No matter who you are, what you do, or where you live, it’s safe to say feedback is always essential. If you’re a teacher, you need feedback regarding your methods, and whether or not they’re working. If you’re a golfer, you need feedback to improve your game to win more often. If you’re married, feedback is essential to keeping the marriage strong and successful. For hoteliers, hotel guest feedback is beyond important – it’s key.
The purpose of the hotel is to provide a comfortable and enjoyable experience for the guest, which will then bring in revenue. If the guests are not having said a comfortable and enjoyable experience, then the revenue will diminish. Hotel guest feedback is the link between the experience and the resulting revenue. The great news is that there are ample ways to get feedback for your hotel, you just have to be willing to receive it! Here are a few of the simplest channels of feedback.
The Importance of Hotel Guest Feedback
Reviews Are Friends
Everything has a silver lining, even negative reviews! A large portion of the people who wish to take the time to leave a review are doing so because they have a complaint. Such is life. Yet, this provides an excellent opportunity for growth and improvement on the part of the hotel. What went wrong? Is it something you or your team can fix? Was this an issue that, if fixed, will improve the experience for countless other guests?
The Main Point: Don’t let negative reviews fall by the wayside. Learn from them.
Pay Attention to What Guests Enjoyed
Positive reviews do exist, and they’re quite useful. It’s just as important to know what’s being done well, as what isn’t. When guests say they loved something, keep doing it! Do more of it! Give the people what they want, and the people (guests) will give the hotel their money!
Always, Always, Always, Listen to Your Front Line
Who hears every complaint and affirmation? The team members who man the front desk. These wonderful people work with the guests firsthand, deal with their complaints, receive their compliments, and everything in between. Undoubtedly they will have suggestions and ideas to share with you.
The Main Point: Create a forum to receive feedback from the team.
Just Ask.
Feedback is everywhere. People love to chat, people love to provide an opinion. Take the time to ask for feedback, from the team, from guests, from restaurant-goers, spa-goers, and everyone in between. A receptive attitude and a willingness to change and improve will help to ensure your hotel reaches all of its financial goals!
Hotel guest feedback is essential to your revenue. If there are experience issues happening repeatedly, your hotel will see a decline in bookings. If you take the time to find out what the issues are and fix them, the bookings will increase. If you take the time to find out what your hotel is doing well, you can keep doing it, do more of it, and continue to see the bookings rise. It’s a simple concept really – listen, respond, adjust, and watch the revenue pour in!
Looking for further advice, further feedback? Contact the experienced and renowned HMG Hospitality today for all your hotel management needs.