Guest Blog: How to Build Guest Engagement with Text Messaging
In the past, hotels traditionally communicated with guests via phone calls or in-person interactions. In more recent years, text messaging has entered the hotel industry as a newer channel of communication between hotels and their guests. Guest messaging enables hotels to communicate with guests via SMS or other messaging applications, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
Nowadays, 85% of people prefer messaging over calling to communicate with others. With guest messaging, hotels are meeting guests where they’re at and engaging with them even more than before. In fact, about half of all phone calls go unanswered, while 98% of text messages are opened.
High guest engagement is important for hotels because it allows them to provide the most personalized experience possible. Clear communication between hotels and their guests allows hotels to pinpoint and address any issues immediately, paving the way for better guest experiences.
Here is a step-by-step plan to using text messaging to increase guest engagement at your hotel.
Step 1: Integrate messaging into your property management system.
Guest messaging systems can sync with property management systems like rezStream Cloud to capture relevant guest information. An integration makes onboarding take less than 24 hours, and it saves time for hotel staff, allowing them to be more productive and focus on creating exceptional and personalized guest experiences.
Step 2: Welcome guests personally with pre-arrival messages.
A modern property management system should automate high-quality, branded, pre-arrival email letters to your guests. Likewise, use your messaging platform to welcome guests a few days before they arrive on your property. A pre-arrival message lets guests feel welcome and know that they can simply text the hotel if they need anything during their stay. A pre-arrival message can also automatically prompt guests to check-in early.
Step 3: Use contactless online registration to streamline the check-in process.
With your pre-arrival text message, you can send guests a contactless online registration form to fill out before they arrive on the property. Online registration forms enable guests to securely sign and accept terms and conditions without needing to be at the property. Guest messaging systems can be set up to automatically send these registration forms out to guests, so hotel staff doesn’t need to remember to send them out, and guests can enjoy a contactless check-in and hotel stay.
Step 4: Set up automated replies to frequently asked questions.
Oftentimes, guests have the same questions, such as “what is the WiFi password?” or “what time is check-out?”. Instead of making hotel staff spend a lot of time answering the same questions, hotels can set up messaging systems to automatically reply to frequently asked questions. Rather than leaving guests on hold, hotels can improve the guest experience by answering common questions via automated text messages.
Step 5: Set up customized scheduled messages.
An easy way for hotels to regularly check in with guests and see how they’re enjoying their stay is to set up scheduled messages. Hotels can customize messages to ask guests about their stay if the hotel can do anything else to improve their experience, or even upsell different offers to guests. These messages can be scheduled to send out at the most ideal times, so hotel staff doesn’t need to remember to text guests at certain times. By setting up these types of text messages, hotels can consistently engage with guests to ensure that they’re having the best experience possible.
Step 6: Notify guests about special offers, events, or activities.
Engage with guests by notifying them about any special promotions your hotel is running, any notable events happening at the hotel or in the area, and any fun activities that your hotel offers. With messaging, hotels can also easily give advice about local attractions to see.
Additionally, messaging can capture guest interests, which can allow hotels to segment guests into groups to target with future marketing campaigns. For instance, if multiple guests requested wine during their first stay, hotels can create a remarketing campaign that invites guests back for a free wine tour with their stay again. Not only can messaging drive greater engagement, but it can also drive more bookings and additional revenue.
Step 7: Ask for feedback at the end of the guest stay.
At the end of the stay, hotels can use messaging to easily ask for feedback. To do so, they can send a quick text asking for a rating between 1-5 stars. If a guest responds with anything below 5 stars, then hotels can collect their comments to improve future guest experiences. If they respond with 5 stars, they can be automatically directed to leave a positive review on review websites, such as TripAdvisor or Google Reviews. Since 95% of travelers consider online reviews before making bookings, more 5 star reviews can ultimately drive even more bookings in the future.
In Conclusion
By following these outlined steps, hotels can use messaging to increase guest engagement. Not only can they offer more personalized experiences, but they can also offer contactless registrations and hotel stays that allow guests to feel more comfortable. Guest messaging opens up many opportunities for hotels to provide great experiences, be more productive, address any problems while guests are still on the property, and even drive additional revenue. Improve your hotel operations with guest messaging today.
ABOUT AKIA
Akia is an artificial intelligence-powered hotel messaging service that enables hotels to streamline operations and facilitate contactless options for check-in, on-property communications, reputation management, and revenue optimization. Akia was founded in 2018 by a team of former Facebook engineers with backgrounds in machine learning and consumer messaging.