What do we expect when we stay in a hotel? Complimentary breakfast, room service, diverse cuisines, comfortable beds, and most importantly, a great ambience and an amazing guest experience.
Now that we have started to live with the current COVID situation, more and more people plan to go on holiday during the offseason. And to be honest, we all need a break to connect and reunite with our loved ones while ensuring that we take all the necessary precautions. This year, several hotels are already going the extra mile to provide the best services ever. Here are the top tips on how small to medium hotels could improve the guest experience.
- Provide customised offers and promotions
Remember getting excited about the freebies you get at hotels? Well, it is anticipated to get toiletries, breakfast etc. This time the hotels could offer a little something extra. Say, a special holiday offer, customised welcome gifts with local treats, or unique dishes on the menu? It isn’t about grand gestures. It’s the small things. Also, what’s a better gift than giving your guests a special discount on room booking? You can start a campaign with promotional newsletters in advance, also offering discounted local tour packages to the guests. - Hassle-free taxi booking
One of the biggest challenges when travelling for business or leisure is having a comfortable ride all along. Guests prefer to stay in hotels that provide end-to-end services, including arranging transportation for them. This way, guests don’t have to spend their quality time stepping out of the hotel to find a taxi themselves, hence providing guests with the leisure to get into the taxi right outside the hotel, at their convenience. Nowadays, reception staff can book taxis for your guests with one click of a button, seamlessly enhancing your guest’s experience, enabling the concierge and reception to focus on other more essential tasks. - Basic health facilities
As we are learning to live with COVID-19, and with the emerging mutant variants, the risk is far from over. Hotels are advised to install hand cleaning and sanitising stations and adjust the air conditioning to enhance airflow. Also, provide temperature screening and rapid antigen test kits handy where and when required. Checking guests’ vaccine cards is another significant step to ensuring excellent health and safety. If hotels don’t provide a healthcare facility on-premises, it is good to inform the guests on brochures or welcome cards about the nearby health services they can avail of if needed. - Host attractive shows
Yet another consequence of COVID was the “fear of missing out on” social events, like karaoke nights, concerts, and comedy shows. To suit the vacation mood, hotels could offer a themed party where guests can enjoy the carefully curated menu and bar while maintaining COVID measures. Things have started to look hopeful for many prior lockdown countries like Australia and the UK, and hosting events at the hotel is an exciting, trendy and quirky way of promoting the best guest experience. - Explore emerging concepts
The pandemic has led small and medium hotels to embrace emerging technologies like Robotic hotel staff, AI approved vacuum cleaners, e-keys to hotel rooms, online check-in and check out, and a few trends that have already catered to guest interests. Guests receive relevant and quick responses to their inquiries, and hotels can direct their staff towards more urgent tasks to improve the guest experience. With COVID still prevailing in parts of Europe, Asia, and the UK, the involvement of contactless technologies instils trust in guests and hosts.
