It’s 2022, and other hotels aren’t your only competition anymore: Short-term rentals, motels, hostels, and even glampsites can all be found on major OTAs.
NB: This is an article from Operto
And while it’s important to attract guests in the first place with a stellar listing and impressive amenities, that’s only half the battle. Customer retention strategies in hotels are essential to fostering brand loyalty and turning your current customer base into loyal guests.
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That’s why we’ve put together five essential approaches to impressing your guests so they’ll keep coming back year after year.
Take a look at these strategies to impress guests, increase occupancy, and build a brand that your customers trust.
Earn devoted, repeat guests
You’ve probably seen the statistic: Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining one. But did you know that a 5% increase in customer retention can mean a 25% increase in profits? In other words, creating just five loyal guests out of your next 100 could mean an impressive jump in revenue.
To make this a reality for your hotel, focus on creating brand loyalty among your guests. And brand loyalty isn’t just for big hotel chains – hotels of any size, from 20 rooms to 200, can create an experience that turns their guests into brand champions and returning customers.
With increased guest loyalty, you’ll see more repeat, direct bookings, as well as referrals. Plus, it makes your job as a hotelier easier, as keeping already loyal guests happy requires less effort than attracting and impressing new travellers.
Plus, when your guests are happier, your staff is happier—they have less complaints to deal with and can focus on doing their job instead of putting out fires. When you create brand champions, everyone wins.
5 customer retention strategies for hotels
Discover five guest engagement strategies that will help you turn new customers into loyal, repeat guests.
1. Have impeccable communication
To create loyalty among guests, they have to feel connected to you. One of the best ways to do this is by having outstanding communication. This must be true at every one of your guest journey touchpoints, from pre-stay to post-stay and everything in between.
Before they check in, be proactive by sending a personalized confirmation email. And if you work with guest engagement software, send your customers a link to your portal as soon as they make their reservation.
That way, you can share a customizable digital guidebook so guests can get familiar with your hotel and start planning their trip from the get-go. This is also a good way to minimize cancellations, as you will have already forged a customer relationship before your guest even steps foot in your hotel.
Read rest of the article at Operto
The post 5 Retention Strategies To Keep Hotel Guests Coming Back appeared first on Revenue Hub.