Generate more direct bookings with automation: Booked. And now what?

Do you consider each completed booking a sales success? What if we told you that there's still a lot you can do? By carefully managing the information you communicate to your guests prior to their arrival, you can win their trust and increase your profits. Discover the amazing marketing power you have at your disposal every day!

Following their booking, your guests proceed to the next stage in their journey – waiting for the departure date and arrival at your hotel. Contrary to what you might think, this is not the time for you to wait patiently until they arrive and enjoy your sales success. It is then that you should reach out to your guests and start working to build their guest experience. Yes, before they even arrive!

See why your guests’ queries about a stay are like an invitation to a date

Thank you for choosing us

Your first opportunity to build a positive relationship with a guest who has already made a booking is to thank them for making the booking. This is not just a casual letter, but a marketing tool you can use to create your hotel's image. And you can also use it to communicate some information about their stay or ask them to consider some additional services (cross-selling).

Focus on the most useful information, such as:

• a brief description of the hotel,
• information about breakfast times and restaurant opening hours,
• information about the car park (especially when additional charges apply or your hotel has a limited number of parking spaces guests need to book in advance – remember to mention this!),
• reception desk working hours,
• for suite bookings – information where and how guests can pick up their keys or cards.

Remember that you can also use this ‘thank-you’ letter to offer additional services. Your hotel has a SPA? Offer your guests a special discount. Think about the special offers you could make at this stage. Describe them in a way that creates in your guests an actual desire to accept the offer (and take advantage of those special opportunities).

Think carefully about the marketing agenda behind your ‘thank-you' letter. The day before the arrival is the time to send another letter. But be careful not to repeat the information from the first letter.

Welcome!

A Welcome Pack is a guide for your guests. You should send it to them the day before their arrival. You can use it to supply more detailed information, for example about:

• the instructions on how to reach your hotel – preferably with a link to a map that will allow your guests to plan their journey
• transfers to your hotel (if available) from the local airport or railway station. Mind you, for guests who are coming to a big city for the first time, this is invaluable assistance and support, as now they don’t have to find a taxi or public transportation
• technical details of check-in and check-out times,
• restaurant opening hours. Invite your guests to the hotel restaurant, introduce its chef, show them your special meals and describe some additional perks of dining at your restaurant – encourage your guests to eat at the hotel, not outside of it,
• additional attractions at your hotel: SPA, gym, wellness area, lobby bar, swimming pool, etc.
• attractions in the neighbourhood: provide a list of the most interesting places they might want to visit – try to prepare it in a way that makes your guests believe that these, too, can make their stay more interesting. Try to negotiate special offers for your guests in museums, theatres, stores with regional products, etc. You might also want to match the attractions with the season – it works!

Reception desk as the key to boost sales

Do not forget about the key role of your reception desk in up- and cross-selling. By reminding your guests about Welcome Pack offers, your reception desk staff make your guests more likely to actually buy these.

Automatic means convenient

With deliberate and well managed hotel-guest communication, you can boost your sales and, above all, contribute to a more positive guest experience. By building the guest experience, you are increasing your chances of having your guests rank your hotel favourably (this is your opportunity to attract other guests). And you will foster a permanent relationship (which will make them more likely to use your services again).

• the reception desk does not have to constantly check when and to whom they need to send those e-mails, and no mailing schedule needs to be created. The system generates these itself
• it takes time to prepare these e-mails – by using Profitroom CRM solutions, you save time and can always inspect the data in the system.

• Imagine that you have booked a room at your hotel. This is your first time in the city and at this hotel. What information would you expect to receive from the hotel? What do you want to know even before you arrive? Think about this and use this information to prepare your own Thank-You Letter and Welcome Pack.
• What attractions do you offer to your guests? Prepare a list of attractions available both at the hotel and in its immediate vicinity.
• Encourage your guests to give their marketing consent. What benefits for the guest can you think of? Write these down.
• Prepare a ‘cheat sheet' for you reception desk staff with a list of additional services they might want to sell to your guests during their stay. For each of these, specify the key benefits for the guest.