Why is guest communication so important?
Throughout the consumer’s journey to booking their accommodation, they are exposed to hundreds (if not thousands) of brands that offer a cosy place to rest for a night or three. There can be hours of research poured into choosing where to spend their hard-earned money and free time.
This is important to remember because you can lose a guest at any stage of the booking process – even after they have chosen you in the sea of options they’ve seen online. Poor communication from the hotel can be a major factor in losing your customers between the booking and staying timeframe.
Like with any relationship, communication is at the heart of where our trust is built over time. The more you communicate with your customers both pre and post-stay, the more likely you are to build a relationship that will turn into loyal customers.
Getting your communication right with your guests can be tricky, but is far from impossible. In this article, we explore what to keep in mind when forming your plan, how to time your emails perfectly, and what the 6 essential emails are that every hotel should have in place.
Tips for effective communication with your guests
Here are some tips to consider when forming your content for each email. Use this as a guide as you form your message for all your outgoing communications.
Be proactive
How much do you know about your guests? Is it a family coming, do they have any specific requests? Use your emails to get the information for need from your guests to personalise their experience.
Be responsive
Give your guests a direct line to you for any questions they have leading up to arrival. When something comes in from these emails, have a quick response rate to keep up the momentum.
Personalise it
Use first names in your emails, add booking details and reference what you know about your guests in each of your emails to personalise them.
Inspire and Entice
Stay in touch with your between booking and staying to get them excited about it – this is a great way to upsell any optional extras you have too.
Automate it
Set up customised automated emails through your Inn Style PMS to ensure you’re getting the right information to your guests at the right time.
Important moments to communicate with your guests
When forming your communication strategy, you’ll be thinking about how often you should be in touch with your guests throughout their booking lifecycle. Each hotel’s approach may differ slightly, but all need to keep the following important moments in mind:
- Enquiry stage
Email examples. thank the guest for their interest and provide links to your website - At the time of making the booking
Email examples: a confirmation email with their booking details - Before they arrive
Email examples: important information to know before your stay
- When they check-in
Email examples: promoting your restaurant or sharing breakfast times - Before checking out
Email examples: how the self-checkout process works - After departure
Email examples: thank you for staying, please leave us a review
Email Essentials that cover the basics
There is a lot to consider when putting it all together, so we’ve provided a must-have list for you to use as a guide. Here are the email essentials for accommodation providers of all sizes. Use this as a starting point when forming your communication strategy.
Pre-stay Email Essentials
The confirmation email
When to send: when the booking is made (automatic)
This will be sent to your guest right after their booking is confirmed with a summary of their booking details. Some other information you might want to include are directions to your hotel or some information on your onsite features/restaurant.
The reservation reminder email
When to send: ‘x’ days before arrival (automatic)
These emails are best sent at least one to two days before the guest arrives. This is an important email to get right because this is the last interaction you have with your guests before they arrive. Make sure to add important details like how your contactless check-ins work as well as confirmation of all details they have requested for their stay.
The contactless email
When to send: the morning of arrival
These can be sent on the morning of arrival, and can let the guest pre-checkin (these are optional and can be set up in Guest Experience).
Post-stay Email Essentials
The receipt and ‘Thank You’ email
When to send: when the guest departs
The guests’ final statement can be sent by opening the reservation and clicking on Email Statement. Remember to show your guests some love and thank them for choosing to stay with you. (You can add additional statement text by going to Account > Guest Experience).
A request for feedback / leave a review
When to send: 5-7 days after departure
Make it easy for your guests to review you online by providing a link to your review platform. Remind the guest of how valuable their feedback is and how much you’d appreciate them leaving you a public review.
Why not include a return guest discount?
When to send: around one month after departure
Set up a ‘secret code’ to allow for a % reduction to thank them for their loyalty. This one is particularly powerful in turning OTA bookers into direct bookers. To reward their loyalty, offer your guests an exclusive discount they can use next time they book a stay directly with your hotel.
Useful tip: Make sure you get their real email address on arrival and remove the OTA cloned email address!
Communicate throughout the booking journey
In summary, each touch point between you and your guests is important because this is how you will build trust before, during and after the guest has stayed. Use these emails to engage with your guests, collect valuable information and to guide your guests through what they can expect from their stay.