Hotel check-in and check-out can be unpleasant experiences for guests (even more so if they travel a lot), despite the digitalisation of the industry. In a world that prides itself on experience and comfort, these points of contact generate dissatisfaction and misunderstandings for the guest.

Overview of the guest check-in process

When you list all the steps involved in the check-in process, it's easy to understand how frustrating it can be for the guest, and how this can affect their satisfaction.

Checking in at your average hotel goes something like this: 

1. The journey is exhausting, and the guest is waiting for just one thing: to put their things down.
2. They have finally arrived at their hotel, and their first contact with the establishment is the queue of guests waiting to check-in.
3. Arriving at the counter: the hotel staff welcomes them for an administrative "procedure": they give their name, show their documents, wait about ten or fifteen minutes.
4. They find themselves face to face with someone who consults and taps on their computer for several minutes at a time.
5. Waiting and worrying, they wonder whether the booking has been registered, whether they'll end up with the wrong room close to the hallway, with a bad view or simply not what they had imagined.
6. They take out their credit card and wonder whether or not the stay has already been paid for. 
7. They wonder what the staff are now doing with their ID and bank card, and whether it's legal to take a fingerprint?
8. They have to fill in and sign a registration form, filling in (for the umpteenth time) their identity and contact details, wondering whether this information and their signature will fall into the wrong hands.
9. They receive a room card, a room number which is given verbally; oftentimes quite quickly, and a few instructions on how to access the room.
10. They are bombarded with information about the paper form to be filled in when ordering breakfast, the hotel's wi-fi password, the services included in the stay, the times of services, and so on.
11. Gathering up their documents, they have already forgotten half the instructions on how to get to the room
12. They get lost in the lobby and on the hotel floors, finally find their room, try to get in without success, head down to reception with all their luggage because the card doesn't work...
13. They get to the room and settle down at last

Is this really the best first contact with the hotel that we want to give our guests? Aren't there alternative ways of making the journey easier, streamlining arrivals, reducing waiting times, minimising administrative procedures, and building a better relationship with the guest?

Check-out is no better, maybe even worse: the guest is all the more stressed because they have a train or plane to catch.

The staff is not to blame

Only internal management is responsible for organising the guest experience. Those responsible for the guest experience need to ask themselves how they want to make the guest feel, and whether the experience offered in their establishment is in line with the main principles of hospitality: availability, personalisation, comfort and attention.

Staff in direct contact with guests should have at their disposal the tools they need to give their full attention to the guest in front of them:

• Allow reception to discuss the reason for the guest's stay as fully as possible
• Know how the guest feels, and what aspects of their stay the staff can help them with
• Identify preferences, interests and expectations
• And finally, be completely prepared to ensure that your guest has the best possible stay

The necessity of modifying the guest journey

The better the contact with the guest, the stronger the relationship, and the more the guest will value their stay and be inclined to return or recommend the hotel. Guests choose to come to a hotel, not a rental; they are looking for service and support from the staff. 

So it's essential for every establishment to test the entire guest journey to see where improvements can be made to the overall guest experience. 

It is more than necessary to implement a digital approach to the guest relationship including: 

• Setting up an online check-in to retrieve the necessary information prior to the guest's arrival
• Installation of terminals for registration forms at reception if the guest has not signed them before arriving.
• Setting up an online check-out to send guests a reminder before their departure, reminding them of the cost of their stay and explaining the check-out procedure.
• Digitalising payment so that guests don't have to take out their bank card during their stay. All they have to do is fill in a bank pre-authorisation form before arrival, and that's it. All the hotel has to do is debit their guests at the end of their stay with a single click, without requiring them to pay for their stay manually.

All these points help to improve the check-in and check-out stages, by reducing waiting times and streamlining procedures, while strengthening guest relations and satisfaction.

Streamline Touchpoints during your stay

The dematerialisation of the guest experience doesn't stop at check-in and check-out. By digitalising the guest relationship, the entire experience benefits:

• Guest contact by instant messaging: SMS, WhatsApp, chat (etc.) to keep them informed, ask if everything is going well and be available for them during their stay if they have any questions, need anything or have a problem.
• Mobile ordering of services: this makes it easier for guests to order room service, book a table at the restaurant, a spa treatment, etc. from the hotel, and boosts upsell considerably.
• Access to tourist recommendations: guests are already overwhelmed by the amount of tourist information, and need sound advice from their host, in their native language.
• Organising the guests' days: points of interest, weather, restaurants, transport, etc. are just some of the aspects of the stay that you need to take into consideration when planning their time at the hotel.

How to manage the entire guest experience

This requires a tool that centralises contact points, guest information and cross-channel communications. 

Key features to facilitate the guest journey:

• A Messaging Hub that centralises the various communication channels: e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.
• CRM with a 360° view of each guest 
• A multilingual guest portal/Guest App to keep guests informed
• An internal task management tool to centralise guest orders and requests

Why improving check-in and check-out is crucial

• Check-in is the first impression given by the hotel and will therefore set the tone for the whole stay, and check-out is the last impression and will influence the guest to recommend the hotel or not.
• Improving these two points of contact greatly enhances the experience.
• Smoother check-in can lead to more sales of additional services
• Streamlining the arrival and departure process is a commercial differentiator for the guest experience.

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For more information

5 Common Problems in the Hotel Industry that Frustrate Guests

10 key steps of an online check-in

The Good Men Project : Why is checking in and out of a hotel such a pain in the lobby?

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Image source: Freepik