Travelers are usually exhausted when they arrive at your hotel, cranky and cannot get checked in fast enough to relax. Once a guest is all checked in, the questions tend to start; “what’s the WiFi password”, or maybe the bed sheets and pillows are sub-par, perhaps they want to know where the nearest coffee shop is for their energy boost. A significant change in hospitality is happening now, the hotel guest’s voices are being heard about what they want to see and expect in a hotel.

Cleanliness

No one wants to spend their night in a place that looks like it has not had a thorough cleaning. According to Travel Pulse 10% of guests feel that in their rooms are not clean enough, and 24% of guests feel too hot or too cold in their rooms. Unsanitary sheets, room temperatures are common complaints, and considering sheets have been shared by hundreds of people (which is an unsettling thought within itself) it a legitimate complaint. Hotels need to be focused on the details of cleanliness and creating a welcoming room environment. Most importantly, the bathroom is an enormous concern for hotel guests. Clean toilets, showers and running hot water are also regular complaints. Yes, hot water, in fact Trip Savvy lists hot water as the #4 complaint in hotels. Hotels need technology today imbedded in their operational software that offers Housekeeping & Maintenance function to help manage cleanliness, after all it has been said cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Free Wi-Fi

We’ve all been there, checking into a hotel only to learn the wi-fi is an additional cost every night. Ever since the internet was born 27 years ago, humans have become increasingly more social through technology. Whether is business requirements or connecting socially, contact with one another has become instantaneous and the need to get a hold of someone right away matters to your hotel guests. According to Social WiFi, the 3 most common complaints of hotel guests are WiFi, WiFi and WiFi. When guests were asked about booking a hotel, free WiFi was the second most important factor, after room cost, when choosing a room. Needless to say, the demand for free Wi-Fi significant and can sometimes make or break the decision to stay in a hotel.

Guest Engagement

Many travelers are saying that they desire a personalized hotel experience, developing an emotional connection with the property. Guests want to feel like they matter and that their presence at the hotel is appreciated. It’s also a prime opportunity to market to guests before they arrive and after their departure. Disengaged guests are more likely to leave a poor review on a hotel’s website or even ask for a price discount. When millennials are fully engaged, their engagement and emotional connection comes from technology, usually the mobile phone that is always in their hand. Customer engagement can be set up many ways, like text engagement with tools like GoMoment’s Ivy or automated digital guest communications like pre arrival emails or post stay emails and surveys with Guestfolio, where all interactions, requests and profiling is maintained, tracked and reported on so you have a full 360 view of your guests.

At the end of the day, travelers want their travel experience to be less hectic than it already is. Hotels that participate in the popular requests are more likely to be recommended to a friend and get higher ratings online. Hotels giving customers what they want, can also get what they want: more guests.

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InnQuest Software is a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry. For over 25 years, innQuest has combined hotelier experience with innovative technology to deliver an all-in-one solution that empowers hotels to attract guests, drive customer loyalty, and increase profits. Our flagship property management software, roomMaster, helps manage over 5,500 properties across 100 countries. InnQuest develops scalable solutions ranging from a Hotel PMS, Cloud PMS, Channel Manager, Hotel CRM and helps properties enable guests to Book Direct. We believe that everyone deserves a great guest experience, whether they’re staying at a small B&B, a thousand-room resort, or anywhere in between.

Call us today at 1.813.288.4900, or email us at sales@innquest.com. We will be happy to walk you through innQuest’s solutions.