Do you have a busy hotel, bed-and-breakfast, or other type of lodging establishment? Chances are that you have an excellent, well-trained staff that provides a positive guest experience.
Since you are so busy, you may be looking for the latest trends in hotel industry technology to ensure that everything at your hotel continues to operate optimally. That said, you may be searching for the best hotel reservations software as well as other types of hotel management systems. A hotel management solution may be of particular interest, for example, if you have outdated hotel front desk software.
Are your guest rooms and/or communal areas wired for Internet service? Will your guests receive multiple bars on their cell phones inside your establishment? Or, will they have to go outside in order to make phone calls? While many travelers want a break from their usual Internet activity while on vacation, most do not. In fact, their activity may increase because they want to share their travel experience on social media, which includes posting images and reviews.
Were you aware that travelers will conduct quite a few Internet research sessions prior to finalizing a booking? In fact, a recent survey showed that when planning a trip, travelers will engage in roughly 17 research sessions prior to making a final decision. Furthermore, travel category mobile queries have increased over 50%, and 53% of people are using their mobile devices to locate travel-related information.
When vacationers are planning to stay at bed-and-breakfasts, they do consider price and location. They are also looking for other types of information:
- Consumer reviews: 50%
- Photos: 47%
- Friends’ recommendations: 46%
- Flexible cancellations policy: 43%
- Ability to book online: 43%
Do you tend to have repeat visitors? The travel survey showed that 74% of the participants said they were planning to return to a destination that they had previously visited. This definitely points to their having had a positive customer experience.
Are you looking for hotel management solutions to increase customer loyalty? In addition to making the booking experience simple and straightforward, it’s also important to provide customers with the option of booking online. Given that the average no-show rate is 10% a day, having a flexible cancellation policy is also a way that customer loyalty can be increased.
It’s important to note that when just 5% of your customers are loyal to your establishment, this could lead to increased profits. It’s been shown that the average profit increase could range from 25% to 100% for every guest that had a positive experience.
Loyal customers will usually become repeat customers. These individuals will share positive reviews and personal stories about their stay, complete with photographs. Furthermore, in 2016 alone, 26% of Baby Boomers traveled with multiple generations of their families, and it’s likely that they will be staying at a hotel they previously visited and enjoyed.
There are a variety of hotel management solutions to address different aspects of your business. When you consult with hotel property management systems vendors, they will be able to determine the best property management software for your establishment. While your operations may run effectively now, just imagine how much efficient they will be with updated software systems.