Build Guest Engagement with Text Messaging: SMS Marketing for Hotels
Published: 2021-07-13 16:18:18

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Hotel managements traditionally communicated with their guests through phone calls or in-person. But nowadays, things have been a bit different. Texts messages have made its place in the communication market and now it&rsquo;s being used by every business out there.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Text messaging has entered the hotel industry as a newer channel of communication between the hotel management and their guests. Guest messaging enables hotels to communicate with guests via SMS or other messaging applications, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">85% of people prefer messaging over phone calls when it comes to communication. And, this data speaks a lot of things. With&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.gunisms.com.au/sms-for-hospitality" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#0563c1;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">guest messaging for hospitality</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">, hotel managements can easily communicate with their guests for any meetings or in engaging them with something more. Guest engagement is an essential component for hotels because it allows them to provide their customers with the highest level of satisfaction. A better guest experience ensures a better success rate for any hotel.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Guest Engagement through Text Management: Some Tips</span></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;">
    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Integrate messaging into your property management system:</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">To capture relevant guest information, guest messaging systems can sync with property management systems. It makes the jobs easier for hotel staff and also cuts down their working time as onboarding takes less than 24 hours through integration.&nbsp;</span></p>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;">
    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Welcome guests personally with pre-arrival messages:</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">An automated high-quality, branded, pre-arrival email letter for your guests makes them think highly of your property management system. Similarly, you can use your messaging services to welcome guests a few days before their arrival in your hotel premises. A pre-arrival text makes your guests feel homely and welcome.&nbsp;</span></p>
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    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Use contactless online registration to streamline the check-in process:</span></p>
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</ol>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">You can send the contactless online registration forms to your guests through pre-arrival text messages. Online reregistration forms enable guests to securely sign and accept terms and conditions without needing to be at the property. You can also use <a href="https://www.gunisms.com.au">SMS Broadcast Service</a> to automatically send these registration forms out to guests. By doing this, you can lower the work burden for your employees and ensure contactless check-in and hotel stays.</span></p>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;">
    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Set up automated replies to frequently asked questions:</span></p>
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</ol>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">It is quite simple that all of your guests might have some or other questions regarding your hotel management system. Among those, some are the most common ones, for instance, questions like &ldquo;what time is check-out?&rdquo; or &ldquo;what is the wi-fi password?&rdquo;. You can solve their common queries by setting up messaging systems to automatically reply to frequently asked questions.&nbsp;</span></p>
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    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Set up customized scheduled message:</span></p>
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</ol>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Hotels are always full of different kinds of guests who differ in their tastes, behavior, and choices. Being a hotel manager, it is your duty to ask them about their stay. You can customize messages to ask guests about their stay. Messages asking if the hotel can do anything else to improve their experience, or even upsell different offers to guests, can be scheduled to send out at the most ideal times. By doing this you lower the burden for your hotel staff. You can constantly engage your guests through this and ensure that they are having the best possible experience.&nbsp;</span></p>
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    <li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;">
        <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ask for feedback at the end of the guest stay:</span></p>
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</ol>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Asking for feedback is a basic point to be implemented. To do this, you can send a quick text asking for a rating between 1-5 stars. If you get anything below 5 stars, then you can further collect their comments over it and improve the stay experience better for the future.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-left: 36pt;text-align: justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">If they reply with five stars, then you can automatically direct the review to your hotel&rsquo;s website.&nbsp;</span></p>