One important aspect of the hotel business is the customer experience. From the time your customer books until the day they return home, you want to ensure that your customers have a positive experience. One way to improve your customer service and offer more for your customers is to use text message marketing. There are several ways to integrate texting into your hotel's customer service and marketing initiatives to help increase your business and enhance your customers' stay at your hotel.

Concierge and Customer Service

Customer service is an integral part of the hotel business, and text message marketing offers you another avenue through which to help your customers. A majority of consumers prefer using text messages for customer service inquiries and complaints, so it is beneficial to offer this service along with your other channels of communication so that people can choose the method to contact you that they prefer. With the right program in place, your guests can also text you when they need maid service, additional pillows or anything else to enhance their stay. You can use this to remind guests about their reservation and confirm any purchases or reservations, whether for rooms or in-house services, such as a spa appointment.

You can also integrate your concierge services with your texting program. People can text a particular number with a short code if they want to book in-house services, tours, events, or other activities. Your concierge can contact them to get the details and then confirm everything once it has been completed.

Easy Check In/Check Out

When people come to your hotel, they want a seamless transaction that is convenient to them. One way to offer this is check in and check out through your texting program. Even if you are not able to get them fully checked in or out through the texting app, it is possible to use it to expedite the process. Your guests can text you that they wish to check in, and you can get their details and let them know when the room is ready. Once they receive the text saying the room is complete, they come to your desk to get their keys for check in. A similar strategy can streamline the checkout process.

Targeted Messages

To take full advantage of the benefits that text message marketing offers, it is essential to group your subscribers and send targeted messages. You can send offers and discounts to previous customers and potential guests to get them to book a stay. For those who have reservations, you can send reminders and tips to enhance their stay. It is also important to create a special group for your most loyal guests and send them special, exclusive deals, discounts, and free gifts. You can target messages based on guest demographics and behavior. You send select messages to those who book for business trips and other messages to those who come on leisure trips to help both groups of guests get the most out of their stay.

Surveys and Polls

For your hotel to continue to offer the best customer service, it is important you know what your guests expect, need, and prefer. One way to discover this information is by sending surveys and polls to your text message marketing subscribers. Texting polls are the easiest way to get feedback. You simply have to ask a question and offer a few keywords from which your subscribers can choose an answer. They text you a keyword to vote, and the keyword with the most texts wins. You can follow this with a link to a longer survey for a more in-depth look at what your customers want. With this information, you can ensure that you continue to offer the best customer experience for your guests.

Offers and Other Promotion

Text message marketing has a powerful role in helping improve the overall guest experience, but it also can be used to market and promote your hotel to future guests. It acts as a powerful call to action that you can put on all your marketing material to increase the number of people to take any type of action. It also has a high open rate with most people taking action within minutes. This makes it the perfect avenue for sending out last-minute deals to try to fill your hotel during a slow period. You can also send out periodic deals to your subscribers to motivate them to book another stay with your hotel.

Text message marketing is a highly versatile tool that helps improve your hotel's business and enhance your guests' stay. You can use one or more of the above campaigns to help start your program and, eventually, you will see what works best with your hotel and its customers so that you continue to offer them exactly what they want and need.

Ready to use text messaging to help your hotel business? Try ClubTexting for free and see how it can enhance the customer experience.