April 1, 2013 -
While a learning curve and generational gaps in the guest population may be a factor, the opportunities that these technological advances give industries are often untapped or underutilized. How can the hospitality industry take advantage of these new and existing resources? Let’s take a deeper look.
Get Social
It’s no surprise that social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are on every industry’s radar. With more than a billion users, if Facebook was a country, it would be third in population in the world (behind China and India). Clearly, the days when social media sites were being used mostly by college students are long gone. Social media outlets are now prominent resources for nearly all businesses and industry leaders.
And for the hospitality industry, social media is an especially important resource. In addition to being free, these outlets provide hotels with a new way of connecting and communicating with guests, as well as a way to increase guest satisfaction. Never before could a hotel property touch base with a guest and get real-time information through a simple click.
Aside from one-on-one communication, hotels are now able to see the trends in what people think about their recent stay. Forget those “how are we doing” comment cards that used to be in hotel lobbies across the world. Now hoteliers simply have to log in to the property’s Facebook page to see the good (and bad) that guests are experiencing.
These comments and social conversations also provide valuable insight on how your property can increase guest satisfaction, resulting in higher ROI in the long run. Hospitality businesses are finding ways to use social media to promote special deals, events, and services for their properties. In addition to increasing revenue and brand recognition, social media help your property stay connected with guests, supporting you in developing for a loyal and satisfied customer base.
Use What You Already Have : Their Eyes and Ears, Your Phone
Whether it’s a comfy bed or a customized in-room dining menu, guests are focused on one thing: the quality of their experience. The focus on quality, in turn, gives your hotel new opportunities for marketing and revenue growth. Guest room telephones provide properties with an opening for discrete marketing and onsite revenue generation. Is there a slow day in the spa? No problem. Use your IP phone to send out a 20-percent-off spa promotion to your guests. Are there still open reservations at your fine dining restaurant? It could be fully booked after your IT staff switched the welcome screen on your guest room phones to display a mouthwatering image of your restaurant’s award-winning filet mignon.
Aside from the promotional opportunities guest room phones provide, you can also use them to increase the guest’s perception that your property is technically advanced. The guest’s experience can be enhanced, for example, if they can use the in-room phone to automatically order their car from the valet and dim the room lights.
Catch The Wave
With the social media becoming more pervasive every day, it’s no wonder that hoteliers have begun using these outlets within their properties. Taking advantage of social media and guest room phones to promote amenities and connect with guests not only allows hotels to increase revenue, but is bound to be the wave of the future within the hotel industry.
Katherine Lang is the Director of Business Development for Percipia Networks
Katherine Lang is the director of business development for Percipia Networks. Globally recognized as a leading provider of innovative applications to the hospitality industry, Percipia Networks has an established presence as a pioneer in the advancement of next-generation guestroom technologies, including messaging platforms, feature-rich voice applications, and IP telephony. Percipia is well known for their Parallax application, which offers unique IP phone applications for guest rooms, including room service, group directories, and more, for vendors like Cisco and NEC. Percipia Networks also offers a wide range of technology solutions and applications. For more information, visit: www.percipianetworks.com.