Top 7 Hotel Guest Engagement Ideas and Strategies

There are many aspects to successfully running a hotel business and all are vital to creating an overall amazing experience that keeps guests coming back. From a reliable and easy-to-use booking system, great staff, and beautiful, spotlessly clean rooms to delicious meals and relaxing spa treatments. It is all about offering your guests everything they need and surprising them with that little bit extra. But this great service and the fantastic facilities do not always result in guest loyalty and return visitors. One of the key factors to capturing the loyalty of your guests lies within your hotel guest engagement strategies. 

Understanding hotel guest engagement

What exactly is hotel guest engagement? It can take many forms, but principally, the term applies to the positive interactions a guest has with your hotel. Of course, some of this engagement will happen as a natural part of the process of staying in a hotel. The guest will need to engage with the hotel to make their booking, order extra services such as meals, and check out. Your engagement strategies will need to focus on ensuring all these processes are smooth and pleasant for your guests, but there are further strategies you can implement to bring a greater sense of positive engagement to your visitors. It is the sum total of all these strategies that brings to guests a feeling of loyalty to your establishment. You are creating an emotional bond between your brand and your customers, and it is this consistency of effective interaction and excellent service that will bring repeat business. 

The benefits of spending time on boosting guest engagement

We have discussed that your guest engagement techniques can help to improve customer loyalty, but the potential benefits are further reaching than that. Happy guests, guests who have experienced amazing customer service, and who feel you have gone above and beyond and exceeded their expectations, will tell others. This may be by talking to their own friends and family, or it could reach a much wider audience with positive reviews and social media posts. Loyal guests become ambassadors of your brand. In addition, your engagement strategies can also help to bring about upselling opportunities, perhaps introducing guests to facilities they have never experienced before such as your spa treatments or restaurant, and of course, this in turn increases your revenue.  

Top tips for great guest engagement strategies for hotels

There are many ways to effectively engage with your guests, and we are sure you will discover some for yourself, but here are some of our top tips for boosting guest engagement in your hotel.

1. Create good relationships from the first interaction

It is vital that every moment of the customer journey is positive for your guests, so it is important to nurture every customer relationship right from the first moment of the initial contact. Whether this is via an automated system or a live operator, from booking to checking out and beyond, be sure to stay connected and keep your guests informed. Create a map of the hotel guest journey and ensure communications are kept open throughout every point. 

Examples of those opportunities may include:

• answering queries,
• booking process,
• welcoming your guests,
• upselling and offering extra services,
• checking on their well-being during their stay,
• checkout,
• following up with a thank you message,
• a survey or request for a review,
• offers for future stay (if your guests opted in for marketing communications).  

2. Use your data to create a personalised experience 

When you collect data, you can use this data to individually tailor the service you offer to each guest. From simply knowing their name, to offering an upgrade to honeymooners, knowing what services each guest is most likely to use or which room type repeat visitors prefer, you can make every guest feel special and tailor their stay to their own requirements. 

3. Engage your guests with your unique story

Setting the scene can play a huge role. Your business is close to your heart, it is special, so why not convey that message to your guests? Bring an emotional and aspirational vision to life for everyone who steps foot within your building. Memorable storytelling brings a unique experience and a feeling of exclusivity. 

4. Keep your brand consistent 

It is important to keep a consistent tone of voice across all your communication channels. Guests need to feel that your company is one entity, with its own style and brand identity. Creating a guide to brand style and communication techniques can help to maintain that high level of consistency that is needed across the entire business. 

5. Take time to listen 

Actively listening to guests, making a point of gathering feedback, and analysing customer data will help you to put things right, not just for one guest in particular, but for all future guests. By taking on board feedback, you can constantly improve, and it is that constant improvement and attention to detail that will ensure your hotel keeps up with the competition. 

6. Add a touch of magic

People remember the little extra touches. A piece of chocolate on a pillow, a complimentary glass of sparkling wine on arrival, a warm welcome. When something goes wrong, a genuine apology and generous compensation will go a long way and will not easily be forgotten. It can sometimes be the details that make all the difference. A discount on a massage, a free room upgrade, or special activities for children. They will all be remembered, and guests will return to those hotels they have found most memorable. The key is to make everyone feel special, even if it is in a very minor way. People do not forget that.  

7. Use powerful tools to boost engagement

HiJiffy’s Guest Communications Hub puts all the tools you need to boost guest engagement at your fingertips. Using the most advanced conversational AI technology, specifically created for the hospitality industry, the system can easily be integrated seamlessly with your hotel management system and can be used across all your communication channels including social media. This intelligent system can be adjusted for your own unique brand tone of voice, it will measure CSAT and offer valuable reports and insights. Available in over 100 languages, and with the capacity to personalise your services for every guest, this powerful tool brings you a wealth of timesaving, revenue making and loyalty-boosting services, all in one package. 

Find out more… 

To discover more about HiJiffy’s Guest Communication Hub book a personalised demo with our experts who can show you how conversational AI can benefit your business.