Top Marketing Tips to Improve Guest Loyalty in Hospitality

“Do you know what the main reason is for the discrepancy between repeat business at major hotel chains (58%-62%) and independents (10%-15%)? CRM! You cannot have a meaningful repeat business (15-20 times cheaper than acquiring new guests) without a CRM technology and program in place. Only a meaningful CRM technology application – as part of your hotel tech stack – can ensure deep engagement with your past and future guests.

CRM tech not only provides automated pre-, during- and post-stay communications, guest satisfaction surveys, guest retention marketing automation and drip marketing campaigns but takes it a step further via guest recognition program management and loyalty marketing. All of these fully automated CRM initiatives keep “the conversation going” with your upcoming and past guests, keeps them engaged and steer them in the right direction: to book your hotel when it’s time for them to visit your destination again.

In addition, you can use your CRM first-party data about your best guests to launch similar audiences marketing on Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to target potential customers with similar characteristics as your best guests. CRM initiatives in combination with ORM (Online Reputation Management) tech can turn your happy guests into brand ambassadors and avid social media influencers.”

“Creating a steady stream of repeat customers comes down to loyalty. Start with the people standing at the reception desk. Who are they and how do they interact with customers? Are they building a relationship with guests as they arrive and depart from the hotel? Are they trained to understand the lifetime value of a customer versus the cost of acquiring a new customer?

Next, look at the small things. What do you do internally to say thank you for choosing our hotel? Does the sales team know the difference between who gets to pick their own hotel versus the guests who are told where to stay?

If the customer gets to pick, we need to ensure they are receiving the extra touchpoints. Touchpoints that are of value to them. Do they care about an upgrade, or do they prefer a drink on arrival? Or, is it the booker we need to look after, start by making their life super simple and then add in the small touchpoints. A bunch of flowers on a Friday afternoon has a high impact and is memorable.

Once you have the operational aspect sorted, then look at the sales and marketing side. Know who your competitors are and know how to outsell them. Mystery calls, visits, stays and SWAT analyses. Not everything is rate based. I had a customer tell me one day that I should never upgrade him because the TV was too far from the bed in the executive room.

I have had agents book my hotel because they had my direct phone number, and they didn’t have to go through the press 1 for … press 2 for …. etc. and then end up talking to a robot offshore. They knew that they could call me and we would discuss the weather, life and what we were doing on the weekend all whilst booking the following week’s rooms.

One of my most loyal and memorable clients was the one that got me called into HR for “using company property for personal business”. Someone had walked past my desk whilst the client and I were discussing the pros and cons of salt and vinegar v BBQ crisps and which I preferred. The client worked for the company that produced crisps and was arranging a box for me to say thanks for looking after him whilst I booked his next few months’ stays. You can spend a lot of money on marketing, technology, advertising and sales or you can be your client’s best friend in the never-ending whirl of bland faceless hotels.”

“When you make your guests feel warmly welcome and wildly appreciated, loyalty will soar. You can’t earn true loyalty from the executive office, but you can inspire and train your team to be hospitality stars. Here are three thoughts to get you started.

1. Make every guest feel like a VIP. Yes, I said every guest. Remember when people would smile and say, “Welcome to Hotel Adele” when you arrived? “We’re so happy to have you as our guest!” From my personal experience, this is not happening anymore at most hotels where you are greeted with, “Last name, please?” Let’s get back to being kind people, making every guest feel cared for, appreciated, and respected at every encounter. Morale will go up, along with loyalty and revenue. Great hospitality mindsets must be inspired by leadership to optimize loyalty and revenue and lower acquisition costs.

2. If you want guests to love you, you need to love them first. Share the joy and spirit of hospitality with your team. Inspire your team should look at the guests with kindness and appreciation as though they were looking at Santa on Christmas morning. In the middle of the stay, pass by with a warm look in the eye, “Good morning! How are you? Do you have everything you need?” Help your team to feel confident and fearless about showing heartfelt hospitality. It’s fun! At the end of the stay, smile warmly and thank them for staying. Let them know you appreciate their business and can’t wait to welcome them back. Of course, you should get their email for special offers, and remember your loyal guests/member should not see lower rates elsewhere. Your special offers for loyal guests should be the best deal anywhere and you should train your desk on how to match legitimate rates when needed. Please do not make your loyal guests go through hoops to match or they won’t be your loyal guests much longer.

3. Do sweat the small stuff – Some guests won’t come back because something went seriously wrong and was unattended to, but most travellers will switch brands due to “death by a thousand paper cuts.” It’s the little things that truly are the big things when it comes to hospitality experiences. Every day, your organization should be focused on continuous improvement. Double up on those small personal touches of kindness while diminishing those minor irritants that guests report to staff or on guests’ reviews. Stop settling for good enough and go for the gold! Allow creativity and micro-innovation to energize your team and strengthen the bonds of loyalty with your guests and employees.”

“In my experience, I’d say that it starts with us with the guest: you should be a truly curious person, a great listener, open-minded, optimistic. In short, someone who keeps a “beginner mind”. Hospitality is very basic in this sense. People want to feel important, taken care of, considered, and respected. Therefore if we are not attentive, committed, caring, intuitive, and genuine, if we don’t create familiarity and recognition or if we don’t see ourselves as psychologists or more than mere “automated-service providers”, we will never build a strong, regular guest base.

Sales-wise here’s my real-life example: we were used to nudging our guests upon arrival or, better, upon departure to sign for our newsletter or handing them a “book-direct” voucher through an affiliate code to track the member of staff who handed it. It has been an efficient procedure to create repeat direct guests as well as an incentive for front office staff to win prizes, free stays, awards, dinners, vouchers etc.”

“On our property, our guests are coming not only for our amenities but also for our employees. Calling the guests by their names and knowing and anticipating their needs is a must. Friendliness offered by our staff is one of the most important advantages for the guest to choose us.”

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