Customer satisfaction is key to the success of your hotel. Satisfied guests are more likely to be repeat guests, spend more money in your hotel and become brand ambassadors. In addition to tracking revenue, you will want to track customer satisfaction in order to keep your best customers coming back.
While customer satisfaction may seem harder to determine than other more quantifiable factors, there are some telling signs that indicate if your guests are happy and likely to return. Here are some key metrics you can use to measure your customers’ satisfaction.
Loyalty Over Time
Repeat guests are a great indicator of customer satisfaction. With so many hotels to choose from (as well as alternative options, such as Airbnb), having customers return to your hotel is a good sign that they are satisfied with your services.
Studies have shown that most loyal hotel guests return to the same hotel brand because they received exceptional service, while a large portion of guests also return because they feel the price to value ratio is competitive. With each return visit, guests are proven to be more likely to return—so be sure to reward your returning guests by establishing loyalty programs.
Spending on Site
When a guest is having a positive experience at your hotel, they’re more likely to spend additional money on site. With more and more amenities being offered by hotels, including unique bars, spa services and deluxe breakfasts, guests have plenty of opportunities to continue spending money long after their initial room purchase.
Research indicates that food and beverage sales can account for up to 20 percent of a hotel’s total revenue. A guest who trusts your brand may also be more inclined to use room service or to make an upgrade. Keeping track of guests’ engagements with your other on-site offerings can help indicate if they are satisfied with your hotel or if your services need to be changed, improved or expanded.
Guest Engagement
People engage with brands they like and trust online. They want to stay up-to-date on what’s happening with the company, be informed of any promotions and associate themselves with the brand’s aesthetic.
Make your guests feel heard by ensuring you have guest engagement features in place. Sophisticated property management systems will allow you to track guest reviews.
You should also make sure you are staying up-to-speed with your brand’s social media accounts. Be sure to respond to comments and questions on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Trip Advisor, and to take customers’ feedback into account. Hotels that respond to guests’ reviews efficiently have far better occupancy rates, so be sure to make your followers feel heard and valued to solidify their personal attachment to your hotel.
Referrals and Brand Ambassadors
Knowing if new guests were referred to your hotel is a great way to measure customer satisfaction and determine if guests feel compelled to share your brand with their networks.
Brand ambassadors are essential to your business—they help influence others’ purchasing decisions and create a positive public impression of your brand. Be sure to ask your guests where they heard about you or implement a short guest survey to track referrals. Offering incentives and rewards for guests who refer you (such as a discount on their next room or the chance to win a larger prize), can help to increase word-of-mouth awareness of your property.
Customer satisfaction is key to your hotel’s occupancy. Gathering and analyzing these metrics can help you take actionable steps to offer better and more personalized services that improve guests loyalty and satisfaction.
Learn how you can use RoomKey PMS to easily track reviews through guest engagement features.
Photo: Shutterstock
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