Summer is reaching its peak!
We’re right in the thick of the peak season and hotels are hanging up ‘fully booked’ signs. It’s an exciting time, but also a stressful one. Between check-in, check-out, guest requests and managing bookings, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
But it can also be an opportunity; it may be the perfect time to reflect on how your business is performing. Taking advantage of the peak in activity to analyse how you are working and what you can improve is, without a doubt, a unique opportunity to identify strengths and weaknesses and use what you learn to make improvements to your management.
Five areas to review during the peak season:
1. Reception and automation: efficiency or bottlenecks?
Reception is the heart of your hotel – the first point of contact with guests and the last impression they take away. That’s why it’s essential that it runs efficiently.
- Check-in and check-out: How are you managing this? Do long queues build up? Is it a smooth and hassle-free process? If you haven’t already, introduce online check-in or self-service kiosks to streamline this process.
- Guest requests: How do you handle them? Is the response quick and efficient? Use the tools technology provides to centralise and prioritise requests: the messaging and complaints system in GuestPro’s PMS, the CRM, and the housekeeping and maintenance app. You have the resources to ensure their requests don’t get lost.
- Automation: Which tasks can you automate? Free up your staff’s time with automation, from sending confirmation emails or invoices, to upgrades or upselling, to marketing management… This will allow your team to focus on what really matters: customer service.
2. Marketing: Are you reaching your audience?
Marketing is always important, even when your hotel is fully booked. Working to attract new guests and build loyalty among existing ones is a never-ending task. So summer is no exception; it’s important that your strategy remains effective.
- Social media: How are you using social media? Are you posting relevant and engaging content? Are you interacting with your audience? Make the most of these peak occupancy periods to create great content and run some social media promotions.
- Email marketing: Are you sending out effective email campaigns? Are you segmenting your audience? It’s still a good time to promote your hotel and stay in touch with your guests to enhance their stay. Don’t stop just because the hotel is fully booked; there are bound to be things to communicate and promote.
- SEO and SEM: Is your website optimised for search engines? Are you investing in online advertising such as Google Ads? Don’t forget that your search engine ranking is very important.
3. Upselling and cross-selling: are you maximising your revenue?
Upselling and cross-selling are excellent ways to boost your revenue without needing to attract new guests, especially now that your hotel is fully booked.
- Upselling: Are you offering your guests the chance to enhance their stay? A higher-category room, breakfast included, a special package…
- Cross-selling: Are you offering your guests additional services or extras? A spa treatment, an excursion, a restaurant booking… Don’t miss the opportunity to boost your revenue.
- Training: Is your team trained in upselling and cross-selling techniques? Prepare your staff and give them the resources they need to take on this responsibility.
4. Technology: ally or obstacle?
We’re here to help your hotel succeed. It’s important to choose your technology partner wisely and use it effectively.
- PMS: Is your hotel management system modern and efficient? Does it allow you to centralise and manage all your hotel’s operations? This is certainly the case with GuestPro’s PMS .
- GuestPro: Are you using GuestPro’s technology? Our solutions allow you to automate tasks, personalise the guest experience, increase your revenue and much more.
- Integrations: Are your tech tools integrated? Good integration will help you avoid duplication of tasks and give you a comprehensive overview of your business.
If your technology provider isn’t up to scratch, perhaps it’s time to consider a change.
5. Improvements for next year: what areas have you identified that could be improved?
Make the most of this peak period to identify areas for improvement.
- Guest feedback: What arethey saying? What do they like? What don’t they like? They are a valuable source of information – listen to them and use their feedback to improve your service.
- The importance of data: Are you analysing your data? What does it tell you about your business? Use the data to make informed decisions and to identify opportunities for improvement and mistakes to correct.
- Competition: What are your competitors doing? What are they doing well? What can you learn from them? Keep up to date with what your competitors are doing and the latest trends. There’s always something new to incorporate.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can improve today!
Summer is a great time to reflect on your business and identify opportunities for improvement. Observe and learn so you can prepare your hotel to make next year even better.
And remember, at GuestPro we’re your technology partner, here to help and encourage you to achieve your goals.
