So hotels prepare properly!
Hotels are stuck in a waiting loop due to the current situation. Some hotels are falling into a kind of Sleeping Beauty sleep, others are nevertheless trying to be there for their guests and to bridge the time of the Corona crisis as sensibly as possible. In this article, however, we do not want to dwell on the current challenges facing hoteliers. We want to look ahead over the wall of the corona crisis, to what comes after it.
Disappointed travellers have cancelled their hotel rooms for their long planned holidays or the current situation has put a damper on their holiday dreams. When the Corona crisis dies down and the world slowly returns to normality, the next storm is coming: the booking storm of people who want to make up for their long-awaited holidays or postponed events. We have a few tips for you on how to face this onslaught well prepared.
Tips for hotels after the crisis
When travel bans are lifted, curfews are lifted and “social distancing” is no longer part of everyday life, it is finally time to travel again. Both for private and professional reasons. In order to be successful after the crisis and to be well equipped to face the onslaught, hoteliers cannot avoid facilitating and accelerating hotel processes. Digital solutions help you to automate complex workflows in the hotel and on top of that give you a special competitive advantage. So now is the best time to take action and take a look at your hotel to see where there is still potential for optimization.
In this article we have practical tips on how to:
- Improve communication
- Increase sales
- Relieve personnel
- Simplify processes
- Extending the digital infrastructure
- Energy management optimization
Digital helpers save the hotel everyday life
The door to the hotel opens every minute. It is rush hour and little by little the guests are streaming into the lobby. A queue has already formed at the reception. One of your reception staff is still on the phone, while the other tries to handle the check-in of your guests as quickly as possible. Relieve your staff already at the check-in and let your guests check in at a check-in terminal when the reception is currently occupied or not occupied at all. As the entire process, including the registration form, is carried out digitally, your guests save valuable time and your employees are relieved.
Of course you can also offer the check-in without a check-in terminal but still digitally. Even before arriving at the hotel, your guests have the opportunity to fill out the registration form digitally. For this purpose the guest searches for his booking, enters his personal data, completes the business address for business trips and confirms his arrival virtually. Of course, there is now also sufficient opportunity to make the check-in only partially digital by generating the registration form digitally. Your guests then have to sign at the reception desk as usual. This way the contact to the guest is maintained despite digitalization.
Pre-Stay Communication between hotel and guest
<You should also polish up your communication processes in the hotel. Establish a connection to your guest before he or she arrives. Which communication channels you use for this depends entirely on your target group. In any case, your own website is a good place to disseminate up-to-date information. Your hotel restaurant has new opening hours and the wellness area is still closed? You should definitely update such information. You should also make use of your social media profiles. Here you can reach not only your regular guests, but also people looking for inspiration for their holidays. A special offer attracts travellers straight to your hotel.
Rely on digital communication to reach your guests always and everywhere. With the digital guest folder as an app you have a direct connection to your guests around the clock and provide them with important information and interesting offers. Trust between hotel and guest is especially now an important asset that makes a successful start out of the Corona crisis possible.
Of course you should not do without your staff under any circumstances! After all, personal contacts in the hotel are irreplaceable. Use the digital offers to support your staff and create completely new touchpoints to your guests. How about giving your guests important information about the hotel or the parking situation at your hotel before they arrive? Or fill out the registration form digitally on the way to the hotel while still on the train? This not only makes the journey easier for your guest, but also gives you the opportunity to establish a connection. And you can easily avoid the chaos with the registration form.
tips for the right communication with guests before arrival:
- Use different communication channels
- Offer inspiration
- Support planning
- Strengthen confidence
- Full information
- Simplify processes
In the hotel always in contact with the guest
During your stay, your guest will find the best excursion destinations and most exciting insider tips in the digital guest folder. You have the perfect connection to your guest, no matter where he is. A digital concierge is on hand around the clock to make the hotel stay something special – and at the same time relieve the strain on the staff. The answers to frequently asked questions are already in the hands of your guest with the digital guest folder. Meanwhile, your hotel employees take care of the special wishes and needs of your guests.
Welcome your guest digitally with a In-Room Tablet in the hotel room or bring the guest folder on the hotel TV. On interactive displays in the lobby, your guest can look at the wellness offers or call a taxi. Use the digital all-rounders to stimulate up- and cross-selling. The digital guest folder not only allows you to present your offer in an attractive and eye-catching way. How easy are you currently making it for your guests to book a massage or get a room upgrade? With the digital guest folder your guests order a bottle of wine to their hotel room or simply reserve a table in the restaurant with a click. Why complicate things when it can be so simple?
For this you should use digital communication tools:
- Provide up-to-date information
- Personalized push messages
- Present hotel offers
- Boosting sales
- Personalized communication
- offering entertainment
- Shorten communication channels
- Simplify bookings
The hygiene factor in the hotel
Washing hands and singing Happy Birthday at the same time – this will continue to be taken to heart. People were sensitized to this with the outbreak of the corona virus. Hotel guests may not expect disinfectant on every corner now. But a remote control that still shows traces of use from the last guest? An absolute no-go! Especially the telephone and the remote control are real bacteria slingshots in hotel rooms. A hygienic alternative is the digital guest folder, which not only replaces crouched, worn out information material. The elegant tablet also makes it easy to make phone calls and control the TV. And the best thing is: the tablet is quick and easy to clean.
So you have energy management under intelligent control
Use the savings potential of digital solutions at the same time. sustainable energy management in hotels supports you, for example, in reducing costs as if by magic. With automatic room control, you can regulate the hotel’s heating and air conditioning systems without the need for any staff. This not only relieves the burden on your employees, but also on your wallet. The intelligent room control automatically keeps empty rooms at an efficient level. Excessive heating or cooling is now a thing of the past.
Hotel & Guest: Always stay in touch
Stay in touch with your guest even after departure. You can not only encourage him to leave a rating on an online portal. Offer your guest the possibility to book the next hotel stay directly. A push message on your own smartphone or an e-mail with a personalised voucher will strengthen customer loyalty.