Generate Revenue at Every Stage of the Guest Journey With Automation
Automation is becoming a key asset for any industry, but is especially useful for hotels that want to optimize upsells and the guest experience. Many think of automation as a way to streamline behind-the-scenes processes, but it can achieve so much more than that. It can actually make you more money, while improving the guest journey at the same time. Here are some applications for automation at every touchpoint in the stay cycle.
Discovery and Booking
Automation can be implemented in the earliest stages of the guest journey. Its first benefit is in making the entire booking process more efficient, and therefore, more likely to be completed. Automation means instant service, giving potential guests everything they need to make the right decisions about their stays. With automation, guests no longer have to wait for a staff member to answer questions about room types or availability. It creates confidence in bookings, reducing abandoned carts and cancellations. This is especially important for luxury hotels with a sophisticated value proposition, as well as for destination resorts with additional services or hotels offering packages.
Another use case for automation at booking is personalization. Automation can “remember” preferences for repeat guests, and all-channel automation can provide the right information on each guest’s preferred channel. This level of service starts the guest journey off right, and helps build a relationship of trust and loyalty, which are enormous revenue drivers.
Post-Booking
Every hotelier wants to increase direct bookings. Automation can make this a reality, with no additional effort required from your staff. This is one of our favorite applications, because it makes such an impact on a hotel’s bottom line.
Between booking and arrival, AI analyzes conversations and guest sentiment to suggest that certain guests convert their OTA bookings to direct ones. In return, the guests who rebook directly will receive a better deal or another perk, depending on your hotel’s specific preferences. This is a win-win for you to increase direct bookings and your guests to maximize their trips.
Pre-Arrival
The pre-arrival stage is also crucial for upselling, and automation can upsell more effectively than agents. This is because historical data, current trends and other factors can be analyzed in real time to create the most effective offerings, and target them to the right guests. Tracking is easy, and AI allows for constant improvement. Automation also eliminates the factors that make staff upselling more complicated, like unpredictability, commission structure or lack of experience.
Arrival Date
Picture a busy Friday in your hotel’s lobby. With so much going on, it’s hard to be sure you’re reaching your revenue potential. Automating the early check-in process makes it easy, maximizing profits from paid early check-ins and upgrades without sacrificing last-minute reservations. In this situation, automation provides guests with instant solutions to their needs, and generates the most possible revenue, based on data from your hotel.
We’ll use Ameniti’s automated early check-in as an example. First, a guest requests an early check-in on their arrival date. Ameniti then uses historical data to determine the typical number of rooms that are sold at the last minute, and keeps those rooms available to sell. Based on how many rooms remain, if early check-in is unavailable, Ameniti gives the guest an option to upgrade to a more expensive room in order to check in early. The guest can confirm the choice through Ameniti, and your PMS will be updated instantly. Thanks to automation, streamlined early check-in is a gift to your guests, your staff and your bottom line.
At Check-in
When your guests reach their destination, there is a great deal they need to know, from daily housekeeping policies to your hotel's most appealing offerings. In today’s complicated world, the information your guests need to know is constantly evolving. Whether it’s a change in safety regulations or your hotel’s brunch offerings, you need to give guests an accurate picture of their stay. Welcoming guests is one of the most important touchpoints in the guest journey, and your hotel needs to make it count.
Automated information that automatically updates across channels makes things easier for guests and staff alike, especially at a time when your hotel is expected to do more with less. When it comes down to it, today’s guests value instant, up-to-date information above all else, and automation is the most efficient way to deliver it. Staff can remain available for when a human touch is required, but what breeds loyalty is having crucial information at guests’ fingertips. This loyalty generates revenue by delivering an experience that keeps guests returning to your property again and again.
During the Stay
When guests are in-house, automated communication has the same benefits as during other stages of the guest journey. Providing instant answers to guest inquiries is key throughout the stay cycle, and especially during their time at your property. Automation can turn an average guest experience into a phenomenal one with no extra work from staff.
Automation provides another benefit during the stay by giving your hotel the opportunity to upsell effectively, with no staff involvement. AI creates the best possible success rate for upsells by applying both data and personalization. Using historical data and trends, automated solutions optimize the type of promotion and timing based on real results at your hotel, setting you up for success. Automation delivers ultra-personalized promotions, which consumers overwhelmingly prefer.
Post-Stay
The guest journey doesn’t end with check out. Ideally, you’ve created an experience that has converted first-time visitors into loyal, repeat customers. Automation is a valuable solution to give them that extra post-departure push.
An automated message encouraging guests to book again and offering a discount on their next stay can go a long way to ensure loyalty and repeat bookings. This is especially important for hotels facing heavy competition, and is a great way to separate your hotel from the rest. This low effort solution truly pays off, as research shows that repeat guests spend more and are more receptive to upsells.
If improving reviews is part of your revenue generation strategy (here’s why it should be), this is another area where automation can be beneficial. AI-powered sentiment analysis analyzes guest conversations across channels, determining guest satisfaction rates through language. It can then prompt only satisfied guests to leave online reviews, boosting your hotel’s online reputation and increasing bookings.