Guest satisfaction will always be priority #1 within the Hospitality Industry, and keeping it high and elevating it further among our top goals. Achieving superb guest satisfaction directly translates to more rooms booked, tickets sold, higher brand awareness, better reputation, and can even increase the value of your rooms and improve your bottom and top lines.
In order to best exceed guest expectations and continue to maintain high levels of guest satisfaction, it's crucial to keep a pulse on both your current and prospective guests. The best way to achieve this is to create a funnel of feedback that will give you insights into exactly they want.
Obtaining Feedback
Guests always have feedback, but the type you get and where you get it will (and should) vary. There are several ways to be proactive in receiving this feedback. A simple conversation upon guest checkout can give early insights and show that you care. Also, follow-up with guests via email and ask them about their stay. The more opportunities guests have to give feedback, the larger sample size you will have to draw conclusions from.
Of course, not all feedback comes back directly. Cheers and jeers listed online on sites like Yelp!, Facebook, Twitter, and various message boards carry significant weight. Make monitoring these a priority, and look for trends so that you can determine what needs addressing and what (or who) deserves praise.
Negative Feedback
Negative feedback gets a bad rap, and it's easy to see why. We pour our hearts and souls into what we do, and when we disappoint a guest or feel they got the wrong idea of us or our property, it can be easy to get defensive. But the fact is, negative feedback is unmined gold. It will keep you improving and ahead of your competition. Don't waste it.
Implementing Feedback
As you gather feedback, look for common, recurring trends. If enough guests are commenting on something, begin developing a plan to address it. And don't forget about the great PR and marketing opportunities that can coincide with resolving guest concerns. Room remodels and re-imagined menus are great examples of marketable changes you may have had to make anyway. By publicizing these, whether it be with a press release, advertisements, or social posts, it shows guests that you are evolving and addressing their concerns.
Guest satisfaction is the most crucial aspect of our industry, and the best way to understand how not to just meet it, but exceed it, is to gather as much feedback as possible. Analyze trends your guests present you, make informed changes with their help, and you'll likely see more positive feedback, better online reviews, and more guests walking through your doors.
