Best Practices

How To Take Your Hotel Guest Experience To The Next Level

The hospitality industry is all about the human connection and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

The hospitality industry is all about the human connection and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Going above and beyond while offering one-of-a-kind experiences will ensure guests leave feeling satisfied and willing to return². So how does one provide the best experience for your guests? There are many things you can do before arrival, on arrival, during the stay, and after the stay that truly takes the experience to the next level.

Before Arrival

As soon as someone lands on your website, their experience with your hotel begins. Make sure your website has all the necessary information along with your hotel's highest-resolution photos and videos¹. Display deals and offers, as well as integrate a booking engine that lets guests book a stay with you easily. Make sure the design of the website represents the look and feel of the hotel so guests have an idea of what to expect.

Do your guests a favor and offer early check-in. Guests will appreciate this, and form a great impression of your hotel. If the room is unavailable at the time they desire, you can arrange for them to sit in a relaxing area of serve them tea/coffee from your in-house restaurant.

On Arrival

Guests will remember if you make them feel valued through "personalized" services, that is why you should address them personally. Encourage your front desk staff to greet guests by addressing their first or last name instead of just a greeting. For example, "Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. Welcome to our Resort! Hope you have a pleasant stay"!

During The Stay

Make it easy for your guests to get in touch with you. Keep guests informed with two-way text communication. If your clientele is more tech-savvy, consider investing in a simple app or online communication service. Guests can receive text order confirmations while various areas of the hotel can communicate with guests about order changes, out-of-stock items, or special instructions. For example, if a guest is planning to pick up alcohol, you can remind them in advance to be prepared to share a valid photo ID.

In terms of providing in-room dining, place a simple QR on the mini-bar fridge, or next to the TV remote with a light menu full of all the comforts of home, right at your fingertips. Allow guests to skip the inconvenience of ordering through a third-party delivery service or jumping through hoops to reach someone from room service.

Train your staff to be attentive through observation and appearance. For example, if there is a group of friends, staff should suggest to them nearby restaurants, bars, and fun activities they can enjoy nearby¹. If a family is staying at your hotel, offer family friendly locations for them to visit and fun yet safe activities for children to take part in. If someone is traveling for business, point out where your business rooms are located, or where they can work quietly if not in their room. This will make your guests feel welcome and excited about their stay.

After The Stay

Reach out to your guests and ask them about their stay. Take the time to respond to all reviews punctually, even the negative ones. Send them any promotions, special offers, or announcements that may be of interest to them in regards to staying at your hotel.

Elevating The Guest Experience With GoTab

Use technology to make things easier, quicker, and more exciting for guests³. GoTab's contactless ordering and payment technology allows guests to self-order and pay for food and drinks, whether in the hotel restaurant or in-room, via their phone. GoTab can be used for in-room service and on-site dining including coffee shops, bars, poolside, pantry, rooftop, restaurants, and more!

"GoTab is the best solution for contactless ordering and payment in the current landscape. It has given us the tools to pivot during this past year, and we're excited to evolve our hospitality service model to blend technology and in-person hospitality, particularly for our luxury clientele", says Camilo Rivera, General Manager of The Delegate. By using GoTab's contactless ordering and payment capabilities, The Delegate was able to reimagine its rooftop service, develop safe and private functions, as well as serve luxury condominiums in the neighborhood. Check out our case study to learn more!

Other key features for hotel operations include:

Automate service request delivery
Update menus and hours of operation on the fly
Track and stay up to date on order statuses
Track request fulfillment time
Monitor real-time data analytics
Two-way text communication
Automated cross-selling
VIP and member discounting
Custom event menus

Sources

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Situated “in the heart of it all, yet tranquil enough to make you feel away from it all too,” The Limelight Hotel Snowmass offers 99 hotel rooms and 11 residences, as well as footsteps-to-gondola access in winter and summer — right in the middle of Snowmass Base Village.

The Situation

Especially over the last few years, the Limelight Hotels IT team had witnessed a significant shift to contactless technology in the hospitality industry. After evaluating friction points in the guest journey, aligning with modern technology platforms in their restaurant was determined to be an effective way to offer elevated contactless dining experiences to their guests while also evolving their technology platforms to continue to support long-term company goals. Limelight Hotel partnered with GoTab to provide an enhanced on-demand dining experience on par with the brand’s reputation for exceptional guest service.

The Solution

Reducing Staff Touch Points Without Sacrificing Guest Experience

Guests are now able to begin a tab from their room or the property’s restaurant by scanning a QR code, texting a link to friends or family members on the ski slope to add in their orders, then meeting up together at the patio or lodge to enjoy their meal and après ski festivities without interruption. By streamlining tasks like inputting orders and processing payments, this eliminates friction for hotel staff and allows them to focus on delivering renowned guest service for a memorable experience. Since partnering with GoTab, Limelight Snowmass has consistently seen higher check averages and sales.

“We found the Point of Sale platforms we were looking at offered the guest and staff limited opportunities to further reduce touch points or improve the traditional restaurant experience. The GoTab platform enabled the guest to take an active role over the flow of their experience while simultaneously reducing touch points and further streamlining restaurant operations.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

According to the Limelight Hotels team, some of the other platforms that were evaluated were either missing some of the pieces they were looking for, had weak customer support models, or had little willingness to develop integrations to existing hotel platforms already in place. To that end, GoTab integrated with cloud-based platform, Infor. Together, GoTab and Infor are providing dynamic solutions to support central, efficient service across hotel amenities and deliver exceptional guest experiences.

“Previously, guests would call down to the restaurant to begin an order from their room or while they were out enjoying the ski slopes. Using GoTab, guests can now place orders from anywhere on the resort, giving them the on-demand service they want without interrupting their day. GoTab empowers us to give control to the guest, reducing touch points and streamlining overall restaurant operations, making Limelight Hotel the resort of choice for Snowmass.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

Since introducing GoTab, The Limelight Hotel has seen a consistent level of upsells and items sold per check resulting in additional revenue capture. They have been able to maintain service levels in their restaurants during periods when there was reduced staffing available without significantly diminishing the guest experience.

The Benefits

Eliminate Phone Orders – Take Orders from the Slopes. Guests can start a tab from their room or on the mountain without interrupting the flow of their day.

Future-Proofed Technologies – Delivering elevated contactless ordering via integration with the Infor hotel management platform.

Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

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