If you think about it, guest satisfaction all boils down to efficiency of operations. Without automated core systems that reduce manual workload and provide greater operational visibility, hotel staff simply don’t have the time or tools to provide personalized, proactive service that results in a great guest experience.
Meeting (let alone exceeding) the expectations of today’s guests is increasingly harder without modern hotel technology. Setting the right foundation ensures hotel staff is supported to provide a great guest experience now and in the future. So, let’s dig a little deeper into the elements of a great guest experience and the core technology that makes it possible.
Guests recognize efficient service when they have convenient access to assistance, transactions like check-in are quick and seamless, and their requests are resolved quickly. And it all depends on the availability and efficiency of both staff and self-service options.
Manual processes like taking reservations by phone, keying in credit card payments, and filing and flipping through registration cards delay response times, especially during the busy season. Guests don’t like it when they have to wait around at the front desk or their extra towels are forgotten.
An automated property management system (PMS) is key to streamlining workflows and service delivery. The software centralizes data to automate manual processes and improve interdepartmental communication so that staff have more time and are better informed to attend to guests efficiently and proactively.
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Modern PMS are intuitive for staff to use and accessible on mobile devices. No matter where they are on property, authorized staff can access reservation data to resolve guest requests faster, without having to return to the front desk. As the hub of operations, the PMS can be integrated with your other hotel systems—including online booking channels (OTAs), room key systems, revenue management systems, and guest messaging platforms, like Akia —to automate cross-system processes and drive even more efficiency so your staff has the time to make every guest’s stay perfect.
Housekeeping has always been a priority for hotels, but guests scrutinize cleanliness even more since the pandemic. Maintaining high housekeeping standards is critical to guest satisfaction and the success of your business.
A property management system with built-in housekeeping software helps you stay on top of cleaning schedules, maintenance issues, and quality control so that housekeeping standards and guest expectations are always met.
Integrated with reservations, the housekeeping report informs housekeepers which rooms are expecting check-ins, check-outs, and stayovers in real time so that cleaning schedules can be prioritized for maximum productivity and to ensure rooms are always ready for new guests when they arrive. Housekeeping room status updates are instantly and automatically shared with the front desk, eliminating the risk of checking a guest into a dirty room.
Housekeeping checklists for each unit type help ensure housekeepers never miss a spot with task lists and descriptions guiding staff through cleaning protocols. Maintenance alarms and housekeeping notes added to the housekeeping report can be shared with the front desk and other departments as needed, improving internal communication for faster service resolution.
Various studies show unclean rooms have the most negative impact on guest satisfaction. Managing housekeeping effectively is key to delivering a great guest experience.
The trick to turning a good guest experience into a great one is to not just meet your guests’ expectations but to exceed them. How do you find the time to show that kind of care and attention to every guest? Future-proof core operational technology is the answer—the kind that can put your data to work for you and evolve with guest expectations.
A modern property management system not only stores guest profile and reservation data that staff can reference to personalize service; it can automate that data to personalize and trigger guest communications for you, ensuring every guest feels valued. Email templates can be created for various transactions and automatically generated using reservation information—including the guest’s name, stay dates, unit and rate types, etc.—for pre-arrival, self-check-in, and post-stay communications.
But if you want to elevate guest service to the next level, consider integrating your property management system with a guest messaging platform like Akia. Adding text messaging to your hotel’s communication channels makes complete sense in a world that’s gone mobile. Modern consumers expect and prefer to communicate with businesses via text message, and hotels are no exception.
Platforms like Akia enable hotels to manage guest communications via text message and email, as well as internal messaging, all from a single dashboard. Text messaging gives guests a convenient way to make requests and communicate service issues and helps staff resolve problems faster before they are voiced online in negative reviews.
Through direct integration with the property management system, personalized routine messaging—including booking confirmations, pre-arrival messages, self-check-in, upsell offers, and post-stay messages—can be automated using live reservation data, saving hotel staff hours coordinating communications manually.
Harbourside Motel & Wireless Bay Cottages integrated Akia with their WebRezPro property management system to automate pre-arrival messaging and processes via text message. Read Akia’s case study to learn how this integration saves the property time, improves the guest experience, and reduces no-shows.
At the heart of operations, your property management system powers efficiency and personalization to support service excellence. Look for a proven, future-proof solution like WebRezPro that is well integrated with other leading hotel technology, like Akia, to ensure a strong foundation for a great guest experience. Visit webrezpro.com for more information and a free demo.
