Why the Customer Experience is so Critical to Hotels and the Hospitality Industry
After Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) rose to a record high in 2023, commercial real estate services and investment group CBRE, in its 2024 Global Hotels Outlook, expects the US to see another year of improvement in 2024. RevPAR growth is anticipated to reach about 3% year-over-year, driven by the ongoing recovery in inbound international travel. With modest improvements in traditional corporate travel and sustained strength in the groups segment, urban locations will show the strongest growth in RevPAR in 2024.
Forbes research suggests that 60% of hotel bookings will to be made by Millennials and Generation Z — a population with significant buying power, and an appetite for unique experiences. More generally, 65% of hotel guests are expected to prefer hotels with smart room features.
At the same time, McKinsey research indicates that 70% of hotel guests in 2024 are expected to prefer personalized offers. What’s more, today’s hotel customers aren’t shy about making their feelings known, if they do or don’t receive the tailored offers and customized services they expect. A study by Review Trackers reveals that 40% of hotel guests are likely to write a review after a positive experience, while 48% are likely to write a review after a negative experience.
Hotels and organizations in the hospitality industry are therefore under pressure to deliver on a growing set of customer expectations. This is simultaneously a challenge, and an opportunity for hotel operators to explore new ways to exceed guest expectations and maximize their revenue potential by optimizing and enhancing the guest experience, from booking, to on-premises, to post-stay.
How Poor Communication Undermines the Hotel Experience
In hotels and the hospitality industry at large, effective communication has a direct influence on both the hospitality organization’s own operations and interactions with external stakeholders, and on the guest or customer experience.
Under ideal conditions, a smooth and open exchange of views and information between staff and management assists in the coordination of daily activities, and in the solution of any problems that might occur. Good communication can also help in keeping hotel employees engaged and improving their morale. In addition, an omnichannel communications presence empowers the establishment to maintain vital lines of contact with suppliers, contractors, and other external agencies essential to the running of the hotel.
At the customer-facing end of the spectrum, effective communication plays a critical role in making staff and management of the hotel aware of the desires and needs of their guests, as well as any difficulties they may be facing. Effective management of multichannel communication avenues also assists in facilitating the off-premises and behind the scenes activities critical to a positive guest experience. These would include bookings and reservations, special requests (e.g., for specific menus or meal requirements), updates, and alerts.
A failure to communicate and exchange information across all the relevant channels can lead to mistakes, delays, and a customer experience that earns your establishment a bad reputation and negative reviews in publications and social media. In turn, this may result in lost revenue, staff dissatisfaction, and a high rate of employee turnover.
Key Communications Issues for Hotels and Hospitality Providers
There are numerous ways in which poor communication can detract from the guest experience at hotels and other hospitality venues. They include the following:
1. Poor Internal Communications
If one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in the context of your hotel staff, this paves the way for mistakes, delays, frustration, and dissatisfaction on both sides of the hotel-guest equation. Even minor lapses in communication can lead to poor service and dissatisfied customers.
If for example, one department fails to receive advance warning about an issue concerning a particular guest or set of guests, at the same time that another department misses out on learning about some special requirements for a particular event, the stage is set for the widespread occurrence of problems.
Should these communication lapses persist, a chronic state of anxiety may descend upon the establishment. This anxiety can creep into different teams, and eventually spread to the entire hotel. The staff and the hotel property itself may begin to feel as though they’re operating in survival mode — typically, a sure sign of a breakdown in communications. Confusion and conflict may break out between departments and team members, diminishing the quality of service your hotel delivers, in a horrible vicious circle.
Thorough staff training and opportunities for cross-functional training can help. Offering your staff valuable experience working in different departments for short periods increases understanding between teams and creates friendlier relationships across different departments.
At the technology level, you could deploy or distribute communication apps that offer team-specific features such as housekeeping maintenance tickets, front-desk guest requests, and kitchen order slips. With the right platform, you can integrate these specialist tools within your overall business communications infrastructure.
For example, with IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging, you can leverage a powerful Application Programming Interface (API) to seamlessly connect with your staff across a multitude of channels. IDT Express offers extensive and reliable global coverage, with localized controls and language options that can cater for a geographically and culturally diverse workforce.
2. A Corporate Culture that Discourages Open Communications
Employees at the lower levels of your hotel staff hierarchy may feel shy or intimidated about voicing their opinions on certain issues, or making observations about the running of the hotel. Losing out on such input may deprive department heads and hotel management of valuable observations that they could use to improve your levels of customer service.
In addition, an inability to make themselves heard can lower your workers’ morale, and detract from their willingness to perform their duties to the highest level. This may result in sub-standard service and poor staff-guest relations — both of which can lower the tone of your establishment and earn your hotel poor reviews and word of mouth on social media. You may also suffer staff churn, as workers look to other hotels for better conditions.
Fostering a culture of more open communication with your staff can prevent all of this. For example, you can use social media to create groups dedicated to communication between employees. Here, your hotel staff can report issues, ask questions, provide updates, and trade ideas. As hotel management, you can also use this forum to make yourself available to your staff for answering questions and inviting feedback.
Using IDT Express Omnichannel messaging, your hotel will have the option of managing 15 different messaging apps all in one place. For instance, you can connect with your staff among the billions of Facebook users through Messenger. Alternatively, you could connect with your workers on a more personal level, using vibrant and multimedia-rich communication on Viber.
3. A Lack of Employee Training
Hotel workers who are deeply familiar with your venue and their own role within it are better positioned to deliver great experiences to your customers. So staff inductions should be intensive, and take as long as they need to.
You should provide new workers with an overview of their roles, the hotel itself, its various departments and staff, as well as health and safety protocols, company values, and communication channels.
As new materials or techniques become available, you should keep your staff aware of these developments. With an omnichannel communications system like IDT Express, you can easily keep your workers informed with general and specific information that matters. Using integrations via the IDT Express API, you can even bring your company intranet’s knowledge base and other electronic learning resources into the picture.
4. Cultural and Language Barriers
Cultural and social diversity are an integral part of the hospitality industry. Your workforce may include employees from different parts of the world, different faiths, and different levels of the social spectrum. The same holds true of your guests, and occasional visitors to the hotel.
Failing to provide resources that cater for this diversity will impact negatively on your hotel’s reputation as an open and welcoming establishment. Language differences and cultural misunderstandings may lead to discrepancies in service, or behavior that’s unintentionally insulting.
The solution is to educate and sensitize your staff to the cultural norms and methods of interaction that are acceptable to people of different origins. You should also deploy physical and digital communications media that have multilingual options. For instance, the IDT Express communications platform has extensive global coverage, with support for numerous languages.
5. Failure to Use Soft Communication Skills
Besides the written or spoken word, interpersonal communication also relies heavily on nuances. Tone of voice, facial expression, physical posture — all of these factors will figure into the dialogue between your staff members, and between employees and guests.
To create more positive interactions, you should educate your staff in the use of “soft” communication skills like displaying empathy, and active listening.
6. Not Providing the Communications Channels that Your Guests Actually Want
Your guests will all have different preferences, when it comes to the way they give out and receive information. Some may rely on visual aids within the hotel, while others will continually check their phones for SMS notifications, email alerts, or the latest from social media.
To allow for all possibilities, you’ll need a communications system that caters for multiple channels. IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging fulfills this need, with support for SMS, alerts and notifications, and interaction across a range of the world’s most popular messaging apps.
7. Not Keeping Customers Up to Date on the Latest Developments
Even if they’re on vacation and “trying to get away from it all”, your guests still need to know what’s happening at the hotel — and may appreciate opportunities to check up on what’s going on in the world at large.
You can address these desires in a number of ways. For example, you might provide access to popular news and current affairs channels on satellite or cable TV in the guest rooms and public areas. By integrating your in-house communications with a multichannel platform like IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging, you can use real-time alerts to keep your guests informed, and boost their levels of engagement with special offers, loyalty promotions, and discounts.
8. Not Understanding the Current Market
If you’re not up to date with the latest trends in the hospitality market, you may miss out on valuable opportunities to improve your service levels and customer engagement.
To avoid this, you can monitor online discussions and news relating to the industry. This can provide insights about guest preferences or the activities of your competitors, which may help in improving your operations or adjusting your marketing strategy.
9. Poor Crisis Management
Unexpected events will inevitably occur, such as downturns in the market, service lapses, or bad reviews. A crisis management strategy that includes transparent disclosure and communication through social media can help in your damage control efforts.
With a platform that enables you to manage 15 different messaging apps all in one place, IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging is an ideal forum for spreading your message across social media — in times of normal business, and during those stressful crisis periods.
10. Not Using the Right Communications Technology
Given all of the issues outlined above, it’s clear that your hotel needs a communications platform that ensures seamless messaging across diverse channels, and gives you the power to provide real-time information to your guests, using their preferred methods of interaction.
With intelligent ChatBots to automate responses, handle routine queries, and create personalized interactions, IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging can ensure that your messages reach your audience, no matter where they are.
To talk to one of our experts today, and see if we are a good fit for you — and to get $25 Free Test Credit with a Trial Account — visit our sign-up page.
