There is so much opportunity for hotels and resorts to create a more personalized and impactful experience for their guests, and sophisticated automation in marketing is one of the best ways to do so. Hotels and resorts are pulling in endless amounts of data from all aspects of operations, including sales and marketing, activities and rentals, dining, lodging, and so much more. However, those data points are often coming in through multiple systems which create data silos throughout the organization.
The first step to achieving an improved guest experience and taking advantage of automation is to gather all your guest data in one place. Customer data and guest retention platforms allow you to combine every data point into one holistic dashboard, cleanse and enrich that data, and turn it into valuable customer segments that speak to your guests 1:1.
Once your data is compiled, there are three highly impactful automated campaigns that hotels and resorts can (and should) use to bring in more guests and enrich their overall experience from start to finish.
Pre-Arrival Campaigns
What better way to begin a positive guest experience at your hotel or resort than to start the process before your guests even arrive? They’ve booked a stay or visit with you, and now they are ready to plan. If you show up for them with useful pre-arrival information, it helps them better prepare for their visit and makes them feel as though you are looking forward to their arrival on a 1:1 basis. Hotel and resort guests want a smooth experience, so providing them with need-to-know information such as the parking situation or requirements, check-in and check-out times (and any self-serve options for check-in), where to find certain restaurants/bars/entertainment on or near the property, etc. will put them at ease so they can enjoy their trip at your resort.
Automated welcome emails have strong performance metrics, including an average open rate of 80%, an average CTR of 26%, and an average CTOR of 28.70%. -- SmartInsights.
Important, Timely Updates
Hotels and resorts often experience real-time updates to their operations. For instance, ski resorts want to be able to inform their guests about up-to-date snow reports and conditions. Timely updates can also include things like changes in hours of operation, any technology issues or outages, a change in entertainment scheduling, and so on. You can even slide some promos into a timely email (“Come visit our restaurant TONIGHT and receive 10% off your meal!”). While guests are staying with you, you don’t want to leave them with unanswered questions—updates like these can help make their experience a seamless one.
Post-Stay Campaigns
Once your guests leave your property, you want to continue to offer a delightful guest experience and give them a reason to come back for another stay. One way to do this is through post-stay surveys where you ask guests to rate their experience, including what they enjoyed/didn’t enjoy, and any feedback they may have. This will not only help you to improve the overall guest experience for others (which in turn elevates your property’s reputation) but also allow you to thank them for their feedback and provide your dedication to implementing that feedback. With that, you can also provide promos for future stays, whether that be a discounted amenity rate, a free stay if they book 2 or more nights, etc.
Only 22% of hotel guests will leave a review of their own accord. But should a hotel request a review, that figure shoots up to 80%. -- SalesCycle
Bring Automation to Life
With the help of Ascent360’s customer data and relationship management platform, you can bring these high-impact automations to life. We bring your data together to provide a unified, enriched view of your guests, while empowering you to build automated omnichannel marketing campaigns that comply with SPAM Law Authority & provides you peace of mind.
Unlock the endless potential of enriched data, segmentation, and automation—request a custom demo today!
