If a guest returns to your hotel, make sure they aren’t booking through Booking or Expedia. That would be a major mistake in your strategy and an unjustified loss of revenue.
How many times has a guest walked through the door of your accommodation, enjoyed their stay, and then returned the following year having booked through Booking or Expedia?
If this has happened to you, it means you’re doing something wrong. The guest already knows you; they already know how good your rooms and services are, and how attentive your team is. So why are you still paying a commission of between 15% and 22% for someone you’ve already attracted?
The problem is that you’re not communicating with your guests. Many hotels still use their PMS merely as a repository for past bookings, rather than using it for what it really should be: the brain of their marketing strategy. And this is where a hotel CRM like GuestPro is key to ensuring you don’t miss out on any more direct bookings.
Embrace smart segmentation and turn PMS data into purchasing profiles
A common mistake in traditional hotel marketing is sending the same mass email with a generic offer to your entire database. A corporate guest travelling alone in November, for example, isn’t interested in a family package for August. It’s important to know your customer – it’s essential!
Our CRM, integrated with the PMS, allows you to carry out genuine segmentation based on actual customer behaviour, adding all sorts of tags that define them. The more tags you add, the greater your insight and the more personalised your communication will be. For example:
- By traveller type: Families , couples, digital nomads or business clients.
- By average spend (RevPAG): Identify your VIP customers (those who dine in the restaurant, book the spa or choose superior rooms) to offer them exclusive benefits.
- By key dates: Know exactly when they stayed so you can encourage them to return at the same time of year with a special incentive.
- By region: To find out about public holidays in their area and their preferences.
Automation throughout the guest journey, email marketing that doesn’t look like spam
It is important to avoid mass, intrusive communication; instead, ensure it is timely and personalised. Thanks to our native CRM, we can programme automated communication flows to accompany the guest through every stage of their stay:
- Booking confirmation email: As soon as the guest makes a booking, they receive a confirmation email summarising their booking, to which we can add some basic information about the hotel.
- Pre-stay email: A few days before their arrival, an email is sent inviting them to complete online check-in, whilst also offering the option to book extras or a room upgrade.
- Email during the stay: This helps you monitor the guest’s stay in real time. It allows you to identify any issues (such as a problem with the room) and resolve them before they turn into a negative review. It is also the perfect way to suggest a table at the restaurant or a massage at the spa.
- Post-stay email: An automated, personalised thank-you message which, as well as requesting feedback, includes an exclusive promotional code for their next direct booking.
- Reactivation email: If a regular guest hasn’t been in touch for a while, we’ll remind them that we miss them by offering a special benefit if they book via the official website. Above all, make sure they don’t end up booking on Booking!
The power of data to anticipate and personalise a stay
Centralising data and having a complete history within the PMS is key to building a dynamic profile for each guest. All the information about their stay at the hotel should be ready before they set foot in the lobby again.
When this happens and the CRM shares this data with the reception and housekeeping teams, their experience will improve and we’ll be able to anticipate their requests:
- The guest arrives and we let them know we’ve booked the same room they liked so much on their previous visit.
- We’ve left a little gift in their room.
- The restaurant is aware of their dietary restrictions.
- The guest feels valued and at home.
Achieving this level of personalisation creates an emotional connection that no OTA can replicate. The guest won’t return just because of the price; they’ll come back because you know them and make them feel special.
Regain control and stop the OTA from taking your money
Relying on intermediaries is bad business, as in the long term your profit margins are significantly reduced. OTAs can be your allies in helping guests discover your accommodation, but your CRM is your secret weapon for ensuring they stay with you for good.
Having a CRM that’s natively integrated with your PMS, as is the case with GuestPro, means you avoid paying commissions on repeat customers. Manage your customer data effectively, get to know them, and you’ll keep them for life.
If you want to stop giving away your profit margins to OTAs, learn how to get the most out of your CRM. GuestPro’s CRM will help you turn your guest data into direct and repeat bookings.
