10 ways to prepare for the upcoming season
The beginning of high season is almost here, the time when guests arrive in mass, from all over the world, expecting you to provide the most relaxing getaway. Now is the perfect time to review key areas to ensure that you deliver the best possible experience.
1️⃣ Check your PMS connection
For seasonal establishments, sometimes the connection with the PMS is disrupted during the off-season, so make sure that it is (re)activated even before the season starts to benefit from your automatic email campaigns.
It is also an excellent opportunity to check whether you have any new information on your guests, so that you can use it to segment your client base more finely and therefore better personalise your communications. For example, the origin of the guest enables you to know if they have previously stayed in your establishment, dined in your restaurant or visited your spa. This allows you to adapt your loyalty campaigns and the offers you make to them.
2️⃣ Update the content on your app
It is worth studying the most frequently visited content on your Guest Portal to find out your guests' preferences and what kind of information they would like to receive. This can help you both set up automated campaigns by SMS or chat, and adapt your email campaigns so there is no need for guests to search for the information themselves (check-in time before arrival, restaurant offers at meal times, late checkout before departure, etc.).
Remember to double-check all practical information (timetables, links, facilities, etc.), entertainment and events programme, activities to do in the area, etc.
It is essential to keep your application up to date, otherwise guests will not use the portal, and you will miss out on all its benefits.
3️⃣ Communicate within your establishment with the help of QR codes, posters and wifi redirection
It's no secret that you should communicate effectively on your Guest Portal, so that your guests make the most of it during their stay. It is helpful to send them the link before their visit to help them find activities to do in the area, and to remind them of the dates of their stay so they can start planning their trip.
Verbal and digital communication are both essential, but so is putting physical reminders around your hotel. Whether in shared areas, in restaurants, or on notice boards, etc., promote your QR codes on posters so your guests can access the services you offer (room service, event schedules, digital newspapers and magazines, activities to be booked, etc.) in a single click.
LoungeUp offers you free printable posters and flyers with QR codes to redirect guests to your Guest Portal.
Another effective way to direct your guests to your online services is to set up a redirection when your guests connect to the wifi. After logging in, they are redirected on their smartphone, tablet, or computer to your online portal (web app) and from there can then access all your services without having to download anything.
4️⃣ Launch automated campaigns
Automated email / SMS / WhatsApp campaigns allow you to keep your guests informed at key points in their stay, without having to do anything manually.
These have many advantages. As well as informing your guests, they also allow you to:
- Increase upselling (the sale of 'extras': breakfast, couples' packages, airport transfers, restaurant or spa treatment bookings, early check-in/ late check-out...)
- Find out information about your guests: reasons for staying, estimated arrival time, passport/identity card details
- Collect guest reviews: redirection to an internal form and/or your review sites / Tripadvisor
- Build guest loyalty: option to 'opt-in' to receive your marketing communications
Be sure to check that any information about the services you offer is up to date (photos, descriptions, prices...)
5️⃣ Train seasonal workers on how to use LoungeUp with the help of Academy
Training new staff members concerns all establishments, but even more so seasonal hotels that receive so many new employees at once. The extra staff need to be trained quickly and efficiently.
With this in mind, we have launched LoungeUp Academy to help train new employees who join your establishment. Academy offers training videos on how to use the platform, update the application and campaigns, upsell to guests, and personalise communications, always with a view to streamlining the guest experience and your teams' operational work.
These online courses are designed for both beginners who have never used LoungeUp before, and more experienced users who are more advanced in customisation and segmentation. They are available as separate videos, so you can proceed through the training steps at your own pace, whenever you wish.
6️⃣ Set up room service
LoungeUp is a great tool to increase your revenue by making the room service process digital. For example, guests can easily place an order from the comfort of their hotel room via the module integrated in the application, or book a table in your restaurant using a reservation form.
Both ways of offering services aim to make it easier for guests and hoteliers to place and manage orders. The services menu (room service, list of spa treatments, shop, list of activities, etc.) can be personalised according to the guest's profile, the time of the order, the reason for the stay, the products available, etc.
The order module and form are both advanced enough to prompt the guest to fill in the information you need or choose between different options. Several sub-categories can be added, with the options shown depending on the user's choice. For example for your food services: order delivery time, side dishes or extras, allergies, room delivery or click & collect, cooking preferences, etc.
7️⃣ Promote events and activities in the local area
Your guests seek ideas for activities, walks or tours, and can feel overwhelmed when faced with endless lists of tourist sites. Exceed their expectations by sending emails out about unmissable events and your recommendations for activities or monuments to visit. Help them choose and don't list too many, instead highlight your favourites.
Pre-programmed messages help you save time by configuring your communications according to the time of the stay and the guest's profile! You can tailor the content according to the guest's preferences and their type of stay (business/leisure, solo/family/group of friends, week/weekend stay, language/nationality, etc., new customer/regular/VIP, etc.). All these criteria can be combined for more targeted segmentation and personalisation.
8️⃣ Use the Staff Companion app dedicated to your teams
The "Staff Companion" app (App Store / Google Play) is used to effectively notify the teams in charge of guest relations of each order, request, question, etc., so that nothing is forgotten and follow ups are efficient. As with the Messaging Hub, each employee is assigned to a contact point in order to receive only the notifications that concern them.
The app has recently been redesigned to improve the user experience and make it easier to navigate. It is free for all LoungeUp clients.
9️⃣ Activate Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp
For you, there is no extra work because all communication channels are centralised in a single tool, the Messaging Hub. You will be able to reply to your guests directly in the tool and access message histories, etc.
Like email campaigns, you can set up WhatsApp campaigns that are sent automatically at key moments of the stay or based on specific events (unopened e-mail, number of stays,...).
As for Facebook Messenger, you can easily integrate it into your website to chat with guests or manage their incoming requests.
Adding these communication channels makes you more available to respond to your guests' queries.
🔟 Send out ultra-personalised newsletters
You have a lot of guest data at your fingertips that can help you improve your guest's experience and build loyalty. Send ultra-targeted offers to recognise your loyal customers or turn your one-time visitors into regulars. Thank them for their stay/spa treatment/restaurant meal by offering to celebrate their visit with a promo code or a free treatment/breakfast/couple's package.
Some examples of advanced guest segmentation:
- Number of stays greater than X
- Week / weekend visitor
- VIP/spa/ etc. tags
- Latest review higher than ⅘
- Number of Twitter followers greater than X
- Reason for the business/leisure trip
- X accompanying persons
- ...
Continuing to communicate with your guests even after their stay is the only way to keep them loyal and leave a lasting impression. The more your emails are adapted and personalised to the guest, the higher your guest loyalty rate will be.
This is not an complete list but it covers the most important points needed to welcome your guests in the best way possible.
Have a good season!
