In today’s world hoteliers must be ready for anything; that means guest feedback too. Gone are the days of old where guests would leave handwritten notes on a guestbook in a hotel room outlining their delightful stay. No, today there are so many forums in which guests can leave positive or negative feedback that hoteliers should be constantly monitoring these mediums to see how they can improve. But it shouldn’t stop there. So how do you know which survey mediums are most effective? Let’s look at some ways to collect guest feedback, and how that feedback will help you to keep those guests coming back.

Comment Cards

Now, some hoteliers may think that these are a thing of the past, but it really depends on your property. If you have the homey type atmosphere, or a cozy bed and breakfast this may be a perfectly acceptable way to obtain valuable feedback from your guests. It may also be a creative way to find out what your guests really crave. 

In-Person Surveys

This may sound scary, but when done tastefully this information can be quite powerful. Not only are you demonstrating your personal interest in your guests, but you’re also letting them know that you care about their needs while they’re on property. To take this a step further; what if you were to also capture their preferences in your CRM tool, so on their next visit, you could ensure they were placed in their favorite room with the river view, with the sage scented candle and the bottle of merlot (just like last time)? Think of what a powerful (not to mention- thoughtful) message you’d be sending to your guests.

Post-Stay Surveys

Post-Stay surveys are gaining popularity. With tools like Guestfolio your Property Management System automates post-stay surveys and then directly connects your guests to customer review sites like TripAdvisor allowing you to collect this critical information. The most popular question on any post-stay survey is “On a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to recommend us; 1 being not likely at all, 10 being very likely.” While this question seems like it is so basic, it’s a question used in multiple industries, is known as a Net Promoter Score and it is considered a common satisfaction metric. 

Online Reviews and Social Media

There is nothing like going online and reading countless positive reviews about the hotel you just booked, right? Well, that’s why online reviews (including social media reviews) are so important. Since online reviews and social media reviews are so visible during the booking process, it’s always a great idea to have your staff encourage guests to leave reviews online.

Wrapping Up

Any hotelier will agree that owning a hotel is the easiest part of being a hotelier. Running the hotel is the difficult part. However, when it comes to providing your guests with a unique pleasant experience, you already have all the tools you need. You just need to implement them. Ask for feedback in person, online, send out surveys, and leave comments cards out in the open. You will gain valuable insight into what your guests are looking for and you just might create guests for life.

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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 hotel 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.