If you’re a hotelier, your ultimate goal is to make customers happy throughout their traveling experience. Booking the right hotel and having a great experience is key to customer satisfaction. But, how can you be sure that your hotel is providing the best experience possible? The answer is simple: map out the customer journey and analyze where there may be areas for improvement. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that.
What Is The Hotel Guest Journey?
The customer journey is the path that a customer takes when interacting with your hotel, from the first time they hear about your brand all the way to post-stay. By mapping out this customer journey, hoteliers can get a better understanding of the customer experience and where there may be areas for improvement.
The Importance Of Mapping The Hotel Guest Journey
In order to provide the best customer experience possible, it’s important to first understand what that customer experience looks like. By mapping out the customer journey, you can get a clear picture of each customer touchpoint and how they interact with your hotel. This will allow you to identify any pain points or areas for improvement.
Additionally, mapping out the customer journey can help you to create more targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to your customer’s needs.
Some other benefits that come with mapping out the customer journey include:
- Improved customer retention rates
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Higher customer lifetime value
Common Stages Of A Hotel Guest Journey
There are generally five stages in a customer’s journey: inspiration and research, booking, check-in, in-house experience, and check-out and post-stay. Let’s take a more detailed look at each stage.
Inspiration And Research
This is the stage where the customer is first considering taking a trip and begins to research potential destinations. This is also when they start to develop their travel plans and look for hotels that fit their budget and preferences.
As a hotelier, you can reach out to potential customers in this stage by creating targeted content that speaks to their needs. For example, if you’re targeting business travelers, you could create blog posts about the best business hotels in your city.
You can also use social media to reach out to potential customers in this stage of the journey. For example, you could create a social media campaign that showcases the different features of your hotel.
Booking
The booking stage is when the customer actually books their stay at your hotel. This is usually done through an online booking system on your website or through a third-party website such as Expedia or Booking.com.
It’s important to make sure that your booking process is as smooth and easy as possible. This means having a user-friendly booking system that doesn’t require too much information from the customer.
You should also offer different payment options so that customers can pay in the way that is most convenient for them.
Check-In
The check-in stage is when the customer arrives at your hotel and checks in for their stay. This is usually done at the front desk.
It’s important to make sure that your check-in process is as efficient as possible. This means having a well-trained staff that can quickly and easily check customers in.
You should also make sure that your front desk staff is friendly and welcoming. This first interaction with the customer can set the tone for their entire stay.
In-House Experience
This is the stage where the customer is actually staying at your hotel. This is when they will be using all of the different features and amenities that your hotel has to offer.
It’s important to make sure that your customer has a positive in-house experience. This means providing them with everything they need and making sure that their needs are met.
You can also use this stage to upsell different products and services. For example, you could offer customers the option to upgrade their room or add a spa package.
Check-Out And Post Stay
The check-out and the post-stay stage are when the customer checks out of your hotel and leaves. This is usually done at the front desk.
It’s important to make sure that your check-out process is as smooth and easy as possible. This means having a well-trained staff that can quickly and easily check customers out.
You should also make sure to send a follow-up message to the customer after they leave. This could be an email or a text message. In this message, you should thank them for their stay and ask for feedback.
How To Find Areas For Improvement
Now that you know the typical stages of a customer’s journey, you can start to identify areas for improvement.
Look At Website Traffic Data
One way to find areas for improvement is to look at your website traffic data. This data can tell you a lot about how customers interact with your website.
For example, if you see a high drop-off rate on your booking page, this could be an indication that your booking process is too complicated.
You can also use website data to see which pages are getting the most traffic. This can help you to identify which areas of your website are most popular with customers.
Analyze Social Media Mentions
Another way to find areas for improvement is to analyze your social media mentions. This can give you a lot of insight into how customers feel about your hotel.
You can also use social media to reach out to customers who have had a negative experience. This gives you the opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one.
Conduct Customer Surveys
Another way to find areas for improvement is to conduct customer surveys. This is a great way to get feedback from customers about their experience.
You can use customer surveys to ask specific questions about the customer journey. For example, you could ask customers about their experience with your booking process or their in-house experience.
You can also use customer surveys to identify customer pain points. This is a great way to find out what areas of the customer journey need improvement.
Look At Reviews
Another way to find areas for improvement is to look at online reviews. This is a great way to get an overview of how customers feel about your hotel.
For example, if you see a lot of negative reviews on TripAdvisor or Yelp, this could be an indication that there are some areas of your customer journey that need improvement.
You can also use online reviews to reach out to customers who have had a negative experience. This gives you the opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one.
Check In With The Guest Throughout Their Experience
Another way to find areas for improvement is to check in with the customer throughout their experience. This can be done through a variety of different methods.
For example, you could have a staff member call the customer after they book to make sure that everything is going smoothly. Staff can also be trained to ask how the guests’ stay is going whenever they see them.
Final Thoughts
Mapping the customer journey is a great way to find areas for improvement. By looking at website traffic data, social media mentions, customer surveys, and reviews, you can get a good overview of how customers interact with your hotel. You can also check in with guests throughout their stay to get feedback about their experience.
By taking these steps, you can ensure that your customer journey is as smooth as possible. This will lead to happier guests and more repeat business.