12 techniques to boost hotel guest satisfaction

Let's imagine a guest visiting your hotel and, upon arrival, finds their room not yet ready, the restaurant closed, and there is no place to leave their bags while they wait.They probably won't be very happy.

Now consider a different situation. Everyone who arrives at your door is welcomed by name. They check into their upgraded accommodation, which has a beautiful view of the city, and leave their baggage there before having a pre-dinner beverage. That's a huge improvement. Guest satisfaction is a prominent subject in the hospitality sector. Satisfied guests spend more money, refer others, and return again..

If you're seeking ways for improving hotel guest satisfaction, you've come to the perfect place. We're here to tell you that the little things add up and that going above and beyond to run a guest-centric business will unquestionably significantly impact your brand's reputation and guest loyalty and how to ensure guest satisfaction in the hotel industry.

But first, let's understand what guest satisfaction is.

What is Guest Satisfaction?

Guest satisfaction in the hospitality industry refers to the benchmark of how pleased, or fulfilled your guests are with their overall experience at your property. It reflects the extent to which your hotel meets or exceeds the expectations and needs of its guests."The relationship between your hotel and its visitors is the main emphasis of the guest experience in the hotel industry.

A positive guest experience means the visitor finds your hotel's amenities and interaction quite positive, enjoyable and memorable.

From pre-arrival through post-stay, you should consider how you can offer the ideal guest experience at each point of their stay.

Why Do Hotels Need To Measure Guest Satisfaction?

You may make a lasting impact by providing a remarkable guest experience in the hospitality industry. Some of the most essential reasons for improving hotel guest experience are as follows:

1. Promoting word-of-mouth advertising:  By making a good impression on guests, your hotel may increase the number of favorable guest ratings, which will help it flourish more quickly.

2. Building your hotel's brand: Positive internet reviews help establish a strong brand image and increase reservations and income.

3. Build loyalty: By exceeding your guests' expectations and offering excellent guest service, you may increase the number of return visitors and enhance guest loyalty. Increasing hotel sales and income may be attained by prioritizing the guest experience. However, it is easier said than done to improve guest satisfaction.

How To Measure Guest Satisfaction?

Measuring guest satisfaction is essential for your hotel to assess its performance and identify areas for improvement. One standard method to measure guest satisfaction is using a Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT).

CSAT evaluates how satisfied or unsatisfied guests are with your product or service. Typically, consumers give their level of satisfaction a rating between 1-3, 1-5, or 1-7. Your CSAT score is the percentage of happy consumers who love utilizing your products and services.

Here are a few ways you can check guest satisfaction in hotels with the help of CSAT

Online Surveys: Guest satisfaction surveys are among the greatest ways to assess CSAT. They provide a simple and efficient method for gathering data. Choose your target audience and pose a pertinent question using these guest satisfaction surveys. Additionally, you may include multimedia files and photographs in the guest satisfaction survey. The tools for conducting online surveys allow users to monitor the dashboard, create reports, use filters, and export the findings. 

Social Media: The way your consumers submit feedback has changed due to social media; it is now immediate, direct, and truthful. They can respond to or remark on the content you've posted on your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter accounts. Phone or online guest satisfaction surveys cannot capture the spontaneity seen on social media. Make the most of these channels' possibilities, including the polls, reviews, and other features they offer.

E-mails: E-mails are a fantastic way to engage with guests and gather their feedback about their stay at your establishment. Those who have subscribed to your e-mails will be pleased to see your e-mails in their inbox. You can gather their reviews and feedback by sending them the target guest satisfaction surveys.

SMS: Utilizing SMS to gather guest satisfaction reviews is one of the most efficient and convenient methods. You can send the guests an SMS with a short survey or review request via text messages. It will make the process easier for your guests to provide quick responses while increasing the likeliness of participation. You can also send a message on WhatsApp for a personalized touch.

12 Techniques To Boost Guest Satisfaction

There are several methods to improve hotel guest satisfaction. Continuously assessing and improving the guest experience in a hotel is an excellent idea to ensure that you surpass their expectations. Here are some quick, simple, and inexpensive hotel guest satisfaction ideas to significantly enhance the guest experience.

Hotel Guest Satisfaction Ideas:

1. Post Booking guest engagement

In post-booking guest engagement, building trust with the visitors is very important. You can start by sending them a confirmation e-mail promptly after the booking, which not only confirms the reservation but also opens the line of communication. Use this e-mail to set a positive tone for their upcoming stay and express your enthusiasm in welcoming them.

Provide basic yet kind services such as additional pillows or assisting with dinner reservations. These small gestures go a long way in building trust with your guests.

2. Automate check-in with early check-in option

Everything must be quick, effective, and seamless. Guest satisfaction scores drop by 50% when there’s a 5-minute wait at check-in. Today's guests move at the pace of ease and flexibility, creating a culture of perpetual speed that has significantly altered both guest behaviour and expectations.

Therefore, it is crucial to consider automating the check-in procedure to decrease waiting times and save guests time without visibly compromising the level of service.

Your visitors may use contactless check-in with Guestara. The visitor may efficiently complete their self-check-in using our hotel management software.

3. Create a welcoming space

Your hotel will serve as your guest's "home during their stay." Create a friendly, inclusive, and safe environment for everyone to help them feel that way. Ensure your property is reachable, and provide a pleasant smile to each visitor! Therefore, it is crucial that you successfully establish a Safe, Inclusive, and Welcoming Space at your hotel during all of your interactions with guests. But it's equally crucial that you manage the emotions of your visitors.

In other words, gauge their happiness level, get feedback on how much they value the service, etc. Guest feedback is crucial and invaluable to you since it will be the most effective tool for enhancing the guest experience.

4. Free & trustworthy wi-fi

This one needs no explanation. Poor internet is disliked by anyone, especially when it's at a hotel while on vacation. It's essential to have free, dependable Wi-Fi everywhere across your hotel!

Ensure that the Wi-Fi code is readily available at the front desk without asking for it. If they didn't ask for it, put it on the key card or the elevator.

5. Ensure cleanliness

Imagine your guest walking into their flawless and pristine room, enveloped in the freshness that instantly captivates their senses; they will never forget this experience.

Maintaining a spotless hotel is an absolute must, as we all know that cleanliness can either make or break a guest's first impression of your hotel. When a hotel guests go to their room they notice a lot of things like room interior, view from the room ect. 

In this age of heightened environmental consciousness, instead of assuming that every day requires a full housekeeping service, you give your guests the option to opt in or forgo it, allowing them to curate their ideal experience.

If your hotel has started down the path of sustainability, encourage guests to forgo housekeeping by rewarding them with a drink at the bar or another amenity. Most of the time, visitors value the freedom to decide how to handle the cleaning.Don't neglect your pre-arrival housekeeping; your guests should discover their hotel room immaculate and devoid of smells or evidence of previous visitors.

6. Provide the guest with the personalized experience

Do they require a specific diet? Are they sensitive to anything? They may prefer a particular temperature or aroma in their space. There are several simple, frequently low-cost methods to customize the experience for a visitor. Ask them. Find out how you can customize their experience and improve their stay using the connection you made before they arrived.

The hotel management software by Guestara offers your guests a home-like experience with automated messages that will help you understand your guest's needs.

These minor details affect their stay quality and interaction with you. Guests are very sensitive to these little gestures of personalization. It demonstrates to them and gives them the impression that they are special and that our sole concern is ensuring they have a nice stay.

7. Implement hotel in-room technologies

Today's hotels are benefiting from some of the most cutting-edge technologies available. For instance, accommodations can install "smart room keys" that let visitors access their hotel doors with a quick smartphone swipe.

For example, tablets are a useful tool for employees and visitors to communicate. Travelers may quickly and easily submit a request from their room that will be forwarded to a staff member's mobile device and responded to in a few minutes. Even better, the hotel may configure the tablets with Guestara's hotel feedback system, allowing the guests to express their concerns that you can address proactively.

8. Be proactive with your hotel service

Rather than waiting for guest complaints, you must take charge of your services by being proactive. It will not only improve guest satisfaction but also guest retention.

One way to do so is by using a service optimization that will summarize the details of all the expected guests for a specific day. This allows your hotel staff to plan ahead and personalize each guest's experience as per their previous stays or the information they provided during the booking process.

For example, if a guest had any issues during their previous stay, you can compensate for it by upgrading their room for their current stay. Or, if they are bringing their kids for the stay, you can surprise them by placing some complimentary kid's toys or some delicious snacks in their room.

Being proactive shows that you care about your guests' requirements and preferences, which makes their stay more enjoyable and memorable. By considering their requirements and going the extra mile, you can create a positive impression and foster long-term loyalty.

Guestara's sentiment analysis allows you to check how impressed your guests are with your thoughtful actions. 

9. Provide online payment facility

Payment automation may simplify the payment process and make it more convenient for visitors. Offer alternatives to managing cash or credit cards, such as mobile payment, internet payment portals, or contactless payment techniques. You improve convenience and guest satisfaction by offering a rapid and secure payment process.

One of the most important reasons to implement an online payment solution is the reduction of revenue pilferage. While transacting in cash, there is a possibility of discrepancies and potential loss for the hotel. Giving your guests the option of digital payment methods minimizes the risks associated with cash transactions.

With Guestara's hotel payment options, your guests may choose and pay conveniently in the currency and mode they choose. Additionally, centralized payments may save time, do less manual data input, and avoid losses.

10. Ensure an easy checkout experience with the late checkout facility

The checking-out process should be simple and smooth. A smartphone app or cutting-edge hotel technology solutions like Guestara can speed up the checkout. For instance, you may create a daily departure list and prepare outstanding invoices to avoid last-minute delays.

Ask about their choices and prepare their bills well in advance if a group of guests is checking out at the same time because splitting or combining their accounts may take some time. Since late checkout is one of the most requested amenities by visitors, provide them the option to reserve one.

11. Follow up with your visitors to get feedback

Communicate with your visitors after their stay to get their opinions on the experience. Send them customized e-mails or surveys to find out how satisfied they are with their hotel stay and what needs improvement. Implement advice to fix any issues and show your dedication to guest satisfaction. Monitor and manage internet reviews and guest comments using

Guestara's Hotel's Reputation Management Tool. With these tools, you can keep tabs on guest feedback, reply to reviews, and take swift action on any unfavorable comments. Maintaining a great internet reputation increases guest satisfaction and draws in new visitors.

12. Reward loyal guests

The success of any hotel depends on developing guest loyalty, but in today's cutthroat industry, loyalty is getting tougher to retain.

Although loyalty programs are a terrific strategy, it's crucial to consider how you build your program. Many loyalty programs provide free nights or reduced rates upon accumulating a predetermined number of points.

Hotels can also implement a tiered loyalty program, which offers delightful benefits and rewards as their guests move up the tiers. These benefits can include perks like room upgrades, access to exclusive amenities, priority check-in/out, complimentary services, or personalized offers.

When visitors arrive at your resort, you must greet them by name and express gratitude for their patronage if they are returning guests.

In Conclusion

Using these hotel guest satisfaction ideas, you can ensure that your visitors enjoy themselves so much that they come back in the future and suggest your hotel to others. Additionally, it increases income and distinguishes you from competitors. Several hotel management solutions like Guestara are available for hotels that are intended to increase guest satisfaction and simplify operations for hoteliers.