Stay Engaged with Hotel Guests via Text

Technology and Guest Service

As cultivators of an experience, hoteliers are tasked with keeping their guests needs and requests satisfied at all times during their stays. As technology has evolved, so have hotel guests criteria for what they consider to be a quality experience.

Travel experiences in today’s post-COVID world can vary greatly, whether your guest is arriving to your hotel after a short direct flight and is staying for a fun filled weekend or they have experienced two delayed flights, their bags were misplaced, and now they are at your hotel and the last thing they want is more hassle in their trip.

This desire for more technology integration from guests is something that hotels are struggling to implement fast enough. For many hotel’s, implementing new technology systems is a complex, expensive, and time intensive process which can take years to achieve. So what can hotel’s do now to begin satisfying guests hunger for technology without breaking the bank? Offer a text service platform.

What Guests Really Want

Allowing your guests to use texting as a tool for communicating with hotels, is simple and easy and according to studies, it’s also the form of communication that guests prefer. According to a recent Oracle Hospitality and Skift Survey, 73% of travelers prefer to use their mobile devices for checking in, checking out, paying for room service, and other hotels stay features.

The survey also gives a glimpse into the future showing that guests prefer to personalize their hotel stays, with options available to them such as floor and room location but it doesn’t end there. 68% of surveyed participants said they would like the ability to prescreen properties in the metaverse.

Now that we’ve established what guests want, it’s apparent that the hotel and hospitality industry needs to adopt technology that fulfills these needs. This may seem simple, however purchasing, programming, and integrating room service robots, or uploading a virtual hotel to the metaverse isn’t exactly something that hotels can do overnight. 

1. To write the best SMS for your hotel, it is crucial to follow these guidelines:
   Keep your language simple, clear, and concise. Avoid exceeding 160 characters.
2. Include complete contact information and relevant links for easy access.
3. Utilize a compelling Call-to-Action to prompt your recipients to take action.
4. Use capital letters strategically to highlight important words or phrases.
5. Personalize your SMS by addressing customers by their names and incorporating other personal details.
6. Ensure your content focuses on the benefits that your readers will receive.
7. Double-check for any spelling or grammar errors before sending out your SMS.

Real Time Guest Requests 

With SMS and Text communication platforms, guests can reach you at any point during their stay. So if a guest forgot to take down their ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign, instead of returning to a dirty room late at night, they can instead simply message your staff of their request for housekeeping service, and the hotel can grant their request and follow up with them afterward.

Hotels operate around the clock, and so do guest needs. Yet with the staffing challenges, we face today, sometimes a simple request for an extra towel can take longer than expected. With text messaging implementation, you can program keywords to make sure messages are being read by the right people. Keywords such as “towel” or “toothbrush” can signal to the hotel staff that this is a guest request, so that the employees tasked with fulfilling these, can act quickly to take care of them.

Maintenance requests are often something that can truly make a huge impact on a guest’s stay. Sometimes however, guests don’t have an easy way of reporting these issues. With staffing shortages, hotel’s are seeing longer lines in the lobby as well as longer wait times with phone calls. Guests are aware of these longer wait times, and sometimes don’t have the extra time to wait to report issues. Here again we find another terrific route for guests to use texting to reach hotel staff. So when a guest on the top floor accidentally overflow’s a toilet, the hotel staff can be notified immediately and resolve the issue before it’s caused a flood.

Room Service À La Text

Another way to truly wow your guests with text messaging integration is with food and beverage integration. Allowing your guests to view the menu on their phone, either with a link or as an attachment is something guests are coming to expect. With so many food delivery apps, people have become accustomed to choosing their meals from their phone screens. Offering your restaurant selections in a similar manner is quickly becoming the standard in hotels.

Text message’s received by the restaurant can be easily organized, prioritized, and then input into the F&B’s POS. The convenience and ease of text messaging for room service are sure to please your guests. Text messaging provides a ‘virtual server’ for your hotel guests, who can check in with them throughout the course of their meal ensuring all their needs are met. 

Seamless Guest Retention

Hotels are similar to every other industry in the way that they do everything they can to retain customers. Sometimes, pleasing guests is as simple as remembering their names and where they are from. Other times, guests have a long list of things they expect each time they stay. Whichever of the guest types you are aiming to retain, text messaging services give you the tools to continually make them feel welcome each time they stay with you.

Text messaging platforms give hotel’s the ability to store important information about their guests. Information such as their preferences with room location, their favorite meal at the restaurant, what amenities they prefer for their stay, and more.

As the hospitality industry continues to suffer labor shortages and high turnover rates, your guests may have trouble remembering your staff. However, with text messaging technology, your staff will have the tools on hand to ensure that your valued guest’s preferences are always taken care of to keep them coming back.

Summary

Technology and hospitality will both continue to evolve in years to come. It is in the hands of each hotel to ensure they are equipped with the tools and resources to keep guests happy, as their hunger for customized vacations grows. Using text messaging services to cater to guests is a simple, affordable, and easily implemented tool to bring hotels up to date. Whether being used for immediate guest requests, maintenance issues, communicating preferences or ordering room service; texting is a way to streamline communication and alleviate staffing challenges.

To create the best SMS, follow these essential guidelines:

• Craft a compelling call-to-action: Your SMS should have a clear and enticing call-to-action that encourages recipients to take immediate action. Use powerful and persuasive language to grab their attention and motivate them to engage with your message.
• Include a sender name, ID, and phone number: Make sure to include a sender name or brand identity in your SMS, so recipients can easily identify who the message is from. Additionally, provide a phone number that they can reach out to if they have any questions or concerns.
• Incorporate a link to your website: Including a link to your website is crucial as it allows recipients to quickly access more information about your products, services, or promotions. Ensure the link is short, easily clickable, and relevant to the content of your SMS.
• Personalize your messages: Personalization helps create a more tailored and engaging experience for recipients. Consider integrating the recipient’s name or any relevant personal details into the message to increase its impact.
• Keep it concise and clear: SMS messages have character limits, so it’s important to convey your message concisely and clearly. Use simple language that is easy to understand, and keep your content focused and to the point.
• Test before sending: Prior to sending your SMS to a larger audience, always test it with a small group to ensure it looks and functions as intended. This allows you to catch any errors or issues before reaching a wider audience.
• Schedule strategically: Timing plays a critical role in SMS marketing. Consider when your audience is most likely to engage with their phones and aim to send your messages accordingly. Avoid sending messages too late at night or during inconvenient hours.
• Opt-out option: Always provide recipients with the option to opt out of receiving future SMS messages. This not only ensures compliance with regulations but also helps maintain a positive relationship with your audience by respecting their preferences and privacy.