Transforming the guest experience with a text messaging solution

How a text messaging solution can deliver delightful guest experiences

What does a text messaging solution mean? First, we need to understand the context of the guest experience. For nearly half a decade now, the hotel industry has been buzzing about “authentic guest experiences.” Airbnb elevated this idea with its ability to deliver on the “Belong Anywhere” theme. This meant travelers who wanted to be insiders could engage robustly with people and culture.

But should hotels be trying to replicate an Airbnb experience? Are hotel guests really looking for authentic experiences or do they have a different set of expectations?

Let’s get real. When it comes to hotel guests, authenticity is complicated. You may have recently had an authentic hotel experience that was authentically poor. And it turns out that 64% of consumers won’t hesitate to switch to a competitor after a negative customer experience. But if you’re creating positive customer experiences, 78% of customers say they are more likely to be a repeat customer.

What hotel guests want is a great, frictionless experience. They want the check-in process to involve minimal effort with the shortest wait time. They want their hotel rooms to be clean and their beds to be comfortable. They want in-room and property amenities to meet the standards the hotel has established. They also want hotel staff to be attentive to their needs.

Meeting these expectations could simply leave the guest satisfied with their stay; exceeding these expectations could supremely impress your guests and turn them into repeat bookers.

You can wow your guests by adopting a text messaging solution that improves efficiency, improves staff performance, and ensures consistent guest experiences.

What you will see here

• An efficient guest experience
• An effective staff
• A consistent guest experience
• Valuable insights

An efficient guest experience

Surprising and delighting guests doesn’t have to be difficult, especially if you use an AI-powered text messaging solution like Revinate Ivy. Imagine automated responses to common questions or concerns. Accessible 24/7 through a guest’s smartphone, Ivy allows the guest to feel they’re communicating with just another staff member. In fact, Ivy speaks so much like a human that guests have been known to mistake her for a real person.

The responsiveness and issue resolution abilities of a real-time text messaging solution are undeniable. We’re talking seconds, not minutes. Guests get their problems solved and questions answered with little effort. This, of course, makes for a more satisfied guest.

An effective staff

Texting with guests makes hotel employees more effective. Ivy can field basic queries and connect guests to the help they need while creating more bandwidth for hotel staff to build better relationships with guests or focus on complex issues. This translates to happier guests with a tendency to spend more at your property.

Effective employees are also happier employees and research shows that happier employees stay with their employers longer.

A consistent guest experience

Though not everything in hospitality is formulaic, guests count on consistency, particularly when it comes to brand reinforcement. A text messaging solution enables hotels to provide consistent experiences. Responses to the same question do not vary by guest (nor from one hotel staffer to the next).

Ivy exhibits a reliably energetic tone and attitude and doesn’t miss an opportunity to upsell or up-service your guests. Its programming rules increase the likelihood that your average guest folio will grow over time.

Valuable insights

AI creates data, data that can be quantified and analyzed. A text messaging solution can create data that hotels haven’t been able to easily collect and analyze before. These data points include response time by staff, text response time, issue resolution time, and real-time mid- and post-stay guest sentiment. These powerful insights enable your hotel to make improved decisions for the future.

As a result, you can expect to create a more positive guest experience by investing in technology. After all, Deloitte research shows that spending increases by 140% when guests encounter excellent customer service.

Start reaping the rewards of a text messaging solution

As you can see, leveraging a text messaging solution like Ivy can do wonders for elevating the guest experience and ultimately improving your hotel’s profitability. Of course, you need to be thoughtful about choosing a solution that truly meets your needs. Not all tools are created equal.

Discover what elements to look for in a text messaging solution.