In Tough Economic Times Hotels Build Repeat Business Through Guest Surveys.

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. January 08, 2009

In tough economic times it is even more important to make sure your guests are happy with their stay at your hotel. Losing guests over minor discrepancies should not be an option at any time but certainly not during a recession. But, how do you get to understand what those discrepancies are? Postcards in the room, suggestion cards at the front desk, and the 1% contact rate through mailed/e-mailed surveys is not enough. You need to be able to quickly defuse issues and keep the guests happy so they will continue to return.

To keep your guest happy you will need to know what issues or concerns they may have. It is wise to implement a system that generates responses from your guests so the issues are brought to the surface. Finding out the concerns of your guests is the first step to resolving the issues and strengthening your guest relationships. You need to ask yourself what percentage of the guest concerns are you aware of right now. If it is the traditional 1%-3% industry average, what are you doing about the other 97% of your guests? Hoping they will return is very dangerous in this current economic state. You need to be proactive in finding out the concerns and letting the guests know that each of their stays are equally important to you. This means finding out how to reach more of your guests to hear about their individual experience. [Phone surveys through Customer Management Systems ( www.cmscalls.com ) will ensure a 70% - 80% contact rate.] Once you have implemented a system to contact the majority of your guests you will then have to implement a structure to manage the concerns.

I have seen it on several occasions where a business surveys 70% of their guests and they do nothing else. Surveys alone will not ensure repeat business. Once you are made aware of a concern, immediate action is required. You will need someone at the hotel who cares about guest relations that can connect with a guest and resolve any issues they may have. Over 30% of your guests will have unresolved issues and concerns when they leave your hotel. Assigning an employee with the task of concern resolution and providing them with a system to simplify the daily feedback will improve guest relations and ultimately promote repeat business. Remember, if left unresolved these guests will take their business elsewhere. Can you afford to lose 30% of your guest's business?

A concern should not be considered a negative unless no action is taken. A guest concern is an opportunity to show the guests that you care about them and their business. It provides a chance to show them the character of your hotel and strengthen the relationship you have with your guest.

Customer Management Systems works with hotels to ensure complete guest satisfaction. CMS is a call center located in Orlando, FL that specializes in guest surveys. They have a guest contact rate of over 70% and they will provide an online CRM to help manage the guest concerns and document the resolution. They have the ability to design specific surveys to target the areas you want to focus on. They also provide weekly performance graphs so you can see a snapshot of the feedback your guests give about their experience. If you are interested in a demo of their service, please visit www.cmscalls.com or call 1-800-987-1156.