback

Learn more about the customers by sending them automated feedback emails to ensure that they are aware of what they need during their visit and how they found their experience at the hotel. Optimiser CRM will ensure that the guests are engaged well and information is gathered swiftly. 

 

5. Customer loyalty program management 

Optimiser CRM can be used to manage loyalty programs. You can send automated emails with set paradigms to reward loyal customers. Using a CRM, you can also recognise the potential loyal customers and begin to nurture them. Additionally, a CRM system will ensure that you are not spamming your customers with useless emails. 

 

Summary

In order to deliver a good guest experience, hotels will need to ensure that they understand the needs of their guests. This can be accomplished with the help of Optimiser CRM which offers segmentation and contact management. You can tailor the guest experience right from the booking until the guest has left. Collect their feedback and do not send them any spam emails.