Helping Hotel Guests via Social Media

up your online hotel guest service game!

3 min read

 

Hoteliers sometimes struggle to keep active on their social media when it comes to their guest service. Social media has become vital for delivering customer service online, as this is what a vast majority of people use – so it only makes sense we reach out to them where they are spending most their time.  It is important for hoteliers to build relationships with their guests via social media, as the goal is to give your guests the best possible service and support through your social media…and this is how to do it:

 

Active communication

Everybody has questions, everybody wants answers. For businesses like hotels, majority of guests will have questions before visiting, checking-in, or for any other reasons, and they highly value quick responses – don’t we all? The beauty of social media is that you don’t need to put a lot of thought into writing massive pieces of paragraphs or essays, it’s more about getting the key content out there, trying to stand out from the crowd, and being actively responsive!

 

It is very simple to be available to answer questions that hotel’s get through their social media as it doesn’t take long. Why this is important is because the hoteliers are representing the company, and it helps with building relationships and showing you are listening to your guests.

 

Respond with a sense of urgency. Having conversations with your guests is key to online guest service. Be personal by responding directly to the person who had sent out a question or comment as this helps gives a better reputation to your hotel.

 

Guest share experiences 

Online works better than offline. Asking guests to fill out online direct surveys after their stay at your hotel is something not new, but still exists and works. These surveys can be seen as word-of-mouth, which helps promotes the hotel’s business and helps influence peoples decisions by seeing someone else’s review – the positive ones.

 

By reminding your guests through social media to fill out a survey about their unique experience, is a quick and easy way to get them to fill this out. Also this instantly shows your hotel value this type of feedback for future references, to identify and solve any problems guests may have which is great guest service. 

 

Don't be a robot!

It isn’t a good look to sound robotic when you are interacting with your guests. Although a generic response may initially work, but over sometime guests will catch the pattern and pick this up. To sound realistic in helping respond to your guest’s is important. Being personal in responses is key, as this makes the guest feel they are being heard, and positively helps your hotel reputation which can lead to guest loyalty in the long-run.

 

Never copy and paste scripted responses, make it personal as this is valued much more. The goal here is to not give your guests the chance to pass negative judgements about your company or brand based on the way you respond. It has been found if a guest feels they are being ignored on social media, likelihood of 30% they will visit a competitor.

 

Insider tips

Providing insider tips is a great way to keep your guests engaged. By spending some time to research what is happening around your hotel surroundings, this will provide a list of motives for your guests to do when they are staying at your hotel. For example, the best nearby pizza place, or any upcoming events around your hotel’s location is really worth while checking and sharing about it with your guests, as they would really appreciate it as it saves them time for researching things to do.

 

Also, it may be a good idea to check with nearby restaurants if you could collaborate with them and provide a promotional code for your guests only. This would benefit both businesses, as your hotel would be providing restaurants with your guests – meaning more business for them, and your hotel guests will feel they are receiving perks for staying at your hotel - it’s a win win!

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The Elina Team hope these tips will help you hoteliers leverage your social media for delivering great guest service, as well getting better with building your relationships with your guests.