Ep. 19: 5 guest communication strategies for hotels.
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I got a text message from a spa: “Amy, you’re due for your next appointment. Click here to book.”
That got me thinking, as these things often do. It’s like that distillery that’s still touting “WE HAVE SANITIZER” as their tagline, and spawned an entire episode dedicated to storytelling—that’s episode 18, by the way.
In this episode, I’m getting even more specific, and honing in on guest communications. Automated text messages are an opportunity to connect with your guests in the palm of their hand, and that’s why it’s so important to hone in on the types of messages we’re sending across all marketing channels, including text messaging.
We know that the guest experience has changed, so let’s get our guest communications up to speed, shall we?
An automated text message, that’s triggered a year after a visit? That should definitely be updated, given the pandemic environment. An automated email, sent on a booking anniversary? That should be updated, too. Really, every piece of your marketing communication that you’ve considered evergreen needs a second look right now.
Smart marketers are doubling down on guest communications. They’re not only looking at what they’ve done in the past, but adding layers and additional messaging, during this time.
To start off, we’ll talk about different types of guest communications—the inspirational content that leads a guest to you—which often happens on social media these days. Then there’s the sales driven content, when you’re promoting an offer and asking guests to book. Then there’s the Stay Cycle campaigns, and the Life Cycle messaging. The content is different based on where you’re catching the customer. Hopefully, you’re already doing some basic segmentation to ensure the right message lands in front of the right audience, at the right time.
When a guests books a room, they’re typically sent Stay Cycle messaging. This is the reservation confirmation email that goes out. Then, it’s the pre-arrival message, and it’s a post departure message or survey link that goes out after a guest’s stay. Together, this series is referred to as Stay Cycle messaging.
Then, there’s another set of messages known as Life Cycle messaging which happens throughout the customer’s life cycle. This is how we stay engaged with customers long after their stay. We build brand loyalty through messaging that’s aimed at retention. If we go back to the text message I received from the spa, that’s a Life Cycle campaign.
Text messaging has been the new frontier in the last decade, and it can be used very effectively. The key is really the messaging, not so much the medium. In the text I received from the spa, there wasn’t much context. It was short and sweet, like a text should be, but as a guest, I need context right now.
I wondered, “Is this spa even open right now? Would I need to wear a mask during the treatment? How is this spa ensuring my safety? Are they still offering all of the same services?” I had many questions that this simple text wasn’t answering. It would’ve been wise to include a link to get the scoop on the new spa experience to give me a sense that things had been updated.
As marketers, putting ourselves in the guests shoes is a powerful tool. I want to take this example even further for you. Now is the time to double down on guest communications. I’m sharing 5 ways you can do that, on today’s episode.
Before we get started, I want to remind you about Marketing In A Box (MIB). I put this program together in response to the pandemic. As hotels slashed budgets and furloughed employees, marketing became that much more important, but was often relegated to a manager that really needed a guide. So, I built it. I built Marketing In A Box, a cost-effective, monthly marketing subscription. Each month, Marketing In A Box clients unlock three timely, actionable, marketing workbooks and a dedicated, one hour call with me. You get me, but you’ve got to do a lot of the work yourself, which keeps costs low.
As a MIB client, you’ll also receive access to a performance dashboard where we track and measure results across your hotel’s website, email campaigns, and social platforms. This alone is worth the cost of the program, let me tell you.
Marketing In A Box is ideal for small hotel owners handling their own marketing, for hotel marketers who are looking to beef up their skills, and for employees who’ve recently taken on the task of marketing and need a guide. If you’re already doing marketing, but you’re not seeing results, this program is for you—and it’s extremely affordable. For more information, visit howtosharepodcast.com/marketing.
Let’s jump into today’s topic, 5 Guest Communication Strategies for Hotels.
1. Create a script for front desk agents.
As marketers, we tend to focus on digital communications and sometimes things don’t always cross over to operations. That’s putting it nicely, isn’t it? The not-so-nice truth is that this has given marketing a bad name—promising one thing, and delivering another. I’m sure you can think of experiences where you’ve been sold one thing, and provided something that’s not up to par. When it comes to a stay experience during the pandemic, it’s so important that what we’re selling matches the experience on property. It’s also important that on-property, guest-facing employees are aware of the changes that have been made, and are able to communicate them.
At Signature Bend, a newly renovated motel-turned-boutique hotel, we needed to communicate all of the safety measures that were in place to prospective guests who were calling to book a room. We also wanted to make it clear what guests could expect if they stayed with us, and intended to visit popular summer attractions. We were juggling the need for tourism with some local officials suggesting we should be turning business away. So we wrote a script.
We wrote a script for our front desk agents that would address guest safety and travel restrictions. Instead of focusing on what guests couldn’t do once they arrived, we asked the front desk to instead share what guests could do. We wanted to make it clear that guest rooms open to the outdoors and that the outdoor pool is theirs to enjoy, as long as social distancing is practiced. We wanted guests to know that they had options for dining in the outdoors, both on property and around town. We also asked our front desk agents to suggest activities that made social distancing easy.
In writing the script, we made sure that the stories we were sharing in our marketing messages matched those being told on property—both for prospective guests and for those checking and staying with us.
2. Take your compendium digital+.
Compendium. Boy, I’m sharing a lot of hospitality marketing 101 words with you today. If you’re not familiar, a compendium is that binder located in a hotel room that encompasses everything you need to know as a hotel guest. It usually starts with a brief letter from the GM. Then there’s a list of phone numbers or extensions, followed by a table of contents and then alphabetical listings of everything from hotel amenities, to dining experiences, to local attractions, to services like where to mail a package, where to seek medical attention, and how to grab a taxi or Uber (assuming it’s been updated in the last decade).
My suggestion is to take your compendium digital—not just for the obvious reason of germs and having one less surface to touch in a guest room. Mostly because today’s guests are seeking to know more about the experience ahead of their arrival, than ever before. If there’s a pool for example, families might want to plan out their pool time, and know if they’ll be able to grab food at the pool for instance, or whether there is any programming available. Likewise, if you have outdoor dining or room service available, guests may want to take a look at those menus and plan accordingly before they arrive, more than they did in a pre-COVID world.
If you take your compendium digital, you can offer this useful information to guests before they arrive. You can also update it to reflect the latest hours, changes in rules, and guest experiences immediately, because it’s a living, breathing, digital document instead of being printed and constantly out of date. I remember the days of getting individual pages reprinted when we’d add a new outlet or change a spa menu: it’s manual, requires a professional printer, and isn’t an effective use of time. Taking the compendium online is a smart move, for so many reasons.
3. Send more Stay Cycle emails.
Along with guests seeking out more information before they arrive, it’s vital to check in with guests during their stay. With contactless experiences trending, I recommend adding a mid-stay, Stay Cycle email to ensure your guests are having a good time, and to see if they need anything that perhaps they haven’t requested yet.
This is an especially nice touch if you’ve limited housekeeping services due to the pandemic. Typically, fresh towels arrive each day and rooms are tidied, but if housekeeping is limited to deep cleans upon check in and check out, guests might feel like they’re missing something. A mid-stay check in—and this can be done via email or text effectively—gives the hotel a chance to make sure the guest experience is a positive one.
Check in to simply say, “I hope you’re enjoying your stay. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let us know.”
This type of message is effective because it’s on time (arriving on the second morning of a multi-night stay is perfect timing), and it’s open ended. A guest might respond to tell you that they’re in need of another pillow, fresh towels, or that they love the food truck out front. Maybe they’ll tell you that everything is great, and they’ll feel even more taken care of, thanks to your thoughtful check in. On the other hand, maybe they’ll say they haven’t found a great dog park yet, or they’re looking for other recommendations. This is a great chance to help out.
This mid-stay message can also help you in the long run, by solving any problems before a guest checks out. You’ll not only ensure a guest experience is positive, you’ll reduce the risk of a negative review on Tripadvisor. You might even earn a positive review for checking in and following up to improve the guest experience.
If you spend some time thinking about the Stay Cycle messaging, you might find another place to insert a message. You could add an additional pre-stay message linking to your digital compendium. You could also send a message that’s very clear on your cleaning and safety protocols that links off to a landing page with even more detail. If you’re not sending new messages, make sure to at least update your existing messaging.
If you’ve been sending the same reservation confirmation email since before COVID, take a look at the information and see if it warrants a link to your safety page. Guests should be given the option to learn about what you’re doing, otherwise, you run the risk of seeming apathetic, or worse, unsafe.
You’ll also want to audit your pre-arrival message. If you’ve been suggesting nearby attractions, ensure those spots are not only still open, but also ideal for social distancing. You may want to rewrite your pre-arrival activities through the lens of social distancing. You may re-route guests from the major attractions to those that are off-the-beaten path or outdoors-driven.
The property I work with in Belize includes a couple of ways to give back to the local community when guests visit, and while they’ve always offered these options to their guests, this kind of thing resonates now more than ever. Whether it’s planting a tree, or doing a little community service, or packing school supplies for the neighborhood, consider adding a cause-based element to your messaging if it fits with your brand. I really loved seeing this in the pre-stay messaging for the ecolodge in Belize.
4. Update your Life Cycle messaging.
If you’re doing Life Cycle communications, audit these typically automated messages as well. Take a look at your active campaigns from the lens of a customer. Would you want to receive a message that read, “It’s been a year since you’ve partied with us in South Beach, when are you coming back?” Since Florida is a hot spot, you might want to rethink that message. Maybe you’ll pause that campaign, entirely. Or maybe you can be more reflective, sending a message that says, “It’s been a year since you’ve visited us in South Beach. We hope that you’ll be able to return for more good times in the year ahead.”
It’s important to continue to communicate with guests after they’ve stayed, and even in the midst of these uncertain times, so don’t pull the plug on messaging, just make your messaging mindful of new guest experiences, your destination, and the state of the pandemic. In the text message from the spa, there’s a lot of things they could’ve said that could’ve teased a new experience, and convinced me to click through. But just asking me to rebook without any explanation left me pretty weary, let’s be honest.
It’s not enough to engage with past guests, we need to be thoughtful about that engagement.
Customer engagement is vital because your past guests are already warm leads, making them more receptive, more valuable, and more likely to return. Past guests can also become your advocates, sharing their experiences and what you’re communicating now, with others. I talk more about how customers can become your advocates, and what to do with the positive reviews you’re receiving, on episode 18.
5. Roll out a text-based app to stay connected.
I know. The whole reason behind this episode was that text I received from the spa that left a lot to be desired. But it’s like I always say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and then do a better job. When it comes to getting your message out to guests, text messaging is effective and it’s no longer considered invasive. Text messaging can be used while your guests are on property and for Life Cycle communications after a guest has departed. I advise not to overuse this feature post-departure, as guests will probably respond better to emails than text messages following a stay.
During a stay, a text message can hit right, and be very effective. I suggest providing the texting phone number to the guest upon arrival, so that they’re able to unlock this feature if it interests them. This little step allows you to be less invasive for guests who don’t love text interruptions on their vacation. For guests who do appreciate this feature, you can use text messages as a virtual concierge service—providing recommendations, running amenities to their room, and answering questions on demand.
I love a virtual concierge, let me tell you. A hotel I used to work with on Hilton Head Island did this extremely well. The text messaging concierge had a name, ”Ivy,” and I found this fascinating, even if it turned out to be the program they were using. Ivy created continuity. No matter who was at the front desk, I was speaking to Ivy, and the person on the other end was able to see our communications up to that moment. If I was out at the beach, I could text Ivy and request towels sent to my room. I could ask about where to find a great mojito or if I had enough time to bike out to a specific spot to watch the sunset. There was no stopping Ivy, and I was a guest that thoroughly appreciated this service. Turns out Ivy was the name of an app, and if you’re interested, you can visit gomoment.com to learn more. This isn’t in any way sponsored, I just thought it was an incredible guest communications tool. There are plenty of competitors doing the same thing nowadays. You could also designate an iPad at the front desk and manage a virtual concierge on your own.
Remember, when it comes to guest communications, there’s likely more you can be doing to ensure your guests are not only satisfied during their stay, but leave as raving fans longing to return, with the potential to send more business your way.
To quickly recap, the 5 guest communication strategies I shared today are:
Create a script for your front desk agents.
Take your compendium digital, and share it with guests before they arrive.
Send more Stay Cycle emails.
Update your Life Cycle messaging.
Roll out a text-based app to stay in touch.
As always keep sharing your stories.
