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How to Power-Up Your Guest Engagement and Supercharge Loyalty

Hoteliers know an engaged guest is a repeat guest and often the most persuasive sales person a property has. Understanding how to effectively engage with guests is essential for a hotel's success, but what is the best way to do this? An effective guest engagement strategy is based on total property commitment, and the initial step to establish a successful program is planning.

First, a property must decide on the level of guest engagement it wants to achieve. Email is the standard method of guest engagement today, however there are many other tools available that a property can leverage and take guest engagement a step further for a more personalized guest journey. Each strategy and tool requires a different level of commitment and effort from a property's management and staff, and each delivers different results. Here are several examples of guest engagement hotel software tools, how properties may use them, and the level of staff involvement required to be effective.

Mobile check-in & check-out and pre-registration: Guests value the convenience of mobile check-in since it allows them to bypass the front desk or have a VIP experience upon check-in with most of their stay particulars already shared with the property. It also allows the property to engage the guest further at a more personalized level by offering room upgrades or inviting the guest to enhance their stay with other amenities or services such as dining reservations.

Staff involvement: Mobile pre-registration and check-in requires minimal staff engagement. Guests receive an email confirming their reservation details and providing a link for online check-in. Staff must be trained in online check-in and pre-registration systems and procedures to be able manage their tasks effectively and to assist guests who may have questions. Staff should be made aware by the property management system (PMS) of which guests checked-in online, their preference criteria and when they will arrive. Housekeeping must also have instant knowledge to prioritize rooms and confirm when a pre-assigned room is vacant and clean. Maestro's WebPRO provides guests online check-in via mobile, tablet and desktop. This speeds up onsite check-in, and provides pre-arrival information to hotel staff for planning and upsell opportunities. Maestro's mobile housekeeping app also plays an important role in creating a fluid experience for the guest. Finally, a natural extension to this is mobile check-out that offers a digital copy of the folio and a post check out survey to continue the engagement after departure.

To continue reading, visit www.hospitalitynet.org