When you’re in the hospitality industry, having loyal customers obviously makes a significant difference in the overall success of your establishment. As you’re aware, providing a positive customer experience is key to developing and maintaining customer loyalty.
Did you know that when you build loyalty with just 5% more customers, it can potentially lead to a substantial increase in profits? These can range between 25% and 100% per customer. When travelers have a positive experience at a specific hotel or bed-and-breakfast, they often choose to return for another stay. A recent survey showed that 74% of travelers will return to a destination they’ve visited previously.
When customers have a negative experience, however, chances are that they’ll no longer do business with a company, including hotels. A Harris Interactive/RightNow survey showed that in 2011 alone, 86% of consumers followed this pattern. Since travelers will often post reviews on their vacation experience, these can make a positive or negative impact on a business.
In addition to staying at hotels, may travelers prefer to stay at bed-and-breakfast establishments. When deciding where to stay, they’ll consider price and location as well as other important issues:
- Consumer reviews: 50%
- Photos: 47%
- Friends’ recommendations: 46%
- Flexible cancellations policy: 43%
- Ability to make online bookings: 43%
It’s interesting to note that many travelers will conduct a large number of online research sessions prior to booking. A recent survey showed that it often takes about 17 of these sessions before someone makes a final decision. In addition to looking at consumer reviews and photos at hotel websites, they will also be paying attention to how fast a website loads and whether or not it is easy to maneuver.
Mobile queries have increased over the years, This is even more so within the travel category, which has experienced 50% more mobile queries. While 46% of travelers will come to a decision based on their mobile queries, they will usually complete their booking on another device. Given this, it’s important for hotel websites to be easy to access across multiple platforms. This is all part of providing a positive experience for your existing and potential customers.
While it may go without saying, having the right type of employees is also essential for delivering a positive customer experience. If you’re experiencing issues with employee retention, your existing staff may be over-worked. This can obviously affect a staff’s overall morale as well as the manner in which they engage with customers attempting to book their stay.
When you have an effective hotel property management system, employee retention may no longer be a concern. Since your employees need the appropriate tools to assist them with providing a positive customer experience, you may want to rethink your current hospitality management systems. For example, how well is your current hotel reservation software working?
In order to succeed in this business, it’s important to be aware of the latest trends in hotel industry technology. If you’re discovering issues with customer loyalty, employee retention, or other hotel management issues, it may be time to schedule a consultation with a company that provides property management software for hotels.
