#guestu

By using historical data from past bookings, hoteliers are able to make predictions about guests’ future behaviours and their spendings.The latter is extremely useful when it comes to establishing room rates.

Before technology, adjusting rates was a manual process and used as a technique to maximise profits. While the goal remains the same, technology has made it possible to not only keep track of guest’s past spendings but also to forecast how much they’re willing to spend in the future.

These days it’s absolutely crucial to have a system that gathers guest’s information instantly. That’s why we developed the GuestU Phone, a smartphone that accompanies guests during their stay and that can be beneficial for both sides. On one end it helps guests find their way around the city, by providing them with local recommendations and giving them free Wi-Fi access wherever they go. It’s also a great communication tool, that they can use to interact with the hotel staff and request services on the move.

On the other, the GuestU Phone is a powerful tool for hoteliers, enabling them with interesting data about their guests, that can be analysed and leveraged to provide more upsell opportunities, improve the guest experience and increase loyalty.

Measuring guest’s behaviours outside of the hotel can be extremely difficult without using a mobile device. This is the period where guests are most active and blocking out this information is a mistake if you want to create accurate guest profiles.

The more data you gather, the more you will know about your guests and their preferences, which gives room to personalised experiences for your guests and extra revenue for you.

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A report by Phocuswright has shown that 47% of people prefer booking with OTAs simply because their website is easy to use. Others stated that they were used to booking like that or that it offered them a bigger selection. The rest of them focused more on the practical advantages of OTAs, such as better prices and simple cancellation policies.

Van Belleghem, author of the book "When Digital Becomes Human" was recently a host at a HSMAI event in London. During the event, Belleghem asked hoteliers how they felt about Booking.com and he received a collective groan. Surprisingly though, many of them have also admitted that they personally used the platform.

Travellers continue to use Booking.com, not due to brand loyalty but because their website offers a superior user experience compared to other booking sites.

The entire interface provides easy browsing and booking, and the site offers great conveniences for guests, such as free cancellations, instant discounts for members, mobile booking confirmations that can be accessed offline, city travel guides, and much more.

With guest’s convenience in mind, many hotels have started to improve their reservations system in order to promote more direct bookings and even invested on technological features so they could add a personal touch to a guest’s stay.

Among these features is the GuestU Phone, a smartphone that offers guests free internet, voice calls, a city guide and internal service requests. This convenient amenity helps hotels establish a better connection with their guests, allowing them to understand their needs and offer a more personalised service.

Many companies implement training programs to help staff succeed in their role. The same applies to the hospitality industry, where companies are beginning to develop programs that help managers and other staff members improve their hospitality skills, by connecting them with local business leaders and teaching them about local tourist offerings. Ultimately, your staff should become your city’s best ambassadors, sharing their knowledge about the city and providing personal recommendations to your guests.

Your staff should also become familiar with guests’ interests and find new opportunities to interact with them. Here are a few ways that technology can help your team add a personal touch to a guest’s stay:

Implement your own mobile app where you can include itinerary recommendations catered by your team (restaurants, museums, parks, etc.)

Collect data about your customer’s preferences and behaviours to create more personalised offers

Use a mobile chat service to communicate with guests throughout their stay

These three features are part of the GuestU Phone, a mobile device developed by GuestU that is helping hotels improve their communication strategy and increase guest’s satisfaction.

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Sébastien Bazin is a major figure in global hospitality and has been leading Accor since 2013. Managing a business with more than 4,000 properties in nearly 100 countries, considered one of the largest hotel operators in the world, makes him the ideal person to talk about what it takes to succeed in the hospitality industry.

Hospitality Net covered the event and we’ve gathered some of Bazin’s main ideas:

1. Adopt change and generate new ideas

"In today's world, either you change or you will be changed.", that was one of the CEO’s statements. He said coming up with new ideas, even when a company is in a dominant position is the key to success.

2. Learn from your customers

Bazin doesn’t see Airbnb as the enemy, he actually thinks they can provide valuable insight because they have understood something about travellers that traditional hospitality leaders have not - the importance of personalised experiences.

Today’s hotel guests don’t want to be seen as just another number, what they want is a unique individual experience that is catered to their needs and desires. Price is not as important as it once was, in fact, guests are willing to pay more to get an unforgettable experience.

3. Embrace technology

In regards to the future of the business, Bazin said that the hotel industry must prepare for the arrival of artificial intelligence and should embrace technology in order to provide a better service to their guests.

Conclusion

“Change and learn” were the main takeaways from the CEO’s speech. To succeed in this industry, hoteliers should be able to adapt to their ever-changing environment, by implementing new technologies for example,  and they should also make an effort to learn more about the needs of each guest.

You can read the full article here.

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Rainmaker has gathered a few tips on how you can take advantage of the guest journey to improve your revenue.

1. Establish rates that drive bookings

The room cost is what most influences a guest’s decision when booking their accommodation. Thanks to revenue management solutions, you’re able to see which rates are working and which ones are not and adapt your Average Daily Rate (ADR) accordingly.

You can also use competitor benchmarking to check if you’re offering the most competitive price. By combining your own rate forecast with an analysis of your competitors, you can increase your bookings and profits.

2.Promote and upsell services

Marketing and revenue management should be working together to increase ancillary revenues. According to Robin Berrendorf, co-founder at MyEventBUTLER, 77% of tourists plan their trip activities when they are already at the hotel.

With this in mind, hoteliers should technically be promoting their internal services and other activities while guests are on their property and not during the pre-stay phase. Make sure to check if these trends apply to your own accommodation by using a revenue management tool. It’s also important to share any relevant information with your marketing department so they can look into promotional opportunities.

3. Reward your most loyal guests

You can find your “most valuable guests” by checking the number of bookings, how much they spend per stay and any upgrade requests.

Join forces with your marketing team to help run post-stay promotions that will drive valuable guests to rebook with you, starting the journey all over again.

Conclusion:

To improve your revenue you should be constantly engaging with your guests, from the moment they book your accommodation, to the moment they arrive and finally check-out. Using tools like the GuestU Phone - a personal smartphone for your guests - will allow you to keep a close connection with guests wherever they go and collect data that will help you create a customer profile and offer a more personalised service in the future.

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Having a mobile strategy is key to avoid losing bookings. This starts by creating a mobile-friendly website where guests can easily book their stay, but the strategy should also continue throughout the guests’ journey. 40 percent of hoteliers have admitted using separate designs for their mobile and web page layouts instead of a single, responsive website, which would be ideal.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating a responsive website:

Check how fast the page loads

Test on several devices

Use larger text for mobile

Create a simpler navigation menu

Optimize images

Use bigger buttons

According to Sabre, 5.5 percent of visitors booked on responsive websites versus 3.9 percent on non-responsive sites. That can make a difference between gaining or losing a guest.

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Our solution

We’ve seen how mobile-friendly websites can increase the number of bookings at your accommodation. But the trend continues during the stay, guests are relying more and more on technological devices to better serve their needs.

Thanks to technology, tasks like collecting customer’s data are becoming increasingly easy and innovations like IoT are providing ways to improve the efficiency of daily operations, including energy and water consumption.

Guests expectations are rising, so the hospitality industry really needs to go that extra mile to provide a personal touch that makes travellers come back again and again.

Euclides Major, CEO and Founder of GuestU says “Hotels are getting closer to guests and providing an experience with a true individualistic touch that helps them feel welcomed and treated as individuals and not as another tourist.”

GuestU has recently been recognised by the CIOReview as one of the most promising technology solutions for the travel and hospitality sector. The GuestU Phone is an in-stay product that can be placed in hotel rooms and apartments, featuring a number of applications that help personalise guest experience and helps concierges understand guest behaviour.

You can read GuestU’s full profile with CIOReview here.

Here are three ways you can use technology to start improving your guests’ experience:

1.Personalize your guests’ stay

You probably use technology to manage your guests’ reservations already, but you can also use it to communicate with them during their stay, by using a service like the GuestU Phone that has an integrated chat service and provides free calls between the guests and the reception inside and outside your property.

Another great way to personalise your guests’ stay is to learn more about their preferences with feedback surveys. With the GuestU Phone, you can easily collect this information and begin creating guest profiles.

2.Remember your repeat guests

Being able to recognise your repeat clients is essential to establish a closer relationship with them.

Technology can help create a history of your guests’ stay and provide you with information about their expectations before they visit your property again. This data can then be used to create personalised offers in the future.

3.Stay in touch with your guests wherever they go

Mobile technology can ease the communication between your staff and your guests.

GuestU’s solutions (mobile app and GuestU Phone) allow guests to book internal services, like spa treatments, make restaurant reservations or request a transfer at the touch of a button.

With mobile, you’re able to keep in touch with your guests constantly, before, during and after their stay.

Conclusion:

Using technology to power guest service also comes with its challenges, namely: connection issues, integration problems and staff training. But the benefits that it brings to both the industry and the guests make it worth the investment.

The hospitality industry should welcome technology with open arms and they must work together for the same goal, which is to continue to provide a better and differentiating service to every single guest.

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