Introduction

Every hotel general manager knows the importance of guest engagement--it's critical for creating a positive experience for guests, which translates to increased customer loyalty and higher profits.

Today's guests expect hotels to provide an engaging environment with personalized experiences tailored to their needs and preferences. Knowing this, it's important for you to develop and implement effective guest engagement strategies that will make your hotel stand out from the competition.

In this article, we'll discuss what guest engagement is, why it matters in the hotel industry, and how you can use it to give your guests an enjoyable stay. We'll also look at the latest trends in hotel guest engagement so you can stay ahead of the curve.

By the end of this article, you'll have a better understanding of how guest engagement can contribute to your success as a hotel general manager.

What is hotel guest engagement?

Hotel guest engagement involves building authentic, meaningful connections between a hotel and its guests. This involves creating an atmosphere that fosters positive interactions between the hotel staff and guests and providing experiences that keep guests engaged and satisfied throughout their stay.

Guest engagement involves every touchpoint throughout a guest’s stay from the booking process, check-in and check-out, on-site services, and staff responsiveness. With each of these short-lived interactions, hoteliers have the opportunity to make a lasting impression that can turn guests into brand ambassadors.

Another important aspect of hotel guest engagement is communication. Hotels that actively seek feedback from their guests and respond to their needs and concerns are more likely to build long-term relationships with them. This can involve using guest satisfaction tools, social media, and other channels to collect feedback and subsequently take swift action to address issues.

Why is hotel guest engagement important?

Hotel guest engagement is critical to drive revenues and profits.

Build Relationships

Engagement helps to build strong and long-lasting relationships between your hotel and the guests. By creating a positive and memorable experience for guests, they are more likely to return to the hotel in the future, recommend your hotel to others, and become loyal customers.

Increase Brand Value

Guest engagement with your brand also has potential benefits that reach further than just direct revenues. Benefits include:

• Increased word-of-mouth referrals
• Better overall customer experience
• Increased brand recognition and reputation

Stand Out

Next, hotel guest engagement can help stand out from your peers. In an increasingly competitive industry, hotels that go above and beyond to engage with their guests can stand out. This can lead to increased bookings and revenue.

Identify Areas to Improve

Finally, hotel guest engagement can help hotels to identify areas for improvement. By actively seeking feedback from guests and addressing any concerns or issues, hotels can continually improve their services and offerings. This leads to a better overall experience for guests and can result in higher levels of guest satisfaction and loyalty.

When done correctly, guest engagement can have a very positive impact on the success of your hotel.

How can you increase hotel guest engagement?

Personalize Communication

Use guest data to tailor communications. Sending customized welcome messages, offering custom amenities based on guest preferences, and sending personalized offers for future stays are some examples of personalized communication that have proven to drive customer loyalty.

Survey Guests

Checking in with guests regularly and collecting feedback provides insights about guests' experience. This feedback can help take action to address any concerns.

Don't forget about post-stay engagement either; there is still work to be done after your guests have checked out of their rooms. Make sure to reach out with surveys or special offers to ensure they'll come back again soon!

Invest in Technology

Technology can facilitate guest engagement, provide a platform to interact with customers, build relationships, and ultimately increase bookings. For example, a guest engagement platform like Fetch has all the tools you need to streamline your guest engagement efforts.

Top-notch platforms also help streamline operations and reduce costs, ultimately leading to higher levels of guest satisfaction and loyalty.

Examples of Successful Guest Engagement Strategies

There are many examples of how guest engagement drive real business results for hotels.

One of best examples is the Lucerne, which rose 91 places on TripAdvisor by streamlining guest engagement. Guests found it extremely convenient to message the front-desk from the comfort of their cellphones, and it was easy for the hotel to convert requests into tickets to assign to staff.

Other examples to look into:

• How Lodging and Leisure reduced defect rates by 55% after implementing end-to-end guest and ticketing management
• How MCM Elegante improved post-stay satisfaction by 9% by implementing guest texting and surveys

Tools Available to Improve Guest Engagement

The hotel industry has evolved with the times, and many general managers now turn to technology to help improve guest engagement. Fortunately, there are a variety of tools and technologies available to help hoteliers engage more effectively with their guests.

One such tool is Fetch, an all-in-one platform that can help hotels drive greater guest engagement through a range of features, including:

• Guest texting
• Operations and ticketing
• Review management

With Fetch as part of their arsenal, hotel general managers now have access to powerful technological capabilities that allow them to provide engaging experiences for all of their guests.

Conclusion

As a general manager, guest engagement should be a top priority. There are many ways to engage guests and create memorable experiences. By understanding the value of guest engagement and implementing the strategies discussed in this article, you can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as increase revenue and profitability for your hotel.