#guestuphone

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Why Guest Profiles are important for your business

Creating guest profiles can help drive more revenue for your business.

These insightful profiles are the result of all the information you, and your team, continuously collect and store from your guests before, during and after their stay at your property. This kind of data can be anything from the average rate they paid for a room, to the services they requested, an online review or even their favourite drink.

By using historical data from past bookings, hoteliers are able to make predictions about guests’ future behaviours and their spendings.The latter is extremely useful when it comes to establishing room rates.

Before technology, adjusting rates was a manual process and used as a technique to maximise profits. While the goal remains the same, technology has made it possible to not only keep track of guest’s past spendings but also to forecast how much they’re willing to spend in the future.

These days it’s absolutely crucial to have a system that gathers guest’s information instantly. That’s why we developed the GuestU Phone, a smartphone that accompanies guests during their stay and that can be beneficial for both sides. On one end it helps guests find their way around the city, by providing them with local recommendations and giving them free Wi-Fi access wherever they go. It’s also a great communication tool, that they can use to interact with the hotel staff and request services on the move.

On the other, the GuestU Phone is a powerful tool for hoteliers, enabling them with interesting data about their guests, that can be analysed and leveraged to provide more upsell opportunities, improve the guest experience and increase loyalty.

Measuring guest’s behaviours outside of the hotel can be extremely difficult without using a mobile device. This is the period where guests are most active and blocking out this information is a mistake if you want to create accurate guest profiles.

The more data you gather, the more you will know about your guests and their preferences, which gives room to personalised experiences for your guests and extra revenue for you.

Photo by Alexander Solodukhin on Unsplash

[guestu]

Why you need a mobile-friendly website

It’s no secret that travellers are spending more time on mobile phones than laptops.

There has been a significant growth in mobile traffic - around 51 percent of a hotel’s website traffic is now coming from smartphones and tablets, according to a study conducted by Sabre.

Having a mobile strategy is key to avoid losing bookings. This starts by creating a mobile-friendly website where guests can easily book their stay, but the strategy should also continue throughout the guests’ journey. 40 percent of hoteliers have admitted using separate designs for their mobile and web page layouts instead of a single, responsive website, which would be ideal.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating a responsive website:

Check how fast the page loads

Test on several devices

Use larger text for mobile

Create a simpler navigation menu

Optimize images

Use bigger buttons

According to Sabre, 5.5 percent of visitors booked on responsive websites versus 3.9 percent on non-responsive sites. That can make a difference between gaining or losing a guest.

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

Our solution

We’ve seen how mobile-friendly websites can increase the number of bookings at your accommodation. But the trend continues during the stay, guests are relying more and more on technological devices to better serve their needs.

With the GuestU Phone, guests can feel like true locals. The phone provides free internet and voice calls, useful apps and a travel guide curated by your team, contributing to a memorable stay experience.

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A solution for personalised guest experiences

To be a successful brand in the travel and hospitality industry, it is fundamental to know your customers and understand their needs.

Over the past couple of years, many hoteliers and accommodation owners have started to invest more in technology solutions that help enhance their customer's experience. These solutions are able to automate tasks and provide useful insights about guests, which can later be used to provide a more personalised service.

Thanks to technology, tasks like collecting customer’s data are becoming increasingly easy and innovations like IoT are providing ways to improve the efficiency of daily operations, including energy and water consumption.

Guests expectations are rising, so the hospitality industry really needs to go that extra mile to provide a personal touch that makes travellers come back again and again.

Euclides Major, CEO and Founder of GuestU says “Hotels are getting closer to guests and providing an experience with a true individualistic touch that helps them feel welcomed and treated as individuals and not as another tourist.”

GuestU has recently been recognised by the CIOReview as one of the most promising technology solutions for the travel and hospitality sector. The GuestU Phone is an in-stay product that can be placed in hotel rooms and apartments, featuring a number of applications that help personalise guest experience and helps concierges understand guest behaviour.

You can read GuestU’s full profile with CIOReview here.

[guestu]

How to use technology to improve guest service

Every property builds their reputation based on the same key components - staff courtesy, efficient service and a good relationship with the guests.

While traditional face-to-face connections remain important, properties are beginning to use technology to help facilitate their tasks and improve the guests’ experience.

Paying attention to small details like a guests’ birthday or their favourite bottle of wine can be made easier with technological solutions that study guests’ behaviours and create a profile of their stay.

Here are three ways you can use technology to start improving your guests’ experience:

1.Personalize your guests’ stay

You probably use technology to manage your guests’ reservations already, but you can also use it to communicate with them during their stay, by using a service like the GuestU Phone that has an integrated chat service and provides free calls between the guests and the reception inside and outside your property.

Another great way to personalise your guests’ stay is to learn more about their preferences with feedback surveys. With the GuestU Phone, you can easily collect this information and begin creating guest profiles.

2.Remember your repeat guests

Being able to recognise your repeat clients is essential to establish a closer relationship with them.

Technology can help create a history of your guests’ stay and provide you with information about their expectations before they visit your property again. This data can then be used to create personalised offers in the future.

3.Stay in touch with your guests wherever they go

Mobile technology can ease the communication between your staff and your guests.

GuestU’s solutions (mobile app and GuestU Phone) allow guests to book internal services, like spa treatments, make restaurant reservations or request a transfer at the touch of a button.

With mobile, you’re able to keep in touch with your guests constantly, before, during and after their stay.

Conclusion:

Using technology to power guest service also comes with its challenges, namely: connection issues, integration problems and staff training. But the benefits that it brings to both the industry and the guests make it worth the investment.

The hospitality industry should welcome technology with open arms and they must work together for the same goal, which is to continue to provide a better and differentiating service to every single guest.

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash